Mermaid Chunky - Slif Slaf Slof [LP]

Mermaid Chunky. It's all in a name, sometimes. The danceable,costumed, curiosity rich duo of artists Freya Tate and Moina Moinare as imaginative as they profess. Or, to get more to the point,as we all need them to be.Freya and Moina are two visual artists and musicians fromStroud and South London, places where they importantly foundcommunities (Stroud's SVA and the capital's Total RefreshmentCentre) of like minded people just as willing to chase down anidea to it's possibly illogical conclusion. And it is in the collectiveand the idea of participation that Mermaid Chunky really clicks.This is a party, a collective dance, made all the better with more:people, ideas, layers, kick drums, recorders, saxophones, frogs.To wit, the album's first track and first single, "Céilí," named aftera traditional Scottish or Irish social gathering and dance, whichbuilds from a simple recorder line into a swelling, warm burst ofmajor chord dance music. Goosebumps or check your pulse.Further down the rabbit hole, "Chaperone" is almost Boardwalkelectro, like Fischerspooner on a ferris wheel; "Frogsporn" and"Nature Girl" are mucky, trippy dirges filled with stalactites ofsynth and squelch; "Tiny Gymnast" is a kaleidoscopic waltz intothe night. Hold onto your seats, ladies and gentlemen.You might be wondering how we, DFA Records, all the way overin cynical Brooklyn, entered the picture. There was a day a fewyears ago, sun shining in full Springtime splendor, when Jamesheard something while waiting for a coffee down the streetfrom the office. It sounded simple yet deceptively complex:a dance track, but one where the one - that anchoring firstbeat in a measure - could be heard a thousand different ways.Frustrated and interested, he Shazamd the song, playing at theshop from an episode of Zakia's Questing show on NTS, andbrought it back to the office, where we all listened to it about fiftytimes. (The song was "Friends," from Mermaid Chunky's VESTEP, released in 2020. It led to an invitation to open for LCD atBrixton Academy in 2022. Mermaid Chunky has also played livealongside The Comet Is Coming, Alabastair Deplume, SnappedAnkles, and many others.)Thus began our search for Mermaid Chunky. A quest it has beenand a quest it will always be.