Early support from Tom Ravenscroft, Harv Nagi, Paul Bradshaw, Bandcamp Weekly Radio and many more. 

Amateur Dramatics is Awkward Corners AKA Chris Menist’s second LP in the space of a year. 

In 2020 – a time when the global pandemic gave artists more time and space to think about their music – Chris took his collaborations and compositions to a different level. Having already collaborated remotely with Sarathy Korwar, as well as Kitty Whitelaw through Karthik from Flamingods’ Isolate/Create/Collaborate community, Chris turned his thoughts towards a new project. 

Amateur Dramatics is influenced by the events of early 2021 and alludes to the general atmosphere of political life in the UK right now where we are chivvied along by people who seem woefully unqualified to be commanding authority. Musically, the LP builds on foundations of the meditative, devotional electronic aspects of previous LP Dislocation Songs but this time frames it more in a jazz context with significant collaborations with Collocutor and Maisha’s Tamar Osborn on four tracks. Vocals (from Kitty Whitelaw) feature on an Awkward Corners track for the first time, as well as double bass provided by David Leahy.The result is a thoughtful and deep listening 40 minute listening experience. 

Opening track Paragraph One (after the rain) almost picks up from where Dislocations Songs left off by way of introduction. We’re re-associated with the bedrock of the Awkward Corners sound: 808, percussion & Illimba interact with a repetitive electric piano chord sequence. 

Marshland Lullaby – marked as the second single from the LP, features the ethereal voice of Kitty Whitelaw. With a vocalising technique the lyrics build layer upon layer as they drift through the mix very much as the title suggests, as a lullaby. David Leahy provides a slow and hypnotic Double Bass rhythm, and a lolloping acoustic drum kit features, not often heard in Chris’ music. This track is the first hint that this is a much more ambitious and collaborative project to Dislocation Songs and works towards a slightly different palette of sounds.