ANTHONY ROCHESTER  reminds RK of Eggstone circa 1993: coming out of nowhere (Tasmania is Mr. Rochester's home) with a gorgeous sound; and almost completely unaware of the bands you would name when attempting to describe the music. So how did RK discover the Tasmanian? Why, through the Norwegians, naturally. Christoffer from Nice System/Remington Super 60 and Christer from Micromars put together a compilation to document the young Norwegian scene...making Anthony into an honorary Norseman in the process.

I Love You Baby (from Anthony's forthcoming Music for in the Spaceship) video
Métropolitain (from Music for Librarians) video

live mp3: Matt Jones and Anthony Rochester live on Gull's Window Circus (WZBC Boston) 13 Nov 2007. Five string guitar and chauffeur service courtesy Dmitry Elentuck. Recording courtesy Patrick Rands. (24 minutes)
Songs:
1. My Brother the Submariner
2. Something Worth Stealing
3. If I Was a Hairdresser
4. Lipscombe Larder
5. Emotional Song No. 1

A few bits of live video:
Anthony solo at KRETS, Malmö, 21 Dec 2007 youtube video
Anthony with Douglas & Petter Testbild! plus Matt Jones at KRETS, Malmö, 21 Dec 2007 youtube video
Anthony Rochester, Preview Festival, Göteborg, 16 Dec 2007 video

Music for Librarians
khz205 - CD $12 - buy
Two-and-a-half years in the tinkering, Anthony Rochester's much-anticipated second long player is a producer's album: densely layered melodies and sounds, sounds, sounds! Start with that classic bass sound of the French 60s (think Serge Gainsbourg or, more recently, Bertrand Burgalat). Add a truckload of keyboards (piano, Hammond, classic synths...the portamento button even gets a mention in the album thank-yous), guitars galore, strings, operatic "Star Trek" backing vocals, flutes, off kilter recorders, etcetera etcetera. Top with Anthony's laid back vocals and wayward, shy-guy charm. Mr. Rochester plays almost everything himself, from drums to violin, but still pulls in a good handful of guests, among them Norwegian future-pop maestro Micromars (whose electronics soup up the album's aching, dreamy finale) and the mezzo-soprano from next door.

Matt Jones of The Hepburns (who penned the lyrics for two of the songs) describes Anthony's music as a "stained-glass window...It is music for interiors, bored Tuesday afternoons with nothing much to do but with a smouldering-cigarette desire to do something, music to fill the void like particles of dust illuminated by coloured light."

Mastered by Jiri Adamik-Novak (Cinnamon), who never says more than a word or two about anything, except in the case of this album, where he used at least 30.

Reference points: Komeda, Bertrand Burgalat, Eno's Another Green World, Remington Super 60, Shuggie Otis, Stereolab.
 

01. Testbild!: His Shadows are Green / His Shadows are Blue
02. Anthony Rochester: Special Delivery Agent Q-39