Cool Hunting

by Mat Lyon

An electronic ensemble from the thriving Oxford music scene, Keyboard Choir could be described as a journey through the history of electronic music. Liberally scattered amongst the fluid electronic soundscapes and massive rib-imploding beats are samples from genres as diverse as contemporary classical composition and hip hop.

Their debut album, Mizen Head To Gascanane Sound, boasts expansive electronic sounds that fire the imagination. For a largely instrumental record, it manages to convey a strong sense of narrative—from the rumbling bombs of the blitz in the opening track, "Drone Of The Hearse," through the post-nuclear war radio samples of "Bugs," to the peaceful wonder of finale "Electrical Unity"—this album is a story of the 20th Century and beyond. (You can hear tracks on their MySpace page, as well as on Last.fm.)

Mizen Head To Gascanane Sound is available digitally now at emusic and out this summer on CD. See Brainlove Records (their label) for stockists.

Catch Keyboard Choir live on the main stage at Woolfire Festival and at The Luminaire, London in August, as well as at Brainlove's Club NME DJ residency at KOKO in Camden, London.