champion version editions – edition 1

Don’t know about you, but I can’t recall Rothko being readily noted for their apocalyptic symphonia, so as you can imagine it was something of an eye-opening slap to the chops to sit jaw agape through ‘sometimes you just know’. Part of a four track / four band outing through Champion Version, these cuts come recorded from last year’s label event, an intimate gathering of close friends featuring appearances by Yellow6, machinefabriek, Rothko of course and a rare trip out for Darkroom. As said Rothko’s almost spiritual happening is an immense masterclass in quiet euphoria, which leads us neatly to Yellow6, a man who for the last twenty years has proven himself to be well versed in all the sonic foibles of quiet euphoria, crafting the epic from the minimal and the tender from the tortured. ‘Tuesday Strange’ doesn’t buck the formula, a darker and more involved offering that’s stilled in a ghostly intimacy, sounding not unlike, unless I’m sorely mistaken, like some eerily atmospheric greeting call for some hitherto melodic magic potion concocted by Paul Roland. As to Darkroom, truth be told our favourite of the quartet, ‘holding on to the sun’ is one of those special moments you’d have expected to ghost flight into the spectral stillness of the night time airwaves of Radio 3’s ‘Mixing It’ broadcast and in to the bargain causing a fevered debate as to its merits by hosts Sandall and Russell. Bringing up the rear on this excellent outing, something a tad ominous from the very excellent machinefabriek, which admittedly once over its initial shadow lining soon shifts perspective towards the light moreover beyond the veil flavoured by a minimalist mosaic tripped in micro detailing and the delicate dimpling of choral whispers.  https://championversioneditions.bandcamp.com/album/edition-1