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Review: 'Telefis'
'Special Report'   

-  Label: 'Dimple Discs/Bandcamp'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: '3.3.23.'

Our Rating:
Special report is a compilation of all the EP's that Telefis have put out in the last couple of years around the release of the bands two albums A Haon and A Do in what has become a great final project for Cathal Coughlan who passed away last May, working alongside Gareth Jacknife Lee as Telefis that is the Irish name for television. I have first written fresh reviews for all the songs on this double comp before re-mixing in some of my original reviews into the review to get in the correct spirit. The cd's feature lots of guests and collaborators.

The first cd of this compilation opens with Seo E Glor Na Telefise that is a short radio Ident for the band. This leads into We Need Dub Version, that strips things back to the bass line and percussion with a few bits around it to make a slinky dance track, eventually the vocal repeats of the title come in as we all keep dancing.

Space Is Us Basement Jaxx Remix takes a thumping club beat and adds odd synth sounds and a piano house line as Cathal's vocals float across the speakers and it gets down and dirty.

Falun Gong Dancer with Jah Wobble is the deep dubby take on what is now the bands classic single. As the song's lyrics about protest, through the simple act of dance, that so troubled the Chinese authorities, scared of a lady who speaks in dragon.

Mister Imperator Maurice & Charles Remix is synthpop floor filler for any good indie dance club, has lots of phased sounds over the intro with emerging being repeated by the disembodied narrator with the spatiality in the break before the bassline really starts working against the ever-repeating chorus to get everyone chanting along too, as this very slowly builds into an almost Loop Guru style dance tune.

There Goes Waterface Voiced by Mrs Hegarty who slowly and carefully reads the lyrics in her stentorian tones evoking this darkened tale amid the ambient synth soundscape, taking us deep into Waterface's world.???The spare at times barely their synthpop backing allows the listener to take in the lyrics figuring out just how badly they needed Waterface to leave.

The Age Of Cling featuring Will Sargeant Cling Clang Version revolves about a clubby bassline, pulsing synths and all sorts of repeating percussive loops that you'll be dancing around the room to in no time at all. Sounds stretch mutating in the groove that slowly dissipates towards the end.

Archbishop Beardmouth At the Chem Olympics Thomas Leer re-mix is one of the tunes that's like an old friend, I've heard it and the other versions so many times now, this one has the slow ambient intro before Cathal's vocals breathy vocals and disjointed computer noises, over what almost sounds like choral backing singers about drugs and religion float in and out of the mix. Making this much more of a chill out jazzy techno version, making this almost totally different to the first version.

Stock Photo Guy featuring A Certain Ratio U Khu Mok RMX is deep funky techno with treated vocals bleeding through the synths as that bass takes over, finally the trumpets float on through the room everyone gets on down to that bassline. Stock Photo Guy's picture is obviously flashing across all the screens and walls of the club jumping in and out of your brain in mad ways dislocated dance moves with Stock Photo Guys image.

Ballytransnational Voiced by Da and Esther has very deadpan vocals against the squelchy techno backing as it tells a tale of cross border shenanigans across the lines and the separation that was such a part of Irish history in the last 100 years over the claustrophobic beats and synths as Da explains why you need to move on, stay across those frontiers never going back. This song may be about the transnational pinball or is it shoe company or is he telling us he's never going back to Ballymena.

The first cd closes with Falun Gong Dancer Jah Wobble Dub Mix that does exactly what is says on the tin, a deep Dubby take on the bands hit single.

The second cd opens with We See Showbands (Testimonial) this is in praise and horror at the many legendary Irish showbands, including the rather sad tale of the Miami Showband, the narrator reads out the names of many legendary bands over the stripped back synth backing.

We Need The Fetch Mix throws a large bone onto the dancefloor and lets the bass and drums fight over it, all sorts of musical interjections occur as the dancefloor goes wild to the glitches that come in and out set against the buried vocals, you probably need to wear something day-glo to dance to this tune properly.

Picadors Voiced By Auntie Joan puts us into the chill out room to calm down after the brouhaha of Wee Need The Fetch, as Auntie Joan delivers this tale of the troubles in a flat toned Irish voice. this is a sparse remix with Auntie Joan's spoken word vocals slowly becoming more treated, her reading of the lyrics are rather poetic as the tale of the Picadors unfolds and eventually a trumpet solo comes through the atmospheric backing.

Airstrip An Electrogenetic Remix by Gareth Jones pulses down the runway as Cathal sings about stamps and self-acclaim, the bass hits like a jet engine revving up.

Mister Imperator Dub is a deep dubby dance inspired mix with a funky edge strips things back a bit and adds what sound like either phased guitars or some very cool scratching effects so you can sashay across that dancefloor repeating the vocal snatches as you go shaking in time to the bells as the bassline steps forwards front and centre of the mix. As the dancefloor starts to dance in unison time to go.

Strawberry Supernova Madrid Metal by Howie B is tripped out weird underground dub club oddness that you may need a strawberry daquiri or three to get you in the right headspace to get that Supernova vibe going.

Stock Photo Guy Featuring A Certain Ratio Emperor Machine Extended vocal mix takes that funky as all hell bassline and wraps the rapped spoken vocals through the prism of synths, phasing strange danced moves, if you not dancing by now why not as this goes disco funky good times. I seem to have a whole physio routine for this song now.

We Need Jape Remix has a plinky plonky rhythm over the pulsating bass that contracts time and stretches notes far from the things We need, come along chant along, get in line things are going fine.
Falung Gong Dancer With Jah Wobble Donkey's Gudge dub in the deep nadgers, creep slaggers, pole cadgers, tiger tasters version du jour. He doesn't only speak Dragon he speaks barrow boy too.

Mister Imperator Maurice And Charles remix is a slight dance floor mix to get us all emerging from our post covid shells seems more focused on everyone getting down to it on the dancefloor and having a good time Oh Oh Oh.

The Album closes with Feed the Light version that has all sorts of tape hiss over the string intro before Cathal tells us to Feed The Light.

Find out more at https://telefis.bandcamp.com/album/special-report https://www.facebook.com/telefis1961



  author: simonovitch

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