SIMON BOOKISH - Terry Riley Disco
8.8
 
Playlouder Recordings ~ n/a ~ 27th March 2006

First off, who is Simon Bookish? He’s really Leo Chadburn and he works in a library. Second, who is Terry Riley? He’s an acclaimed late American composer, thought of as one of the artists most responsible for the rise of minimalist music.

The result of this rather bookish (geddit?) clash of identities is a surprisingly modernist lashing of electro pop, with a startling deadpan, tongue-in-cheek vocal supplied by Chadburn set to a background of mesmerically fluctuating analogue electronics and digital beats.

The original single is likeable enough, but you have to check out Capitol K's Remix. This is pure class, with bizarre, twisted vocals abounding over warm film reel string samples and cartoonish melodies. This is like being slapped around the face by a wet fish and is totally, wonderfully sublime and dare I say, hallucinatory – get it now!

Two additional remixes are on show via Fashion Flesh and another pumping mash up of the original by Max Tundra.

Single of the year so far – by a distance!