Starkey – Charting Stardust (Original Soundtrack)
1.11.17 by Mike Haley

I’ll start off by admitting what initially, however juvenile, attracted me to this tape. The title. I don’t know if we are all pretending that the word “charting” doesn’t immediately make us think of “sharting”, but come on… Yeah, it does. And if we are continuing this facade of sophistication, as if nobody knows what I’m talking about, I’ll just lay it out: A shart, as defined by PoopingProblems.com, is “an involuntary defecation which occurs when one try’s to pass gas.” So the title “Charting Stardust” instantly made me think about pooping glitter. There, it’s been said. But, after a looksie at the simple but lavish design work of the Jcard, and noticing the tried-and-true Sacred Phrases logo slapped on the back, it was obvious that Starkey’s “Charting Stardust (Original Soundtrack)” was going to be more than just another flashy flatulent.

And I was right. It is WAY more. In line with classic outsider pioneers, Starkey creates fantasies, and is extremely generous when it comes to details. He sends feelers out into the far reaches, returning with a cache of polished sonic runs and ambient arrays that are eager to vibe out. Ideas are heavily layered and whirlpooled together, as if they are being finger-painted on an endless canvas. A magical swirl of hypnotism spills for days, but with individual parts that still fit together like puzzle pieces. As the pieces connect, a full image is formed. Like a magic eye painting coming into focus, you start to hear these micro worlds of side-scrolling future music. Tone follicles burrow into your skin as epic sound monuments erect and crumble. It’s all a very huge event. Tracks like Ecliptic stir senses with a more intrusive focus, relying on the repetition of throaty thuds to distract while gigantic schemes expand in the distance, eventually landing right on your face. Opposing views like Ticks and Seas, both second-to-last tracks on their side of the cassette, opt for a cerebral approach to life.

So it turns out that “charting” stardust (like mapping it out) is way more accurate than “sharting” stardust (like shitting your pants while trying to fart) when it comes to the zone of this here mind melter. That’s probably for the best. Pick it up from Sacred Phrases!