Tiny Global Productions

Statton, Alison & Spike – Bimini Twist [IMPORT] – New LP

$ 33.00

Re-press. Their roots go back to Spike's release of the first two Young Marble Giants recordings on his Z Block label's "Is The War Over?" comp lp, through a collaboration in Weekend and a series of records in the 90s for Vinyl Japan. After roughly two decades in the mists, instrumentalist Spike Williams and one of the world's most affecting singers, Alison Statton, reunited to make this new masterpiece.

As soon as Spike discovered punk, he wasted no time forming Reptile Ranch (Wales’ own Scritti Politti), starting a label (Z Block), and releasing the compilation of the Cardiff scene, Is The War Over? After an act dropped out of the cooperatively-funded venture, Spike approached the disbanded Young Marble Giants to contribute a track or two. Bemused, they agreed to reform, and it wasn’t long before Rough Trade rang the public phone listed on the back cover of the LP to poach the combo, leading to an album which hit immediately and has inspired hundreds of artists since. All the while, Spike worked with Debbie Pritchard in a number of unheard bands - but that’s another tale. After YMG’s breakup, singer Alison Statton started Weekend with Spike and Simon Booth, a project which saw chart success and the birth of a nouveau-retro style as individualistic as YMG’s, one later co-opted by lesser acts. Weekend, too, split after their debut album. Despite Weekend having become Alison’s second big act, Rough Trade passed on her next project with Spike. Vinyl Japan stepped in to release the duo’s debut, Tidal Blues and other releases followed, but as real life, jobs, and children beckoned, both Alison and Spike stepped away from music . . for more than twenty years. Their return is both unexpected. Bimini Twist is the work of the two alone. Apart from some vocal tracking in a local studio to best capture Alison’s still wondrous voice - everything was recorded in their homes, much of it ‘live’, and these new songs show the duo’s charm and diversity, featuring Alison’s most personal lyrics and Spike’s peculiar musical genius.

Alison Statton & Spike aren't simply back with their first album in more than two decades, but have redefined their long-running musical partnership with a collection of songs matching the diversity of Weekend's classic "La Varieté" with a charm and innocence that reflects the fact that every note of this album was performed by the two of them alone, with no help from outside musicians, engineers or any other living soul. The advent of technology has allowed for these songs to be recorded at home and in comfort, revealing the most personal and enchanting collection of songs in their careers.

2024 repress of 2018 album.

Alison Statton & Spike Williams: everything