The Caretaker aka Leyland Kirby aka V/vm aka The Stranger

new Intrigue & Stuff went out today! first two singles didn't really do anything for me but the third is a 20-minute Badalamenti-esque masterpiece. between that and Destroyer's "The Laziest River" my end-of-the-year mix CD is only going to have like four songs on it.

Pleasantly surprised to see his e-mail with the download link! I do enjoy the set-up of this deal. Paying a certain amount per year to receive what will probably be five or six albums/ep's, always a great surprise to suddenly, unannounced have new music available. I think he's down very well on the business side of things. Personally staying in touch, obviously caring for his listeners/fans. He's a prince.

next album's out! I didn't find out until a few days after the email went out (it must have gotten caught in my spam folder despite being the EXACT OPPOSITE of spam) so I doubt I got one of the white vinyl copies from Boomkat though :(

New one might be my favourite yet. "My dream contained a star" in particular.

Is it actually the same tune as "Mental caverns without Sunshine" off An Empty Bliss? I think it might be. Haven't listened back to back though.

Err, no it's not. Oops. I swear that Mental Caverns track is the same tune as *something* else by him, though.

finally, a third person's posting in this thread :)

and yes the new album is QUITE great. I dunno if I like it more than the last Caretaker album (my overall album of the year so far) but it's just so god damn pretty. Kirby's 2011 has been utterly unfuckwithable all around; the Intrigue & Stuff EPs have had a couple of songs which have been a little abrasive for my taste but aside from that dude's batting a thousand. props should go to Lupo at D+M for his work mastering Kirby's stuff too; I'm a digital subscriber but I always try to wait to listen until the vinyl to show up just to revel in all the space on those records.

Three is a nice crowd :-)

But I agree, the mastering is very good. Somehow his music feels so vulnerable to lay on vinyl, but all the records I got this year are just great.

The new one still has to completely sink in. 'Persistent Repetition of Phrases' is still my favourite, a milestone and life-changing record. But everything he's released this year (apart from Intrigue & Stuff, which is a bit hit or miss for me) is just great, great stuff.

I'm not sure I've ever listened to 'Persistent Repetition of Phrases', so I clearly should (I bought the first Caretaker album when it came out, and then skipped them all until this year). My only problem with the Caretaker album from this year (and maybe all of them?) is that the tracks are too short.

Oh man... I can't even begin to imagine not having heard 'Persistent'! I'll guarantee you intense nostalgic satisfaction! :)

it absolutely kills me that I cannot find Persistent on vinyl, for a reasonable price or otherwise.

Well, yeah. I was fortunate to be able to get one. Maybe try it on discogs?

Oh, you said reasonable price, nevermind... :-/

even Discogs & GEMM don't have any copies! I even emailed him directly to ax if he had any left but even I'm lolling at the idea of that. LE SIGH. on the plus side, I've gotten the colored pressings of everything he's put out this year apart from the first I&S (whose existence I discovered several weeks after its release) so at least my gotta-catch-em-all instincts are sated on that front.

sad lol @ gemm

Do you not want to listen to 'Persistent' if it is not vinyl? If not I will hook you up with the mp3's, just say the word.

haha thanks man; I got it on CD already but I'm specifically looking for it on the Lord's own format.

I've been using The Caretaker album as naptime music for my baby since June. Works great.

hey Le Bateau Ivre, we have v similar tastes and I know nothing about this dude's post-VVM projects, so maybe you could hit me up with an ILX webmail if you don't mind... also y'all have got me ordering from experimedia now between this and the Emeralds thread.

many xposts

(I bought the first Caretaker album when it came out, and then skipped them all until this year)

YOU MUST GET THIS IMMEDIATELY

Ah sorry (and thanks for the webmail) - was writing in a hurry, should have said that was what got me back into him again - so nothing between the first Caretaker album and that. Yeah, those pieces are more of the right length for me (although after 3 hours or so I tend to run out of enthusiasm for it).

Sleeve, check your email :)

just heard back!

The Caretaker album you ask about may be re-released on Vinyl next year at somepoint, all depends on interest and demand as represses are always expensive and a big risk if there’s not a demand as i work from more or less no money this end.

ILX HOW DO WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN

About which album is that?

Regardless, I'm down.

Persistent Repetition

Well that is the one, so count me in.

I love how approachable he still is. He always answers, in a true way, too.

and yes the new album is QUITE great.

Yes, yes it is. And it's suiting a grey and rainy morning brilliantly.

wait, what is the new album called? i can't find any reviews.

Eager to Tear Apart the Stars

while ILX was down (NEVAR FORGET) I finally managed to pick up a copy of Persistent Repetition on vinyl for $20 shipped! it hurt me in my heart not to be able to crow about my score to the two other people who read this thread; instead the only folks who heard were my neighbors who had to suffer through a few minutes of literal whooping & hollering when the auction ended. (there was also actually a second copy on eBay at the time which I wanted to bring interested parties itt but, well, yeah.)

Woohoo, congrats! And a very good price too, I might add, I've not seen them around that cheap before.

Here's a nice, extensive interview The Quietus had with him 10 days ago.

There's definitely something about Chris De Burgh, I think it's his eyebrows. Very strange eyebrows, Chris De Burgh. He's a very small man as well. I actually gave him a copy of the 'Lady In Red' mix I did on vinyl, I handed it to him and said 'I think you might know that one', and he just smiled at me. I never heard anything back, but he must have listened to it. He didn't want to sue me, so that's quite nice.

Persistent Repetition is a god damned REVELATION on vinyl.

Patience for Sebald is FINALLY up for order on Boomkat!

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeaahhhhhhhh blue vinyl baby!

The patronage type thing he put together last year is still pretty great. I just get an email with a download link every once in a while when he releases new material. I think the Sebald one is included.

... and I received the link via email a couple minutes after posting that.

Heh, yeah I just got it too, from the digital subscription. Still ordering the blue vinyl though

I've said it a kajillion times in this thread but Kirby's stuff is always worth hearing on vinyl, if only to hear how world-class mastering can make a great record even better.

and so that you can get the cover art in big-ass size!

8.0 for Patience For Sebald from PF today:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16220-patience-after-sebald/

my copy just showed up last night, looking forward to listening to it!

also in a fit of profound fiscal irresponsibility I sprung for the only copy of A Stairway To The Stars available on the internet, which I think makes my Kirby/Caretaker vinyl collection complete (though I need to upgrade my copy of Intrigue & Stuff #1 to a clear-vinyl copy).

Oof, good purchase!

Great and fitting review from Mark Richardson there. I'm already tempted to rate Patience (After Sebald) higher than all of his 2011 work, which is saying something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlzNE62HDr0

The Caretaker crooning a cover version of Barry Manilow. It doesn't get any better than this.

i wonder if now is the time to liquidate my v/vm stuff

To get a good price for it? Or because you hate the Manilow cover? ;)

Extra Patience (After Sebald) - Free download. We all love free downloads and as a show of thanks for your support and interest in my works I have uploaded a nine track mini album for free download.

It features a couple of alternate versions and exclusive audio which was used as part of the soundtrack to the above mentioned film but which didn't make the physical release of the album.

Download it, share it, enjoy it and remember it.

http://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/extra-patience-after-sebald

My brain is all knotted up by this^ video

Must admit disappointment upon seeing black instead of transparent blue. Record is sounding very nice tho.

Finally watched (and enjoyed) Gee's Patience (After Sebald). Would have enjoyed it less without The Caretaker's soundtrack.

He's been quiet of late, hasn't he?

I liked that one from last year.

Has anyone ever compared the original tracks (by which I mean the sound-sources for the Caretaker's recordings)?

the bandwidth for wetransfer is still a gig.

i can do a dvd in the post (he says, wondering if he has any blank dvds)

That would be fantastic! I'll reimburse any costs obv. Can I ilxmail you?

(my ilxmail doesn't work, apparently, if you give me an email addy i'll be in touch)

have just checked and i can send ilx mail to myself, so feel free.

it's not very good, mind.

So he did this a full 7 years before Dominique Leone, lol

I compiled a 28-track best-of for Leone - would be fun to see if either of you fancies doing the same for this

it's not very good, mind.

― koogs, Monday, March 4, 2019 10:54 AM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm aware, but that's not really the point :) Will be in touch.

Lj I'd def make a 28-track best of V/vm's 365!

The Caretaker 1999-2019

Very curious to hear how he sees this through to the end.

I tried Part V but it really didn't work for me. Hopefully this last chapter is up to a little more.

Same, V was one of the weaker ones of the series for me too. Stoked for this one though.

I quite 'liked' its utter apathy. Granted, it requires a more conceptually-minded ear, which I'm generally not willing to lend (I prefer reading to hearing about concepts).

It's a fiver for the entire 50 track digital version (lossless even) from bandcamp. Which is too much of a bargain.

and there's a pay-what-you-want bonus download here:

https://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/everywhere-an-empty-bliss

EVERYWHERE, AN EMPTY BLISS

*AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ONLY UNTIL JUNE 16th, 2019.

Work on 'Everywhere, at the end of time' was all consuming
as you can imagine. All work and no play, all work and no play.

In celebration of its completion and only for a limited time*
here is a surprise golden farewell.

Compliments of the house.

Part IV was the one that didn't really work for me -- abrasive for the sake of being abrasive. V was less heavy, but more devastating. VI seems to continue down that path, I'm loving it so far.

https://boomkat.com/products/everywhere-an-empty-bliss

hows this bloke made a living out of playing old 78s through a reverb pedal, proper dont get it

I am enjoying it but did think similar things the other day - is he creating these things from scratch or curating them? And if the latter, where from, because I'd be interested in hearing the originals.

(Archive.org has a bunch of 78s available to listen to. British library site might also have some)

Doesn't he break them all down into tiny bits and reassemble them, though? Like the Avalanches with a very specific pool of records.

Go and listen to some of the records he samples and you'll hear how he isn't "playing them through a reverb pedal" ffs

That sounds plausible, yes. They are mostly devoid of vocals for one thing and I think they've been spooked up a bit. I like them, I bought the first Haunted Ballroom thing back in the day, but I can see why people wouldn't.

meaulnes comment reminds me of all the frustrated cliches loud tourists spout in the abstract expressionism sections in any given museum, among the paintings by Newman, Rothko, Pollock etc.

Obvious comparison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fCdTvwMuss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l236v7FfNBs

fianlly getting around to some of the later cds in the series (well, sides E and F. mp3 player only had space for the first couple) and they seem like they are edited badly - the tracks all finish suddenly, like they are truncated. wonder if it's the (unfamiliar) player?

https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3543
ctrl+f for Caretaker, since there's sadly no index

the live show was truly a caretaker affair, very weird, troll-like, and a challenge to the stage performance format

I caught all the antics but, when the true-to-album music was accompanied by more serene visuals, caught a short nap in the middle due to jet lag

he's still got it

That sounds like classic Caretaker :) Did he croon his way through 'I write the songs'?

no crooning this time, although there was an entire segment where he sat in a comfy chair next to another dude drinking whiskey

once the pig mask/boxing match/battle of ambient intro was over, there was a very noisy part where the animation was a walk-through of a mansion where album art for his different releases were on the walls. my impression, which my friend thought seemed correct, was that as we were walking closer to the art, tracks would increase in volume. so it was a bunch of material all playing at the same time, until it kind of evened out (and I passed out from travel lag)

when I saw him in 2010 (wow, time flies) he sang The Way We Were

I stand corrected, he crooned along to a distorted Mick Hucknall music video

Whole days of stuff, now pay what you want
https://leylandkirby.bandcamp.com/album/we-drink-to-forget-the-coming-storm
https://vvmtest.bandcamp.com/album/the-death-of-rave-the-source
https://vvmtest.bandcamp.com/album/the-death-of-rave-additional

I can only listen to bits of Everywhere at the End of Time, it's so emotionally overwhelming that I either have to tune out or force myself to listen. I can't imagine what it must've been like making this and having to listen to each section dozens of times. anyway, probably the single most profound album that I never want to hear again

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0bm06ml

James Acaster's Perfect Sounds
The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End of Time is a 6-hour project exploring the descent into dementia. It had a profound effect on James, but what effect will it have on Jen Ives?

I flew ten hours to a festival, ate a small amount of food and had one beer before falling asleep at a Caretaker show (not my first!) right after he did a stage bit in a mask in 2019 ama

the video bits of wandering through The Shining-esque halls were good for sleep

I can only listen to bits of Everywhere at the End of Time, it's so emotionally overwhelming that I either have to tune out or force myself to listen.

I bought this on Bandcamp some time ago (after buying and liking Patience (After Sebald), but I haven't listened to the whole thing until today. I've spent a good part of the day listening straight through. It's . . . quite something. I think it's put me in an alternate state of consciousness.

He just posted a big update on FB announcing he's forced to put his stuff on streaming services due to so many people stealing his music and trying to monetize it themselves.

IIRC, I originally found out about his work as the Caretaker because I liked his work as the Stranger. No recollection where I found out about that work. Watching Dead Empires in Decay was in pretty regular rotation for me for a while.

Was not familiar with him, but my friend had an extra ticket to his show at Lincoln Center (https://www.lincolncenter.org/series/lincoln-center-presents/the-caretaker-moor-mother-673)

Really enjoyed his music, was just surprised that the show also included lip-synching and pretending to play an inflatable guitar to Heroes by David Bowie.

At other times he read an upside down book, drank whiskey, and stood staring and nodding at the audience.

what, no pig mask or boxing match?

a pig mask was on his table of gear, but i don't think he put it on (i didn't have my eyes open the whole time).

Whaaaatts oh fuck fuck fuck I was in New York that day