''Turpsycore'' is a 2015 album by Scottish musician

Momus Momus (; Ancient Greek: Μῶμος ''Momos'') in Greek mythology was the personification of satire and mockery, two stories about whom figure among Aesop's Fables. During the Renaissance, several literary works used him as a mouthpiece for their ...

. It was released on 3 March 2015 by

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

American Patchwork on CD and distributed by

Darla Records Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis. Background The music of the artists on the la ...

Background

''Turpsycore'' is a triple album dedicated to music's "so-called 'eccentrics'." Two out of three of discs are

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and '' Magazine''/''

the Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independe ...

Howard Devoto Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is a retired English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands. After ...

. The song "Ultra-Loyal Sheepdog" began as a

Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a ...

post in March 2014 when the musician wrote a biography on one of the characters in

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Kiriko Takemura ( Japanese: 竹村桐子, born January 29, 1993), known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (Hiragana: きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ), is a Japanese tarento, singer, and model. Her public image is associated with Japan's '' kaw ...

's "Mottai Night Land" video. The title is a deliberate misspelling of

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearanc ...

, the muse for joy and dance in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

. Likewise, the name is a nod to

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...

and turpitude. Also relating to Greek mythology, Momus is the god of mockery and blame. The color palette is a reference to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statue ...

technique. His later album ''

Glyptothek The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I to house his collection of Greek and Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculpture", from the Greek verb γλύφειν ''glyph ...

'' was published in the same year. Songs from ''Turpsycore'' and from other

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

s albums ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...

'', ''

Bibliotek ''Bibliotek'' is a 2012 album by Scottish musician Momus. It was released on 5 June 2012 by independent record label American Patchwork on CD and distributed by Darla Records. Background The book ''Žižek's Jokes: (Did You Hear the One abo ...

'', and ''

'' were recollected in the

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as we ...

anthology ''Pubic Intellectual''.

Production

The content of the first disc was originally published by Sony Music Japan. The second and third discs of ''Turpsycore'' were recorded at the "cabaret concerts" in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Cafe Oto Cafe Oto is a venue for free jazz, experimental and free improvisation performances located in the Dalston district of London, United Kingdom. Founded in 2008 Cafe Oto (''sound'' or ''noise'' in Japanese) is located in the heart of Dalston and p ...

in September 2014. The cover is designed by Hagen Verleger. It was nominated by the German Design Council for the

German Design Award The Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the official design award for Germany presented by the German Ministry for Economics and Technology. The award was given for the first time ...

Reception

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

Cube Microplex The Cube Microplex is cinema and event venue in Bristol, England. It operates as a non-profit cooperative and is entirely staffed by volunteers. Since opening in 1998 it has hosted international and local artistic and cultural events including f ...

staff called ''Turpsycore'' "a triple disc spectacular." ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

''s Devon Fisher commented " omuspays proper tribute to the artists — some famous, some less so — who, like him in his

Shibuya-kei is a microgenre of pop music or a general aesthetic that flourished in Japan in the mid-to late 1990s. The music genre is distinguished by a "cut-and-paste" approach that was inspired by the kitsch, fusion, and artifice from certain music style ...

days, brought a more literate, worldly and bizarre perspective to the realm of popular culture, refusing to stagnate or get 'over-familiar and over-sold.'" ''Zitty''s Thorsten Glotzmann said it was "thoroughly enigmatic and bizarre - overloaded with literary, film-historical and pop-cultural references." ''Heathen Harvest'' staff reviewed it favorably stating "A good Momus album plus a two bonus discs of off-kilter covers of David Bowie and Howard Devoto songs. What's not to like about it?" ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

''s Dave Heaton remarked the album was "a truly eccentric three-disc set." ''CDM''s Peter Kirn called the Bowie disc "unsurprising" but the Devoto covers "were just what I (didn't know I) needed – a set of songs tackling sexual ambiguity and anxiety from a singer who was born to play the part."

Track listing

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turpsycore 2015 albums Momus (musician) albums