┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Ostinatos presents: │ │ │ │ Will Atkinson - Last King Of Scotland │ │ │ │ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ : : │ │ │ │ Artist: Will Atkinson │ │ Album : Last King Of Scotland │ │ │ │ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ : : │ │ Genre : Trance │ │ Date : 2020-11-06 │ │ Encoder : LAME 3.100 (-V0) │ │ Quality : 267 kbps avg │ │ 4410kHz / Joint Stereo │ │ Track(s) : 17 │ │ Playtime : 01:18:09 │ │ Size : 156.69MB │ │ Language : English │ │ Source : CD │ │ Label : Blackhole Recordings │ │ Catalognr : BHCD208 │ │ │ │ ┌─────────────────────────────[ ReleaseNotes ]───────────────────────────┐ │ │ : : │ │ │ │ The most anticipated debut artist album of 2020 has arrived, as genius │ │ Scottish producer Will Atkinson delivers a seventeen-track LP thatÆs │ │ nothing less than a masterpiece. A body of music that seamlessly fuses │ │ trance, techno & drum nÆ bass with progressive & poetry, ambient & acid │ │ and harmony & hard dance, it immediately vies for the tag of │ │ ætimelessÆ. │ │ │ │ The æLast King Of ScotlandÆ is a musical journey like no other, but │ │ also an intoxicating and often-hypnotic collection, which is a musical │ │ narration of WillÆs own path. That of a patriotic, electronic music │ │ loving boy growing up in a far-flung corner before moving on, out and │ │ up to global recognition. │ │ │ │ If thereÆs a bright centre in the electronic music universe, Orkney may │ │ very well be the island farthest from it. A virtual synonym for │ │ æremoteÆ, itÆs a one-club ætownÆ, which presents a unique set of │ │ challenges to a DJ/musician wanting to send a message to all four │ │ corners. Sometimes though, the greater the test, the greater the spirit │ │ capable of being mustered, which was very much the case for Will. Over │ │ the airwaves, Orkney saw him hoover up all manner of dance music manna, │ │ before adulthood proved the final catalyst for his move to Glasgow. │ │ │ │ Sharpening his genre focus, he reflects that the city ôunlocked a new │ │ realm... The Arches, Sub Club, squat parties - long nights turning into │ │ longer days as I embraced, he says, the new raw, urban backdrop that │ │ would form and vandalise me into the producer and artist I am today.ö │ │ │ │ WillÆs approach to his sets and studio work regularly have a │ │ ælittle-to-loseÆ edge to them. An insurgent attitude thatÆs made him │ │ one of tranceÆs few real agents of change. Thus, if your first sense of │ │ æLast KingÆ feels atypical in any way, itÆs for excellent reason. At │ │ his mellowest, WillÆs productions regularly subvert tranceÆs staples, │ │ while at his most overt, they flat-out punk them. Over the last 10 │ │ years heÆs thrown ever more effort in taking it out of its comfort │ │ zone, and in that pursuit, the æLast King Of ScotlandÆ may be its final │ │ reckoning. │ │ │ │ Few then would expect seventeen dyed-in-the-wool trancers from him, but │ │ fewer still would anticipate the expanse of range heÆs arrived with. │ │ Brave, heartfelt and instinctual when club momentumÆs required, urbane, │ │ to the point of intellectual when itÆs not, itÆs the ultimate │ │ subversion of æthe trance albumÆ. │ │ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │ │ --------------------- │ │ ôThis record has been a labour of love, says Will. IÆve been working on │ │ it for two years but it feels like a lifetime. It has given me some of │ │ the greatest creative highs I have ever experienced in the studio but │ │ also it has presented me with periods of frustration so infuriating I │ │ could have put an axe through my computerö. │ │ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │ │ --------------------- │ │ When Will says working on it: ôfeels like a lifetimeö, looked at from a │ │ certain point of view, thatÆs exactly what itÆs been. Those listening │ │ with more seasoned ears will quickly pick up on the timeline, threaded │ │ by WillÆs inspirations, nods cues and connotations (or, as he terms it, │ │ ôa sonic walkthrough of my lifeö). At its core though the album is a │ │ product of Scotland and its clubbing and electronic music history, │ │ references to which are writ both large and subtle throughout. │ │ │ │ In respect of the former, the triumphant bagpipes of WillÆs Perplexer │ │ æAcid FolkÆ remix unambiguously staple colours blue and white to the │ │ æLast KingÆs mast. While, in the finest of Scottish traditions, its │ │ closing moments bring the poetry of æUnspoken WordsÆ, which features │ │ Atkinson-cohorts Rory OÆB & Rhianna McMahon, who echo everything from │ │ Robert Burns to Irvine Welsh. │ │ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │ │ --------------------- │ │ ôSo is this a trance album?ö questions Will. ôWell - thereÆs certainly │ │ a healthy dose of it - but there are other styles, other influences, │ │ other moods, melodies and emotional experiences for you to immerse │ │ yourself in too. I love so many different styles of music that it would │ │ be an insult not to draw influences from beyond the boundaries of │ │ tranceö. │ │ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- │ │ --------------------- │ │ │ │ ThatÆs lent nth degree perspective by the likes of æSolaceÆ and │ │ æDrowning In The Dunes Of TimeÆ, which bring it ambient eminence, while │ │ æHappy HoursÆ assuredly dips æLast KingÆ into drum æn bass. The charged │ │ (yet never released) energy of æPipe DreamsÆ meanwhile lends textbook │ │ contrast to the unchained floor-freneticism of æBeansÆ. │ │ │ │ Also dotted throughout are its vocal numbers, many of which hold │ │ personal resonance for Will. Harry Roke ponders the demons many a DJs │ │ encounter on æBurning OutÆ, while æCigarettes & KeroseneÆ (with Cari │ │ Golden) ruminates on the combustible nature of relationships. Bringing │ │ lighter themes to the album, the spine-tingle of JESÆs incomparable │ │ turn on æLong Way HomeÆ lingers in the mind for time, while Will packs │ │ æIf I Spoke Your LanguageÆ with synth-zest. │ │ │ │ When, on æLast KingÆ, the broad sword of trance does swing, it does so │ │ with the kind of application WillÆs made his name out of. æLast Night │ │ In IbizaÆ, æAwakeningÆ (w/Paul van Dyk), æTelescopeÆ, æRushÆ and │ │ æKismet EnergyÆ are all nutshell examples how he finds the extra mile, │ │ juice and studio-distinction where others cannot. │ │ │ │ The æLast King Of ScotlandÆ is nothing less than a masterclass in debut │ │ album deliverance. │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────[ Tracklist ]─────────────────────────────┐ │ │ : : │ │ [ ] │ │ [ ] │ │ 1. Perplexer - Acid Folk (Will Atkinson Last King Of [ 6:40] │ │ Scotland Remix) [ ] │ │ 2. Will Atkinson with Cari Golden - Cigarettes & Kerosene [ 4:23] │ │ 3. Will Atkinson with Gary Go - If I Spoke Your Language [ 6:06] │ │ 4. Will Atkinson - Last Night In Ibiza [ 5:26] │ │ 5. Will Atkinson - Drowning In The Dunes Of Time [ 4:05] │ │ 6. Will Atkinson - Beans [ 4:08] │ │ 7. Will Atkinson with Paul Van Dyk - Awakening (Will [ 3:37] │ │ Atkinson Album Mix) [ ] │ │ 8. Will Atkinson with Harry Roke - Burning Out [ 5:36] │ │ 9. Will Atkinson - Telescope Interlude [ 1:25] │ │ 10.Will Atkinson - Telescope [ 2:56] │ │ 11.Will Atkinson - Rush [ 6:05] │ │ 12.Will Atkinson - Kismet Energy [ 6:00] │ │ 13.Will Atkinson - Happy Hours (DC Breaks Remix) [ 1:52] │ │ 14.Will Atkinson with JES - Long Way Home [ 4:06] │ │ 15.Will Atkinson - Pipe Dreams [ 7:19] │ │ 16.Will Atkinson with Rory O'B & Rhianna McMahon - Unspoken [ 4:10] │ │ Words [ ] │ │ 17.Will Atkinson - In Solace [ 4:15] │ │ [ ] │ │ [ ] │ │ │ │ 01:18:09 │ │ ------- │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘