Project Twinkle (album)

Last updated
Project Twinkle
Project Twinkle (album).jpg
Studio album by
King Cobb Steelie
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1994
Genre Indie rock, jazz fusion
Length59:09
Label Lunamoth
Producer Bill Laswell
King Cobb Steelie chronology
King Cobb Steelie
(1993)		Project Twinkle
(1994)		 Junior Relaxer
(1997)

Project Twinkle is the second album by Canadian alternative rock band King Cobb Steelie, released in 1994. [1] Produced by Bill Laswell, [2] the album moved away from the funk-rock of their 1993 album King Cobb Steelie toward a more groove-oriented sound. [3]

Contents

The band contacted Laswell through mutual acquaintances, following an abortive recording session with Steve Albini. [4]

Reissue

The album was reissued in 2012 on Pheromone Recordings, with a new remix of "Italian Ufology Today" by Mad Professor as a bonus track. [5]

The reissue was promoted with limited live performances at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, and the Stay Out of the Mall Festival in the band's hometown of Guelph. [6]

Response

The album received positive reviews at the time of its release. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star wrote that "A great groove doesn't always require a vocal to go with it, and kudos to this Guelph funk-rock combo for realizing it. Not that the singing of guitarist/vocalist Kevan Byrne is likely to challenge any divas, anyway, but he makes his eccentric voice work for him, and only when the occasion demands - the instrumentals more than carry their own weight. A remarkably strong album," [7] while Derek Weiler of the Waterloo Record wrote that "Project Twinkle sees Guelph's favorite sons continuing to grow in huge strides since their 1991 inception. The new album is sometimes problematic, but still reveals a powerful artistic vision and confirms King Cobb Steelie as the most vital and exciting combo to spring from the region. This time, the group has recruited the dub-friendly name producer Bill Laswell (following some aborted sessions with Steve Albini); Laswell has somehow simultaneously tightened the Steelie sound and enhanced their improvisatory feel. There are few jackhammer riffs like the ones that surfaced on the debut — instead, it's all bass- heavy grooves, subtle guitar fills, and complex layers of percussion." [1]

For AllMusic, Sean Carruthers rated the album 4.5 stars, writing that "the album shows the band leaning less toward jagged punk stylings and more toward sinewy, atmospheric dub. Sometimes the vocals disappear completely while the band lays into a groove, but this is not altogether a bad thing. Although "Triple Oceanic Experience" was nearly a hit single, the album's centerpiece is the nine-and-a-half-minute "80% Knockout," which brings together all of the band's influences in a beautifully sparse package." [8]

The album received a Juno Award nomination for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 1995. [9]

Over time, however, the album developed a reputation for being one of the weaker ones in the band's catalogue, with even the band themselves sometimes characterizing it as a rush job. [10] At the time of the 2012 reissue, however, Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star wrote that "The tide of the times has lately cycled hipsterdom back around to sounds that orbit in the vicinity of the nifty stuff these stylistically omnivorous Guelph groove-rockers and highfalutin' producer Bill Laswell got up to together on Twinkle, but King Cobb Steelie remains a one-of-a-kind deal. Even the bits of Project Twinkle that could be accused of dating a bit - the elongated, scritchy-scratchy funk-punk throwdowns "Triple Oceanic Experience" and "The Pollinator," for instance - arguably hold up better than similar-sounding stuff from the period by, say, the Red Hot Chili Peppers or I Mother Earth." [6] Michael Barclay of the Guelph Mercury wrote that "Project Twinkle is obviously a transition album: they're audibly moving away from some of the grungy elements that defined their best rock songs, and into more exploratory territory....KCS were - and are - the rare rock band who could incorporate heavy funk grooves without coming off like the Red Hot Chili Peppers; indeed, nothing they ever tried - except maybe the occasional turntable scratch or awkward rapid-fire rap - sounded like genre tourism. This was - is - a group of musically ravenous men who translate all their influences into a unique language." [10]

Track listing

  1. "Slump" (3:41)
  2. "Triple Oceanic Experience" (4:10)
  3. "Maynard" (4:04)
  4. "Italian Ufology Today" (5:58)
  5. "Gamblore/All Flights Go to Moscow" (5:39)
  6. "The Pollinator" (5:09)
  7. "80% Knockout" (9:25)
  8. "Lunar Rotisserie" (8:10)
  9. "Mano Ponderosa" (4:28)
  10. "Technique" (8:20)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Laswell</span> American musician (born 1955)

William Otis Laswell is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet</span> Canadian rock band

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best known for the track "Having an Average Weekend", of which an alternate version was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall. Although commonly classified as a surf rock band they rejected the label, going so far as to release a track called "We're Not a Fucking Surf Band", although they also later released a compilation box set titled Oh, I Guess We Were a Fucking Surf Band After All.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantines</span> Canadian indie rock band

Constantines is an indie rock band from Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Praxis is the name of an experimental rock project, led by producer/bassist Bill Laswell and featuring guitarist Buckethead and drummer Brain in nearly every incarnation of the band.

King Cobb Steelie is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1991 from Guelph, Ontario, and later based in Toronto. The band's most successful single was 1997's "Rational", from the album Junior Relaxer. Their music fuses elements of punk, grunge, funk, jazz and dance. The core of the band is singer/songwriter Kevan Byrne and bassist Kevin Lynn. A variety of other collaborators, including Sam Cino, Al Okada, Gary Dutch, Geoff Walton, Steve Clarkson, Mike Armstrong, Nathan Lawr, Don Pyle and Michelle McAdorey, have contributed to individual albums.

Change of Heart was a Canadian alternative rock band, active from 1982 to 1997. They had one Top 40 hit, "There You Go" in 1992, as well as several hits on Canada's modern rock charts, including "Trigger" and "Little Kingdoms".

The Super Friendz are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were initially active between 1994 and 1997, before reforming in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Inbreds</span> Canadian alternative rock band

The Inbreds were a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 1992. Originally from Kingston, Ontario, the band relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1996 and remained based there until breaking up in 1998. The band was a duo, consisting of vocalist/bassist Mike O'Neill and drummer Dave Ullrich.

Don Pyle is a Canadian record producer and musician, who has also been a member of multiple bands. Pyle is openly gay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrush Hermit</span> 1990s alt-rock band from Halifax, Canada

Thrush Hermit was a Canadian alternative rock band active in the 1990s, known for their "highly energetic, humorous, and unpredictable performances," as quoted by Vice News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wintersleep</span> Canadian rock band

Wintersleep is a Canadian indie rock band formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2001. The band's original lineup consisted of vocalist and guitarist Paul Murphy, guitarist and keyboardist Tim d'Eon, and drummer Loel Campbell. In 2002, Jud Haynes joined the band as bass guitarist until 2007. In 2005, Mike Bigelow joined on keyboards until 2006, after which he played bass, until 2016. Since 2006, Jon Samuel has served as a backing vocalist, keyboardist, and guitarist, while Chris Bell has served as a backing vocalist and bass guitarist since 2016. Bigelow returned to the band in 2021. In 2005, Wintersleep opened for Pearl Jam for two shows in St. John's, Newfoundland at the Mile One Stadium. The band received a Juno Award in 2008. To date, Wintersleep have released seven studio albums.

The Juno Awards of 1995, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 26 March 1995 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Mary Walsh, Rick Mercer and other regulars of the television series This Hour Has 22 Minutes were the hosts for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on CBC Television. Almost 10,000 people were in attendance, and over 6,500 public tickets were sold.

Raw Energy Records was a Canadian independent record label, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The music label was established in the late 1980s by founder entrepreneur and music journalist Graeme Boyce, initially to distribute the debut EP by King Apparatus, Loud Party. Prior to launching Raw Energy, Boyce was a staff writer for RPM.

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

Minisystem is a Canadian solo electronic musician and molecular biologist based in Toronto, Ontario. His music is produced almost entirely with analog synthesizers and drum machines. His debut album, Madingley, was released in 2006 on Toronto's Noise Factory Records. Minisystem is often defined in contrast to Intelligent dance music and glitch. Combining simple drum sounds from the Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines arranged in a dance progression with melodic and warm tones from a variety of vintage analog synthesizers, Minisystem has been compared to Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk. His music has been described as "synth-pop".

Birth Through Knowledge were a Canadian rap rock band best known for their 1998 single "Peppyrock." Core members of the group were DJs Stone Groove and Lo-Ki.

<i>Junior Relaxer</i> 1997 studio album by King Cobb Steelie

Junior Relaxer is the third album by Canadian alternative rock band King Cobb Steelie, released in 1997. The album's main single "Rational", a tribute to Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was the band's biggest hit.

<i>Mayday</i> (King Cobb Steelie album) 2000 studio album by King Cobb Steelie

Mayday is the fourth studio album by Canadian alternative rock band King Cobb Steelie, released in 2000 on Outside Music.

Jason Wilson is a Canadian historian and reggae musician from North York, Ontario, Canada. He is the protégé of Studio One keyboardist Jackie Mittoo and the cousin of UB40's Michael Virtue. Though they never met, Scottish-born American songwriter Johnny Cymbal is Wilson's first cousin, once removed. Known for incorporating jazz and Scottish influences atop a reggae foundation, Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist, though is perhaps best known for his piano skills. The singer-songwriter has also performed and recorded with UB40, Sly & Robbie, Alanis Morissette, Ernest Ranglin, Pee Wee Ellis, Dave Swarbrick, Ron Sexsmith, The Mighty Sparrow, Percy Sledge, Brinsley Forde (Aswad), Dick Gaughan, David Francey, Brownman Ali.

<i>Rhythm Killers</i> 1987 studio album by Sly and Robbie

Rhythm Killers is an album by Jamaican musical duo Sly and Robbie, released in May 1987 by Island Records. By the time of the album's recording, Sly and Robbie had transitioned away from their prolific work in the reggae genre. They spent the 1980s experimenting with electronic sounds and contemporary recording technology on international, cross-genre endeavors, which influenced their direction for Rhythm Killers.

SATE is the stage name of Saidah Baba Talibah, a Canadian rock singer from Toronto, Ontario. Her 2021 album The Fool was named a Juno Award nominee for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 Derek Weiler, "King Cobb Steelie endures". Waterloo Region Record , November 10, 1994.
  2. ↑ Bernie Sadilek, "Indie vibe: King Cobb Steelie built from musicianship uneasy to slot". Waterloo Region Record , September 8, 1994.
  3. ↑ Brooker Buckingham, "King Cobb Steelie: A band with no attitude". Calgary Herald , October 12, 1994.
  4. ↑ Nick Krewen, "King Cobb Steelie flies". Hamilton Spectator , November 10, 1994.
  5. ↑ Alex Hudson, "King Cobb Steelie to Perform 'Project Twinkle' in Full on Canadian Dates". Exclaim! , November 20, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Ben Rayner, "Ben Rayner's reasons to live". Toronto Star , November 25, 2012.
  7. ↑ Peter Howell, "King Cobb Steelie: Project Twinkle". Toronto Star , October 8, 1994.
  8. ↑ Sean Carruthers, "Project Twinkle — King Cobb Steelie". AllMusic .
  9. ↑ "Juno nominations". Hamilton Spectator , February 9, 1995.
  10. 1 2 Michael Barclay, "King Cobb Steelie remains current". Guelph Mercury , December 13, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.