Both Ekoplekz and Bass Clef have been flying the flag high for UK analogue electronics for a while now, and they’ve joined forces to release a collaborative cassette Tapeswap under the squashed moniker Ekoclef. It’s due for release through Bass Clef’s own Magic+Dreams label on October 11th.
According to the label, Tapeswap "was recorded using the severely obsolete process of tape-swapping. Since both artists use similar four-track cassette recorders it was fairly simple. Well, apart from having to entrust the tapes to the semi-occult vagaries of the Royal Mail postal system….
"First Eko recorded a whole length of tape (about 23 minutes), using one channel only. The tape was sent to Clef who added sounds onto the second channel. Then the whole process was continued until all four channels were filled. At the same time a second tape started by Clef was going in the opposite direction. When the two tapes were full, the album was finished. No computer, no endless tweaking, no fighting about which take was best or who should do the guitar solo."
They’ve revealed only 47 seconds so far, in this teaser clip:
Bass Clef has released a couple of other great records this year on Magic+Dreams, including the incandescent rave throwback Inner Space Break Free, which we reviewed here
. And Ekoplekz’s Memowrekz cassette for Mordant Music has been one of this year’s most intriguing and enjoyable curios so far, nearly two hours of fizzing experimental dub that veers from melodic to unnervingly abrasive. He’s just released an excellent new full length through Punch Drunk, Intrusive Incidentalz Vol. 1, which turns up the dial marked ‘dark & dystopian’ – it’s harsh, spooky, and reveals more with each listen.
Given their shared pedigrees, expect Ekoclef to be just as worthy of careful investigation.
