Currently residing in Kyeongju, South Korea, visual artist, photographer, experimental sound artist and “collector of multicultural kitsch’ Sherwin Jones (aka Don Limpio) first began his explorations into analogue noise around a decade ago as Static On The Channels. With his move towards digitally-based production a few years ago, a necessity given his increasingly mobile lifestyle, Jones adopted his Don Limpio persona, though in the meantime, he’s also found time to collaborate with experimental sound collective Terminal Sonic Resources and release tracks as Jones The Bastard. This debut album “Stuck To The Roof Of My Mouth’ also represents New York-based label Grand Receiver’s first full-length release and weighs in at a sprawling 37 tracks over a frenetic 69 minutes, with the tracks collected here leaning distinctly towards 8-bit chiptunes, twisted Casiotone pop and mutilated plunderphonics.
It’s certainly a somewhat disorientating and jarring listening experience,with many of the tracks here coming in around the one minute mark, to the point where it often feels as though as soon as a track has just begun to coalesce, the Don’s hyperactive mind is already moving on to the next thing. Throughout the surrounding chaos, there’s certainly the odd moment of comparatively serene musicality; witness Oxnamoon collaboration “Hamiri and the Magic Forest’s brittle blend of childlike analogue electronics and blipping Kraftwerk-style rhythms, but on the whole, the overall effect is often more akin to a explosion in a musical greeting cards factory. Perhaps “Catnip’ provides the most apt encapsulation of this disc in a nutshell, blending tweaked-out samples of meowing cats with disturbing samples and children’ records, whilst also mashing what sounds like fiddles into thrashing breakcore rhythms, it’s certainly not for the fainthearted. While the less strong of heart may run screaming, it’s worth persisting however, as considerable detail does begin to reveal itself on subsequent listens, with the entire set beginning to take on a twisted yet somehow salient logic. Fans of DAT Politics and Stock, Hausen and Walkmen should most definitely investigate.
Chris Downton
