We do like to uncover the gems and sometimes you can find them where you are least expecting. Several years ago, before all the buzz surrounding Fontaines D.C. and such, Ireland was not generally considered to be a hotbed of activity or breeding ground for “the next big thing”. However, all of that has been turned on its head over the past few years and, along with that so are we discovering that there are numerous bands playing great music in genres you’d never traditionally associated with the country.
Electronica is perhaps the foremost area you wouldn’t have suspected as a rich area. Or maybe it’s not (please do let us know). But one thing is for sure – Ireland has produced two sons who, together (and also separately for that matter) are on the cutting edge and, this time around, it’s in that electric zone we know as EDM / dance music, albeit with a fun alternative twist.
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Who are these masked men, you may ask? None other than d duo known as Telefís, with a sound recalling elements of such artists as Moloko, Metronomy, LCD Soundsystem and Talking Heads. Fertile ground indeed. This is a duo, made up of producer extraordinaire Garret “Jacknife” Lee (U2, R.E.M., Modest Mouse, The Cars, The Killers, Snow Patrol, Crystal Castles, Editors, Taylor Swift) and long-time alt-rock maverickCathal Coughlan (Microdisney, The Fatima Mansions), whose then-nervous and unpredictable stage presence apparently even had David Bowie on guard during their involvement in the whole Live Aid concert effort back in the day. How many folks can say that about themselves? Pretty damn cool. We also recall that, earlier this year, Coughlan returned after a 10-year absence with a highly acclaimed solo album ‘Song Of Co-Aklan’.
Telefís has released the ‘Mister Imperator’ EP, along with a new video for ‘Mister Imperator (Dub Mix)’, via Undertones-backed Dimple Discs. These awesome sonic shenanigans all point to the duo’s release of the duo’s debut ‘a hAon’ (Number One) on February 11. This highly unique 13-track album is part celebration, part satire. The second single from the forthcoming album, ‘Mister Imperator’ is a deliciously retro-electro affair that loosely recounts the tale of a beloved pianist, who was a light entertainment staple of early TV fare dating back to the first broadcasts in The Irish Republic in 1961.
Telefís explores nostalgia, as experienced in the present day, by natives of what was formerly a culturally sealed-off small country on the very fringes of Europe. It also points a critical finger at today’s global hierarchies, an inspiration for the strange characters and caricatures that spring from Coughlan’s fertile imagination. Stark forms of imagery, bizarre to the modern eye and ear but treated as routine in the pre-globalization world, are pushed at the listener and viewer.
Jacknife went on record, saying the following:
“I’d just finished mangling a Luke Haines and Peter Buck record. Luke knows Cathal and re-introduced us. On the first or second correspondence we thought we should make some music together. Music is probably the only way I can properly communicate with someone. I sent Cathal the backing track that would become ‘We Need’ and he sent me back the vocal and we went back and forth from there. Lockdowns and travel restrictions forced us to work remotely, and I think helped us get to where we got so quickly. Cathal is, without doubt, one of the finest lyricists of our time and writes like no one else. Some of the vocals he sent over made me burst out laughing with giddiness and delight at the novelty of them. Mischievous, dark, arcane, crispy fresh, and always unexpected. Every song with a backstory that could be a novel. This is easily the most enjoyable and rewarding music that I’ve been involved with”.
With Jacknife now based in Los Angeles and Cathal based in London, the two spent 2020 trading ideas and musical files during lockdown, hatching plans for a satirical, mischievous examination of Irish history and the pop culture of their lifetimes, what the two have labelled “a corrosive nostalgia”.
On the musical side, Jacknife Lee uses his extensive sonic palette to create an irresistible mix of cinematic instrumentals and electro-funk backdrops full of melodic, squelchy synths and thunderous bass-lines, often with a cheeky nod to electro-pop history. He has also created remixes for such artists as Radiohead, U2, Blur, Run-DMC, Pink, Future Sound of London, Christina Aguilera, TLC, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, The Raveonettes, Kraftwerk, New Order and Kasabian.
‘Mister Imperator (Dub Mix)’ is out everywhere digitally, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where the full ‘Mister Imperator’ EP is also available. On February 11, the ‘a hAon’ LP will be released on CD and vinyl (both with a two-sided lyric sheet insert) with physical pre-order at https://ffm.to/telefisahaon and the digital release athttps://orcd.co/telefisahaon.
ALBUM CREDITS
All tracks written by Cathal Coughlan and Jacknife Lee except “Archbishop Beardmouth At The ChemOlympics” and “There Goes Waterface” co-written by Davide Rossi
Extra vocals on “Sex Bunting” by Melissa Garner Lee, on “Ballytransnational” by Esme Lee, on “Mister Imperator” by Betsey Lee
Drums on “Ballytransnational” by Matt Bishop
Strings on “Stampede” by Davide Rossi
Horns on “Picadors” by Jordan Katz
Extra production on “Archbishop Beardmouth At The ChemOlympics” and “There Goes Waterface” by Davide Rossi
Mastered by Anthony Chapman
Artwork by Jacknife Lee
Published by Besme Music / Schubert Music
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