Topo Gigio vs. Baikonour

melodic records is pleased to announce new signings Baikonour and Topo Gigio and in doing so expanding the geography of it's artist roster to France. Rather than an EP each, partly cos we're tight and partly cos there are lots of things ready to be released on melodic soon we decided to go for a split EP. One side has two tracks from Baikonour with the opening 'Jain Rock' being something of a prog-electronica odyssey. The other side has three tracks from Topo Gigio.

Baikonour is 27 year old Jean-Emmanuel Krieger. Both Baikonour and Topo Gigio hail from Versailles near Paris, the same part of France that gave us Air, Alex Gopher, Super Discount etc. Jean Emmanuelle explains… 'It's a pretty weird place, quite beautiful but really conservative and ultra catholic! I think that Versailles would be a good place to make a film...It has got 2 faces...It's pretty, but quite tragic...I always liked music like that; like the Beach Boys, I Jahman, early Pink Floyd or the Cocteau Twins.'

2 Interesting Baikonour facts:

• Both tracks were created on pal and Ninja warrior Amon Tobin's Apple Mac, given as a gift last year.
• Baikonour is the village in Siberia where they launch Cosmonauts into space.

Topo Gigio is 20 year old Adrien Rodes who creates beautiful, intricate tunes that seem disjointed but are held together thanks to some beautiful melodies. There's a real maturity to this music as well as an innocence that possibly comes from Adrien's early start at the tender age of 13… ' I remember recording some sounds; cracking and creaking out of a cheap bass and some mic feedback onto a 4 track recorder...it sounded worse than it looks on paper! '

2 Interesting Topo Gigio facts:

• Adrien recently found himself with the vocation of washing up in a Brighton restaurant alongside Terry Bickers (ex Levitation and House Of Love)
• Adrien contributes 'Pordelain Resin' to the new Fish Out of Water EP on Rex records alongside Bronze Age Fox, Cut Copy and Mongrels out in July

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