Wholesome

Philip Jeck

I was emailing back and forth with a friend about An Empty Bliss Beyond This World—I hadn’t heard it yet and she thought it might be of interest to me, which is true. I’m certainly intrigued by the themes behind it (Alzheimer’s, memory, the impact of music on both) but after a couple listens through, my thoughts kept returning to Philip Jeck and how he he summons similar spirits in a much more engaging way. Perhaps that’s unfair to Leyland Kirby, but as both the Caretaker and previously as V/VM, he often generates what I would consider to be edits (as opposed to new pieces) that do little to mask his source material. Some might argue that this is what makes his work successful, so all I can do is politely disagree. And if someone wants to discuss this further, I’d be happy to! (Send a comment, ask a question, whatever.)

Jeck, on the other hand, strikes me as a first-rank alchemist whose methods of excavation and manipulation produce more satisfying emotional results. If you’ve never heard his music, this track is a bit of a red herring—rarely his work as “lovely” as it is here. But it’s a winner all the same, and critic Mark Richardson’s description of it as “a perpetual flower in bloom” is spot-on.