Cloud Canyons and Studio Kosmische – Under Neon Stars

Feral Child

Feral Child are celebrating in style with their fiftieth release; in a really stylish glossy disco bag, Italian experimental adventurers Cloud Canyons have been given a makeover by Dom Keen‘s very own Studio Kosmische. Over two ten-minute tracks, Cloud Canyons share a cut from their recent album and one track just for this release with Dom to see what fresh magic he can uncover.

There is a subtle insistence to the beat of “Under Neon Stars”; it moves at a perfect pace, transporting the listener toward the dancefloor as the vocals swirl and echo around you. Synthetic neon skies pass in a blur of ever-increasing drone, gradually filling the vacuum. There is a relentlessness that subtly overwhelms, but is ever evolving.

When the rhythm and drone break down, you feel the sense of there being something more, something extra and as the vocals gradually dissolve into vapour, you feel the true extent of this cosmic journey. It is as good for the floor as it is for a cool high-rise, the modern city’s early morning vista unfurling before you.

The second side, the exclusive “Black Fruit”, is more vocal-led and perhaps because of that is surrounded by an air of pristine mystery. The cocoon of a beat is less insistent, the listener comfortable as the panorama races by a car window, headed for the border. The vocals contain more emotion with elements of frustration; the refrain telling us of “dark fruit juice and gastric juice” is backed by shimmering electronics and a soft, warm rhythm.

Its lack of insistence, a more insidious groove, makes it a perfect flip to the a-side, a very different journey using similar ingredients that makes the 12″ a resounding success. It is vinyl only, so dust off that turntable and do yourself a favour; prepare to be seduced.

-Mr Olivetti-