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In the 1980s, Peter Astor rode the tiger of Scotland's "feedback pop" first
with the Loft, that recorded the seminal singles
Why Does The Rain (1984) and Up The Hill (1985),
later collected on Once Round The Fair (Creation),
and then with the Weather Prophets.
The Prophets, whose early material was collected on
Diesel River (Megadisc, 1986), specialized in
psych-pop ditties like the single Almost Prayed (Creation, 1986)
Naked As The Day You Were Born, the standout track on
debut album Mayflower (Elevation, 1987),
and In Between, from Judges Juries & Horsemen (Creation, 1988).
Melodies were occasionally warped by acid-jams in the vein of
Television:
She Comes From The Rain, from Mayflower,
and Hollow Heart, from Judges Juries & Horsemen.
Astor tried the solo career with Submarine (Creation, 1990), a
collection of languid psychedelic ballads a` la Syd Barrett.
At the end of the decade, Astor resurrected with a solo project named
The Wisdom Of Harry.
The early singles and EPs are collected on
Stars Of Super 8 (Matador, 1999) and already show the singer and
guitarist experimenting with electronica.
House Of Binary (Matador, 2000) is the album of a singer songwriter
who aims at extending Beck's experiments.
Coney Island Of Your Mind is a harmless pop ditty, but
Caesar Boots and Boxed belong to a new musical race.
Torch Division (Matador, 2003), on the other hand, is more mainstream.
Astor was also active as Ellis Island Sound, but its songs were documented only
much later on The Good Seed (2007).
His solo Hal's Eggs (Static Caravan, 2005) is a collection of traditional
folk songs.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Andrea Marengo)
Peter Astor cavalcò negli anni ottanta la tigre del
"feedback pop" scozzese, prima con i Loft, che pubblicarono i singoli
seminali Why Does The Rain (1984) e Up To The Hill (1985), in seguito raccolti
su Once Round The Fair (Creation) e più tardi con i Weather Phrophets. Il loro
primo materiale venne pubblicato su Diesel River (Megadisc, 1986),
specializzato in motivetti pop psichedelici quali il singolo Almost Prayed
(Creation, 1986). Naked As The Day You Were Born era la traccia migliore di
Mayflower (Elevation, 1986) il loro album di debutto, seguito da In Between da
Judges Juries & Horseman (Creation, 1988). Le loro melodie erano occasionalmente
distorte da jam acide alla maniera dei Television come dimostrano She Comes
From The Rain da Mayflower, e Hollow Heart da Juries & Horsemen.
Astor tentò la carriera da solista con Submarine (Creation,
1990), una raccolta di languide ballate psichedeliche alla maniera di Syd
Barrett.
Alla fine del decennio Astor risorse con il progetto solista
The Wisdom Of Harry. I primi singoli ed EP sono raccolti su Star Of Super 8
(Matador, 1999) che già vedeva il cantante e chitarrista sperimentare con l'elettronica.
House Of Binary (Matador, 2000) è l'album di un cantante-cantautore che tenta
di approfondire gli esperimenti di Beck. Coney Island Of Your Mind è un innocua
canzonetta pop, ma Caesar Boots e Boxed appartengono ad una nuova corrente
musicale. Torch Division (Matador, 2003) è d'altronde più mainstream.
Astor fu anche attivo come Ellis Island Sound, ma le sue
canzoni vennero documentate solo molto tempo più tardi su The Good Seed (2007).
Il suo album solista Hal's Eggs (Static Caravan, 2005) è una raccolta di
canzoni folk tradizionali.
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