4 (The Telescopes album)

Last updated

The Telescopes No. 4
The Telescopes 4 on translucent red vinyl, double platter.jpg
Studio album by
Released21 October 2022 (2022-10-21)
Genre
Length50 minutes
Label Weisskalt Records and Antenna Records

#4 is the fourth studio album by English noise rock band The Telescopes composed and recorded between 2002 and 2004. [1] It was initially released on CD by their own label Antenna Records in 2005, [2] later reissued by Weisskalt Records on vinyl in 2022 on a limited edition of 300. [3] To commemorate its 20th anniversary on the basis of when recording began, [4] the album was manufactured by longstanding Australian pressing plant Zenith on translucent red vinyl at 45rpm to draw out the subtleties and expansiveness of the sound. [5]

Contents

Background

The album is notable for Stephen Lawrie's further exploration of unconventional methods in electronic music, the result being reminiscent of "a missing David Lynch soundtrack." [5] The release has been described as "shape shifting audio druidry and stone age free drone repetition. Mindscapes of merge and misheard whispers. Death rattles pulse driven twangs and broken bones." [6]

In an interview with When The Sun Hits, Lawrie expressed the emotive drive behind the experimentation with noise, "Songs are written. Even when they seem to fall from nowhere. But I think and dream in noise." [7]

Part of the musical virtuosity and innovation demonstrated by Lawrie's composing skills included playing the guitar in a non-traditional way thereby disguising the instrument through distortion of sound. [8] As Lawrie explained in an interview with It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine ’s Klemen Breznikar, some of the guitars were table top guitars laid flat in experimental tunings, manipulated with whatever delivered inspiration. Objects such as crocodile clips, battery operated hand fans, cello bows, tin toys, gear stick knobs, remote controls on the pick ups were all used for experimentation which for Lawrie, turned the guitar into a fresh instrument, causing him to think differently and develop new pathways. [5]

The majority of the songs were written on an EDP Wasp synth which contributed to the deep throbbing sound present throughout the album. [9]

Critical reception

The album has received positive reception and is considered to be an underrated cult classic among music journalists [10] and how it is representative of The Telescopes continued exploration of noise, feedback and the soundscapes developed from such boundary pushing. [7]

NME 's Nathaniel Cramp has described the record as "in another universe...creating some incredible and genuinely scary music." [11]

Dusted Magazine's Jon Dale highlighted the track All the Leaves, writing "Sometimes The Telescopes surrender to graceful beauty, as on #4’s “All the Leaves". These poised, charming melodies recall their untitled second album, where quiescent songs flickered from within a heat chamber, walls glossed with steam and fog." [12]

Track listing

All music by Stephen Lawrie. [3]

#4 track listing
No.TitleLength
1."the hypnotic pulse of the motor driven"6:12
2."link No. 1"5:05
3."on a dead man's bones by the light of the moon, skeletons dance a demon dance of the doomed"8:40
4."all the leaves"2:41
5."a measure of imbalance"0:43
6."singularity"4:26
7."fear the eye became the tone"9:22
8."the yearning"1:35
9."winter No. 4"5:03
10."it bleeds"5:52

Credits

Notes

Recorded at The Experimental Health Unit, Wired Studio, Jerry's House, & Far Heath Studio between 2002 & 2004. Mixed at The Experimental Health Unit, 2004–2005. Vinyl pressing by Zenith, 2022. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Telescopes</span> English space rock band

The Telescopes are an English noise, space rock, dream pop and psychedelic band, formed in 1987 by Stephen Lawrie, David Fitzgerald and Joanna Doran that drew influence from artists such as Suicide, The Velvet Underground, Trite and The 13th Floor Elevators. They have a total of eleven released albums including their debut, Taste, released in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alisha Sufit</span> Musical artist

Alisha Sufit was the English singer-songwriter with the 1970s Magic Carpet, whose eponymous first album was released on the UK Mushroom label in 1972. The Mushroom label is not to be confused with the Australian label of the same name, and was led by Vic Keary from the late 1960s from Chalk Farm Studios in Belmont Street, London.

Magic Carpet was a pioneering British psychedelic folk band of musicians that first appeared in the early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Chrysanthemums (band)</span> English band

The Chrysanthemums are an English art-pop group. The project began as a collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Terry Burrows and Alan Jenkins, the leader of The Deep Freeze Mice. The first releases were performed in the studio by Burrows and Jenkins alone. Other personnel were gradually added, including Vladimir Zajkowiecz on bass, Robyn Gibson on drums and Jonathan Lemon on keyboards, enabling them to complete several tours of mainland Europe, where there was most interest in their work.

<i>Third Wave</i> (The Telescopes album) 2021 studio album by The Telescopes

Third Wave is the third studio album by English noise rock band The Telescopes.

<i>Tardo Pede In Magiam Versus</i> 1972 studio album by Jacula

Tardo Pede In Magiam Versus is an album by the Italian rock band Jacula. The album was recorded in Milan, Italy. Gualtiero Guerrini and others helped with the recording in Studio Angelicum, which had a church organ. After the limited release of the album in 1972, the changed its name to Antonius Rex, maintaining the same lineup of Jacula. "U.F.D.E.M." reappears in remixed form as "Morte Al Potere" on Antonious Rex's 1977 Zora album, the new version featuring newly recorded overdubs with the original 1972 version as the basic track. He did not record again as Jacula until Pre Viam in 2011.

Dreamies is an experimental music album by Bill Holt, released in 1973. It is a collage of songs performed on guitar and synthesizer combined with snippets of found sound. The album consists of two long tracks called "Program 10" and "Program 11", a reference to the Beatles' "Revolution #9". Dreamies includes excerpts of radio and television broadcasts as well as snippets taken from recordings by the Beatles. In its use of "sound bites", the album anticipated the use of sampling in later popular music.

Todd Tamanend Clark is an American poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, cultural historian, author, artist, and activist. He is known for "his musical blend of Native American heritage, glam fashion consciousness, cyberpunk attitude, and lyrical approach to scientific and sociological subjects."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itchy-O</span> Musical artist

Itchy-O is a 57-member avant-garde music performance group based in Denver, Colorado, consisting of a drum-corps battery, pyrotechnics, taiko drummers, and an arsenal of electronics and crowd-roving provocateurs.

Weird Owl are an American psychedelic rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. Their first recording, Nuclear Psychology, was released in 2007. Their debut studio album, Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed, was released in 2009 by Tee Pee Records. Their second album, Build Your Beast a Fire, was released in 2011, and received generally positive reviews. Their mini-LP Healing was released in 2013, followed by the album Interstellar Skeletal in 2015.

<i>Nuclear Psychology</i> 2007 EP by Weird Owl

Nuclear Psychology is an EP by the American psychedelic rock band Weird Owl, released on February 21, 2007.

Atomic Forest was a popular Indian psychedelic and hard rock band from Mumbai, active in the early-1970s, formed by Neel Chattopadhyaya, with Keith Kanga, Valentine Lobo and Madhukar C.Dhas. The band's lineup changed over the years, as members left and others took their place. It was thought that they had recorded a single album, Obsession '77 However, since 2011, two LPs have been reissued by Now-Again Records, Obsession, and Disco Roar.

<i>Its Psychedelic Baby! Magazine</i> Slovenian online music magazine

It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine is a Slovenian online music magazine dedicated to psychedelic and progressive music news, band interviews and album reviews. It was founded by Klemen Breznikar in October 2010, and was originally based in Ljubljana; it is currently headquartered in Prebold. The webzine has covered an extensive range of music over the years, from electronic to heavy metal, but generally focuses on psychedelic rock, psychedelic folk, progressive rock, progressive metal, krautrock, art rock, garage rock and space rock.

Autosalvage was an American psychedelic rock band from New York City, who recorded and released one album in 1968.

<i>Experimental Health</i> 2023 studio album by The Telescopes

Experimental Health is the fourteenth studio album by English noise rock band The Telescopes. It was released on February 24, 2023 by Weisskalt Records who also reissued their previous albums Third Wave and #4.

<i>The Technicolour Liquid Audio Machine</i> 2021 studio album by Black Market Karma

The Technicolour Liquid Audio Machine is the ninth studio album by English rock band Black Market Karma. It was released on September 3, 2021, by Flower Power Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weisskalt Records</span> Australian record label

Weisskalt Records, also known by the mononym Weisskalt, is an Australian independent record label founded in 2018 and currently based in Sydney, New South Wales. The label has an international profile with the release of recordings from artists with a worldwide audience such as Tropical Sludge in Australia, La Horsa Bianca in Ukraine, Special Cases in Chile and The Telescopes in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Cases (band)</span>

Special Cases is a band with members of Föllakzoid, Chicos de Nazca and 10 Years Lost, based in Santiago, Chile.

<i>Special Cases</i> (album) 2020 studio album by Special Cases

The eponymously titled Special Cases is the first studio album by Chilean psychedelic rock band Special Cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Burke (musician)</span> Australian psychedelic rock musician

Rick Burke is an Australian psychedelic rock musician, best known as a founding member and songwriter of the instrumental dark heavy psychedelic space rock band Comacozer and his moniker Tropical Sludge for his solo work in electronic music.

References

  1. Breznikar, Klemen. "The Telescopes | Interview | New Album, '#4'". It's Psychedelic, Baby! Magazine.
  2. 1 2 "The Telescopes #4 (Antenna Records)". Discogs.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Telescopes #4 (Weisskalt Records)". Discogs. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  4. "The Telescopes #4". Norman Records.
  5. 1 2 3 "The Telescopes #4 image (Weisskalt Records)". Discogs.
  6. "The Telescopes #4". Clear Spot. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Interview: Stephen Lawrie of The Telescopes". When The Sun HIts.
  8. Breznikar, Klemen. "The Telescopes | Interview with Stephen Lawrie". It's Psychedelic, Baby! Magazine.
  9. Hammond, Andrew. "Part Two of our interview with Stephen Lawrie of The Telescopes". Isolation UK.
  10. Rogatchevski, Ilia. "Meet: The Telescopes". Backseat Mafia.
  11. "#4 by The Telescopes". NME.
  12. Dale, Jon. "The Telescopes – #4 / Auditory Illusions". Dusted Magazine.