Under Neon Stars

Feral Child’s 50th release is an absolute gem; housed in a beautiful 70s styled disco bag- it sees a 12” collaboration between longterm label favourites, Studio Kosmische from the UK and Cloud Canyons from Italy.

A killer double A side featuring a reworking by SK of “Under Neon Stars” (from Cloud Canyons’ great 2023 debut album “Dreaming Of Horses Running In Circles”) which adds to the original versions’ relentless motorik pulse, by adding a few parts and alchemically blending the original elements of the song; the slowbuilding ethereal female vocals, the multilayers of monophonic analogue synths- moulding a shrouding and lilting veil on the 9 minute long original.

Side B features a brand new track, “Black Fruit”, which also sprung from the creative dialogue between the two bands and also clocks in at around 9 minutes, side-long. Born as an instrumental piece by Studio Kosmische, “Black Fruit” developed into a full song thanks to the vocal additions by Michelle Cristofori, Laura Storchi and Stella Baraldi (Cloud Canyons’ singers) and a rich yet minimalistic array of instrumental parts by Studio Kosmische’s Dom Keen, who ingeniously shaped the keys harmonies and rhythmic textures around the vocal lines.

Accomplished by some subtle electronic treatment by Cloud Canyons’ Nicola Caleffi, “Black Fruit” ideally complements “Under Neon Stars” as a two-sided creature, hanging somewhere between krautrock and electronica.

A wonderful record, already attaining hugely positive social media response- it is available via Feral Child on vinyl only this August.