Andy Votel - One Nation Under A Grave

Getting down just for the psych-fuzz- bongo-mystic-fuzz of it

Another in the line of well-worth-your- brainpower mix CDs that include Music To Watch Girls Cry and Songs In The Key Of Death, One Nation Under A Grave is a headlong rush into Votel’s mind and global record collection.

A zillion sounds a minute, for over an hour, this would probably send most people mad just thinking about it. It’s all the more remarkable, then, that Votel has intertwined Turkish, Spanish, Polish and so on madness into one electro-fuzz wig out fit for the dancefloor. Beefheart by way of South America, Eastern European blues-rock, more Welsh psych – the known Votel hallmarks are all here. What’s refreshing is the complete lack of anything remotely American soul, funk or hip-hop. When even the best DJs are at a point of here’s-a-little-story-that-must- be-told self-devouring, we can assume from this that Votel’s got so much more in store for Finders Keepers that this disc alone holds the seeds to about three years’ worth of releases.

“The pressing and trimming of a vinyl record takes just 28 seconds,” a spoken-word sample reminds us, “but it’s sure to get hours of play by enthusiasts who refuse to buy into the digital revolution.” Thankfully, it’s also being shared with those who don’t.

Fat City | FCCD 025

Reviewed by Jason Draper
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