Konntinent – If I Could Buy A Map of Hope (Volume 2)
Netlabel Phantom Channel’s latest free download is an album by the label’s co-founder Antony Harrison aka Konntinent. It’s a relaxed and lazy album in the mould of Labradford. There are occasional whispered vocals that make Mark Nelson’s seem positively declamatory. While gently plucked guitar and drone are the dominant voices, there is a variety of instrumentation. The brief “Ololo” with its accordion and xylophone sounds like a somnambulant sea shanty. “Pebbled” mixes glass percussion, crystal organ notes and the sound of a photocopier to create a spacy analogue piece that sounds like Boards of Canada unanchored and set afloat.
“The Adhesive” has satellite bleeps, droning loops and glitchy beats that are gradually engulfed in a sea of wordless, multi-tracked vocals. It’s the most musically adventurous track and stands out for being so different in mood, texture and tempo. The key tracks are the bookending pair of “Shutting Down” an “Paper Thin”, both dominated by processed guitar and murmured singing – the latter with some odd cut-up vocal samples.
If I Could Buy a Map of Hope volume 2 is well worthy off your attention. It’s a free download, so there’s nothing to lose. Volume 1, a split release with Adam Flynn, was released on German label Sonic Pieces as a limited edition CDR of a mere 100 copies.