Alex Neilson

Ourselves was originally recorded as a one-hour special for broadcast on London's Resonance FM but was too good to leave to the aether. Ourselves is the first collaboration between Richard and octopus-armed percussionist Neilson. The music here represents something of a return to the extended psychedelic mania of mid 90-s outings such as Asthma and Diabetes and Endekeg. "Beam" kicks off the CD with Richard ripping it up on electric guitar over a thick blanket of hand percussion, plucked strings, backwards scraping noises, etc. The 36 minute "Mexico" follows with more string mangling, segueing into an atmospheric interlude for voices, bowed cymbals, bells, etc. The final track is an unusual rendering of the traditional "God Bless The Master," with Richard's unmistakeable voice carrying the original melody over the cloud of bric-a-brac and swells of electricity swirling in the background.