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7VWWVW is pronounced Mammal. 7VWWVW are a lovable four-piece synthesiser combo from Edinburgh who use a bewildering assortment of analogue instruments to concoct their own brand of electronica. The band have been labelled everything from 'a glitch hop duo' to 'perennially weird' and comparisons have been made with Ratatat, Steve Reich and ELO. 7VWWVW recorded this album with producer Bryan Mills, (who has previously worked with Nigel Godrich and Kevin Shields), inspired by labelmates the Magnificents, Philadelphia's Plastic Little (whose forthcoming EP might just feature some music by the band), The Fucking Champs from San Francisco and Colin Newman from Wire who listed 7VWWVW's tune 'Old Man Of The Woods' in his Top 20 Tunes of 2007.
'A quietly deranged form of genius - 5/5.' The List
the LIST review, November 2007
Elusive Edinburgh foursome Mammal have been brewing this tasty stew of retro electronica for ages, but it's worth the wait. Like The Magnificents in a chill-out tent or Boards of Canada jamming with Bob Moog, this mostly instrumental fare is a consummate and sumptuous trip through analogue synth heaven, like the soundtrack to the best hippy-trip 70s space travel documentary you've never seen.
Sweeping from delicate to creepy to triumphant, 7VWWVW (turn your magazine upside down), bypasses the brain and goes straight to the heart, conjuring deep emotional resonance as it does. Beautiful music to soundtrack the beautiful moments in your life.
Noize makes Enemies review 2007
It is true that in recent times, electronic music has diffused into other genres in an experimental wave of new boundaries. Some bands indeed have done it marvellously (Foals, Blaqk Audio, I Was A Cub Scout) but 7VWWVW are a whole different story.
Their name is ''Mammal'', but upside down. From the name alone you can predict they won't be your usual cup of indie tea. Their self-titled album is devoid of vocals, it is reminiscent instead of the 8-bit nintendo games we used to play many years.
Although 7VWWVW are not your everyday guitar-drum-singer trio, each of the ten tracks on the album tell magnificent stories and the catch is that they can come entirely from the listener's imagination.
From the first bleep of song one ''These Are The Salad Days Of The Future'' it's as if you enter a two-dimensional video game world where you are the little character running across wild worlds, overcoming threatening little obstacles.
The music is an adventure from your most magnificent of dreams. It uplifts your atmosphere and for the whole album you are given this gift of pure creation. To sceptical listeners who think this music is lifeless or simple, there could not be a more inaccurate description. 7VWWVW take us back to a time before lyrics had to state the obvious emotions that notes and chords could bring. They are a book of endless fascination whose reader could enter and explore the extraordinary, before the film came out and connected the dots for you.
7VWWVW, after a few sessions of soaking your ears in their aural dimension, can make you feel things, remember things and even compose ideas and emotions you couldn't have come up with any other way. And honestly, not many bands these days can do that. They've been touring and writing music for four years; they know what they're doing and they do it fabulously. Its a world of secrets and vivid dreams knotted in beeps and synths. They are intricate melodies but with a little patience, a hint into the most extraordinary powers that music can contain.
By Jorja Hudson
RELEASES:
KFM011v
7VWWVW/MAMMAL
'There is no crueller than the sea, nor even as cruel'
2006
KFM030
7VWWVW (Mammal)
'7VWWVW' Album
2007
