Chelsea Records has obtained the exclusive British rights to this important album. Link Bekka..s first foray into the poetry of politics sees his European sense and sensibilities smash headlong into the American wall of independance. Macdonalds and the Mighty Dollar meet their maker in the mysteriously mesmerizing ..Pittsburg Warhola... Uneasy-listening for the burger generation? President Bush Snr told his corpulent folk, "We should be proud of nuclear war!" Here in Europe Link Bekka asks, "Why!" Capitalism -- consumerism (dictionary definition of consume: to destroy/to squander/to waste or burn away) its all here. We all want more. Listen to this album and you..ll want more of Link Bekka.
Ron Cooper/Zabadak: "That CD is now beginning to grow on me - good. Don't know where you get all the energy to do all of this. It is great that you are tackling something completely different. I was a bit shocked at first but now think it great."
Now read the Zabadak review of this remarkable album!
LINK BEKKA 'Pittsburgh Warhola'
Chelsea Records CRCD 300110 (CD) (51m36s) (UK) 2003
Available from the same address as 'Tattoo', but this is a strange one. Essentially, it's more of a set of poems / lyrics spoken against an electronic background. Some of it is instrumental, but really it's the words that grab the attention. Musically the influences include latter-day Tangerine Dream (there might even be some samples of their work included) with flashes of techno thrown in for good measure. Lyrically the theme is a kind of examination of the dark underbelly of American life, perhaps the sort of album David Lynch might make if he were so inclined. "Where people meet to exchange paradise in a plastic bag", as one line puts it. The whole thing is perhaps more unsettling than the above suggests, for the voice is strangely distorted, in line with the skewed American vision conjured up by the whole album. Images of deserted gas stations, broken call boxes and open space come to mind. The lyrics on the insert have every S and N inverted, so reading the words becomes as disturbing as listening to the voice, intoned rather like a futuristic android on drugs.
The U.S. anthem sets the theme. The words of the opening track "every cloud has a poisoned lining. Gimme gimme gimme Benzadrine", sets the scene for much of what follows. Like some dark film noir, 'Television' sounds like a voice over from a forgotten Bogart movie, set against doomy synths and occasional electronic riffing. Jazzy piano and tom toms follow the dark, creepily intoned story. 'Space' has samples from Apollo 8. "This is a journey into sound", says one of the samples, introducing 'Cocaine', which turns out to be rather sparse, with rumbling bass, jazzy brass and electronics. Perhaps the most effective track is 'Vietnam', with its chilling cry of "you should be proud of nuclear war!" opening into some fine poetry. "Give me one thousand silver bullets / Give me a rifle forged in your spinning heaven", and many other fine lines. Some surprisingly gentle acoustic guitar follows this - just when you expect something heavy - before settling into an almost orthodox rock groove.
The other stand out track is 'Chappaquiddik', which manages to string together a century of American icons in just a few lines, and very cleverly too: "Holly flew to Paradise / Elvis popped a pill. Valentino danced on a flowery grave / While Zelda led Fitzgerald over the hill." Mention of Fitzgerald gives a clue to who Link Bekka is, and why he has twisted and distorted his voice beyond recognition. For it is, as you might have guessed given the Chelsea Records logo, Peter Daltrey, whose talents never cease to amaze me. Come to think of it, Kaleidoscope were always changing their name, and were not above recording under a pseudonym (remember I Luv Wight?) but their music remained essentially the same. Here, clearly, 'Pittsburg Warhola' is light years away from Peter's usual style and it does provide an often chilling and creepy listen. For Peter Daltrey fans it's essential, if only for a glimpse of his darker side.
Steve Douglas
(ZAB: Seemingly also influenced by the Future Sounds Of London [See Zab14 p.28], though Peter Daltrey claims never to have heard their music, this is a breathtaking & energetic electronic ambient trip through the darker side of mankind, with the spotlight on the recent legends & lifestyle of the USA. We have no hesitation in recommending 'Pittsburg Warhola' as it is quite brilliant. As Steve says the talents of Peter Daltrey never ceases to amaze, and here at the fab Zab we always admire musicians/artists willing to take risks, to experiment & to do something completely different.)
ALSO AVAILABLE:
THE MADNESS OF KING BEKKA
Chelsea Records CDCR 707010
The aptly named follow up. The beat goes on.
SAHARAVILLE
Chelsea Records CDCR 709010
Sublime and mysterious.
JACKS TOWN
Chelsea Records CDCR 809010
THE NEW CD!
An emotional journey into the very heart of Jacks Town
Bekkas best...?
FRACTURED
Chelsea Records CDCR 09010
THE FIFTH CD!
Into the new soundscape
CDs: UK/Europe/World send £7.00 Sterling cash or 10 Euros or 15 US Dollars or UK bank cheque; ( Sorry, no IMOs or Eurocheques accepted)
** or Paypal transfer of £7 Sterling to chelsearecords@madasafish.com **
Chelsea Records, Chelsea House, Walden Lodge, Devizes,
Wiltshire UK SN10 5BU
Con molto piacere, ti accogliamo tra' i nostri amici!!!!. Quello che noi crediamo, e' quello che credi anche tu!!! LA MUSICA E' CULTURA!!!! LA CULTURA E' ANCHE MUSICA!!! VIVA LA MUSICA.....VIVA LA CULTURA!!! A presto JJAMP www.joeandjoe.co.uk www.2bfunk.com
