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Scott Walker - The Year In Review: Scott Walker - Bish Bosch
Scott Walker : The Year In Review: Scott Walker - Bish Bosch
19th December 2012

"This year's only necessary work of art." - Tiny Mix Tapes (5/5)
"An album of startling invention." - MOJO (Album of the Month)
"Nobody can touch Walker as an engrossing and madcap visionary." - Time Out (Album of the Week)
"Bish Bosch is an anti-cult album, one that seeks to jar, disorient and remain inscrutable." - The Arts Desk (4/5)
"A catalog of basic human cruelty - a subject no footnote could ever make any easier to understand." - Pitchfork (8.0)
"The real skill lies in the fact that the results frequently affect the listener's gut before the brain." - The Guardian (Album of the Week)
"Walker is almost unique in his generation in continuing to provide mind-food instead of cosy nostalgia." - The Independent on Sunday (CD of the Week)

After much anticipation and a relatively modest 6 year wait, Scott Walker's latest album, Bish Bosch, was released on December 4th.

Scott began writing new material around 2009 recording it sporadically over the following three years. The end result is Bish Bosch, a tauter but more colourful experience than previous record The Drift, with greater emphasis on processed, abrasive guitars, digital keyboards and thick silences.

Aided again by co-producer Peter Walsh and joined by a regular core of musicians, Ian Thomas (drums), Hugh Burns (guitar), James Stevenson (guitar), Alasdair Malloy (percussion) and John Giblin (bass). Musical director Mark Warman also played a prominent role, both as conductor and keyboardist, while guests include trumpeter Guy Barker and pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole, who worked on three of Scott’s mid-seventies LPs. For tracks 'SDSS1416+13B (Zercon, A Flagpole Sitter)', ‘Dimple’ and ‘Corps de Blah’, Scott drafted in an orchestra, recording them in The Hall at Air Studios last November. For the cover art, Scott worked closely with painter Ben Farquharson and designer Philip Laslett.

In addition to an extensive essay about the forthcoming album from The Wire's Rob Young, prior to the release of Bish Bosch a four minute trailer for the album was put together by directors Iain & Jane. They were granted rare access to the studio to capture Scott, his co-producer Peter Walsh and some of the musicians involved in the making of the record, and with this footage they created a unique film that used extracts from various songs, alongside glimpses of Scott working with painter Ben Farquharson and designer Philip Laslett in the creation of the album's artwork.

Following the trailer, a video was made for 'Epizootics!' by Olivier Groulx that was rendered almost entirely in monochrome, and along with its surrealist imagery, was a fitting introduction to the ambitious and playful album it's taken from. Speaking of his video, Olivier said "It was a real privilege to work on this project. It's rare to work with someone who is uncompromising and meticulous while still being very open to new ideas."

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Rough Trade (Album of the Week)
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