Nostalgic And Dystopian

Martin Jenkins has continued to surprise and delight this year with regular offerings as Pye Corner Audio.

 

First up is a remix of Maps aka James Chapman. Lack Of Sleep is a track from Maps' rather excellent Counter Melodies album. I liked the Mute Records promo blurb that accompanied the release, which cleverly peppers the paragraph with name drops for Pye Corner Audio, Maps, the album and record label.

 

"It was only when she remembered Pye Corner Audio that she'd discovered earlier that day that she found some relief. As she listened to the counter-melodies she closed her eyes and imagined herself in a different place. A place where she could escape from her restless mind and find some peace. She thought of maps and the places she had never been to, places that only existed in her imagination. The music was like a mute button that silenced the noise of the world around her. It was just her and the soundscapes. She felt her mind slowing down, and her body relaxing. Finally, she fell asleep, carried away by the music to a dreamland of her own creation. The next morning, she woke up feeling refreshed and energized. She realised that music was the key to her peaceful state of mind. From that day on, she made it a habit to listen to music every night before going to bed. It was her own personal map to a good night's sleep."

 

The remix itself is a doozy. Maps' original is six and a half minutes of stuttering beats, phased synths and chopped up choral vocals, reminiscent of 1990s Orbital. The Pye Corner Audio remix if anything pushes the Hartnoll Brothers' influence even further, a rolling, whooshing chord progression and stabbing keys leaving you wanting more after a mere four minutes and forty four seconds.

 

You can buy the Pye Corner Audio remix, the Counter Melodies album and Maps' own Counter Mixes companion and an equally wonderful remix of Witchy Feel by GLOK aka Andy Bell via Bandcamp.

 

 

A highlight of Bandcamp Fridays has been the prospect of a new Pye Corner Audio release and 2023 has been no exception, with three so far this year. August's release was Cabaret Sauvage, which immediately strikes as lost Pink Industry outtake, with a striking bass line and synth effects that call to mind 1980s arcade games. Again, one that doesn't hang about, at a smidge over four minutes. Superb.

 

Mayday Acid which, you guessed it, came out in May steps into the 1990s and could easily have passed muster on one of the Trance Europe Express compilations that I loved and regularly return to. A six minute excursion, heavy on the acid and concussive beats, Mayday Acid wouldn't sound out of place in a Slam DJ set at the time.

 

April's release Seen From Above is on a similar TEE/Slam-inspired track, five minutes of building, rolling synth chops, underpinned by an insistent rhythm that imagines (well, to me) a flight above and through a sleeping metropolis. More Batman or Moon Knight than Superman or Spider-Man, I'd say. As ever, superb stuff and all three are available as name your price purchases.

 

Back to James Chapman for a few words which echo my feelings about Pye Corner Audio's music (although I was much, much later to the party) and inspired today's post title.

 

"Since I heard PCA's album ‘Sleep Games’ in 2012 I was instantly hooked by the sound Martin Jenkins created, and have followed his incredible career ever since. For me, his sound is a beautiful mixture of the nostalgic and dystopian, pushing sonic boundaries with every release. The world of Pye Corner Audio is a warm yet brooding place to completely lose yourself in. It has always been a dream of mine to work with Pye Corner Audio so it was incredible to get that opportunity!"