WARRINGTON RUNCORN NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT PLAN Schallplatten & CDs

Review: 'A Shared Sense Of Purpose' is a fittingly collectively-minded name for a new Gordon Chapman-Fox aka. Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan release. The first glimpse of his latest full-length LP, Your Community Hub, this first sampler hears the artist continue to develop his totally singular vision in eerie modernist electronica, deploying lilty arpeggiations and contradictorily Utopian, yet at the same time, sinister, melodies and ambiences; all with a view to producing an uncanny deja entendu. These are deployed to mourn the slow, increasing privatisation of Chapman-Fox's native Warrington-Runcorn, specifically its singular bespoke town centre - its walkways, its local postal system, its gridded shop lots - which were all designed to make it a five-minute city, long before the concept of fifteen-minute cities had entered town planning discourse. Though, perhaps this lament masks a more sinister sense of enjoyment, as there is indeed a perverse sort of pleasure that arises in the bittersweetly uncanny perfumes that waft from this latest haunted mood piece. Perhaps just like the experience of revisiting Warrington-Runcorn after having known it in childhood, we hear both sadness and euphoria, at the same time, in the face of its ostensible loss.

Review: Much like the enduring appeal of the Ghost Box label, there's an instant magnetism in the music and presentation of Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan which triggers nostalgia even for those who didn't grow up in the 70s. Subtly creepy but equally warm and wistful, Gordon Chapman-Fox's project continues its stellar run following last year's knockout success The Nation's Most Central Location, this time turning the focus on the idea of community hubs in new town developments. There's depth to the concept beyond the aesthetic appeal, but either way the spools of synth work say plenty on their own.

Review: Gordon Chapman-Fox's latest album, Your Community Hub, delves into the New Towns movement, particularly focusing on Warrington-Runcorn's community centers and their relevance to modern urban planning discussions like the 15 Minute City concept. The album explores the decline of these centers and the services they once offered, paralleling a broader societal shift away from communal support. Through evocative album artwork featuring architect Peter Garvin's work, notably the Castlefield Community Centre, Chapman-Fox paints a vivid sonic picture of a bygone era of community cohesion. Following the success of 2023's The Nation's Most Central Location, this album is poised to continue Chapman-Fox's critical acclaim and commercial success, offering a poignant reflection on the past and present state of communal life.