Edward Ka-Spel- Fragments of Illumina

Artist:Edward Ka-Spel
CD Title: Fragments of Illumia
Label: Piehead Records
Reviewer:Matthew Johnson
Date: 10-20-05

Another brilliant solo release from the astoundingly prolific front man of the Legendary Pink Dots, this album sees Edward Ka-Spel at his most eclectic, dabbling with everything from ambient noise to spoken word to the psychedelic industrial pop sound of the Dots themselves throughout five extended tracks. “My Space” starts things off in wistful Dots fashion, with Ka-Spel singing softly over some pleasantly spaced out electronics effects that pan back and forth across the stereo channels. Part One of “The End of Everything” features one of Ka-Spel’s signature surreal spoken word pieces, this time around about the world turning into a potato chip which is then eaten by a scavenger bird, delivered over mellow drones before transforming itself into a frenetic chant over raucous, circus-inspired horn loops. Part Two is noisier and more minimal, an instrumental piece just repetitive enough to be hypnotic but cycling through enough different loops to keep things from getting boring. “Sticks and Stones” is sharper and louder – a little like the Dots’ “Hellsville” – with sampled garage rock loops making this one of the most guitar-heavy rock tunes in Ka-Spel’s solo career, while “Yet Another Fragment” brings things to an end by returning to more ambient territory, with extended analog tones punctuated only by a ticking watch. Another great release in the “Illumina” series, this is great news for Ka-Spel fans, and with the Legendary Pink Dots celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary and Beta-Lactam Ring Records reissuing all the albums from Ka-Spel’s “China Doll” series, it’s a great time for industrial psychedelia.

For more information on the Legendary Pink Dots, Edward Ka-Spel and other related projects, visit www.legendarypinkdots.org and www.terminalkaleidoscope.com.