Cam Deas - Untitled Blues Part 1 & 2 (7" on Great Pop Supplement, limited to 300 copies)I just saw James Blackshaw at Mercury Lounge recently and have been on a bit of a instrumental acoustic kick lately, so this single from the Great Pop Supplement by Cam Deas fit right in. Another English acoustic instrumental guitar virtuoso? I guess we can't get enough.
I'm not saying I'm familiar enough with either of their styles to the degree I could tell them apart, and so far this is very similar.
It's interesting GPS says this should be approached as one long piece.
In 'Untitled #1', on his myspace It's huge sounding, deliberate slow strumming, he's picking a steel string...real tinny, twangy...but giant, booming like Blackshaw's recordings...or like Fahey. Not sure if it's all 12 string, or not. It sounds full, I think I'm hearing all those high harmonics, with a touch of reverb or echo maybe...or it's recorded in a church...there's some sustaining waves after the strumming stopped.
I'm listening to another one of his: 'five bells' and it's very electronic, with synth atmospheric stuff, so this 7" might not be completely representative of his stuff, but I'm going to track down a vinyl full length too....Insound has one.
Seems like there's some south american influence possibly...like Django Reinheart? He's another one.
I'm getting into this scene a little more...I'm such an amateur.
Get it from Cam Deas's myspace page, or contact Dom at thegreatpopsupplement (at) hotmail.com if you want to get a couple of things, like that Spaceman 3 12"....if there are any left.
GPS says:
Stunning 45 from Sheffield based Cam Deas- a debut 45 on wax. 2 heavy strummed blues across 2 sides of vinyl- best approached as 1 long piece. Sure, the names of Fahey, Basho, Blackshaw, Rose etc spring to mind, but this has a raw, slow building presence and an expressive approach all of it’s own. A potent brew- perhaps a departure from recent work on labels like Blackest Rainbow and Dead Pilot, released as a pressing of 300 numbered, date stamped copies in linen card, fine art sleeves with sticker.
Why are you so limited GPS singles? And why does the post office especially fuck with the singles from England? The Jack Rose one...I've tried everything...except I came across something in an old sonic youth zine (issue2) where you can unwarp a record by putting it between two pieces of glass in the sun...I'll have to try that when it stops raining...it's the last resort for that one.
I've always had terrible luck with vinyl shipped over from England. Often, though, it's because dudes in the UK pack records in those stupid flimsy mailers rather than the sturdy corrugated 12"/7" boxes. Never quite figured out why that is. To reduce international shipping costs, maybe? Or are those crappy mailers just more common over there?
ReplyDeleteOh they have those boxes...it's probably worth it to get a couple extra singles or a 12" just so it ends up in one of those huge boxes. Those mailers are definitely cheaper to ship...but put some extra cardboard in there or something! I got lucky with the Too Pure club and everything else from GPS shipped in those envellopes...but it was bound to happen sometime. I just try not to be too let down.
ReplyDeleteEven with the Subpop 7" club. I'm just expecting one will end up bent in half in the mailbox...sometimes I'm just glad it shows up at all.
hey chaps-
ReplyDeletejust in answer to the question about why the GPS 7s are so limited. it's purely because almost everything i do is self distributed and i almost have to press what i think i can sell, only...
but pleased the cam 7 got the seal of approval here! check out my imminent spoono 45- it's a total stunner in a similar vein!
cheers
dom
Dom, I swear, I am seconds away from doing the same thing with whats left of my credit...GPS is my model of the great success that's possible pressing singles. I have to have that Cam Deas and Spoono? I'm in!
ReplyDeletethanks jason, appreciate the kind words...
ReplyDeleteincidentally, kind of off subject. i've read here before that people have said buying records mailorder from the uk is crippling for £$ conversion. just to say that i do all this myself and have no problem cutting a few corners $$ wise for either newcomers to the label or bulk buys- if it gets more GPS stuff into the states, barter all ya like!
(if you remember one key thing- it's that no other country totally fleeces it's people like us brits- very basic things like printing inserts up to pressing yr wax, our prices are determined by others sadly...)
anyway, congrats on a cool site- lotsa super nice 45s up next with me, more spacemen 3 included fingers x'd.
dom/ GPS