inigo kennedy: vaudeville

From his first EP release in 1996, British producer Inigo Kennedy has built a sound which embraces both the traditional and the ambitious, as well as the emotional, organic energy of live performance. Continuously studying the effects and capability of digital equipment, Kennedy has released in excess of 100 records, either as himself or through alternative monikers (Reducer, Tomito Satori). He has released these records on labels such as Missile, Semantica, and his own Asymmetric. Since 2007, Inigo Kennedy and Belgian label Token Records have had a particularly close and fruitful relationship. Kennedy had three releases on the Ghent-based label in 2013, including the thumping "Emitter" and spiraling epic "Cathedral." Inigo now returns to Token -- and with a project that feels like the culmination of all those years and all those records. In true, theatrical manner, Vaudeville is a collection of differing themes -- from the abstract and freakishly odd to the direct and resonant. And just as the Vaudevillian shares a common purpose with his co-stars as the "voice of the city" ("voix de ville"), there runs through the center of this record a clear narrative for urban experience. "Narrative" presages the mood with a cold wind, before "Birth" emerges with rain on the ground and a helicopter searching in the swirling darkness. "Requiem," next, is more direct, as a warm kick and frenzied timbres interlock; the rumble recalls echoing and unhappy machinery. As one cornerstone of the record, "Plaintive" is Requiem's anxious but happier brother: an organ winds its way down a slope, as soft toms herald the start of reflection on a heroic journey. "Lullaby" has a deep and echo-laden undercurrent, building from afar but also warm and so incredibly close. "Vallecula" is lower-slung still, the atmosphere rough and unpredictable. "Winter" is the rolling patter of rain through clashing snare taps and dragging hi-hats, solid thumps in haunted isolation. "Petrichor" strides like a king through his realm, again wrapped in dank surroundings. "Aleph" is the coolest act, a tremor of synth and an icy kick of determination. It's a race through the streets in sturdy boots, swirling in its certain melody. And at last there is the final cornerstone -- "NGC5128" (a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus). A reflective end, this galactic rumble is late-of-bar heavy, and has a fitting space-synth jagging in and out.