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LP
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PCD 009LP
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After the not-quite-reissue of Prince of Parrot Shooters/The Aqueducts of Cannel Island (PCD 003LP, 2022), wide-eyed mystic and tireless searcher of the netherworld Spencer Clark returns to the Discrepant fold with Barbados Wild Horses under his Monopoly Child Star Searchers moniker. Recorded while Clark was living in the Canary Island's by Tupperware and Lagoss' Dani Tupper, Barbados Wild Horses brims with insular romanticism and escapist bliss, with sun-kissed synth-lines interwoven around his trademark hand percussion bouncy rhythms reflecting the scenery of the islands as a liberating utopia. With track titles taking an almost self-explanatory stance, the album starts with the crepuscular vibes of "Upper Romantico," a poetic meditation on the lovelorn potential of the fading sunlight, setting the tone for the rest of the tour. "Lava Tube Solos on Horseback," the first of two tracks featuring Sun Araw's Cameron Stallones, sees the latter's guitar noodles riding the cascading rhythms and digital choir harmonies while in "Neopreno Antiguo" he solos freely around a hypnotic synth line. Finishing off the escapade, "Nightcharcos Punta Brava" drifts in ethereal starlit contemplation, with the percussion taking a more backseat approach, setting into a steady pulse for Clark's gliding synth tapestries. Another piece of the fascinating puzzle Clark's been assembling for over two decades now, Barbados Wild Horses glimmers with a laid-back sensibility that's as unhinged as enveloping. Not an easy feat by any measure. Clark succeeds again.
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PCD 003LP
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In an interview for The Wire magazine back in January 2012, Spencer Clark claimed that one of the most important "lessons" learned while performing with The Skaters was "stay true to your imagination". Taking this life motto at heart, Clark's world today is still a place of wonder and myth, conveyed through a myriad of aliases and invocations like Vodka Soap, Fourth World Magazine, or Typhonian Highlife. Always the wide-eyed mystic and searcher of the netherworld, Clark surfaces again on Discrepant sister label Pacific City Discs, straight from the Canary Islands with this not quite but somewhat reissue under his celebrated and celebratory Monopoly Child Star Searchers alias. Combining visions from two long, long sold out and hardly traceable releases on Clark's own Pacific City label, pressed for the first time ever in wax with a new master by Dubplates & Mastering -- as it should -- Prince of Parrot Shooters/The Aqueducts of Channel Island stands as a vital piece in an ever changing and deeply personal mandala-like oeuvre. A hypnotic and appropriately lo-fi flux of bouncy hand percussion loops, nature calls, and celestial synth harmonies that weave themselves into trance inducing rituals. Levitating fever-dream recordings from imaginary topographies, or perhaps a gateway to fortean alternate realities just lurking around the corner. Stay true to your imagination indeed.
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CREP 057LP
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Earlier this century, Spencer Clark, aka Monopoly Child Star Searchers, created a sound phantasy with Skaters and after that he pursued a new alchemy under various aliases (Charles Berlitz, Fourth World Magazine, Monopoly Child, Typhonian Highlife, etc.) and projects (like Egyptian Sports Network, Tarzana, or The Temple Defectors). The different aliases aren't a mode of dispersion or to create confusion, they're setups for the different possibilities he imagines for music. Make Mine, Macaw -- previously released in 2010 as a limited CDR on Pacific City label -- references a large long-tailed parrot and is part of a trilogy about birds, Spencer's Tropical Bird Romance Audio, which also includes, Bamboo For Two (2010) and The Garnet Toucan (2012). A deep dive into this record makes it clear why it should be re-released. In the field of experimental-tropical-cocktail music, no one does it like Spencer Clark, especially through his output Monopoly Child Star Searchers. Make Mine, Macaw explores the best cocktail recipes through five colorful pieces, using Clark's premium technique of blurry repetition and dreamy percussions. A tropical fantasy that starts in your ears, feeds your brain, and changes your life. You won't know what a pacific city sound vision is until you see one. Make Mine, Macaw makes you see one clearly.
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