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LP
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UTR 139LP
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Robert Sotelo is a mercurial melodist building a resplendent world of pristine DIY pop from the ground up. The Glasgow-based artist's songs are meticulously crafted, patchworked together with eclectic arrangements and ardent vocal performances. Each of his albums to date has been accompanied by a growth-spurt, 2017's debut Cusp (UTR 098LP) was packed with miniature psych overtures, whilst 2018's Botanical was more keyboard-minded and playful with a near-absurdist palette of sound. Infinite Sprawling (UTR 122LP) came out towards the end of 2019 and surprised with songs pulled together like a wakeful stretch, brisk with a lightness of touch. This was neatly followed by Leap & Bounce melding a sparse synth-pop minimalism to an emotional undertow. Robert Sotelo's vivid new album Celebrant was intended to be and still is to some extent a joyous wedding album (Sotelo is recently married), but in his own words "the pandemic and the death of my aunt Carmen intersected with the original concept so the album is darker than intended in places." More cinematic and measured than prior albums, Sotelo expounds that "it is purposefully a bigger sounding attempt at my keyboard songs and I felt more ambitious about it in general." That's certainly reflected in these twelve sophisticated loops of song, all curiously affecting and catchy, sprinkled with Sotelo's offbeat musings and keenly accurate observations. Guitars are rarely employed on this record with Sotelo recruiting Iain Mccall, Ross Blake, Celia Morgan and David Maxwell to contribute brass, woodwind, spoken word and acoustic drums respectively. All of these additions blend well with the album's synthetic core, softening and subtly shaping its pop-first nature into something more nuanced, vulnerable and human. Celebrant is a plucky synth-centric collection of unbridled songs at times surefooted at others threatened by disconnect, skillfully steered by Sotelo with typical classy touch. 180 gram vinyl.
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LP
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UTR 122LP
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Robert Sotelo is a cosmic pop melodist; a heartfelt multi-instrumentalist whose direct songs are curiously affecting. His debut album Cusp from 2017 (UTR 098LP) was packed with miniature psych overtures and earnest musings, he then followed this up in 2018 with an album called Botanical, more keyboard-minded and playful with its near-absurdist palette of sound and reflective mood. Upset The Rhythm release Sotelo's third album Infinite Sprawling, his first record since relocating from London to Glasgow and partly inspired by his new city's inclusive and collaborative musical world. Sotelo has always excelled at matching up the prosaic with the profound and on Infinite Sprawling he does this with aplomb. A collection of casual revelations, lifted out of the mundane, are explored throughout the album's ten sprightly tracks. "Something Besides" opens the record in blithe reverie, nodding over a country-twang guitar. "Mister" follows in lively attitude, splintering with spidery bursts of fuzz. Through a lyrical list of items in the breezy tumble of a song called "Battery" where Sotelo muses on the anxieties inherent in forging a new social life when you move city. A similar theme carried by "The Set Up" which deals with discovering his new neighbors' tropes, the track strolls into the sun with an echoed refrain. "Roof" and "In The Style Of" also boast this analytic quality, making sense of the world through its small things first, both unabashedly melodic with blushes of tremolo blushes and inventive arrangements. The title track refers to Sotelo's final trip to Buenos Aires as a regular excursion to visit his mother, it's a farewell to the city and makes for an interesting counterpoint to the other songs' new starts. "Piece Of Cake" meanwhile is a more brooding effort, essentially a contemplation on lacking culinary skill. Twisty wah guitar lines tag along with Sotelo's vocal, each tugging at the sleeve of the other, while tambourines and keyboard pulses resound over the clicky drum accents. This keenly robust album of new beginnings and strategies for living is quietly drawn to a close with "Message Of Beauty", a relaxed ballad of drowsy farewells, swoons of violin and swirled clouds of organ drone. Infinite Sprawling is an album born out of new friendships, in a new country and for all its feet-finding sounds confident and emphatically considered. Recorded with Ruari MacLean (of Vital Idles, Golden Grrrls) and Edwin Stevens (Irma Vep, Yerba Mansa) at their home studio Namaste Sound. 180 gram dark-green vinyl; reverse-board sleeve with lyric insert; edition of 300.
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UTR 098LP
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Robert Sotelo is the nom de plume of Andrew Doig, a 36-year-old serial musician originally from Peterborough. Andrew's middle name is Robert, whilst Sotelo is his mother's maiden name. Using this alter ego he's been able to write and record the twelve songs that make up his debut solo record Cusp. Sotelo plays every instrument on the album and recorded and edited it with long-term friend John Hannon throughout 2016 at No Studios in Rayleigh, Essex. Sotelo's verdant world of sound is at once intimate, choosing to build songs up from ambitious layers of instrumentation into miniature psych pop overtures of genuine sincerity of feeling. Very much grounded in that particular forward-facing strain of mid-60s rock that edged towards Sgt. Pepper, Sotelo's music owes as much to Davies and McCartney's unashamed belief in melody as it does to the uncertainty and confusion that comes with mid-thirties existentialism. With Cusp, Sotelo has created a vast tapestry of songs that stand up and sound afresh. "Bring Back The Love" is a dream-swept ballad of expansive vocal refrains and pools of spidery guitar contemplation. "Marinade" is a song about having no money wrapped up in a hypnotic cycle of chiming bittersweet guitars and gentle keyboard blushes. "Bronte Paths" is another homespun wonder-pop moment, sounding more like a rediscovered gem than a contemporary song. Many of the tracks on Cusp deal with matters of imbalance in Sotelo's life like when his North London flat fell into disrepair before being swallowed up by property developers ("Tenancy Is Up"). In fact, "Alan Keay Is Fit For Work" is directly drawn from his experiences in support work of a man he represented amid the recent benefits debacle. "Version" is a sublimely panoramic number about spending too much time trying to write songs on your own and how it affects your relationships. "Dr Parsley" is a complex song of hope rooted in an unsure present, its subtle use of percussion and sumptuous vocal helping to guide listeners. The album closes suitably with "Brother You're Complicated" a piano-driven high note from the record, lush with choirs of voices and brushed drum flourishes. Cusp is about loss, recovery and delight in starting anew, finding out the future isn't just a continuation. Cover art by Daniel Sean Kelly. Comes on 180 gram transparent vinyl; Housed in matte-finish sleeve; Edition of 500.
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