EDWARD KA-SPEL
Permission To Leave The Temple
(Lumberton Trading Company)
Edward Ka-Spel is a national treasure.
Having ploughed a very unique musical furrow from the early 80's with the Legendary Pink Dots - freshly returned from an extensive North American and European tour to promote their excellent 'The Museum of Human Happiness' album - there have been numerous and regular musical diversions along the way.
Ka-Spel's work includes side projects such as The Tear Garden with Kevin Key from Skinny Puppy, collaborations with Amanda Palmer, Motion Kapture and others.
It is perhaps in his solo works and performances too numerous to list (though the Tanith and the Lion Tree album is a good place to start) that Edward Ka-Spel's vision truly shines the brightest. Unrestricted even by the constraints, if you can call them that, of the Legendary Pink Dots (who these days are tantamount to Ed plus a backing band in any case), it's only with his solo output, considerable though it is, that you get to appreciate in its purest form the true genius of the man and fume at the scandal of him not being more famous than Elvis.
The spoken, whispered, and sing song nightmares within nursery rhymes that make up the lyrical contents, accompanied by carefully constructed and delicately off the wall electronic compositions defy categorisation or comparison. They are simply Edward Ka-Spel and that's the only and best descriptor.
In some ways a 10" is his perfect medium. The length of a poem each side, there is just enough time for the stories to unfold before they evaporate, leaving a tantalising silence in their place. Permission To Leave The Temple is another essential piece of the neverending jigsaw that exists only in his imagination, comprising five short tracks that leave you wanting, no, NEEDING more.
Permission granted. You may leave the Temple but you will be back.
Essential Info
Main Image: Edward Ka-Spel by Marjolein van Elteren
