Cover of Edward Ka-Spel
Here we have a look at one of my favorite musical mad men, Edward Ka-Spel (various spellings).
Ka-Spel is probably best known as the
lead singer,
songwriter and co-founder (with Phil "The Silverman" Knight) of the prolific
undergroundband
The Legendary Pink Dots, in which he was initially known as D'Archangel. He has also released numerous solo albums (initially featuring other members of the Legendary Pink Dots, and later including contributions from
Steven Stapleton), and has worked in various
side projects, including
The Tear Garden (with
cEvin Key of
Skinny Puppy), and
Mimir (with Phil Knight,
Christoph Heemann,
Jim O'Rourke and others).
His musical output has combined elements of
psychedelia, dark
folk,
goth,
industrial,
electronic, found noise, sampling,
pop and
rock in varying degrees. His
lyrics have been described as intensely personal and
mystical, incorporating recurrent themes from his own personal
mythos, and his songwriting and singing have been compared (usually favourably) to
Syd Barrett and early
Pink Floyd. Ka-Spel is a fan of 70's psychedelia as well as
Radiohead.
His manner of dress is peculiar. He is rarely seen without wearing a long scarf and either pink or black sunglasses both on and off stage. Earlier on in his career, Ka spel drew black lines on his face and arms, which Phil Knight has referred to as "his cracks," presumably as they resemble the cracked lines in a crumbling statue. Again, as with the sunglasses and scarf, Ka-spel remained constantly in character, wearing the lines at all times. He also often performs barefoot.
Ka-Spel's singing voice is distinctive, especially for listeners outside of
England, as it displays characteristics peculiar to the region of England in which he grew up. In addition to his east London/
East Anglian accent, Ka-Spel's dialect has what is sometimes misidentified as a
lisp, but is actually a form of
rhotacism, in which Rs are mispronounced as Ws. This is believed to be a
sociolect or a form of "permanent affectation" acquired as a child, rather than a speech disorder as such.
Music included:
Legendary Pink Dots, Ka-Spel solo albums, collaborations and a lot more.
Download or listen right away:
http://www.uvm.edu/~asnider/listen/cmk940316kaspel.mp3
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