ALBUM O’WEEK: Crewdson – Gravity
Published on June 25th, 2011 | Jonny Abrams
Gravity, the debut album from South East London producer Hugh ‘Crewdson’ Jones, is all of the following things: bubbly, fizzy, crinkly, tinkly, technicolour, strangely familiar, sleekly psychedelic, glitchy, jazzy, rushing, pounding yet jerky, beamed in from outer space, utterly brilliant.
To learn that Jones works as technical assistant to “found sounds” pioneer Matthew Herbert comes as little surprise; a fair chunk of Gravity revolves around either rhythmically or melodically manipulated recordings of a pint glass being tapped with a spoon, a bottle being opened, a door being opened, water being splashed, a crisp being crunched and scissors being snipped…and that’s just Rocksucker guessing at what a few of them might be.
He apparently uses retro joysticks and midi motorcycle handlebars whilst performing so it’s reasonable to assume that they’re in the mix here too.
Thread dashes of synth, softly parped saxophone and Karl Hyde-esque vocals into this already mesmerising patchwork – so well captured by the album’s artwork, might we add – and you’ve got yourself an album which sounds at once electronic and natural, a more-than-satisfying elaboration upon last year’s Dust EP.
Slowfoot Records last week issued Ouch Evil Slow Hop, the whirlwind joint effort by Polar Bear/Acoustic Ladyland drummer Sebastian Rochford and pioneering theremin player Pamelia Kurstin, so all eyes on them at the moment.
Rocksucker says: Four and a Half Quails out of Five!
Gravity reminds Rocksucker of… Los Angeles by Flying Lotus, Everything Ecstatic by Four Tet, Beaucoup Fish by Underworld, Richard D. James Album by Aphex Twin, Amber by Autechre.
Gravity is out now on Slowfoot Records. For more information, please visit myspace.com/crewdsonsounds
About the Author
Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.
