In a similar fashion to other Lil Chief artists, Alec Bathgate draws
on the last forty years of popular music in his latest release,
The Indifferent Velvet Void. Sixties fuzz guitar and vocal melodies
lie alongside thumping Casiotone rhythms. Lilting ballads sit alongside
edgy glam-inspired rockers.
Alec began his musical career in 1977 as the guitarist
in 'The Enemy' who shocked audiences with their upfront punk rock.
Alec provided the grating riffs, while fellow Enemy Chris Knox provided
the screams and razorblades. As punk died a slow death, The Enemy
morphed into Toy Love who eventually split in 1980 after a couple
of singles and an album.
The experience of recording the self-titled Toy
Love album in a professional studio was both unsatisfying and unrewarding.
So, when Alec and Chris formed 'Tall Dwarfs' in 1981, they decided
that having artistic control at both ends of the microphone was
paramount to achieving a quality recording. As a result, Tall Dwarfs
have utilised the freedom of home-recording and have released a
myriad of EP's and LP's over the last 23 years. The Dwarfs are considered
to be lo-fi pioneers and have now become part of indie folklore.
Alec began his solo career in 1996 with the album,
Gold Lamé, which was named after the suit made for Elvis by Nudie's
of Hollywood. The album was recorded in his garage on a four-track
with a single microphone. It revealed the more intimate Dwarf in
his full glory.
"An album of beautifully polished mini-masterpieces...
an arranging wizard, assembling songs out of a stunning array of
simple parts that fit together like pyramid blocks." (Puncture,
US)
"A consummate songwriter, he can craft a melody
without an overdose of sentimental, keep it stripped right back
and still come up with something so pop-perfect you want to sprint
down to the pub and sing it for everyone with your Casiotone on
your lap." (Pavement)
The Indifferent Velvet Void was recorded at Alec's
home over 18 months, working mostly on weekends in the family's
tiny spare room. The digital recording suite on his personal computer
allowed him to build up multiple tracks and indulge his "Phil Spector
fantasies". Despite working on an improved recording medium, Alec
still worked with fairly limited equipment - two microphones, a
smattering of guitars, a cheap keyboard and a few simple percussion
instruments. Alec is responsible for all of the instrumentation,
engineering and production - with the exception of some additional
handclaps and backing vocals supplied by his family. The result
is an album that shows both strength as a songwriter and talent
as a musician, from the psychedelic overtones of "Slow Fuzz", to
the T-Rexisms of "In The Shadows". The album is both existential
and introspective, Alec's lyrics range from the absurd, yet unfeigned,
"We're all babies suckling on the universe" to social commentary
"It is all faked, seamless and hollow" before ending up with the
sweet reminder that "Everything starts on a new day".
Lil' Chief Records is confident that listeners
will find The Indifferent Velvet Void to be an album that fits perfectly
within our range of alternative pop releases, whilst adding another
fresh sound to our strong catalogue. |
