KESSONCODA - OUTERSTATE

Released: 12/07/2024

I’ve been thinking about the tracks on this excellent debut record by the London duo Kessoncoda  – AKA drummer Tom Sunney and keyboardist Fil Sowa – in a few ways: a) Some tracks are like Michael Nyman’s ‘The Heart Asks Pleasure First’ (from The Piano soundtrack) reinterpreted by two dudes with a penchant for breakbeat; b) Some are like The Penguin Cafe Orchestra if all the members listened exclusively to Philip Glass’s Solo Piano and Boards of Canada’s Geogaddi for six months; c) While others are like Steve Reich’s Piano Phase featuring Delia Derbyshire on analogue synths.

That should give you the general idea about this wonderful record, which features lots of lovely piano ostinato patterns expertly married with drums, occasionally augmented by synths, woods and cello, on cinematic, mainly instrumental tracks that will be catnip for people who love classical minimalism as much as they do Warp Records.