ATA Records - The Library Archive, Vol. 1 [ATA Records]

Format: LP in printed sleeve.
CAT: ata020

The spirit of KPM, DeWolfe and I Marc 4 distilled in a locked garage in Leeds.

The atmospheric, evocative, at times downright bizarre funk production of companies such as DeWolfe, Cavendish, Burton and the ubiquitous KPM has always been a key inspiration for ATA Records, evident in the eerie soundtracks of The Sorcerers, the brass big band arrangements of The Yorkshire Film & Television Orchestra and even the soul-jazz of The Lewis Express (Theme From The Watcher).

Everything ATA releases is written and directed by label heads Neil Innes and Pete Williams, who often delve into the world of library music while working on other projects. These loose, occasional pieces have been accumulating over the past few years and now find a home in the first volume of an ongoing series: The Library Archive.

Recorded with the same techniques and equipment used to create the now legendary music catalogues for the film and television industry of the 60s and 70s, The Library Archive could easily be placed alongside the classic minimalist covers of KPM or Telesound.

The ferocious brass of Whack, Slap & Blow and Kaye Okay could pass for compositions by Keith Mansfield, functioning as theme tunes for a glamorous Saturday night TV show around 1972. Duck Strut is a mischievous, bass-driven piece of Brit-funk, with muted brass and flute adding a Quincy Jones-esque touch over grooving drums and percussion. The Needle Nose, Midnight Heist and Wiretap are among the album's most cinematic cuts: dark and atmospheric, they evoke shadowy alleyways, figures in silhouette and clandestine deliveries. Wigged Out channels the wonky strangeness of the organ of the Italian I Marc 4, while Nuclear Wind I & II employ Moog and Mellotron as electronic counterpoint to ethereal vocals. The acoustic interlude Siren's Sea evokes distant cliffs and vaporous voices luring you onto the rocks, before the album closer, Planet Nine, traverses the cosmos.