Th Duo by LST

“This man had a spoon in his hat and when he runned it clanked against his head, clanging his skull & ringing his brain. “

LST is the solo project of Australian artist, Tarquin Manek.

Recorded during 2013, Th Duo is a lo-sci-fi composition that is both uninhibited and hypnotising. The origin of each sound never betrays itself and Manek’s arrangement hints at nothing familiar. Th Duo sits on the mantle as a dusty relic from the future.

Pieces like ‘Lego Swept Terrains’ and ‘Lemon Suck Teeth’ conjure images of vast junkyards in one moment, and extraterrestrial frequencies the next. The mind roams free but is inevitably led by the music.

Th Duo was recorded using mobile phones and micro cassettes, which is partly the reason for its peculiar aesthetic. The question of process, however, might be more prominent if the record wasn’t so immediately enchanting.

Such brave artistic methods will not surprise those familiar with Manek’s long list of solo and collaborative projects. He is a member of the eccentric Canberran non-pop-music trio, Bum Creek, who are notorious provocateurs in Melbourne’s music and arts scene. Manek has also composed solo work under the alias Static Cleaner Lost Reward for Melbourne’s Altered State Tapes label.