Album: Capitol K

Nomad Junk, Faith & Industry

Kristian Craig Robinson, aka Capitol K, has been getting out and about, which is always a good idea for those whose solo sonic tinkerings usually confine them for months to the airless, sunless environs of the studio. Robinson's cut'n'paste collages here have been largely assembled from sounds and recordings accumulated on a trip to the Far East - indeed, the track "Hong Kong" was montaged from local records, public announcements and field recordings gleaned during a stop-over. The resulting melange of beats, Chinese rap vocal, koto melody, flute and videogame noises is as brash and glittering as the place itself. Elsewhere, "Kowloon" is a recording of market stall toys, "The Slow Ones" features a murmured story recited over chirpy techno-pop, and "Taipei" offers a discordant blend of sounds in Beta Band style. On "Pan Continental", Robinson edits together live material with studio samples and flamenco guitar that signposts another of his locations, "Barcelona". This is one of a batch of pieces with which Robinson concludes the album in an assured Krautrock style, building up dense layers of guitars and keyboards into churning neo-psychedelic grooves in the manner of Neu! and Can. File alongside Manitoba/ Caribou.