artist Charles Jeffrey
remixers Planningtorock and Hercules & Love Affair
title Neko ((Echoed))
label LOVERBOY
format digital
LOVERBOY has always had an indomitable musical pulse throbbing at its core. For Charles Jeffrey, music is tantamount to fashion and visual art in the diverse roster of inspirations feeding his practice. Music is the heart and soul of LOVERBOY, since it’s first inception as a clubnight, and each musical release allows Charles to further clothe his audience within his universe of sound.
The AW22 Art of Noise collection spawned the first album, Neko. A collaboration of Charles, multidisciplinary artist Robert Fox and experimental musician Tom Furse – formerly of The Horrors – the project united close friends of LOVERBOY. ‚Neko‘ is a multi-genre dystopian soundscape, oscillating from the classical to the industrial via soaring synths, hypnotic beats and spoken word courtesy of rising rapper Taliable. The album’s title, taken from the Japanese word for cat, points subtly to a feline motif that slinks repeatedly through the LOVERBOY universe.
Now NEKO ((ECHOED)) continues the evolution with the addition musical heroes Planningtorock and Hercules & Love Affair. Each join the remix fray with their own subversions of the original sonics and lyrics; delivering their own upbeat, low slung, club ready remixes to further expand the musical realm of LOVERBOY.
Planningtorock–aka Jam Rostron–is a Bolton-born Tallinn based singer-song writer, composer, producer and director with four critically acclaimed studio albums of queerdance to their name – not to mention various collaborations, Opera’s, film, fashion scores and remixes. A self-taught, trans-non-binary, working-class musician, they’ve spent a-decade-plus queering sound and vision as Planningtorock.
Hercules & Love Affair’s music has been heating up the dancefloor for over 15 years, since that lightning strike moment of “Blind” featuring ANOHNI. Butler’s deep relationship to club culture and elegant take on dance music, incorporating unusual voices in his compositions, led to his recent runway collaboration with Maison Valentino. His 2022 critically acclaimed album ‘In Amber’ was an evolution of sound that saw Butler reunite with ANOHNI, collaborate with Budgie of The Banshees, as well as Tim Walker & Salvia for the video of ‘One’, and sing his own lyrics for the first time.
Tracklist:
- SUN (Planningtorock’s ‘Planningtosun” VERSION)
- PLAY (Hercules & Love Affair’s VERSION)
