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Futuropaco — Futuropaco
(El Paraiso EPR047, 2018/2022, LP / CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2022-05-30

Futuropaco Cover art

Futuropaco is the project alias of Justin Pinkerton, an Oakland, California based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, as well as a drummer and composer for the Bay Area psych-rock quartet Golden Void, The Roots of Orchis before that, and several others along the way. He also works as a full time film composer and producer of library and commercial music. As Futuropaco, he plays all of the instrumentation — guitars, bass, synthesizers, glockenspiel, electronics and of course, drums, building each piece from the ground up layer by layer, the end result being informed by his other endeavors — psych, hard rock, film music, and much more. Oh, and did I mention, there are no vocals. Across many of the album’s nine cuts, the pieces open with a drum roll or some kind of introductory drum figure, which will remind the listener that Pinkerton’s main instrument is the drum kit, but that said, he does an outstanding jpb playing all of the other instruments in the album’s mix. One might hear shreds of stoner rock or krautrock, fuzzed out guitar solos, punchy bass to complement the complex and intense drum riffing, and organ / synth sounds that could well date back to the vintage era of the early 70s if one didn’t know any better. His use of electronic ideas intertwined with rock aspects sparks the imagination, as on “Fuoco Palude,” or an even more chamber rock / raga sensibility as on “Re Di Menzogne” with its brilliant extended saxophone solo (played by the album’s only guest, Phillip Greenlief). A track like “Peste Rossa” has that heavy fuzz guitar and completely tweaked electronic keyboard sound that will take a listener all the way back to the late 60s. An album of very intelligent original music, it was originally released on LP and CD in 2018 but the vinyl quickly went out of print; now in 2022 the LP is back in print again for a limited run of 500.

Filed under: Reissues, 2022 releases, 2018 recordings

Related artist(s): Futuropaco (Justin Pinkerton)

More info
http://futuropaco.bandcamp.com/album/futuropaco-2

 

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