Something Very Special
Mr Fogg is from Reading, Berkshire. His real name is Phil Barry. But let’s not focus on that.
“Keep Your Teeth Sharp” is something different. This may be due to creative input from Icelandic producers Valgeir Sigurdsson and Olafur Arnalds. The Land of Fire and Ice always did have a sonic edge, with Sigur Ros and Bjork to name a few, exemplifying the country’s melodramatic landscape in sound. Mr Fogg (a name derived from Phileas Fogg in the novel Around the World in 80 Days) follows in these footsteps.
Emotive and poignant, “Keep Your Teeth Sharp” will take you over. Crunchy thumps of electro bass contrast with vocals wrought with heartfelt emotion, rolling drum and solemn trumpet fanfares. Touching electro folk along the same sort of lines as a wintery James Yuill.
Barry’s use of a nursery music box synth imbues “Whispers” with an innocence and sentimentality that blends in with soft electro dance beats and vocals: less sappy than Get Cape Wear Cape Fly but with a similarly satisfying emotive effect.
“Keep Your Distance” portrays an icy landscape with a layered Sigur Ros styled falsetto and deep bass. Then the “Keep Your Teeth Sharp (Olafur Arnalds remix)” with classical string section makes for a shocking Icelandic twist, heartbreakingly striking with those hollow tribal drums.
Mr Fogg makes sounds which are melodically unusual and stunningly gorgeous, reflecting the drama, the beauty, and the remote barren stillness of a windswept landscape. Not bad for a Berkshire boy.