OWD011 (2019)
Digipak CD/digital single
CD £7 including UK p+p
or buy digital files via BANDCAMP
A Victorian child shoplifter on trial sings her daydreams amidst a musical collision of shimmering pop synths and rowdy courtroom shouting. Her spirit is summoned out of stolen fragments (a court report, a Jean Genet novel, memories of childhood, a Victorian hymn), and she seems all too aware of her transformation from a voiceless youth into a new entity: a sparkling self-mythologizing bad-girl teen-pop diva construct, shaped out of these ‘lying words’. Lola de Witte-Still remixes what was originally a Paul Rooney sound installation (this is his first single since Lucy Over Lancashire) to create a shiny kick-driven experimental-pop single cum mini-opera, with nods to AG Cook, Men’s Choir Shouters of Finland and Oneohtrix Point Never.
“If you are, like me, somebody who listens avidly to the Festive Fifty… It was a shame that Paul Rooney’s track only made it to number 2, another cracker from him…” Pete Jackson (Dandelion Radio). Feb. 2020.
“A lot of you were amazed by the track that got into the Festive 51… Rooney remixed by The Creeping Things, and I got a load of feedback about how fantastic that music was…” Zaph Mann, In Memory of John Peel Show (KFFP Radio, Portland and podcast). 11/01/2020.
“I love that, and I hope you did too, Stolen Things, new from Paul Rooney…” Stuart Maconie, Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone (BBC 6 Music). 5/1/2020.
Dandelion Radio Festive Fifty of 2019 (Stolen Things reached number 2).
“Stolen Things, Paul Rooney, just unbelievable stuff… it’s a genuine sense of excitement every time something comes through from him.” Mark Whitby (Dandelion Radio). Nov. 2019.
“That fantastic thing was Stolen Things (The Creeping Things Remix) by Paul Rooney.” Fenny, On the Wire (BBC Radio Lancashire). 20/10/2019.
“Excellent stuff. That’s just the kind of thing that Dandelion Radio exists for, to play you stuff like that…” Rocker (Dandelion Radio). Oct. 2019.
“… very highly crafted and beautifully done, and really challenging.” Roger Hill, The Popular Music Show (BBC Radio Merseyside). 23/09/2019.
“Marvellous, Paul Rooney’s Stolen Things, a remix by the mysterious Creeping Things…” Zaph Mann, In Memory of John Peel Show (KFFP Radio, Portland and podcast). 15/09/2019.
“It’s far too out there for any measurable commercial success, but, make no mistake, this is a fucking masterpiece.” Gavin Hellyer (Bandcamp website). Sept. 2019.
“…buzzes with exuberant crowd noise, while naive unaccompanied singing blends into robotic contemporary vocals… Propelled by a youthful joyfulness, it sounds as though there’s a joyous energy in resisting authority and oppressive power structures.” Tessa Norton (The Wire magazine), May 2019 review of the original museum installation work.
