Sordid Sound System: Lux Exterior

Sordid Sound System is Stuart Evans, one of the founding engineers of Glasgow’s Green Door Studio, a non-profit creative space that has quietly nurtured an explosive cultural mishmash of acts such as Golden Teacher, Whilst and the excellent Youth Stand Up! collaboration. Described as an ‘incomparable creative space’ you can hear that epithet coming through in the music. From the curve ball dancehall of Golden Teacher to the motorik post punk experimentalism of Whilst, the studio certainly lives up to reputation.

"'Lux Exterior' builds on this history with six tracks
 drenched in analogue warmth, tape/space echo delay
 and innate creativity bolstered by years of experience
 and experimentation behind a mixing desk"

Invisible Inc. follows a similar path as a label, releasing under the radar eclectic gems with an ethos described by label owner GK Machine as “more cosmic than cosmic, more leftfield than leftfield” and “music from the fringes for people on the fringes“. With no discernible music policy other than perhaps ‘psychedelic’ the label has racked up an impressive back catalogue since inception in 2015. From Tross’s kraut infused Coast to Coast EP to Sordid Sound System’s previous EP ‘In a Year of 13 Moons‘, it’s clear GK Machine has a knack for rooting out great music.

‘Lux Exterior‘ builds on this history with six tracks drenched in analogue warmth, tape/space echo delay and innate creativity bolstered by years of experience and experimentation behind a mixing desk. Mixing dub with the kind of cosmic dance floor work outs you might hear at Sean Johnston and Andy Weatherall’s ‘A Love from Outer Space‘, each track features a seemingly effortless piecing together of myriad ideas. Vocal oddities, loose percussion and other worldly melodies hang across the driving title track whilst the skanking ‘Scratch‘ and ‘I Walk on Splintered Gilders‘ are both masterclasses in experimental dub.

"With some music you can almost hear the strain and effort
 that's gone into it, a tight focus on burdensome intricacy
 squeezing the life out of productions"

With some music you can almost hear the strain and effort that’s gone into it, a tight focus on burdensome intricacy squeezing the life out of productions. That’s not the case here where each track is steeped in an ineffable sense of musical joy. I’d wager good money that these sounds trigger olfactory memory for anyone who has visited the studio, so strong is the whiff of Green Door across each track. Whether it’s the equipment used, the studio environment or Evan’s undoubted production skills there’s no doubt something special going on in Glasgow. A hugely recommended EP and a label to keep tabs on.

Lux Exterior is out now, order a vinyl copy from Bandcamp.

TRACKLIST

A1. The Baron
A2. Scratch
A3. Lux Exterior
B1. Der Mond Und Die Stern
B2. I Walk On Splintered Gilders
B3. Keep Your Head