Not a Manchester lad at all, but born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, t’other side of the lakes, DJ and producer, Andy Turner was discovered by Mark Rae and initially signed to Grand Central Records, home to Rae & Christian, Niko, Only Child, The Nudge, Broadway Project, Kate Rodgers and Tony D. But all that’s changed and as of May 2007, Grand Central is no longer trading as a label. In its place comes Atic Records who have pretty much mopped up all the spoils of Grand Central and have its stable of artists swapping licks and trading tricks on albums like this one from Aim – label co-owner and remixer of songs by Ian Brown, Saint Etienne, The Charlatans, Lil’ Kim, Thunderbugs, Archive, Down to the Bone, Texas and former label-mates Rae & Christian.
Turner’s sixth studio to be released under the ‘Aim’ banner, and the first released on his own Atic Records independent record label several of the tracks feature vocals from Atic label-mate, Niko, not least the quirky and fruity horn-parping pop gem, ‘Puget Sound’ – a song that exists somewhere between the shuffling, retro jollity of a band like The Charlatans and the psychedelic eccentricity of bands like Bent and Simian.
Largely instrumental, ‘Flight 602’ combines all manner of smooth and easy listening production signatures rubbing off on a sketch-pad of funky big-beats, curious samples and squelchy bass patterns in a manner not unlike vintage Lemon Jelly. ‘Landlord’, ‘Flight 602’, and ‘Smile’ standing out typically of this ilk. In fact, the only curveball is the dopey, sanguine folk of album closer, ‘It’s Later Than You Think’ – as charming and perfectly proportioned as Tim Burgess himself.
Space-Race retro for smarter than average club boffins.