ABOUT THIS ITEM

If you dig deep back through hip hop’s many evolutionary sub-species you’ll find 1000names. Their presence, a herald of change sharing vinyl releases with early Rustie beats or hidden among tracklistings on trailblazing compilations dropped in foetal stages of the post funk movement. As (not so) unsung heroes of the B-side it was only a matter of time before this Bulgarian duo’s shine broke through the fog. Following in the success of their limited 10” the painter-drummer combo of Casio Blaster & 99 Mistakes have blessed the Black Acre Orphanage with 10 tracks of funereal funk and Blissful astro travel. Illuminated Man represents a more mournful, deep and melancholic twist on 1000name’s trademarked poly-funk producing their most relevant and complete piece of work to date. From the outset archives of Afro-beat science and spacefunk tribal percussion are raided to produce the backbone of the Illuminated Man sound. On occasion grooves are stretched unselfconsciously throughout tracks like “Long Early Morning” and “Telephony 2000”, both executed with the confidence of a Berlin bred minimalist. The continuous and hypnotic rhythms are punctuated by the haunted voices of disembodied conversation and disjointed fractured propaganda as heard in “Private Hero”. These left turns keep the listener engaged without losing a sense of continuity. While the organic heartbeats that drive songs like “Pocket Calculators” are decorated by luminous melodies and 8-bit scripture, the uptempo grooves give the album a listening longevity without sacrificing any playful accessibility. DJ support comes from Mary Anne Hobbs, Alexander Nut, Benji B.