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LP
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UR 066LP
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"Local Agent is the fourth LP by Charlatan, a.k.a. Brad Rose, label-head of Digitalis, also known as The North Sea and one half of Safiyya. Local Agent is Charlatan's streamlined statement, an amalgam of spy and sci-fi techno with touches of abstract dub, finely mastered by John Tejada. Local Agent is a great culmination of several years' work by Brad Rose, who has been studying and styling a conceptual and abstract merge between industrial-beat and techno structures, with a sensitivity for narrative and the description of futuristic landscapes (retro-futuristic / Lab style). While employing his usual set of tools (electronic synthesis, cyclical melodies and techno/abstract rhythms), this time around Brad Rose/Charlatan is also playing inside the most turbulent dub territories, jointed by crushed and anonymous bass lines, to create tracks loaded with kinetic content, pieces that move within the grounds of science fiction and spy thrillers, a paranoia-rich sound apt for a J.G. Ballard novel." Limited to 300 copies; pressed on transparent yellow vinyl.
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ZORN 013LP
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2011 release. A warm, filled with rich tones re-issue of one of the earliest tapes of Charlatan. After the Triangles LP on his own Digitalis label, this is Brad Rose's second vinyl release under his solo project moniker, Charlatan. Synthclouds and starchords on a carpet of white hiss. Brad Rose is one of the most active personas in the current adventurous contemporary music scene. As label honcho of Digitalis records/limited, he's constantly in search of exciting new groups/artists. Add to that numerous solo and collaborative projects and you can rightly consider him as one of the spearheads of the experimental underground scene for many years. This release marks one of the highlights from his output in 2011, now rightly re-issued on heavy vinyl with two bonus tracks.
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TYPE 112LP
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It's tough to know what to expect when dealing with the output of musical mastermind Brad Rose. Under a plethora of different guises, he has stamped his mark on just as many genres, yet Isolatarium, his second under the Charlatan moniker, might be his most focused to date. Dispensing with the jerky 808-led shimmer of its predecessor Triangles, Isolatarium makes its case with cold, digital synthesis and buried 4/4 pulses. The searing noise of Rose's output as The North Sea is still audible somewhere in the mix, but the key to this record is restraint, and any clouds of white noise are tempered by cascades of sizzling FM synthesis. While album highlight Kinetic Disruption gives a nod to the outsider dance moves of Actress, Rose manages to push his clatter even further into the ether with a shroud of grinding oscillators and grimacing tape noise. It almost sounds like a devastating new take on the delirious experiments of Maggi Payne or Suzanne Ciani, but with the added hoarse cough of 21st century pessimism. Rose makes his best case with the album's closing track "Terminal Zero," and as the clanking percussion and drunken tones spiral into spluttering computer malfunction, there's no doubt that he has hit on his richest seam to date.
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DIGI 010LP
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There's something almost religious about this Charlatan (Brad Rose) LP, its narrative arc swinging from light to dark and back again. From the opening chords of "Lime Beauty," we're awash in polarized-lens glinting twilight, fluorescent skies over the water. "Trace Blue Outlines" is trance-like and reflective, with long, arpeggiated figures chasing each other skyward in a fugue. Darkness creeps in around the edges of "Vodka Rocks," with almost post-rock moodiness bringing the side to a close. "Traces" opens the B-side and is a breakout track. With dark new-wave synth textures and warped dissonance, it has almost an Altar Eagle vibe, but things get darker, deeper, and more personal as multilayered melodic lines close in on the loping drum track. This is the kind of song you don't want to end, and wonder if you can set lyrics to. After "Foxes" provides the perfect interlude with classic Charlatan synth tones on a masterfully layered canvas, closer "Swimming Pool Summer Nights" is just as staggering. Its slow drum pattern echoes early Cluster experiments as blissed-out synths and even bird-like squawks pass through its celestial gates. As time goes on, it yields into what could almost pass for some kind of acceptance, embracing the darkness that came before it. More than any before it, this is an extremely emotional Charlatan record -- majestic, reflective, yearning for something like transcendence. Even though it's richly layered, it's not gauzy. There is nothing dreamy or half-remembered about these pieces. They are sharp, fresh as wounds. This record puts Charlatan on a seriously high plane for anyone exploring these tones, textures, or emotions. Limited to 500 copies only. Mastered by John P. Twells (Xela) at Seventh Door, cut to vinyl at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Original cover illustration by Caroline Teagle.
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