The black Albumen began as an experiment by Glyn BiggaBush (Rockers Hi Fi, Dandelion Set, Magic Drum Orchestra, Lightning Head) to see if he could channel the music of Egg - specifically their 1969 debut album but with elements of follow-ups The Polite Force & Civil Surface - into his own productions. The black Albumen's musical palette was restricted to the same instrumentation as used by Egg - organ, piano, tone generator / test oscillator, bass guitar & drums. Time signatures were generally irregular - 5s, 7s, 9s, 11s with the odd 23 thrown in for good measure. Glyn then invited Finnish singer, poet & lyricist Hanna Ylitepsa onboard who brought a whole new energy to the tracks with intense wordplay incorporating ancient Nordic dialects.
Drummer Matt Hartnell also assisted, tackling the ever-changing meters with ease whilst emphasising the hard-hitting nature of the material. Studio time was booked in Mark Tucker’s Devon hideaway to complete the rhythm tracks then shortly after the Covid lockdown’s Mark, who had ironically started his career in the same studio where Egg recorded their first LP, mixed everything down.
The black Albumen isn't simply a 1970’s prog tribute though. There are no self-aggrandising solos or epic, overblown concepts. The music is sparse & economic - riffs are repeated in cycles of ever-shifting lengths & meters with layers of evolving electronic keyboards & hard-hitting percussion doused in scalding fuzz bass. More appropriate references would be Steve Reich, Faust, Henry Cow, possibly even Goat & Queens Of The Stone Age, with hints of Os Mutantes' revolutionary tropicalia, all soaked in Hanna’s rich yet foreboding vocal harmonies. Glyn explains: “We’re not trying to recreate or replicate with the black Albumen – we're using unusual sounds & rhythms to provoke a visceral response”.
Friend & label manager Alan Gubby helped release a super-limited 7" EP and 10" mini album on his Buried Treasure imprint in 2022 - both sold out in less than a day. Overegginnit brings together the complete recordings of the black Albumen for the first time, along with 6 new interpretations by Pulselovers (Castles In Space), Language Field (Precariat), Toi Toi Toi (Ghost Box), Revbjelde (Buried Treasure), Markey Funk (Delights) & Bigga Bush himself.
