John Foxx & Jori Hulkkonen - European Splendour

  • Share
  • This is the third collaborative release—following 2005's Dislocated and 2007's Never Been Here Before—from former Ultravox man John Foxx and Finnish house producer Jori Hulkkonen. This latest EP is intended to tell, in Foxx's words, a "Lynchian love story set against the background of a convulsed Europe... where dark forces insinuate the cafes, alleyways and penthouses." Whatever the backstory, these tracks all sound as you'd expect from a Foxx/Hulkkonen collaboration: stark, breathy vocals from the former; measured, atmospheric instrumentation from the latter. "Evangeline" pairs Foxx's detached yet longing vocals with insistent bass and woozy strings to produce a highly evocative whole. Remixing the track is none other than David Lynch, who slows down and partially submerges Foxx's vocal in echoing, mechanical percussion. "Strictly" is based on a gently oscillating synth line, and comes out feeling more synthetic but no less atmospheric. "Avenues" is the EP's dramatic peak, with Foxx ominously intoning that "something is coming down the avenues," while "Can't See You Anymore" charts the tragic aftermath of the love affair as a discordant electro-ballad.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Evangeline A2 Strictly B1 Something Is Coming Down The Avenues B2 Can't See You Anymore B3 Evangeline (David Lynch Remix)
RA