Hugh B - Brainwashing 12"

“I often leave Sydney feeling bittersweet, exploring the idyllic summer drenched landscapes and the warm hospitality of friends makes me feel like I could almost call Sydney home. It's a magical place, my proof of that is captured in the world of Brainwashing.

Call it Brainwashing, or call it the rare treat of visiting friends interstate and being gracefully looked after, for me Sydney IS an alternate reality. The familiar comforts and accents of home come with me but the world as I know it ceases to exist and it dissipates into a rose tinted labyrinth of music. The senses are filled with elysian fun; coffee, parks, beaches, the glowing sun, dining out, movies and sharing records. It's a place out of time and a simple time out of place.

Brainwashing was captured in a marathon ten days of intensive recording from Hugh’s home. It’s not an easy task to record an LP in 10 days, what is even more difficult is to pluck an essence out of the abyss and impart it into your work. Hugh B has the ability to consistently pull from this place like Una passeggiata in riva al mare (a walk by the sea). His work oozes with an effortless fusion of sophistication and minimalism, it can feel stripped back and modest on first listen but before long, portals open into Hugh’s world, his music flows with the beauty of his life, friends, family, home and his wonderful creations.

But what of this essence? Myths exist between the kaleidoscopic minutiae of life, like antimatter charged with beauty or love, acting on our subconscious like guiding lights which protect and encourage growth. Sometimes through works of art or music the prying eye or ear may recognise something we’ve once thought or felt but that we dismiss as our own notion - not worthy of sharing. On the contrary, you are hearing a part of yourself someone else has translated with bravery and trust in their own impulse, intuition and being.

‘Gone Swimming’ beautifully brings this album to a close and leaves a swelling in my heart, not because I am bittersweet (I am), but because I hear the expression of a cosmic radiance I recognise. Our imperfect language can only dream of translating this eternal dance into something we recognise as familiar and our own. Take a stroll with these six songs and ask yourself if this is the sound of a Modern Pop Ensemble channeling the sun soaked Rock & Roll continuum or could there be something more?

The essence of Hugh B’s Brainwashing is for me to know, but for you to find out.

With Love, Mad Dog” - Rory McPike