THE THIRD EYE FOUNDATION I Poo Poo On Your Juju (Domino)
The Third Eye Foundation is the one-man-band produced by the fevered imagination of Bristolian former Flying Saucer Attack member Matt Elliott…or at least it was, until impending fatherhood caused him to shut up shop. His swansong is "I Poo Poo On Your Juju", a collection that consists largely of remixes of other artists, including Yann Tiersen, Tarwater, Urchin, Remote Viewer, Blonde Redhead and Faultline. Marginally less obscure is a collaboration with king of anti-comedy Chris Morris.
What could all this exotica sound like? Stunning, in a word. Despite being substantially a remix album this is no desperate contractual obligation work: each track flows into the next with the ease of the changing light in an afternoon room. It sounds like the work of one man, a man with a Titanic trawl of interests and influences. (It comes as little surprise to learn that Elliott used to work in one of Bristol's more eclectic record shops.) These are the real songs from under the floorboards, ghostly reflections of past lives that have assumed almost human forms shrouded in Nico's decadent European cabaret, the cultural reportage of Godspeed You Black Emperor!, itchy Aphex Twin-style drum and bass, Nymanesque piano and, most bizarrely, a Jonathan Richman cover. Textures constantly shift and distort, presenting a sonic collage as haunting and jagged as the fragmented, weathered glamour of Uncle Vania's cover artwork. Tripwired with a constant current of shocks and surprises, "I Poo Poo On Your Juju" is a magical mystery tour of some half-forgotten emotional underworld…how could you refuse?!