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│ Ostinatos presents: │
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│ Will Atkinson - Last King Of Scotland │
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│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ : : │
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│ Artist: Will Atkinson │
│ Album : Last King Of Scotland │
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│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ : : │
│ Genre : Trance │
│ Date : 2020-11-06 │
│ Encoder : LAME 3.100 (-V0) │
│ Quality : 267 kbps avg │
│ 4410kHz / Joint Stereo │
│ Track(s) : 17 │
│ Playtime : 01:18:09 │
│ Size : 156.69MB │
│ Language : English │
│ Source : CD │
│ Label : Blackhole Recordings │
│ Catalognr : BHCD208 │
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│ ┌─────────────────────────────[ ReleaseNotes ]───────────────────────────┐ │
│ : : │
│ │
│ The most anticipated debut artist album of 2020 has arrived, as genius │
│ Scottish producer Will Atkinson delivers a seventeen-track LP thatÆs │
│ nothing less than a masterpiece. A body of music that seamlessly fuses │
│ trance, techno & drum nÆ bass with progressive & poetry, ambient & acid │
│ and harmony & hard dance, it immediately vies for the tag of │
│ ætimelessÆ. │
│ │
│ The æLast King Of ScotlandÆ is a musical journey like no other, but │
│ also an intoxicating and often-hypnotic collection, which is a musical │
│ narration of WillÆs own path. That of a patriotic, electronic music │
│ loving boy growing up in a far-flung corner before moving on, out and │
│ up to global recognition. │
│ │
│ If thereÆs a bright centre in the electronic music universe, Orkney may │
│ very well be the island farthest from it. A virtual synonym for │
│ æremoteÆ, itÆs a one-club ætownÆ, which presents a unique set of │
│ challenges to a DJ/musician wanting to send a message to all four │
│ corners. Sometimes though, the greater the test, the greater the spirit │
│ capable of being mustered, which was very much the case for Will. Over │
│ the airwaves, Orkney saw him hoover up all manner of dance music manna, │
│ before adulthood proved the final catalyst for his move to Glasgow. │
│ │
│ Sharpening his genre focus, he reflects that the city ôunlocked a new │
│ realm... The Arches, Sub Club, squat parties - long nights turning into │
│ longer days as I embraced, he says, the new raw, urban backdrop that │
│ would form and vandalise me into the producer and artist I am today.ö │
│ │
│ WillÆs approach to his sets and studio work regularly have a │
│ ælittle-to-loseÆ edge to them. An insurgent attitude thatÆs made him │
│ one of tranceÆs few real agents of change. Thus, if your first sense of │
│ æLast KingÆ feels atypical in any way, itÆs for excellent reason. At │
│ his mellowest, WillÆs productions regularly subvert tranceÆs staples, │
│ while at his most overt, they flat-out punk them. Over the last 10 │
│ years heÆs thrown ever more effort in taking it out of its comfort │
│ zone, and in that pursuit, the æLast King Of ScotlandÆ may be its final │
│ reckoning. │
│ │
│ Few then would expect seventeen dyed-in-the-wool trancers from him, but │
│ fewer still would anticipate the expanse of range heÆs arrived with. │
│ Brave, heartfelt and instinctual when club momentumÆs required, urbane, │
│ to the point of intellectual when itÆs not, itÆs the ultimate │
│ subversion of æthe trance albumÆ. │
│ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │
│ --------------------- │
│ ôThis record has been a labour of love, says Will. IÆve been working on │
│ it for two years but it feels like a lifetime. It has given me some of │
│ the greatest creative highs I have ever experienced in the studio but │
│ also it has presented me with periods of frustration so infuriating I │
│ could have put an axe through my computerö. │
│ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │
│ --------------------- │
│ When Will says working on it: ôfeels like a lifetimeö, looked at from a │
│ certain point of view, thatÆs exactly what itÆs been. Those listening │
│ with more seasoned ears will quickly pick up on the timeline, threaded │
│ by WillÆs inspirations, nods cues and connotations (or, as he terms it, │
│ ôa sonic walkthrough of my lifeö). At its core though the album is a │
│ product of Scotland and its clubbing and electronic music history, │
│ references to which are writ both large and subtle throughout. │
│ │
│ In respect of the former, the triumphant bagpipes of WillÆs Perplexer │
│ æAcid FolkÆ remix unambiguously staple colours blue and white to the │
│ æLast KingÆs mast. While, in the finest of Scottish traditions, its │
│ closing moments bring the poetry of æUnspoken WordsÆ, which features │
│ Atkinson-cohorts Rory OÆB & Rhianna McMahon, who echo everything from │
│ Robert Burns to Irvine Welsh. │
│ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │
│ --------------------- │
│ ôSo is this a trance album?ö questions Will. ôWell - thereÆs certainly │
│ a healthy dose of it - but there are other styles, other influences, │
│ other moods, melodies and emotional experiences for you to immerse │
│ yourself in too. I love so many different styles of music that it would │
│ be an insult not to draw influences from beyond the boundaries of │
│ tranceö. │
│ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │
│ --------------------- │
│ │
│ ThatÆs lent nth degree perspective by the likes of æSolaceÆ and │
│ æDrowning In The Dunes Of TimeÆ, which bring it ambient eminence, while │
│ æHappy HoursÆ assuredly dips æLast KingÆ into drum æn bass. The charged │
│ (yet never released) energy of æPipe DreamsÆ meanwhile lends textbook │
│ contrast to the unchained floor-freneticism of æBeansÆ. │
│ │
│ Also dotted throughout are its vocal numbers, many of which hold │
│ personal resonance for Will. Harry Roke ponders the demons many a DJs │
│ encounter on æBurning OutÆ, while æCigarettes & KeroseneÆ (with Cari │
│ Golden) ruminates on the combustible nature of relationships. Bringing │
│ lighter themes to the album, the spine-tingle of JESÆs incomparable │
│ turn on æLong Way HomeÆ lingers in the mind for time, while Will packs │
│ æIf I Spoke Your LanguageÆ with synth-zest. │
│ │
│ When, on æLast KingÆ, the broad sword of trance does swing, it does so │
│ with the kind of application WillÆs made his name out of. æLast Night │
│ In IbizaÆ, æAwakeningÆ (w/Paul van Dyk), æTelescopeÆ, æRushÆ and │
│ æKismet EnergyÆ are all nutshell examples how he finds the extra mile, │
│ juice and studio-distinction where others cannot. │
│ │
│ The æLast King Of ScotlandÆ is nothing less than a masterclass in debut │
│ album deliverance. │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────[ Tracklist ]─────────────────────────────┐ │
│ : : │
│ [ ] │
│ [ ] │
│ 1. Perplexer - Acid Folk (Will Atkinson Last King Of [ 6:40] │
│ Scotland Remix) [ ] │
│ 2. Will Atkinson with Cari Golden - Cigarettes & Kerosene [ 4:23] │
│ 3. Will Atkinson with Gary Go - If I Spoke Your Language [ 6:06] │
│ 4. Will Atkinson - Last Night In Ibiza [ 5:26] │
│ 5. Will Atkinson - Drowning In The Dunes Of Time [ 4:05] │
│ 6. Will Atkinson - Beans [ 4:08] │
│ 7. Will Atkinson with Paul Van Dyk - Awakening (Will [ 3:37] │
│ Atkinson Album Mix) [ ] │
│ 8. Will Atkinson with Harry Roke - Burning Out [ 5:36] │
│ 9. Will Atkinson - Telescope Interlude [ 1:25] │
│ 10.Will Atkinson - Telescope [ 2:56] │
│ 11.Will Atkinson - Rush [ 6:05] │
│ 12.Will Atkinson - Kismet Energy [ 6:00] │
│ 13.Will Atkinson - Happy Hours (DC Breaks Remix) [ 1:52] │
│ 14.Will Atkinson with JES - Long Way Home [ 4:06] │
│ 15.Will Atkinson - Pipe Dreams [ 7:19] │
│ 16.Will Atkinson with Rory O'B & Rhianna McMahon - Unspoken [ 4:10] │
│ Words [ ] │
│ 17.Will Atkinson - In Solace [ 4:15] │
│ [ ] │
│ [ ] │
│ │
│ 01:18:09 │
│ ------- │
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