To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the passing of guitarist Simon Jeffes, the founder and core member of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Erased Tapes are going to reissue the band’s final studio recording; Union Cafe will be out December 1 digitally, on CD, and — for the first time ever — double 12-inch vinyl.
Loved for their singularly dainty takes on avant-garde folk music, Penguin Cafe Orchestra originated from Jeffes’ hallucinatory dreams while bed-ridden from food poisoning. If the Orchestra’s album covers are any indications, the dude must have eaten one rancid burrito: the dreams included a bunch of sexy penguin-headed party animals (pun intended) frolicking around grand piano sets. According to Jeffes, those dreams also depicted a dystopian future where “where solace, harmony, and the orchestra’s unique music could be found amidst brutal concrete structures and darkness.”
Jeffes passed away from brain tumor in 1997, and Union Cafe was the fifth — and last — album he recorded with the Orchestra, “squaring the circle of intellectually challenging modern music that is still actually beautiful.” Pre-order this auspicious reissue here and listen to a fragment down below:
Union Cafe tracklisting:
01. Scherzo And Trio
02. Lifeboat (Lovers Rock)
03. Nothing Really Blue
04. Cage Dead
05. Vega
06. Yodel 3
07. Organum
08. Another One From Porlock
09. Thorn Tree Wind
10. Silver Star of Bologna
11. Discover America
12. Pythagoras On The Line
13. Kora Kora
14. Lie Back And Think Of England
15. Red Shorts
16. Passing Through
More about: Penguin Cafe Orchestra
