Review: Transmission Towers - Crooked Transmissions (É Soul Cultura)

This album starts with the chant of "Well I'm back" and never a truer word said for this "new" album on Luke Una's transmissive label, É Soul Cultura.

So we've had the original album (see review HERE) and then the single 'My Shadow' (Crooked Shade) / 'Mega' (Crooked) (see review HERE) and here's the full album version by Crooked!

The album starts with 'Mega' but it's 'Up' that gets us engrossed with its dub/version/remix style of 'Part 2'.  

Crooked Man (aka Richard Barratt) has got some Perry/Sherwood/Weatherall influences to draw upon and much more as his credits range from Róisín Murphy's 'Róisín Machine' (and 'Crooked Machine') to remixing Escort's 'Cocaine Blues' and working with the late Richard H. Kirk.

So Crooked Man has got form in this type of mutation and 'Crooked Transmissions' is a pretty diverse album, such as 'Up' gets transmitted to a higher plain of Sheffield synth pop heritage and with this "out-there" adventurism, most of the tracks are quite lenghty which is great for the dancefloor; particularly like 'Everything (Gone Crooked)' that's got a bit of PIL's 'Metal Box' to it and the warped 'Planetary Alignment (Bent Crooked)' where the lazer beams have been deflected (in fact, this need to be longer).

Talking of warped, what the George Clinton is 'One (2 Crooked)' about? It's like Talking Heads have had an electro shock lobotomy - brilliant.

It's not all experimental, 'My Shadow' has a dnb vibe, there's the chill-out dub 'Go Slow Heart' and 'Sparse' goes a bit trip-hop-pop. But is it all a build-up to prepare us for 10 minutes of 'Roller Skater (Crooked Wheels)'?

In fact, this is one of those albums that's so well produced and deep on every level, it's really hard to say what your favourite track is (so i won't) but if you had any thoughts that this was some hurriedly put together 10 track remix 'throw away' release, you'd be miles of the mark - I predict this is going to be 'Album Of The Year' on many a chart. 

In some ways the original album and this, lets call it a follow-up, is very much Luke Una, (check his Luke Una presents É Soul Cultura compilations on Mr Bongo, see review HERE) as he's not a man to get tied down musically and I wonder what the future plans for Transmission Towers (Mark Kyriacou and Eleanor Mante) could possibly be?

Artist: Transmission Towers

Title: Crooked Transmissions

Release date: 25th October, 2024

Label: É Soul Cultura

Cat. No: ESOULDIGI01

Format: All the Digitals / Bandcamp

Review: Transmission Towers - My Shadow (Crooked Shade) / Mega (Crooked) (É Soul Cultura)

É Soul Cultura have gone a crazy rave mix of Prodigy meets Balearics form the Clingoe Hill radio station broadcast.

For those of you following the Transmission Towers (and for those in need of a catch up, see review HERE) you'd probably not be surprised that Luke Una's post-album remix venture would take the electro-funkers even further into the ionosphere opting for some Crooked Shade heat.

Two highlights of the album, 'My Shadow' and 'Mega' might have obvious choices but it's ahead of the whole of Crooked Man's remix of the whole album and last months' 12", 'Everything' with 'Go Slow Heart'.

Crooked Man (aka Richard Barratt) is a true champion of the underground dance scene with credits as wide as DFA to Róisín Murphy so well worth further investigation.

Artist: Transmission Towers

Title: My Shadow (Crooked Shade) / Mega (Crooked) 

Release date: 26th September, 2024

Label: É Soul Cultura

Cat. No: ESOULDIGI02

Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Transmission Towers - Transmission One (É Soul Cultura)

For those that enjoy Imaginary Radio Stations, here's the first out of Transmission Towers, 'Transmission One' being the debut album on Luke Una's É Soul Cultura label.

Fans of the charactmastic DJ, producer, promoter and 50% of The Unabombers, Mr Una (aka Luke Cowdrey) will know from his DJ sets and compilations (last seen HERE with Luke Una Presents É Soul Cultura Vol.2) that he is very much his own man when it comes to what rocks his musical dancefloor.

That said, you don't have to be the next Mancunian Tony Wilson off the rank to know if you got a mix of duos like MR Robots and Glass Slipper in a 70s ESG come Roy Ayers Ubiquity funk soul groove, like the first single, 'Sparse' (see review HERE) that it's going to bounce folks off the wall.

Coming from Liverpool, we're told that Mark Kyriacou and Eleanor Mante are divided by the River Mersey and then brought together Mark's music and Eleanor's lyrics.  And like any historical port, there's lots of split atom divisions that are then re-forged together with influxes to safe harbours; in this case, Detroit-flavoured deep house" with a bit of 80s Compu Rhythm programing with a big touch of Sun Ra school. 

The leftfield post-punk Afro-futurism there throughout (notably on 'Everything' and 'Mega') and in all, the 12 track album has got elements of a dreamy pirate radio past (late night Sunday soul of Invicta FM on 'Go Slow Heart' and 'Affirmation Of Love') but we love the spacey longer tracks like 'Planetary Alignment', 'My Shadow', 'The Universal Drift' and 'Cosmic Trigger' whilst your radio plays will be full of 'Up', 'Roller Skater 23' and 'Sparse'.

This is deep, soul and pop all at the same time and you can see why Luke (and DJ BiggaBush) is so tuned into this - you should be too!

Artist: Transmission Towers

Title: Transmission One

Release date: 10th May, 2024

Label: É Soul Cultura

Cat. No: ESOUL0193BT108

Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Transmission Towers - Sparse (É Soul Cultura)

Fancy some warped 70s Roy Ayers' Ubiquity that's sparse by name and 'Sparce' by Transmission Towers.

You'll recall Ayers' proto house 'Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased recordings 1976–1981' (BBE), well this has that beathy "slo-mo.. Detroit-flavoured deep house" with a bit of 80s Compu Rhythm programing

It's all the rage at Luke Una's gaff, É Soul Cultura as the Theo Parrish remix he didn't.  

Coming out on an album, 'Transmission One' by the TTs (as us fans called 'em, but Mark Kyriacou and Eleaor Mante by their friends and family).

Artist: Transmission Towers

Title: Sparce

Release date: 27th March, 2024

Label: É Soul Cultura

Cat. No: ESOUL0193BT108

Format: Digital / Bandcamp