I was introduced to The Caretaker (one of various projects of British electronic musician James Kirby) by friend and fellow internet clogger, I mean "blogger," Frank (also know as Frankie Teardrop in some circles). He has the fantastic habit of finding the most interesting things to dump on the back of my head like a nail-studded baseball bat, and The Caretaker is one of those things.Our instant messenger conversation, regarding The Caretaker's prior release A Stairway to the Stars, went thusly:
[23:34] me: whoa
[23:34] me: this
[23:34] me: this is right up my alley
[23:34] Frank: yeah dude
[23:34] Frank: what track?
[23:34] me: "cloudy since you went away"
[23:34] Frank: that's my favorite.
[23:34] Frank: i knew you'd love it.
[23:36] me: like picking up alien transmissions from ages ago; i can imagine the greys listening to something like this millenia in the future out past the milky way
[23:36] Frank: well put!
I suppose you could say The Caretaker made a reasonable impression on me from the moment I was introduced to his music. A Stairway to the Stars even inspired a poem out of me (I'm not posting it here, so don't ask). This year's release under the name of The Caretaker is titled Persistent Repetition of Phrases and is released on the Install label rather than V/Vm Test Records like most other Caretaker releases.
Now, I've always found the notion of reviewing an ambient album somewhat bizarre. What can you say about such music, either as an album or a genre? It set the atmosphere very nicely? Ambient was never really my thing, so perhaps I've been missing something from the beginning.
The Caretaker is not your average ambient musician though. For those not previously introduced, Kirby takes old recordings from the 1920s and 30s and samples, mixes, layers, etc. to create his material. The result is an often eerie and unsettling echo of previous eras, as though a group of ghosts had taken your to a jazz club or out ballroom dancing.
Persistent Repetition of Phrases follows the same style as previous releases. I presume the "repetition" in the title comes from the fact that many particular movements are recycled over and over again in a track, a different sample per track, throughout the nine tracks of the album. However, this only adds to the spectral atmosphere of the album. Echoes from beyond and all that. Quite unsettling in some ways, but overall, exquisitely beautiful. Many of the sounds are muddled together in such a way as to create a mood of drifting off into that other time.
My favorite track is most likely "False Memory Syndrome," but that's not saying much considering that all of The Caretaker's songs are so washed-out sweeping you away and tend to take the listener's attention with them. For a few moments, I had wondered why Kirby seemed so obsessed with the notions of memory and amnesia in some of his prior works; now I know.
Of course, some critics will be so inclined as to say, "You paid fifteen bucks for a disc full of static?" And I will reply, "Yes, yes I did." Because the static crackle that runs through just about every track is part of the effect, the composition, setting the feeling that what we are listening to is, in some way, very old. This will no doubt drive some listeners up a wall, but I love it and recommend it highly.
The digipak seems like it wasn't quite cut evening, but there's not much to be done about that. I love the cover painting by Guy Denning. Dark, inky, all the colors and shades I love and a nice match to The Caretaker's music. (See this painting and find out more about Guy Denning at his website.)
Personally, I enjoyed A Stairway to the Stars more, but this is equally worth listening to and acquiring. Unfortunately, Persistent Repetition of Phrases is one of the few releases from The Caretaker that isn't available for free download. To put the icing on that particular and peculiar cake, Persistent Repetition of Phrases is also a limited pressing of 500 copies, so if there is any doubt as to whether you might not love it to death, just get it anyway. The bizarre echoes and floating tones and omnipresent static crackle will surely impress friends and loved ones (or at least convince them you're somewhat loonier than they thought). This is amazing material, and well worth the price you pay.
For those curious or skeptical, I can't push enough the fact that many of The Caretaker's albums are free to download (or you can purchase CD on all and vinyl for a select few), so you really have no excuse to not give his at least some of his efforts at least a passing glance.
The Caretaker at myspace and online
