Wednesday, 7 October 2009

LEYLAND JAMES KIRBY – SADLY, THE FUTURE IS NO LONGER WHAT IT WAS (HISTORY ALWAYS FAVOURS THE WINNERS)


LEYLAND JAMES KIRBY – SADLY, THE FUTURE IS NO LONGER WHAT IT WAS (HISTORY ALWAYS FAVOURS THE WINNERS)

This is not merely an album but a series of mesmerising releases that represent a very ambitious body of work from Leyland James Kirby who has traditionally been known as V/VM and more recently The Caretaker. With numerous versions of multiple vinyl and multiple CDs, each with individual and breathtaking pieces of artwork by Ivan Seal, the version that I am listening to today is the double CD.

Expansive and vast the work is filled to the brim with emotive minimalism not afraid to draw out a pregnant pause but dedicated to uncovering an eclipsing sound that fills any room with furniture of the mind. As an echo sound rings out all of a sudden the sun begins shining into my room with a fresh method.

This is score music, something designed to layer lives and events, to inhabit the mind and thought process of the listener and energise their being with view to setting them aside from the troubled and mundane. The music lends to breathing space to thought and assists in conjuring conclusions and resolutions, potentially lending answers to moments of internal decay. For this you can be truly thankfully for such a furrowing work of art.

The obvious touchstone is the work of Badalamenti on the Twin Peaks soundtrack, a subtly energised drone pierced by keys that in the best traditional of Lynch is beauty with the suggestion of impending menace lying underneath. It is a harsh realm.

There is a meditative air to this music as the sonic exploration goes long and far, often sounding similar to Kirby’s work as The Caretaker in addition to basically sounding like being submerged under water or dumped into a sensory depravation tank (not necessarily out of will). More or less it sounds like structural movement, be it personal/internal or industrial/commercial. These are lofty heights.

As I emerge on the other side a true sense of euphoria resounds. I have to concede were I to feed this to most people I know they would probably spit in my face or if I put it on the stereo at work I would possibly run the risk of being sacked, this is a very personal experience, one that feels like a genuine connection between the conductor and listener, the author and audience. For such an accomplishment the man has to be applauded.

Thesaurus moment: neubauten.

Leyland James Kirby

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