Nick Franglen and Fred Deakin are that distinctly contemporary phenomenon, the experienced producer and DJ duo. Fred is the brain behind Old Street's Wheel Of Destiny nights where the wheel is spun every 30 minutes in order to dictate the style of music that will play until the next spin. He's also the DJ and obsessive vinyl collector. Nick has provided keyboards and drum programming for everyone from the Spice Girls and All Saints through to Primal Scream's recent 'Xtrmntr' and Pulp's eagerly awaited new album.
As you might expect, the music that they make together manages to please a considerable array of ears, from the downbeat dance community to the more open-minded leftfield 'indie' scene. There's a wacky and rather charming element to the sound, especially in the use of chopped up vocal samples, though they can come across as a little twee at times, a little too nice.
Collected here are the pair's first 3EP's and similarities with the Beta Band don't end here. 'The Staunton Lick', for instance, is the work of a less adventurous (more commercial?) Beta Band and features said banjo riff popularised by sixties folkies which is here mutated into driving layers of guitar chords.
'His Majesty King Raam' opens with a nursery rhyme keyboard melody reminiscent of the Velvet Underground's 'Sunday Morning'. These are then joined by the sublime brass, string and vocal harmonies of Mercury Rev and lush keyboard opiates of Herbie Hancock, and all this on a track that sounds like the theme to a deeply profound children's television show.
'A Tune For Jack' loops a beautifully simple piano melody over perfectly attentive production, developing the melody and then holding it back for a resolution that soothes the soul. 'Homage To Patagonia' piles on the percussive complexity and Eastern instrumentation and 'Kneel Before Your God' conjures a bewildering flood of filmic Eastern imaginings.
It doesn't always hit the mark, occasionally wandering off into easy listening territory, 'Nervous Tension' for one is just a little dull, but the most rewarding material, especially that from 'The Yellow EP', is positively brimming with ideas. Perhaps working as a session musician for the likes of the Spice Girls leads to a slight politeness of the musical imagination but Lemon Jelly have saved the best ideas for their own entertainment. Now slip inside their world….
