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EPR 079CD
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Although still very much a secret, Oakland, California's Justin Pinkerton has perfected and expanded his Futuropaco project to a stunning degree over the past seven years. The one-man band is deeply rooted in Pinkerton's masterful drumming, which builds on the legacy of 1960s and 1970s legends such as Tony Allen and Jaki Liebezeit. But he's an accomplished multi-instrumentalist as well, and the Futuropaco sound is a colorful fusion that sees him throw fuzz guitars, flutes, vintage synthesizers and Anatolian string instruments into the mix -- seemingly without much effort. The second and final volume of the Fortezza Di Vetro series feels like a conclusion, the sound of an artist reaching his creative zenith. It's an experimental album, yet immediately seductive in its energy -- channeling the vibey art-rock of Tortoise, Black Sabbath riffage and vintage Italian film music in equal measures. It's such a refined and esoteric blend, yet hits so directly. It's simply impossible not to crank the volume knob once this slab of vinyl is on the turntable, followed by immediate head nodding. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Justin Pinkerton is a vastly talented rhythmsmith, best known as a member of Californian stoners Golden Void. On this project he plays all the other instruments too so he can do what he blooming well feels. And it's not as if the drum solos go on for twenty minutes like those of John Bonham and his pale imitators. Nope. Into tracks that are both jam-packed and concise, Pinkerton has squeezed his love of vintage Italian library music, classic krautrock and heavy psych rock. At one point it suggests Grails have been performing super-speed cover versions of fusion-era Miles Davis with Adrian Younge on production.
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EPR 079LP
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LP version. Although still very much a secret, Oakland, California's Justin Pinkerton has perfected and expanded his Futuropaco project to a stunning degree over the past seven years. The one-man band is deeply rooted in Pinkerton's masterful drumming, which builds on the legacy of 1960s and 1970s legends such as Tony Allen and Jaki Liebezeit. But he's an accomplished multi-instrumentalist as well, and the Futuropaco sound is a colorful fusion that sees him throw fuzz guitars, flutes, vintage synthesizers and Anatolian string instruments into the mix -- seemingly without much effort. The second and final volume of the Fortezza Di Vetro series feels like a conclusion, the sound of an artist reaching his creative zenith. It's an experimental album, yet immediately seductive in its energy -- channeling the vibey art-rock of Tortoise, Black Sabbath riffage and vintage Italian film music in equal measures. It's such a refined and esoteric blend, yet hits so directly. It's simply impossible not to crank the volume knob once this slab of vinyl is on the turntable, followed by immediate head nodding. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Justin Pinkerton is a vastly talented rhythmsmith, best known as a member of Californian stoners Golden Void. On this project he plays all the other instruments too so he can do what he blooming well feels. And it's not as if the drum solos go on for twenty minutes like those of John Bonham and his pale imitators. Nope. Into tracks that are both jam-packed and concise, Pinkerton has squeezed his love of vintage Italian library music, classic krautrock and heavy psych rock. At one point it suggests Grails have been performing super-speed cover versions of fusion-era Miles Davis with Adrian Younge on production.
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EPR 074CD
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First new sounds from Futuropaco in five years. Futuropaco, a.k.a. Justin Pinkerton from Oakland, California creates colorful psychedelic music -- a pan-cultural cratedigger's delight that welcomes in a wide range of elements -- from Afro-beat and post rock to Italian library music and heavy psych. The title translates to "The Glass Fortress" and is a reference to the fragility of the superpowers of the world, such as the US: "As we witnessed in the height of the pandemic and it's after effects, it doesn't take much to take down one of these entities that hide behind the facade of power and indestructibility. One tiny crack can trigger an unstoppable catastrophe," says Pinkerton of the album concept. But despite (or perhaps because of) it's underlying dark inception, Justin's new album is a terrific ride, from the first notes of earth-shaking opener "Muro Vuoto" to the mysterious and dreamy closer "Omicidio Per Soldi." Not a second is wasted on this record, every vinyl groove is packed with ideas and sounds that demand attention, whether they originate from Justin's vintage Moog synthesizers, his Turkish Saz, fuzz guitars or flute layered on top of Pinkerton's meticulously crafted, yet bone shaking drum fills. You could spend hours analyzing what's going on musically, but that's beside the point -- the nine tracks offered here are simply an invitation to surrender yourself to the head-spinning grooves and mesmerizing timbres. A truly unique psychedelic experience, and this is just volume 1!
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LP
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EPR 074LP
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LP version. First new sounds from Futuropaco in five years. Futuropaco, a.k.a. Justin Pinkerton from Oakland, California creates colorful psychedelic music -- a pan-cultural cratedigger's delight that welcomes in a wide range of elements -- from Afro-beat and post rock to Italian library music and heavy psych. The title translates to "The Glass Fortress" and is a reference to the fragility of the superpowers of the world, such as the US: "As we witnessed in the height of the pandemic and it's after effects, it doesn't take much to take down one of these entities that hide behind the facade of power and indestructibility. One tiny crack can trigger an unstoppable catastrophe," says Pinkerton of the album concept. But despite (or perhaps because of) it's underlying dark inception, Justin's new album is a terrific ride, from the first notes of earth-shaking opener "Muro Vuoto" to the mysterious and dreamy closer "Omicidio Per Soldi." Not a second is wasted on this record, every vinyl groove is packed with ideas and sounds that demand attention, whether they originate from Justin's vintage Moog synthesizers, his Turkish Saz, fuzz guitars or flute layered on top of Pinkerton's meticulously crafted, yet bone shaking drum fills. You could spend hours analyzing what's going on musically, but that's beside the point -- the nine tracks offered here are simply an invitation to surrender yourself to the head-spinning grooves and mesmerizing timbres. A truly unique psychedelic experience, and this is just volume 1!
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EPR 047CD
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Futuropaco's debut album is the shape of things to come: it's a wet, enigmatic cocktail of part 1970s Italian library music, part kraut-alicious, beat-galore, and part riff-driven heavy psych. Justin Pinkerton, from Oakland, California, is the one-man army behind the opaque merge of seemingly different forces: from mad fuzz guitar breakdowns à la Morricone at his most intense, to the syncopated drum learnings of Jaki Liebezeit, Justin weaves a blanket of sound that's simply loaded with deep vibes: From heavily modulate Moog synths, gentle glockenspiel through amplified echo-perplexion. You almost forget that Justin's main instrument is actually the drums -- if it wasn't for the superb loaded-yet-understated grooves tying everything together in an intricate tangle. With a background as drummer and composer in famed psych-rockers Golden Void, Justin also works as a full-time film composer for library and commercial music. Futuropaco is the meeting between his two passions: it's a vivid sonic dream where abstraction melts with the strict, focused approach of cinematic cues. It almost makes you forget the murky future of America these days, which was the catalyst for this album and its title. Imminent dystopia never felt this grounded, bright and uplifting. Freedom fuzz!
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LP
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EPR 047LP
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2022 repress. LP version. Futuropaco's debut album is the shape of things to come: it's a wet, enigmatic cocktail of part 1970s Italian library music, part kraut-alicious, beat-galore, and part riff-driven heavy psych. Justin Pinkerton, from Oakland, California, is the one-man army behind the opaque merge of seemingly different forces: from mad fuzz guitar breakdowns à la Morricone at his most intense, to the syncopated drum learnings of Jaki Liebezeit, Justin weaves a blanket of sound that's simply loaded with deep vibes: From heavily modulate Moog synths, gentle glockenspiel through amplified echo-perplexion. You almost forget that Justin's main instrument is actually the drums -- if it wasn't for the superb loaded-yet-understated grooves tying everything together in an intricate tangle. With a background as drummer and composer in famed psych-rockers Golden Void, Justin also works as a full-time film composer for library and commercial music. Futuropaco is the meeting between his two passions: it's a vivid sonic dream where abstraction melts with the strict, focused approach of cinematic cues. It almost makes you forget the murky future of America these days, which was the catalyst for this album and its title. Imminent dystopia never felt this grounded, bright and uplifting. Freedom fuzz!
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