Track Listing

1. In the Bath - Fred Deakin, Nick Franglen, Lemon Jelly
2. Nervous Tension
3. Tune for Jack
4. His Majesty King Raam
5. Staunton Lick
6. Homage to Patagonia
7. Kneel Before Your God
8. Page One
9. Come

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32628 in Music
• Released on: 2001-04-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .27 pounds

Album Description
Nick Franglen and Fred Deakin are the London based duo who make up Lemon Jelly. Fred is a DJ and designer whose illustration work frequently appears in The Face magazine. His wobbly, bubbly graphics are a good visual translation of the Lemon Jelly sound. Nick is a producer who has worked with Primal Scream, Bjork and Pulp. The record consists of the three limited edition UK 10 inch EP's that the group released between '98 and '00. The juicy melodious sounds fit in right next to bands like Air and Thievery Corporation but truly exist in a cartoon world of their own. Deluxe gatefold dogipack. 2001 release.

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
A collection of three EPs released in limited quantities by this London duo (Nick Franglen and Fred Deakin), Lemonjelly.ky is what happens when you mix electronic psychedelia with downtempo beats, a selection of warm and organic sounds, a splash of sunshine, and a big dose of smiles. Coming across like a series of electronic fairy tales designed for warm, hazy afternoons in the park, Lemon Jelly are all about a good time, chill style. Kruder & Dorfmeister would approve, as would the Orb, but Lemon Jelly also have a stoner's sense of humor to accompany their warmly chaotic mixes. Take "A Tune for Jack," with its big sea elephants and smooth high-synth sound that evokes the Parisian duo Air, and then try the amusingly instructional voiceover during "The Staunton Lick." Both illustrate clearly that for Lemon Jelly there are no rules other than to let your imagination (fueled as it might be) wander where it must. Indeed, one of the most delightful things about this album, as you meander through stunningly lush pastures like "Homage to Patagonia" and the melancholic romance of "Kneel Before Your God," is its ability to marry great music with a genuine sense of goodwill and happy disorder. If Alice ever did manage to hear some tunes as she tripped about Wonderland, Lemonjelly.ky must have been the soundtrack she enjoyed. --Steffan Chirazi

From URB Magazine
Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen are the DJ/producers known as the invitingly chill Lemon Jelly, a London duo which compiled its first three limited-edition 10-inches for this CD and openly warned consumers not to buy it if they already own the EPs. Like a cross between the orchestrated retroisms of Air and the humor-based sampledelica of Mr. Scruff, a sense of humor is evident on each of the album's breezy tracks and while their sound isn't new, it still provides ample listening pleasure.

The Bath EP sighs under the weight of soft guitar strumming, beats and soaring harmonics, while The Yellow EP soothes with the lullaby tones of "His Majesty King Raam" and the playful romp of "The Staunton Lick." On The Midnight EP, Lemon Jelly's sound becomes more intricate and realized through the bossa skip of "Kneel Before Your God" and disco sashay of "Page One," making it the perfect audio companion when the post-club set gathers at your pad to chill out. "Nervous tension is an unseen enemy of the human mind," states one of the album's many (but never overdone) samples. Apply a little Lemon Jelly and feel those cares melt away.

Stacy Osbaum

Customer Reviews

Aural Candy
From the sneering label on the cover ("if you already own [the] EPs there is NO REASON for you to buy this album") to the decadent packaging to the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek samples, "Lemonjelly.ky" is a delight from beginning to end. I picked it up on import last fall when it was selection of the month at Colette.

I'm going to eschew the Air and Kruder & Dorfmeister comparisons (really, why do we lump all of the downtempo artists together?), and just call this downtempo with a quirky pop sensiblity, that is so distinctly English.

"In The Bath" is truly soothing, while "Nervous Tension" is a delightful souffle of piano-infused lounge. "The Staunton Lick" takes a delightful pop hook and runs with it. Highlights for me in particular were the saccharine childishness of "His Majesty King Raam," the irresistible breakbeats and piano run in "Page One," and the gentle, touching "Come." Highly recommended.

A must have for lounge-lovers
Remember Bert Kaempfert? Well, believe it or not, but that's were this fabulous cd starts with... 'What do you do in the bath?' is the first question, followed by a mixture of Nana Mouskouri, hypnotized by a hypnotizer, a delightful dreamy but uptight rhytmn and a piano... Lemon Jelly mixes sounds from sea-elephants, loungy tunes and weird but always happy tunes. This cd makes a rainy day become sunny. Outstanding pieces are... 'In the bath', 'a tune for jack' that really lifts of when a baby joins the mambo. The song after the baby starts as if someone pulled the cord of a musicbox above his cradle. 'His majesty King Raam' is a lullaby we all want to fall asleep with... The staunton Lick is based on samples from a record called 'Teach yourself folk guitar'. Like the other songs, it plays with several samples merged into one great catchy rhytmn. To what you can compare this the best? Hmm, take the swing of Electrotwist, the humor of Mr. Scruff, the soundscapes from Kruder/Dorfmeister and the tempo of the Boys from Brazil. In other words, get this masterpiece if you haven't got any of their EP's yet.

imminently charming cocktail tunes for the down time
What were British duo Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen thinking? They call themselves Lemon Jelly, register their website in whatever country owns the ky suffix just for the pun of it, and name their album the same. Then they blow all kinds of cash on glossy, hard-backed packaging and a color booklet, but leave their identity off the CD itself. Oh, and sticker it with a reminder if you own their EPs "there is no reason to buy this product."

Unless of course, you're in the States, where vinyl mini-records and kitch-lounge rarely bubble to the surface. Our treat then, that this dreamy cut & paste weaving of mellow sonic sounds, tape loops, and record snippets (dashed with spoken word instructional guides) now hits home.

Playing like a 1960's Mr. Scruff tribute band, or a folk group spinning cocktail tunes, songs `A Tune for Jack' and `Nervous Tension' remain imminently charming, as do the lullaby loops of `His Majesty King Raam' and starry-eyed acoustic closer `Come.'

Like the middle of a donut, Lemonjelly.ky is all sugar. Wisely, much of their material relies on fanciful, sophisticated melodies rather than courting wit to carry the show. Of course, they could have stripped away the dialogue and revealed a straight-up chill-out album for every critic's fancy. Maybe the duo realize the tangy aftertaste lasts longer with your tongue pressed firmly in cheek. 4.5 stars