The Pop Corporation

Not everything you listen to is designed for the club or a sugar coated three minute pop-song – sometimes things can be strange, artistic, dark, and unlike anything you’ve listened to before. In the case of ‘Tintinnabulation’ by Marcus Vergette, we stumbled across one of the most enchanting and peculiar LPs we’ve come across.

A while ago, we found ourselves at an independent record fair in Manchester’s sparkly New Century Hall, and amongst the usual independent guitar releases and killer repros, we talked to nonclassical, who had a clutch of records that were unlike anything else in the room. Neo classical, found melodies, avant garde and more, this was clearly a passion project and it was genuinely exciting listening to them talk about the LPs they were putting out.

We were drawn to the release with a huge bell on the cover, and it transpired it was a record with a message, as well as being a supremely interesting and engrossing listen.

Vergette, it turns out, is a sculpture – their Time and Tide are handmade instruments that only make sound with rising sea levels and the bells ring as the water rises around the British coastline [find them and visit them here]. There’s eight in total, and each is owned by the local community. That in itself, is an interesting prospect, but on record, they’re combined with field records and fragments of nature, as well as improvisations on musical instruments, including the sculpture himself on double bass. It makes for a dramatic reading, and all the while, you’re reminded of the music from the bells, made by a looming global catastrophe.

You’ll hear boats calling, birdsong, and the sky heaving.

Vergette himself, is a jazzer, but to sell this to you as a jazz LP wouldn’t be accurate as such – it’s a piece of living art for sure, and reminds us of the stillness and strangeness of the Brokeback LP, ‘Field Recordings From The Cook County Water Table’, which is something of a post-rock masterpiece in our estimation.

nonclassical themselves have friends in lofty places, garnering remixes and works from Thom Yorke, Hot Chip, Mira Calix, as well as hosting nights to promote the avant garde end of music, but in a gig/club setting. We mention this, because it makes sense for them to release this LP, because unusual music shouldn’t be confined to museums and niche interests – strange as the music might be, it deserves to be in the wide and open world, and this album is a must for anyone with a curious ear, a love of say, Stockhausen or musique concrète.

This LP – and the label themselves – deserve repeated listens and investigation. One of the more unusual, but brilliant releases we’ve heard. Dive in.