Michael Chapman - Lescudjack 10" (last copy)

An anomaly (or is it?) from long-time and recently-passed Yorkshire experimental folk musician Michael Chapman, "Lescudjack" pairs intricately finger-picked and strummed strings with drum machine, synth bass, handclaps and echo to produce a brief slice of leftfield cosmic disco that sounds like it came from outer space. Far from the only cut on Chapman's 12th LP 'Life on the Ceiling' (1979), 'Lescudjack' is plucked for a sweet 10" reissue treatment by Emotional Rescue, who pair it with an by Swiss producer Lexx which extends and dubs out the sub-3 minute original to something that stretches out ever-so-slightly across the dancefloor. As far as we know, we got the label's last copy, so grab this highly unique record, one of our favorites!

"The term 'cosmic classic' has been banded around increasingly in the last decade, with its modern disco retake, thankfully, soon running out of steam. However, in Michael Chapman’s 'Lescudjack' we see the genius of Daniele Baldelli in finding obscure records that do not fit the traditional dance floor and making them work.

"So how does a former art and photography teacher turned singer-songwriter from the 60s folk scene end up making a discernible leftfield track that was an underground hit in the late 70s Italian club scene? After a series of successful albums for the Harvest label, things started to change tack when Chapman signed for Decca and released the 1973 'Milestone Grit' album. Mixing his oft-gloomy writing with some lively instrumentals, this semi-experimental work was a sign of things to come. By the time he released the 'Life On The Ceiling' album in 1978, a pattern had emerged. The fact one such instrumental was then chosen for release a year later as a 7” and subsequent limited 12” was all the more surprising.

"Here, then, 'Lescudjack' finds it’s way to the infamous Mr. Baldelli and its place in the Cosmic greatest list—and it’s easy to hear why, with the Celtic-influenced acoustic and electric guitar interplay riding atop an almost rudimentary mid-tempo phased electro-beat and claps. Derived from the Celtic words for 'shielded stronghold', the roots of the song are apparent; however, by utilizing a modern electronic backing track, the song becomes something else altogether.

"At just over 2 minutes long this oft-kilter guitar cut was always ripe for reworking and who better than DJ and producer Lexx to provide an extended edit. Almost doubling the length, loops, echo and FX push the original higher, meeting modern DJ needs while respectively allowing Chapman’s brilliant playing to remain at its heart." – Emotional Rescue