London based record label Erased Tapes Records is the home of some great neo-classical artists like Nils Frahm, Ben Lukas Boysen or A Winged Vicotry for the Sullen. So, there is no wonder that the re-formed iconic orcestra group Penguin Cafe joins the label. In the past the originally Penguin Cafe orchestra lead by Simon Jeffes was active from 1972 until 1997. In 2009 his son Arthur Jeffes continue the band.
Currently the band consists by a ten-person line-up on stage. This year the band celebrates thier debut “The Imperfect Sea” on Erased Tapes Records. A comment by Arthur Jeffes: “For this album I wanted to effect a departure from where we’d been up to now. The idea was to create a musical world that would feel familiar to an audience more used to dance records but stay true to our own values. So we replaced electronic layers with real instruments: pads with real string sections, synths with heavily-effected pianos, and atmospheric analogue drones with real feedback loops ringing through a stone and a piano soundboard.” Indeed “The Imperfect Sea” is a modern record with classical elements. The instruments harmonize in a perfect way. Each track has his own personality and in it’s entirely “The Imperfect Sea” sounds timeless. But this wasn’t my inital feeling on this. At first I believe this isn’t very exciting. “The Imperfect Sea” combines neo-classical elements with jazz and ambient. Tracks like “Cantorum”, “Control 1 (Interlude)” and “Rescue” shines bright. This year looks also good for neo-classical records if we look back at the beginning of 2017 highly recommended records by Max Richter and Bing & Ruth released!
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