About this item

A calculated hysterical melting pot of This Heat, Robert Wyatt, Faust and The Residents, of musique concrète and ethno-folk, all seen through a prism of theatrical improvisations and unhinged set pieces. Formed in 1995, and after several self-released tapes and CD-Rs, VTB so excited Nurse With Wound´s Steven Stapleton that he brought his United Dairies label out of cold storage to release their first album proper, ”The Inhazer Decline”, in 2000. Since then they´ve released music on such labels as Misra, Beta Lactam Ring, Textile, Digitalis, Pickled Egg, Alt Vinyl as well as their own imprints Volucan and Volfurten with the exceptional ”Classic Erasmus Fusion” from 2006 being a possible highlight.

On record VTB offer stark and stunning absurdities in the most bizarrely beautiful way. Recycling and recontextualising their material is an innate habit, and the variety of recording options they might chose (be it a highly equipped professional studio or a second hand dictaphone) allows their craft to be formed in a myriad of different ways. VTB have toured extensively throughout Europe and North America and in concert they are the duo of Daniel Padden and Aaron Moore. Third member, Clarence Manuelo, no longer performs live but his inimitable sounds and influence are still very much a part of a VTB performance. In their unique, often chaotic live shows, the adrenalin and invention drips from their earlobes as they thrust spectacular oddities in the faces of their audiences, always aided by their sublime multi-instrumentalism. Absurd humour and eclectic ways of producing sounds are characteristic of their live performances and their extensive knowledge of the traditions of experimental and folk music makes the band difficult to categorise. The band record everything they play and will often use these recordings as raw material for their albums. VTB have released a number of records since the start, often mixing studio, live and home recordings. Golden Rhythm/Ink Music is their first more or less ”proper” studio album since ”Amidst The Noise And Twigs” back in 2007.

Largely based on the sonic fault-line between Aaron Moore and Daniel Padden, it´s also the most focused and driven of VTB’s prolific output so far, showcasing the duo’s unique musicality and interplay, whilst retaining their trademark eccentricity and humour throughout. It presents “rock music” as seen through VTB’s skewed eye, featuring more of Padden and Moore’s drum/guitar combination than on previous albums. Taking the bizarre energy of their live duo performances into a studio environment, and combining it with VTB’s eclectic instrumentation and Clarence Manuelo’s singular audio-work, GR/IM shows VTB making their most vital work to date.

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