Words by Justin Turford
With an arch sense of wit akin to the satirical world of Richard Littler’s Scarfolk Council, Breadminster County Council represents its own ‘special’ world. The soundtrack to this world is some of the most interesting dub coming out of anywhere right now. The brilliantly named Elijah Minnelli has been on our radar since his first release for Breadminster with his intriguing blend of cumbia, western and eastern folk idioms and of course, reggae. Like the border-bashing cumbia-dub experiments on the Names You Can Trust label out of New York, the sound is authentically dubwise but takes the stranger road. Like the boss of weirdo reggae, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, or the On-U Sound experimentalists African Head Charge, there lies a deep paganistic feeling of ancient ritual amongst the subsonic bass tones and shuffling, clatter of the percussion. It’s great and we love it.
It’s worth letting the press release speak for itself while you listen….
‘As a native resident of Breadminster, the new single’s foundation naturally stems from the theological roots of the area itself. It’s often said colloquially “Dig in the ground and you’ll find crumbs”. This local idiom has its foundation in reality - historically mill workers of medieval Breadminster (Panemisteron) would bury a portion of freshly milled wheat into the earth as an offering to the gods. This Hellenic-esque ritual proved fruitful as the amylase enzyme within the wheat enriched the soil of the land and led to Breadminster’s great “Larder era”. SLATS is an instrumental ode to the mill workers of old who ushered in this great epoch of plenty. The B-side is a live dub take with liberal use of echo-manipulated feedback, spring reverb and choppy fader swipes.’
Release Date: 2nd August 2021 // 7inch Vinyl // Bandcamp // Streaming