The Caretaker: A Stairway To The Stars

Folder

I bought this on a whim for a couple of quid in the Notting Hill Music Exchange.  Rarely has such a small amount of money given me so much pleasure.  It’s The Caretaker’s second album and it came out in 2001

The Caretaker project was inspired by the ballroom scene in The Shining.  It uses samples from forgotten ballroom music of the 30s and 40s to create a really powerful sense of place.  The samples are very prominent in the mix and are gently manipulated to make them sound as though they’re leaking through from another dimension.  The sense of wandering around an abandoned and decaying ballroom is very real and very spooky.

Rich though this seam of ideas is, The Caretaker eventually  moved on to other territory – there’s only so much you can do with ballrooms!

Have a look at VVM’s bandcamp site for more, and the odd free download.

3 comments
  1. Please reupload this album.
    I enjoy that type of music.
    Do you have something else
    from V/Vm Test Records?
    This one is amazing
    http://www.discogs.com/release/77664

  2. There you go – but be quick, ultramegabit files don’t last long.

    V/VM, well I have the 0161 compilation, but last time I looked it’s still available so I won’t post it. I’ve also got the Auraloffalwaffle compilation which is enough to make your ears bleed. Those are the only things I have actually on the label but I have quite a bit by people who’ve recorded for V/VM like Kid606, Bola, and Mild Man Jan (A single of his is already here).

Comments are closed.