The Nag's Head
Live from Concrete Island
Kit Records
Released: 31st March 2017 | 12 track ambient techno album
Live From Concrete Island is the début album from Brighton based producer Stephen Maskell, aka The Nag's Head. Taking material from the last four years, he's created a head-spinning tapestry of melodic techno and crushed cityscapes. Like Echospace, Maskell's destroyed visions nail the feeling of being a stranger in a strange land. For the city's lolloping, dubby percussion we reach deep into its guts, pulling out a squiggly bricolage of pistons, pool balls, window frames, jets of steam. In turns rasping and narcotic, Concrete Island's beatless sections are akin to the crunching menace of early Clark, or Murcof's cosmic space treatments. An occasional shimmer guitar pop gem emerges from the rubble.
"Lush and intriguingly varied ... a kaleidoscope-like diversion of styles, held together by the artist's compellingly far-reaching curiosity and playfulness."
No Fear of Pop, blog
No Fear of Pop, blog
"Recorded with all the depth, care and attention to detail of anything you'd hear on Leaf or Ninja Tune."
Brighton Source, magazine
Brighton Source, magazine
"A blend of juddering beats, urban found sounds and shimmering synth, this rattles along like an unmanned tube train stuffed with fluorescent lights."
The 405, blog
The 405, blog