We love a mystery, and luckily Byron Christoloudou (Felt Collective, Golders Green) does too. From the sound of his introduction, Byron was simply trolling Soundcloud one day when he came across a lonely, beguiling setlist of “awesomely weird tunes” with virtually no followers. After tracking down the artist (Quinn from Korea), he proposed a collaboration. Now Software Wolf has a label, Byron has a new friend, and we all have a fun EP plus an awesomely weird video (embedded at the bottom of this page).
Christoloudou could be pulling our collective leg ~ it’s a pretty strange story ~ but the music is highly original and would have drawn our attention in a similar way, had we been surfing the net looking for surprises. Those who enjoyed the Golders Green and Night Shift albums from earlier this year will likely enjoy this one. It sounds like it’s been recorded to ferric tape, and it has ~ if there’s any such thing as a “crisp static hiss”, this release has it in spades. Atop this integrated sound lies a frequent foreground hiss, white noise used alternatively as texture and percussion. Beats are present as well; while one probably wouldn’t want to dance to “Killers hide in curfews”, it wouldn’t be out of the question. And the dark Miasmah sound makes its appearance from time to time, washing out the chords in a dangerous fountain of bliss. Spit & Image‘s willingness to wander far afield is its primary draw; one isn’t quite sure what’s coming next. The artist withdraws from extreme abrasion only at the last second, inviting listeners to enter far into his sonic cave.
Often we find songs within songs: “500 cows sunshine” changes horses in the middle of the stream. It’s as if Software Wolf can’t always decide which idea to share, or for how long. Fortunately, this means that no pattern or melody exhausts its welcome. In fact, the opposite is the case; one feels a compulsion to repeat tracks before the EP is over. This is the sign of an artist worth note, who might have remained in obscurity before happy circumstance kicked in. Sometimes we discover great new music by accident; now we have the chance to discover someone’s else’s discovery. (Richard Allen)
Software Wolf / Spit & Image EP from Felt on Vimeo.
a closer listen 