Don Bradshaw-Leather — Distance Between Us
Distance Between Us is the one and only release from the extremely mysterious Don Bradshaw-Leather, an artist who appeared in the 1970’s London psych-rock scene, and then disappeared back to whence he came. The album features four lengthy slices of boundenly dark, to dramatic and wavery wonkily( largely) instrumental psych-rock - with a very organ/mellotron/ piano focus to it.
Apparently, it was first released as a self-financed double vinyl album in 1972- and got itself on Nurse With Wound's infamous list. It didn’t surface on Discogs until the year 2015, first appearing as a double vinyl pressing. Here we have a recent double CD release of the album- which appears on Distance Records(this is the label's one & only release), with it being distributed in the UK by respected noise/ industrial/ dark ambient label Cold Spring.
The two-disc come presented in a mini black gatefold- on its cover we have a picture of a coal-like blacked up, bearded and long-haired man with his dirty hands open. Inside the gatefold, we have inversed black and red pictures of the same man, and on the back, we get a picture collage of the same man- with a screaming topless woman, and on his own. There is zero information on who plays on it, and when it was recorded/ where it was recorded. To pick-up, up a copy in the UK, head to the folks at Cold Spring here.
If you search for Don Bradshaw-Leather online, mainly you get hits about this reissue & the ones before it. There is seemingly zero information about where he came from, his background or anything- which I guess is fairly rare in this day and age I guess this adds to the whole thing more. On the Cold Springs page we do get a little more info/ clarity and it’s thus ‘ the classically-trained Essex Don approached CBS Records with demo recordings. A forward-thinking A&R executive must have seen a potential revenue stream in Don Bradshaw-Leather's avant-classical noise. The artist was given an advance to record an album. He used the funds to create a large studio in Sussex with many instruments including an actual church organ. Here, on his own, without the use of any electronic sequencing, he recorded Distance Between Us using simply multitrack tape, layering each part of the composition. Upon hearing the product of their financial investment - four side-long tracks of blurry organ drones, frantic piano tinkling, and ritualistic percussion - CBS got cold feet. So he released it himself’
The first disc features two tracks Distance Between Us Part 1 and Part 2. Each of these lasts around the nineteen-minute mark, and each is fairly episodic in its unfolding. Track one moves from bounding and dark like piano runs, that a bayed and darted by mellotron tones. Onto lose and cluttering tribal percussion work-outs, which features waving trails mellotron tones. We have groovy organ rolls, underfed by rapid piano runs, and primal male chants and warbling female vocals.
Track two starts off with dramatic and clunky piano runs -that are edged by mellotron simmers. It all sounds rather like it could have come from the soundtrack for a silent film, though as it goes on it becomes more ramshackle and highwire. We get shifts into wavering mellotron meets organ jam outs. Onto tolling and bounding piano runs which later adds in wavering synthetic string hazes.
Moving onto the next CD- and have two twenty four-minute tracks. First up is “Dance Of The Goblin”- this begins with lose ‘n rattling ritual percussion, and wonky mellotron hazes. Coming off like a more gothic and messy Tangerine Dream. As we progress it becomes a sort of wavering melodrama soundtrack- with both organ and synthetic strings going crazy, with a backdrop of tick-tocking percussion.
Finally, we have “Autumn Mist”- and this starts out with rapid and bounding layers of piano- there are both blues and classical tones to its flow, at around the three-minute mark synth strings are fed in a build and at points blurring manner with the whole thing reaching a discordant crescendo. Moving on the keys and mellotron start to weave more even and harmonic flows, though we do dip into more abstract and ghostly blends of organ & sinisterly melting mellotron elements.
In conclusion, I would say if you like your psych-rock- with a lose, ramshackle and largely not particularly harmonically centre to its jam-like, to soundtrack-esque unfold then, Distance Between Us will be something you’ll be wanting to check in on.