format: limited cd in handmade sleeve with photo insert
release date: monday 1st september 2003
following up from the stretched, glacial ambiences of his split ep with asteroth , tom bugs, the man behind the knowledge of bugs, reveals yet more of his colours with "the woodwork ep". taking a step aside from the consummate electronics of his last release he turns towards a more acoustic standpoint while still maintaining a digital edge. tom plays his instruments to perfection and whether it's the guitar, recorder or a miniature harp, it's played with grace and beauty.
the melodic feel of his earlier work has been retained but the intricacies are more refined and polished. the opening track, "that's what you call a marlin", gently builds a setting to introduce tom's first vocal recordings. tom sings of the joy of a dream in which he is given some shelves, before realising that they will never help to organise the larger problems in life. "zhl" revolves around a central harp motif, overlaid with guitars and claves, and conjures up expansive hillsides with the sound of choirs echoing through the valleys. this track was used as part of a collaborative soundtracking of kenneth anger's silent film, "the inauguration of the pleasuredome", with silent age's mole harness. the ep's final track, "leene", shows tom's subtle electronics with his sound boxes and their electronic blips and jitters melding with layers of acoustic guitar. "chasing paper butterflies" is not only a beautiful song in its own right but also serves as an excellent palette for two radically different reconstructions by los & dyslogic. los, following up from his stunning tracks on clean cut's "cut your teeth" compilation, takes an interesting angle on the remix by overdubbing tom's original track with layers of synths which move from bouncy to brooding and back again. in contrast, float's dyslogic choses to take minute slivers of sounds from the original and mold them into an ever shifting textural frenzy.
for those of you who haven't come across the knowledge of bugs yet you have been missing out. he is involved with many of bristol's musical collectives; clean cut, float, silent age, and sink & stove, all of whom are concentrating on live music with a particular emphasis on performance and visuals. tom exemplifies this approach, combining his live instrumentation with live sampling and effects to create a musical show with real depth and personality. this ep marks a clear progression from the knowledge of bugs and shows that he has the skill to move elsewhere after. the knowledge of bugs album is planned for early 2004 which will be released through one of bristol's up-and-coming electronic labels.
track listing:
