Fresh from the same record institution that gave birth to Belle and Sebastian, Looper and Snow Patrol come superb Hull-based alternative pop outfit Salako, purveyors of psycheldelia that (for this listener at least) has helped to lift the darkest of post-Christmas blues.
In the space of eighteeen months, the prolific popsters have released not just one, but two fine albums the thrilling fuzz and swoosh of Re-inventing Punctuation and the widescreen technicolour of Musicality. Not to mention a clutch of knockout EPs, which irish listeners can catch up up on as they make their debut trip here on February 5th. Salako will also bring a new product, the Mapleton Sands 201298 EP, with them on tour, available free to the first fifty punters in the doors. It s a release that carries a strong hint of the supernatural.
While we were recording it, we had a religious experience, says an excitable James Waudby. We were shacked up in this studio near a beach and cliffs, and suddenly there was loads of flashing lights in the sky outside. A group of local fishermen witnessed it too, and there honestly isn t any reasonable scientific explanation for what happened, like any local phenomena. We took a photograph for posterity, which did come out and will feature on the cover of the EP. It definitely made it really good for our recording so the good spirits were on our side. Mind you, a house burnt down nearby.
Salako have scored a rare achievement in contemporary music in that their records are spawling, freeform affairs involving everything from 200 strong chiors to birdsong. Rather than sounding like a mish-mash of diverse sounds, Salako fuse an awesome cohesion out of what logically should sound like chaos. So what s the secret ingredient that crafts such perfectly formed and well rounded albums?
We always think of random things that go well together, so I think we achieve an odd coherence from divergent sources, explains James. We definitelly write and record with an aspiration to build things into a whole. The writing may take months and months but recording the last record (Musiciality) took around four months.
With such epic dynamics captured in the studio, how do Salako approach the cauldron of the live arena?
When we play live we simply want to make it more exciting and edgy. A while after a record we think it s a bit too placid so we consequently perform the material in a far more in your face manner. All we do is try and get people dancing and we always seem to do that. The only thing to do is to perform to get people happy.
Want something to make you happy? Scribble in Salako into your diary on Saturday 5th February 2000. You ll live to love it! n
Family present Salako on Saturday 5th February in Whelan s, Dublin. Musicality and Re-inventing Punctuation are available on Jeepster Recordings.