V ISI ON F OR T U N E
UMM AGM A
A different kind of experimentalism
Dreamy soundscape potpourri
Recorded during what they insist was an “intense two-month
research residency” in a spacious villa in a remote region of
Tuscany, Vision Fortune’s second album, ‘Country’, is about to be
unleashed on an unsuspecting world via ATP Recordings. “The
group had no choice but to forgo their simple daily routines of
sampling local gastronomic delicacies and honing their horseriding skills in order to complete the album,” say their people.
It’s a bit of a swerve from their 2013 debut, ‘Mas Fiestas Con
El Grupo Vision Fortune’, adding an undercurrent of gentle
electronica to their locked down and hypnotic sound. This might
be where guitar music ends and electronic music begins. Or is it
the other way round?
Shoegaze has undergone a revival over recent years, and while
we’re not in the market for over-effected chiming guitars and
wistfully fey vocals, we will make an exception for Shauna
McLarnon and Alexx Kretov. The Canadian/Ukrainian Ummagma
duo operate in our region of shoegaze/dreampop/post-rock, call
it what you will, and they clearly know the right end of a synth
when they see it. Last year they released the excellent ‘Lama’
album on the prolific German label Emerald & Doreen Recordings,
as well as producing the debut LP from their Russian pal Roma
Kalitkin (‘New Born’ by Sounds Of Sputnik on Ear To Ear
Records). They also put out a single called ‘Kiev’ and a collection
of remixes. Promised for this spring are two more remixes that
should act as a further stamp of approval, one by Cocteau Twin
Robin Guthrie and the other from OMD’s Malcolm Holmes.
G H O S T C U L TURE
Sinister and sinuous synthscapes
WHO THEY?
Ghost Culture is sole trader James Greenwood. Actually, he
might be a soul trader too. There’s definitely something a bit
netherworldly about this 20-something Londoner. He has the
air of a fella who’s seen and heard things most of the rest of us
haven’t (and probably wouldn’t want to).
WH Y G HOST CULT URE?
Because every time we play a track from Ghost Culture’s
eponymous debut album in the office – and that’s something
we’ve been doing regularly over the last few weeks – somebody
says, “Ooh, I like this”. We’re impressed by Greenwood’s
strong sense of style too. Dare we mention ‘The Man Who
Fell To Earth’? No, we probably shouldn’t. It’s probably just
Greenwood’s red hair and far-away stare.
TELL US MORE
Greenwood is signed to Erol Alkan’s Phantasy label and is an old
pal of fellow Phantasy artist Daniel Avery. His CV includes stints
as a studio engineer with Avery and also with Death In Vegas.
The ‘Ghost Culture’ album is slightly sinister and decidedly
sinuous, all soft, breathy, semi-spoken vocals, luxuriously
melodi