The Big Pink
Not to be confused with The Band’s 1968 debut album (from where this East London duo cherry-picked their name), the steamroller of expression and shadowy intrigue that is The Big Pink centres around Milo Cordell (son of 1960’s pop producer Denny Cordell) and Robbie Furze . Although other cyclical members are drafted in for live shows; such as Al O\'Connell, electronic artiste Jo Apps from the Planet Mu label, Daniel O\'Sullivan (from Guapo and Sunn)))O) and drummer Akiko Matsuura of Pre and Comanechi, it is Cordell and Furze who with droning guitars, abstract effects, gritty beats and dreamy vocals are the compositional force behind The Big Pink’s arty soundscape.
Despite being a relatively new name on the scene, the pair’s long friendship has a history entwined in music. Long before their collaborative partnership spawned The Big Pink, the two were putting on club nights in a derelict horse hospital in Islington. Humble beginnings, you might say – “We were both really into industrial noise,” recalled Cordell. “Just noise, like kkkssshhh. Kkkrrr. Distorted noise,” elements of which are clearly discernable in The Big Pink’s construction. “Now essentially all our songs are love songs. We like to celebrate everything. Even love lost.”
An interim period followed as the two went their separate ways; Cordell to start successful indie label Merok (which brought the world a spate of now well-established electro-noise outfits - Klaxons, Crystal Castles and Telepathe to name a few) and Furze to co-found hardcore metal band Panic DHH whilst playing guitar for electro-punk singer Alec Empire.
A few years passed, and the duo found themselves back in East London. The Big Pink was born. Initially showcased to mostly friends at a monthly club night in the basement of a disused glue factory (nicknamed “The Gloop” due to the stickiness on the floors and wall from its previous trade); “London Kills Me”, as the night was called, started life as a small affair. However, over time it gained a reputation for being one of the few places you could hear Chicago house records and the more contemporary sounds of experimental noise and drone outfits.
First single ‘Too Young To Love’ (released through Merok) hit record stores last year. Roundly praised, its analogue synths and sinister undertones set the watermark for what to expect from the two-piece. This year’s follow-up, ‘Velvet’, didn’t disappoint. Heavier than their first offering, shoegazing wraith-like vocals mercilessly collide head-on with a crushing wall of digitalized noise, undercut by tarnished guitars. Released through new label 4AD (Cordell was concerned that The Big Pink might be regarded as a “vanity project” had it been released through his own label again), it represents what lies at the heart of The Big Pink; a hazy union of beauty and ugliness, light and dark, ethereal and material – all shrouded in a uniquely dark elegance.
The Big Pink are playing a number of U.K. dates across 2009, including some festivals slots..
15/04/09 – Leadmill, Sheffield
16/04/09 – King Tuts, Glasgow
17/04/09 - Ruby Lounge, Manchester
18/04/09 – Crawdaddy, Dublin
20/04/09 – Cockpit, Leeds
21/04/09 – Academy 2, Birmingham
22/04/09 – Academy 2, Bristol
23/04/09 – ICA, London
24/04/09 – Camden Crawl, London Town
25/04/09 – Camden Crawl, London Town
14/05/09 – The Great Escape Festival, Brighton
15/05/09 - The Great Escape Festival, Brighton
24/05/09 – Evolution Festival, Newcastle
11/09/09 – Bestival, Isle of Wight
Their debut album, from which “Velvet” and “Too Young To Love” are from, is due for release this September.
VELVET:
TOO YOUNG TO LOVE: