Expert unmasking of inexplicably overlooked Stockport musician K.S Eden undertaken by Stroom with the assistance of NTS resident Adam Oko, framing the wide-ranging works of this pivotal Manchester music figure in a fresh context.The story began much like many others within Manchester’s now iconic music scene (The Fall, Buzzcocks, Joy Division +++) - at the Sex Pistols legendary Lesser Free Trade Hall Gig, instilling the belief he too could be in a band.After a batch of gigs organised by the Manchester Musicians Collective, Eden had a musical epiphany after witnessing Charles Haywards revolutionary drumming style with This Heat and his band morphed into 41 Degrees, who managed to self-produce / self-release an eerie, ambience-laced nocturnal post-punk LP entitled Open Heart that unfortunately passed everyone by due to a national press strike.Undeterred by his lack of commercial success, Eden had a stint studying Fine Art in London, working as Brian Eno’s assistant, studying with Laraaji and setting up the Edgeley-based WMO imprint that would go on to revisit key works from the Wire / Dome / Bruce Gilbert orbit, but his dedication to the spirit of DIY recording persevered.The later stages of Eden’s recording life moves towards more Eastern-influenced sound-works, driven by his embracement of the Vedantic Advaita tradition, leading to soundtrack installation works and a number of home-brewed tape experiments that fit well within the long linage of British stay-at-home experimentalists such as Robert Cox, Orior, Tim Stebbing, and many more.It’s a colourful and vast musical career, specifically made all the more poignant considering this has been going on unnoticed just a 10 minute walk from the sleepy surroundings of this humble shop, but high praise to Ziggy and Adam for distilling it down into a cohesive presentation of one of the area’s most fascinating cross-cultural artists.(Mint / New)
Tracklist A1 –41 Degrees Silent Towns 03:04 A2 –41 Degrees The Spirit Moves 03:34 A3 –K.S. Eden* Still Beats 03:38 A4 –K.S. Eden* Hombre 07:51 A5 –K.S. Eden* Gathering Dust 02:07 B1 –K.S. Eden* ... In Open Country 04:12 B2 –K.S. Eden* Ghost Fires 06:07 B3 –K.S. Eden* Cross Track 05:19 B4 –41 Degrees White Flowers 03:37 B5 –41 Degrees November 02:41
