Staff Reviews

Epstein - When Man is Full He Falls Asleep

Review by Rory Gibb

There’s a subtly terrifying undercurrent that bristles just beneath the apparently naïve surface»

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Epstein Y El Conjunto - Epstein is one of the many talented alter-egos of Roberto Lange, and El Conjunto, the willing volunteer band to fill out the Epstein sound. The album's title, When Man is Full He Falls Asleep, comes from a lyric by Facundo Cabral translated into english from the song: "No soy de aqui, Ni soy de alla". The song and Facundo's philosophy serves as inspiration for the album, positioning the musician as conscientious objector to the succumbing of violence and misery in the world. Rather, a sense of joy and humour are embraced, and music is used as a surrogate for words.

The physical process of this record is a journey travelled to dusty closets of thrift stores in Crown Heights, to forward thinking record stores in Lynchburg, Virginia. The samples and synthesisers are the medium to complete the story that is a visual and ephemeral representation of the two worlds of hunger and sleep, both important daily routines. The resulting sound is a hazy dreamscape of bass, beats, and gloriously washed-out electronics.

To prepare for this release, Asthmatic Kitty are celebrating 10 years of Epstein music-making with the release of "Epstein - Completed Mythologies (Back Catalogue)". The release is made up of his four back cat.' titles (with cover art by La Mano Fria). This is the first time any of these titles have been available outside of Japan.

In between his many musical costume changes, Roberto is also finding time to amaze the artworld with his collaborative work with David Ellis and Nene Humphrey. Currently, his collaborative work with Nene is being exhibited at the Sharadin Art Gallery at Kutztown University. You can view this work in progress here. Also, his work with Ellis was a big success at the Scope Art Fair in Miami during Art Basel, earning them a commission from none other than prominent art collector Charles Saatchi for one of their trash pieces.
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