Bleep

Press Release

‘Was It Ever Real?’ is the latest release from Drew Daniel, the brilliant mind behind The Soft Pink Truth and one half of the iconic experimental electronic duo Matmos. Features a cover of Coil’s immortal queer classic, ‘The Anal Staircase’, reinterpreted here with slinky hi-hats, a horn section and psychedelic vocal treatments. The closing title track is a slow-burning post-soul instrumental number with twanging lead guitar from Acetone’s Mark Lightcap and harpsichord by Tom Boram. The entire mini album moves the listener across the genres of disco, minimalism, ambient and jazz, sliding on and off the dancefloor. Crossfading from hedonism to reverie as it remembers past pleasures and imagines a future yet to come, the EP is also a noticeably social affair, with guest contributions from Matmos’ M.C. Schmidt, Daniel Clarke, Id M Theft Able, Rose E. Kross, Tripp Trapp Trull, Koye Berry and Andrew Bernstein (Horse Lords). The resulting music is not retro kitsch but pays homage to highly personal interpretations of disco such as Arthur Russell, Don Ray, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band and Mandré, or the jazz funk of Creed Taylor and CTI Records. The CD features artwork by Robert Beatty (Oneohtrix Point Never, The Weeknd, The Flaming Lips).