Back At The Facility

More from the wider Weatherall connected world and some fine oompty- bumpty disco music to end the week. The Woodleigh Research Facility dates back to 2015, Andrew Weatherall and Nina Walsh creating an album The Phoenix Suburb (And Other Stories) in their recording facility in deepest south London, a collection of long tracks that find their own weird space somewhere between dub and deep house/ disco. In 2018 the very limited, vinyl only, 127 To Facility 4 album saw the light of day being sold from the back of a truck, each with it's own hand crafted sleeve, ten shorter slices of minimal, dystopic modern techno. It was followed in 2020 by a series of monthly emissions from Facility 4, twelve EPs of three tracks. 

Last week Nina released Apparently Solo, three tracks from the vaults and the W.R.F. sound library (much of which is samples made up from recordings from Nina's late partner Erick Legrand. His guitar is on this newest release). Lead track Shlap is a homage to the Detroit techno of London's late 80s clubs, a sound that is part of the W.R.F. DNA, the drum machine crunching away as only a 303 can. Crack- Ed follows, bouncing rhythms, springs and whirrs, and a bubbling bassline that can be felt as well as heard. Crack-Ed is also, in title, a response to the streets and environment outside Facility 4.

The third track on Apparently Solo is Mistress Ploppy, a Black Adder reference- you can't go wrong with Black Adder can you? Half the proceeds from Apparently Solo will go to Shelter, one of  Andrew's chosen charities. One of the W.R.F. monthly releases in 2020 contained Somnium, an elegiac recording with guitar, viola and eventually those familiar chuggy WRF drums. 

Somnium was originally a tribute to Droog, Nina's faithful dog. A different version of Somnium, Goodnight Sweet Droog, can be heard at Nina's Bandcamp page, a lush and affecting piece of music, part of a three track EP celebrating the life of her canine friend. 

11:11

A couple of weeks ago Nina Walsh announced the release of a second album by the late Erick Legrand (following 2017's Second Machine From The Sun). The new release, a fifteen track album titled 11:11 is available at Bandcamp and well worth the £8 being asked for it.

The songs, largely instrumentals, take in a variety of styles from the dramatic rat-a-tat drumming, woodwind and horns of opener Last Tango to the twangy guitars stomp and theremin sounds of Nina Is Camping, from the jazzy, 60s thriller vines of Killing Moi, the Hawaiian guitars of Doing It to the dub techno of Mekanik to the filmic, Motorik chug of album closer Mad. It all hangs together really well, sounding like one piece of work, the soundtrack to a film that doesn't exist (to use the classic interview quote of the mid-90s electronic artist). Highly recommended.



I don't know much about Erick- the Bandcamp page for this album describes him as 'a turbulent creative force' and gives a selective timeline of his solo work, starting as head barman at the Camden Falcon between 1989 and 1991 to recording with Headcleaner and running the recording studio Bedlam in the 90s. In 2007 he produced an album for Nina Walsh (from the dates I think this must be her folky Bright Lights And Filthy Nights album) before recording solo compositions between 2009 and 2011. He claimed to be 'one of the most sacked drummers in London'. Martin Willis from Headcleaner wrote a tribute to Erick to accompany the first set of solo recordings which you can find here. Other than that I don't have much to go off but give over part of your day or this evening to 11:11 and you'll find that the music speaks for itself.

Second Machine From The Sun

I had scores of these science fiction novels as a kid in the late 70s and 80s. The Bruce Pennington art on the covers seemed overblown and semi-ridiculous then, as a kid, and more so now but they have a kitsch value I quite like again now. Retro-futurism.

Andrew Weatherall and Nina Walsh are currently encouraging us to listen to Erick Legrand. Legrand has been a big influence on the sound of the Woodleigh Research Facility. Erick died in 2011 and I don't know too much about him but his album Second Machine From The Sun (which really needs a Bruce Pennington cover like those above) is on Bandcamp and may be about to get a vinyl release. The cd/download can be yours for £7.00. It's in an electronic, soundtrack, film music area and worth giving some ear time too.