Chris And Cosey – Exotika

Throughout the eighties Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti, quietly worked away at producing some of the better odd pop music of the decade. Neither extrovert nor completely new, their albums were nevertheless a darker counterpart to the better known popular songs of the time; and yet they maintained a melodic, accessible edge that in a parallel universe would have propelled them to the top of the charts (it’s interesting for example to compare them with Eurythmics, whom they resemble in several ways, and even recorded with; how much better would the film adaptation of 1984 have been with a Chris and Cosey soundtrack?) Reissues of their four best known and most influential albums have come at an opposite time, when a dark British esoteric current is running through so much music from the leftfield to the mainstream. Heartbeat (1981) and Trance (1982) appeared remastered on coloured vinyl, and then it was the turn of the more developed Exotica (1987) and Songs Of Love and Lust (1984). Coupled with the well-timed reissue of Carter’s solo The Spaces Between on Optimo Music, the time is ripe to re-investigate.

For my ears, Exotica has fared least well in the ensuing years, which is not to say that it’s without merit; you can hear massive swathes of influence throughout it on everything from Factory pop to UK electro and breakbeat. This is immediately apparent on instrumental opener ‘Confession’, which pits naive keyboard lines redolent of Yazoo up against tough DMX beats, backed with triggered voice samples, reminiscent of Depth Charge or Meat Beat Manifesto. The insistent sample triggers continue in ‘Arcade’, with Cosey’s deadpan vocals acting as loops themselves before echoing off in spirals. The title track starts off with a Martin Denny sounding Easy Listening prelude, before setting it’s self squarely into a late ’80s syn drum and synth lead counterpoint routine. It’s here that the age starts to show; it’s great pop music sure, but you find yourself longing for some of the wilful structural invention or unique sounds of the artists’ previous work. ‘Vengeance’ and ‘Dancing On Your Grave’ are in a similar vein, with the added attraction of brief abstract intros, and the latter does twist the laser synth to almost discordant levels to accompany its darker lyrical tone. ‘BeatBeatBeat’ distils all the previous tropes – the insistent fair-light sample stabs, drum machine beats and vocals – and coheres them into the most satisfactory whole; by halfway through it’s all combined into a rolling funk-laden electro monster. The final track ‘Dr John (Sleeping Stephen)’ is something else entirely – an amazing dark bass driven atmospheric track, topped with a prose recitation redolent of TG from Cosey touching on death and suicide. By a very long way the album’s highlight, it’s also highly contemporary sounding and a testament to the pair’s enduring influence.


Ripped from the Canadian Nettwerk Records vinyl release to MP3 @ 320kbps

 A1 Confession 5:30
A2 Arcade 7:05
A3 Exotika 7:45
B1 Vengeance 5:55
B2 Dancing on Your Grave 4:04
B3 BeatBeatBeat 5:45
B4 Dr. John (Sleeping Stephen) 4:47