Cargo Records

We Were Not There From The Beginning. We Won't Be There For The End

We Were Not There From The Beginning. We Won't Be There For The End. is the first full-length release by Mantova, Italy-based duo Tempelhof. Taking inspiration from Bologna film library archives (Tempelhof regularly perform live soundtracks of the black-and-white and crudely-coloured early-modern cinema experiments), loneliness, solitude and William Burroughs, the album features ten two tracks of lush downtempo beauty.

All tracks display Tempelhof at their best: downpours of cymbal-like hiss and mournful keys deliberately punctuate the shuffling beats. Low, impassioned vocals, dynamic but not overwrought, is the counterpoint to the subterranea of crashing rhythms and mechanical shifts and slices. Subtle and effortless, there is passion in spades; rather than hiding behind po-faced navel gazing, it grabs you by the lapels in order to show you its bleeding heart, its desperate romance. Samples emerge, organic, then become enveloped in a morass of sound, struggling against the tide...