Tipi & Sylvester Stallone - Soi vienosti murheeni kryyni / Kootut teokset 1978 [Ektro Records - 2015]The rather bizarrely name Tipi & Sylvester Stallone were a Finish two piece who created a quirky & often weird mix of wonky folk oddness, experimental quirkiness & puzzling spoken word. This two disc CD release on Ektro records ( home of the mighty Circle) collects together a selection of the bands out put from when they were active between the 1970’s & 2008. The two discs come double jewel case, which features a fold out inlay- this takes in pictures of some of the featured releases, a comic strip, and a write up about the project(which sadly all in finish). As all the track listings/ release headings are in finish it’s difficult to figure out if this runs in some kind of chronological order- but I’m guessing it does. So the first disc takes in 17 tracks, and these are all fairly short with a running time between one & nearing three minutes a piece. I guess you could say what we mainly get on this a rather quirky & wonky mix of children’s folk sing songs/ slowed easy listening tunes, which are a mix acoustic guitars, simply electronic drum machine patterns, woozy keyboard backing, and very play-full comic male vocals with sometimes odd backing vocals. With the odd shifts into more off- kilter & silly slurred electronic elements, which I guess have more than a whiff of early/lo-fi Residents about them. The second disc takes in a whooping 37 tracks which are once again fairly short lasting from between under a minute & nearing four. Unlike the first disc, this disc seems to collect together a full series of tracks from a set release, and so in total disc this takes in five releases. And once again we get a mix children focused folk music, off-kilter easy listening, and wonky lo-fi electronics/ beats. But I must say the tracks on this disc are a bit more odd & weird in their feel, with tape loops, stabs of easy listening keys, weird voices, backwards music, odd spoken word interludes, and more been added to the mix. The first disc was pleasant enough in its slight quirkiness, but I must say this second disc is better due to its bigger does of sonic odd-ness, and the pure unpredictability of it all. On the whole I must say this is a great primer of this strange & most certainly cult finish project, which was unknown to me before hearing this comp. It’s just a pity the linear notes couldn’t have been in English, so I could have found out more about the project. So if you are a fan of distinctively quirky & comic music that flits between playful/ child like folk music, wonky easy listening, and sonic experimentation this is well worth a look. Hats off to Ektro for put this comp out, and introducing me to this very distinct & odd two piece. Roger Batty
|