RTCD19 - Fergus Kelly: Bunker Emissions

 

This album was composed via a trawl through the archives where previous recordings, some used, some unused, have been disinterred, dusted down and given fresh life in new combinations and surgical interventions. Percussion, strings, electronics and a light dusting of field recordings are stirred into the mix, and galvanised in places with echoic structures and brittle textures, like rusted scaffolds on which to hang the flotsam and jetsam of previous forays; a mudlark's delight of old tidewrack reconfigured from new perspectives.

 

Available in digital form only from Bandcamp  

 

"Fergus Kelly is coming back with a new material - a perplexing collection of tracks which are the result of the plunder in the archives and some new work. 11 tracks of an absolute intimate beauty and attention to every single detail - a set of compositions which could be easily used in the gallery environment for an interactive exhibition as well as a film soundtrack or stand-alone setlists which shows how versatile this Irish artist is.
 
How to define this highly individual body of work - it is quite difficult really... There is a bit of glitchy sombre audio art aspect to it but not in any means idiosyncratic since it has some sort of emotional depth which academia lacks in any possible way. There is of course a great deal of work where self-made instruments were being used and Fergus just simply excels at it - showing his unnatural skill to take the most out of every single possibility that his instruments can offer. 
 
There is a melancholic post-industrial edge to this album to which to me shows again how many different angles it has and also something to relate to in terms of existential aspect of the whole album.
It is definitely a great album to finish off previous year and start off the new one. Released December 12, 2022."
 
Hubert Heathertoes, Felt Hat Reviews

 

 

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