(2022) Project Gemini - The Children of Scorpio
Review:
Project Gemini is guided by the musical vision of psychedelic devotee, breakbeat enthusiast, and 70’s film soundtrack lover Paul Osborne and their debut album The Children of Scorpio is a delight for all whose musical interests reside at the center of that particular Venn diagram. Mostly putting the tracks together himself as well as providing melodic bass lines, he’s also joined by a top flight array of like-minded guests to bring it all home. Two funky dudes from Israel, namely drummer Shuzin and keyboardist Markey Funk, a guitar wrangler par excellence (Barry Cadogan of Little Barrie), a psychedelic Frenchman (Kid Victrola of Gloria) and the Soundcarriers’ Paul Isherwood all contribute bits and bobs to a record that has all the mystery of a lost soundtrack to a weird biker movie, all the laid back groove of a hidden easy psych treasure, and above all, enough hooks to lodge the record firmly in the data bank, ready for easy access anytime one feels the need to turn off and drift up or down stream for a bit. Isherwood helped with the mixing and Children does sometimes come across like the Soundcarriers in a mellow mood, other times the duo give the songs some real funky punch. Tracks like “The Path Through the Forest” or the nasty fuzz guitar workout “The Ritual ’70” don’t exactly knock down the door, but the dirty drum breaks, insistent waves of organ, and bubblewrap-pop bounce of the bass sure make what’s on the other side sound promising. Quieter moments lend themselves to pastoral reveries. On “June” for example, the echoing swells of the keys, woody hum of the Mellotron, and gentle trip of the rhythm section are as drowsy as a kitten in a sunbeam. That song, and a few others, feature Osborne’s vocals and while they aren’t as distinctive as his bass playing, that’s fine. He blends right into the tapestry gracefully, perfectly even. In fact, everything about the records comes together like a perfect dream, the kind where DJ Shadow and Madlib spin lost psych rock jams, Jimi Hendrix and Peter Green burn up fretboards, Broadcast twist the knobs on vintage synths, and the house band from the gnarliest nightclub on the outskirts of town lay down the past-your-bedtime grooves. Throw in a little Go! Team anything goes attitude, some Lalo Schifrin atmosphere, and the influence half to all of the bands featured in Shindig!, the magazine where Osborne serves as editor, and one arrives at the starting point. From there Osborne slaps a bow on it with his songwriting and production, making this a thrilling debut that vaults Project Gemini right to the front of the funky psych class.
Track List:
01 - The Children of Scorpio
02 - The Road to the Hills
03 - The Path Through the Forest
04 - Searching for June (Interlude)
05 - June
06 - Scorpio's Waltz
07 - The Invitation (Interlude)
08 - The Ritual '70
09 - Scorpio's Garden
10 - The Turning
11 - Plan Your Escape
12 - The Deserted Compound (Interlude)
13 - Buried in the Woods
14 - Closing Theme
Media Report:
Genre: funk, indie-pop, psychedelic rock
Country: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
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