Andrew Coleman
Date Released: November 2004
Label: Tripel Records
Format: CD album
Track Listing:
Introduction:
When I was young I lived very close to the Greenham Common American airbase. While I was at primary school I remember it as an exciting place where once a year, during the summer, there would be a large airshow. Exotic Aircraft would come in low over the schools playing fields to land at the base and we’d run out to greet them- The Vulcan, the galaxy, jets and propeller planes in many shapes, colours and sizes.
Then, in 1980, it was announced that Greenham Common was one of bases which was to host cruise missiles. The airshows finished, the fences around the base became larger and the peace women moved in. Everyday, my journey to school would involve driving past the common in my mums’ car, past the gates with the concrete blocks and guards, past the protesting women’s tents, the missile silos ominously lurking in the distance. I lived in fear of the nukes. Radiation, fallout, mushroom clouds were a constant threat, or so I thought. The world could end at any time. But it didn’t.
Demons isn’t specifically about my childhood or the scenario at greenham common but it does try and reflect upon faded memories of fear, innocence and the way our anxieties and feelings shift as we grow older and gain experience and knowledge. Back in the 80’s, during that time living near the base, I was unaware of the levels of propaganda and bluff being used by governments on both sides of the cold war. I’m sure there really was a threat during episodes like the Cuban crisis but not a constant threat like I felt. I’m sure there are young people now, growing up in the ‘war on terror’ whom(?) have similar fears to those I had. Maybe it’s just part of a loss of innocence we all go through to become adults.
Andrew Coleman, 2005
Reviews:
“Coleman alternates between genre-bending escapades into pure abstraction and leisurely strolls into more defined musical forms, giving Demons a curiously balanced identity, and making it a truly fascinating record ”
The Milk Factory
“A victory of subtle sound-scaping over both neanderthal musicianship and sterile, laboratory-made beat-making, Demons is a record that relishes what can be done when the digital deconstructs the natural, offering a refreshing third way to all those working at the extremes.”
Drowned in Sound
““Fight or Flight†begins with percussion sounds, but grounds itself in a rhythmic motif EQ’d to have almost no attack at all; instead, found-sound clunks, guitars and piano serve to create a 3D audio environment. Demons is so quiet that it could easily slip by in the background, but rewards close listening.”
