When I saw that Matador Records had posted a Solex-related video last week, I momentarily thought that Elisabeth Esselink had been inspired to create and share new music.
Not so, sadly. The sobering reality is that it's 25 years since Solex's third and final album for the label. Low Kick And Hard Bop, like the albums that preceded and succeeded it, is an eclectic mix of ideas, musical notes, brain dumps and secondhand store samples, and all the better for it.
All three Solex albums were CD only and not formally released in the UK, so I had to resort to US import copies. In September, to mark it's quarter century, Low Kick And Hard Bop will be available on vinyl for the first time.
Whilst not a new song per se, Mr. Crockpot is a rarity and one that I haven't heard before now. It was originally available as the customary bonus track for the Japanese CD issue of Low Kick And Hard Bop. A few years later, it was also included on the US-only DVD, Solex vs. The Empty Bottle.
I'm pleased that it's been liberated from relative obscurity, and I hope that this may be the catalyst for new music. Elisabeth previous shared plans for a new album in 2020 and whilst that didn't happen, I remain optimistic.
For more Solex fun:
All Licketysplit (20th September 2023)
Say Captain, Say What (29th July 2021)
