{"title":"Astrel K","description":"\u003cp\u003eAstrel K, based in Stockholm, is the solo project of [a5012035] of [a4777169].\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-foreign-department","title":"The Foreign Department","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Foreign Department\u003c\/i\u003e is the second album by Astrel K, the solo project helmed by Stockholm-based British ex-pat, Rhys Edwards. Those already familiar with Edwards’ work will likely know him for fronting the cultishly great Ulrika Spacek, and given he operates as the principal songwriter in both projects, much of the same hallmarks of his cathartic, elliptical songwriting are present in Astrel K. Nonetheless, \u003ci\u003eThe Foreign Department\u003c\/i\u003e feels like a rubicon moment of sorts, and the album that Edwards has unconsciously been working towards his entire creative life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a title, \u003ci\u003eThe Foreign Department\u003c\/i\u003e offers an instructive guide for the listener, framing a life-in-transition\/artist-in-exile document that maps two impromptu moves in twelve months for its songwriter: the first from London in pursuit of a relationship, the second between homes in Stockholm as that decade long relationship then suddenly dissolved. Indeed, diffusion, dissolution and reconstitution feel like appropriate touchstones for its recurring themes. Written amidst the flux of two states, at once isolated from home and then any established emotional anchor, the resulting eleven tracks came to represent a precognitive search for shifting identity and with it forming an unwittingly biographical record. It's commendable and somewhat telling that during this shake up, Edwards somehow landed upon his most realised and original work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor all its troubled origins, \u003ci\u003eThe Foreign Department\u003c\/i\u003e is a remarkably warm sounding collection. Edwards' lyrics are typically knotty and neurotic, dancing around the poetry of quarter-life anxiety, but the music itself is often joyous and even uplifting, the combination expressing that neat duality of melancholic euphoria. Edwards sings variously of crises, \"torrid pieces of art\", of \"houses on fire\" and not \"having the guts for it\", yet these troubling sentiments are framed by seemingly incongruous swelling strings, chirping horns or motorik percussion, creating that sense of pushing forward or floating above, of wrapping your troubles in dreams, a salve for the moments when you get a bit too much for yourself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tough Love","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50383970107723,"sku":"2178437","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50383970238795,"sku":"2175331","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/e619991c-80b5-edd7-7ba6-fee3846803a6_4e187bd0_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726281014"},{"product_id":"flickering-i","title":"Flickering i","description":"\u003cp\u003eAstrel K is Rhys Edwards of Ulrika Spacek.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAstrel K's debut single ‘You Could If You Can’ was released via Duophonic Super 45s - a label which has a history of releasing limited edition abstract releases from Stereolab, Broadcast and Yo La Tengo. 500 copies of the 7” were made, hand stamped and numbered, quickly selling out in selected record shops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the loss of Ken, a shared house in which Ulrika Spacek band members lived and worked from, Edwards relocated to Stockholm, Sweden where he began making music on his own: “At this time, I didn’t really know anyone in Stockholm so kinda retreated into making music just by myself. The album title definitely reflects this period; I was on my own making music and sometimes nothing would be happening and sometimes there would be little sparks of ideas that could keep me going”.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEdwards would spend nights writing and recording in a shared rehearsal space producing music rich with layers and texture, synonymous with the work of Ulrika Spacek but with perhaps a greater focus on the art of ‘song writing’. Tracks with verse’s and chorus’s are surrounded by instrumental interludes; inspired by old library music and compositions for film as well as being reminiscent of bands such as Broadcast.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album doesn’t sound like one made in either London or Stockholm, rather somewhere in the nether region. Written pre pandemic but mixed in the past year, the music led Edwards to finding like minded musicians from the Stockholm music scene: “Though I’m now glad I can say I wrote an album by myself, I was definitely confronted with my own musical strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes when you have an A\/B decision you want some perspective and you’d be in the studio, turn around and no one is there. It really made me curious to bring in more people into the fold, not to compromise any original vision or anything, but to have other energy in the room, to exorcise out any lazy tricks I may fall into”.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStockholm musicians (including Lili Holényi, Milton Öhrström, Niklas Mellberg, Tomas Hellberg) played on the album and join Edwards in the live version of the project.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Duophonic","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50505784262987,"sku":"1148539","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50505783312715,"sku":"1148538","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1a57863d-0f26-4e6e-91ea-0b415886396f_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727816728"},{"product_id":"tell-the-world-my-name","title":"Tell the World My Name","description":"\u003cp\u003eKevin Madison a.k.a. K-Solo a.k.a. the \"original rap criminal\" was a member of EPMD's \"Hit Squad\" and legendary antagonist of the Hit Squad's Keith Murray and also of DMX, whom K-Solo had met in prison while serving a three-year sentence. His 1990 debut album, \u003ci\u003eTell the World My Name\u003c\/i\u003e, scored three rap hit singles with \"Your Mom's in My Business,\" \"Spellbound,\" and \"Fugitive,\" and featured production from EPMD's Parrish \"PMD\" Smith. It was a highlight in a year full of legendary rap releases, but it's never been out on vinyl. The Real Gone release features a lemon-coloured vinyl pressing limited to 1600 copies!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Real Gone Music","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50513322967371,"sku":"2012490","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Tell_the_World_My_Name_75d36017_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727926463"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_35785bb0_thumbnail_4096_f1a9a916-c351-4868-b3dc-2ef4774f6798.jpg?v=1726280975","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/astrel-k.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}