Album: Immolate Yourself
Artist: Telefon Tel Aviv
Label: BPitch Control
Release date: 20th January 2009
Listen to the album in Spotify
First and foremost, we’re aware that this review comes very late to the page: six months have passed since Immolate Yourself was released. However, in light of the events of recent months, it’s more important than ever that you listen to this artist and this album.
For the uninitiated, Telefon Tel Aviv are Joshua Eustis and Charles Wesley Cooper, two old friends from New Orleans, who have for years been a key force in the IDM (that’s ‘Intelligent Dance Music’) scene, with their trademark mixing of jazz and blues with electronica and modern songwriting and editing techniques. Some have even gone so far as to call it “Laptop Soul”.
With the release of Immolate Yourself in January 2009, the band seemed to have moved away from previous work. Their intricate, melodic glitch sound has been wiped away almost completely, replaced it with dark and nostalgic 80’s-inspired synths. The transition is a strange one: perhaps it was a move to broaden the fan base; perhaps it was a move simply to see if they had enough creative power and courage to go out and do it. It was bold, but the fact remains that Immolate Yourself is still a TTA album. More synth than soul, yes, but the watermark of these two musical prodigies is still undoubtedly present.
A mere 48 hours after the release of the album, Charles Cooper passed away. The reasoning behind his apparent suicide is still unclear, but he leaves behind a large body of work unrivalled by many in the music world, having collaborated with artists as varied as Nine Inch Nails, Bebel Gilberto, and Radiohead (among others).
The news of his death adds great poignancy to the song “Helen of Troy”, particularly with Cooper’s line “follow me/in a car/off a bridge/we’ll go far/down we go/to the end.” In essence, sad and bitter ending to what should have been the start of a new chapter in Telefon Tel Aviv’s story.
With the utmost respect, Eustis decided to continue with the band, with the help of close friend Fredo Nogueira. The duo recently completed a tour of Europe, though with no sign of any new material on the way, the future of the band is still very much uncertain.
Our Verdict:
Jamie Hewitt is a musician and producer based in Dundee. 
