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Release date: January 2018
First Pressing CD with inserts Ltd to 100 copies

Birmingham-based Tom Fenn aka ‘tele:funken’ is back with a new recording, ‘Rocket Summer’, after a 17 year hiatus. The late 1990s saw four tele:funken releases on London’s Domino Records. The much praised “Themes these three”, a remix of a track by Birmingham's experimental quad Avrocar, was also released around this time. It was to become a John Peel and Radiohead much loved favourite. Soon to follow were releases on Dave Clarkson’s Laboratory Series label, with collaborations with legendary and fellow ‘Frequency Mongulator’ and now-living-in-Japan Richard ElMagico ‘Magic City’ Carman, as well a remix for New York-based Van label-mates Charles Atlas.

Tom is, of course, no stranger to the Van. Static Caravan released ‘Songs for the Road’ [VAN-4], which was recorded with Laetitia Sadier’s then live-in nanny, ‘Monsieur Nicholas’, and also Tom on his own as tele:funken, ‘A Collection of Ice Cream Vans volume 1’. ‘ICV1’ was released in a very limited edition of 300 in transparent green vinyl, and included the soundtrack to fellow noisenik provocateur, Ian Helliwell’s film ‘Geneva’ (soon to be on general release).

‘Rocket Summer’ is dedicated to love, sex and adventure, loosely on a theme from Ray Bradbury’s collection of short stories, ‘The Martian Chronicles’. Over a five year period Tom composed, recorded, despaired about, and re-recorded the tracks solely with an iPad, a copy of cult iOS software Nanostudio, a Chickenbone Cigarbox single string bass and a coffee machine, occasionally enlisting the help of his wife and kids.

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REVIEWS

"Music that is funny, serious, sharp and witty. An excellent return and let’s hope the next one is around the corner and not light-years away." [Vital Weekly]