the simonsound

Bio:

..

The Simonsound is a sonic partnership consisting of Simon James and Matt Ford.

Words can be no substitute for the aural experience, but if you will have words, the duo’s first album offers an intriguing variety of sounds, including what the duo describe as ’50s and ’60s-inspired space music, mood music for film and TV, haunting vocal tracks, and switched-on cover versions of classics realised on the Moog synthesiser.

Simon and Matt have been working together on various projects over the years. You may have heard their work together before on Matt’s albums under his guise as DJ Format, on which Simon assisted with production and mixed all vocals.

The Simonsound is far from another DJ Format project. With broader musical tastes than just hip hop and funk, Simon and Matt started working on The Simonsound as an outlet for their more experimental offerings inspired by 60’s psych, pioneering electronics and music for TV and film.

The first Simonsound album, Reverse Engineering, is due for release soon on First Word Records. Vinyl, CD and download.

Already getting support on radio and in clubs from Gilles Peterson (top 10 albums of the year so far), DJ Food/Strictly Kev, Edan and DJ Muro, in the words of DJ Spinna,

“Reverse Engineering is a refreshing mesh of the past, present and the future. It's like Mort Garson rocking shell toe Adidas with fat laces blasting into the galaxy in a funky space ship. This record will remain in the crates forever. Don't sleep!”

"One of the great debuts of the year we reckon: an intriguing retro-futurist feast of music.. they perfectly replicate the sounds of lost TV and crap space-age programmes exceptionally well.... Well played, cleverly thought out and brilliantly mastered, this is very fine new old music..... this may well prove to be a wise musical investment." Jonny Trunk - Record Collector magazine

""..the boys get together for some '60s library sci-fi drama on the excellent 'Moon Rocks', cover both 'Tour De France' (renamed 'Tour De Mars') and 'Nautilus' in a Dick Hyman and Raymond Scott stylee, and show you can inject contemporary soul into the mix with the sassy 'Between The Wake And The Sleep'. 4 out of 5 stars"

"Love this, really Radiophonic Workshop, It's nice and playful, eerie and beautiful at the same time. This is the perfect marriage of the analogue stylings of the Radiophonic Workshop or Dick Hyman and the funk and jazz sample fodder that served Hip Hop so well in its early years. Imagine Kool Herc spinning the soundtrack to one of the World Expo¹s and you¹ll be partway there." DJ Food/Strictly Kev

..

..

Member Since:

January 01, 2007

Members:

Simon James and Matt Ford - synthesizers, tone generators, space echo, vibes, tape loops and assorted percussions. Collaborators include Debbie Clare on vocals and Ellie Wyatt on strings http://www.myspace.com/elliestrings.

Influences:

BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Delia Derbyshire, John Baker, Raymond Scott, Goblin, Egg, 50 Foot Hose, Dick Hyman, Ken Hollings, Basil Kirchin, Broadcast, Edan, Mantronix, Dick Raaijmakers, David Axelrod, Tristram Cary, Nino Nardini, Roger Roger, Cecil Leuter, Quatermass, The Prisoner, Georges Teperino, Les Baxter, Les Yper Sound, Mark Wilkinson, Portishead, Ian Helliwell, Messiaen and plenty more

Sounds Like:

the ende of the worlde

Record Label:

First Word/Project Blue Book