Badge Époque Ensemble - Furry Worried Ape (2025) [Hi-Res]

Furry Worried Ape is the second album by Badge Epoch, the solitary variant of Badge Époque Ensemble led by Maximilian “Twig” Turnbull, and his first nearly entirely solo work, produced in his home studio. The album contrasts with the previous Scroll by its compactness, consisting of six tracks under half an hour. The music is built bar-by-bar on MIDI programming, utilizing drum samples from Badge Époque Ensemble sessions, creating a hybrid sound between live performance and programmed automation. The album's sonic language is steeped in the elegant, symphonic jazz-funk of the 1970s, exemplified by Mizell Brothers and Love Unlimited productions, refracted through a modern "hauntological" lens. The record explores the concept of "funk" in multiple meanings, balancing harmonic expansiveness with naive imperfections, such as "bonked" guitar solos. The centerpiece is "Red Leather Interior," a 10-minute unedited guitar-and-conga improvisation with percussionist Ed Squires, which deliberately contrasts with the surrounding digital miniatures that feature VST synths, slap-funk basslines, and Turnbull's own vocoded vocals.

Tracklist:
1-1 Badge Époque Ensemble;Badge Époque Ensemble - Empathic Vertigo [4:51]
1-2 Badge Époque Ensemble;Badge Époque Ensemble - Erotic Surveillance [2:56]
1-3 Badge Époque Ensemble;Badge Époque Ensemble - I Look Up To See My Only Sunshine [2:56]
1-4 Badge Époque Ensemble - Tom Henry's Dream [3:22]
1-5 Badge Époque Ensemble - Red Leather Interior [9:49]
1-6 Badge Époque Ensemble - Subjective Objectives [5:25]