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The title of Onoe Caponoe's Voices from Planet Cattelle, summons images of Captain Scarlet's voices of the Mysterons, a disembodied message emerging from the other end of the galaxy.
Space, as a concept, runs through the album - both as a physical place and the figurative construction within Caponoe's mind. Make no mistake this album is hip-hop's answer to Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.
While it is as psychadelic as stressed by the High Focus release notes, it is also very grounded, offsetting mundanity with fantasy. Take for example track number five, 'Disappearing Jakob', which takes picking up weed and turns it into the kind of drawn out adventure time afforded by a few tokes on the strong stuff. As the song closes, Onoe's mother appears and allows him to take a few spliffs from her stash. Then the next track introduces the "cat king" and we're back in the Twilight Zone.
This may sound like an incredibly chaotic record when viewed in these terms and on first listen that is certainly true. When revisited however it begins to open up, becoming much more fluid. Some of themes clarify and all the hugely complex sounds and noises that at first appear random, begin to make sense.
We've grown to appreciate the bizarre freak outs the production follows, in particular closing track 'Paint Your Body Gold', which sounds like producer Chemo has tuned up a mewling chorus of cats to make the backing track (we're not kidding). 'Lord of the Light (Sun Riddim)' is another highlight, shining as brilliantly as the title suggests.
If you're looking for an album that you can sink your teeth into this early in 2015, Voices From Planet Cattele is for you. Be patient and it will show you its secrets. Or to put it another way, it's a real hot mess, get involved.
