Kemper Norton - Collision/Detection V4

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 1 / 12 / 2012

Label: Front and Follow
Format: CD

Atmospheric and spooky-sounding collection of remixes from Cornwall-born ambient folk artist, Kemper Norton

Review

From the Cornwall slurtronic scene, Kemper Norton,who is now based in Brighton, has developed a dark, but not sinister, and ambient folk style. He sounds like a post-folk balladeer, who is standing in an uphill fog yet at the same time is very near to you. These four tracks, 'Him', 'Us', 'Them' and 'Her', were remixed by other musicians who joined a pool. Their contributions were then picked out of a tombola and then treated to each one's will or whim. Alas, in this case I cannot tell who did what! The end result though is consistent. The concept was born two years ago with label Front & Follow's 4 CD project 'Long Division With Remainders - 14 Versions of the Same EP'. Now we're into episode six of series two with this both orchestral and pastoral, EP 'Collision/Detection'. 'Him' brings us highly impressionistic music with words and sounds of great mystery. 'Us' carries on in this drift, as if vicious vapours were built around a revolving cloud. The instrumental 'Them' appears like a crying, sloping landscape in its bleakness, very much like in the film 'Eraserhead', one of the most influential fìlms for its music. The last track 'Her' answers to 'Him', in a sense, as 'Them' did to 'Us', becoming smoother and more sophisticated, yet still has the same build-up. Echoing the music of Colin Newman, the EP does well in capturing a spooky kind of new wave.