Edinburgh Leisure - Die Gefahr Im Jazz

Thankful to have unearthed dead stock copies of a record that flew right under our radar on first release in 2019. Not sure what I was doing five year ago that was so important to have diverted my attention elsewhere, as this is nailed on for the full WOE-endorsed treatment. Edinburgh Leisure were (maybe still are?) the duo of former Male Nurse vocalist Keith Farquhar and Tim Fraser, one half of the incredible Fraser/Ormston project we've previously waxed lyrical about. So there's the pedigree right there, and the results easily satisfy any expectations it might muster, Die Gefahr Im Jazz a riot of DIY absurdity that aligns Farquhar's trademark kitchen-sink surrealism with the sturm und drang of sideways spun electronics, art brut percussion and the world upside down melodicism. There's a grand tradition of this kind of music in Britain, running right the way back to Alternative TV and the It's War Boys lot, art damage breakdown that seeks to build from what others choose unnecessary enough to leave behind, a rhizome of cultural detritus. But what's so great about Edinburgh Leisure is how they bring that idea up to date, Fraser particularly adept with the Apple hack plunderphonics and button-pushing sampling so as to make this sound very specifically like the 21st century malfunction Farquhar so often details - someone left their Facebook open and all hell has broken loose on this stupid digital wasteland. And that Edinburgh Leisure are from Glasgow might be the cherry on top. These are not serious people, and they're very serious about it.