Inspired by the region’s rave lineage and pioneering figures such as Aphex Twin and Luke Vibert, eel is a party series and label providing a platform for music of Cornish origin. Their first compilation brings together a diverse array of productions and is an exciting snapshot of the local scene.
Located far from the usual cultural hubs and infrastructure, the artists involved in this project have been forced to improvise. This has resulted in events hosted in barns and at art galleries and a DIY approach that comes across on a lot of these tracks, many of which don’t fit neatly in a box.
This is certainly true of omoo’s ‘not sure really’, whose name acknowledges these classification difficulties. Crystalline melodies take centre stage on this one, the track hurtling along at 160 BPM. The drum programming is intricate and dynamic, but a far cry from typical footwork or jungle sounds, genres that usually congregate around this tempo. Freed from any such genre constraints, it’s a fine example of the kind of innovation that can occur when scrutinous eyes are averted.
‘men an tol’ is scheduled for release 12 March via eel. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. Terry Bliss – Tikale
2. Hockeysmith, omoo, Seamouse – mission d
3. maybelleene – Nyctalopia
4. Hallion – Covid32
5. annie eel – Quicksand
6. Oh Mr James – Laughs
7. C O N T X T – Late Night Ventures
8. Earthnut – Tecca Don
9. Seamouse – Gamma
10. Hockeysmith – Down Love (Hockeysmith Remix)
11. Iz Morris – IWM
12. Norah Lorway – Flux
13. Inka Upendo – Waterlevel
14. omoo – not sure really