Konx-om-pax / Regional Surrealism

Planet Mu

You might be familiar with Konx-om-Pax’s previous work without already being aware of it. Glasgow’s Tom Scholefield; is a 3D film director and graphic artist who’s made videos for locals Hudson Mohawke and Mogwai as well as Martyn, Jamie Lidell, Kuedo and Lone; sleeve artwork for Oneohtrix Point Never, Rustie, King Midas Sound and others; plus he has toured with Mogwai as a DJ. So how on Earth does he find the time to make music, or the energy? Scholefield explains that he writes music to chill out—a form of creative self-medication. In contrast to his bright, synthetic and colorful artwork and videos, his music is more mossy and analog. Often beatless, personal and located in a transporting surrealism, it’s sometimes inspired by the idea of re-scoring films and TV. “Glacier Mountain Descent” for instance is a re-imagining of the opening scene from Werner Herzog’s Aguirre. Regional Surrealism works largely like a film. Vignettes like “Isotonic Pool” transition into larger, more dramatic pieces like the deep “At Home With Mum and Dad” which takes an early Aphex-sounding ambient track and fills it with odd drama. “Sura-Tura-Gnosi-Cosi,” featuring mysterious US artist Steven Retchard, is full of tape hiss and unsettling spoken word, while “Zang-Tumb” (with guitar played by Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite) works in bruised and twisted Ash-Ra Tempel territory. Elsewhere, “Slootering” finds a sweet spot between Drexciya and Oneohtrix Point Never, while “Lagoon Leisure” lets you get lost in musique concrète space and drops. The album finishes on the water-themed “Let’s Go Swimming,” which indulges in a slow-motion nostalgia, sending the listener away happy.

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