"an accomplished debut that fuses rock with hip-hop, organic beats with sampled sounds and puts an Irish accent on American-influenced styles….delightfully eclectic and eccentric" EVENT GUIDE
"an album of such scope, diversity and simple, unadulterated enjoyment." entertainment.ie – 4 stars
"one hell of an eclectic record collection and the fruits of his labour will hopefully find the enormous audience it deserves." STATE MAGAZINE

ROBOTNIK
introduces PLEASANT SQUARE
his debut album which is
THIS FRIDAY - MAY 9th 2008
Launch show this Saturday Upstairs in Whelans                                                                                                            
on Angry Xmas Shop
www.robotnik.mu   

PLEASANT SQUARE : TRACK BY TRACK
On opener 'Test 16:9', Robotnik mixes a family audio recording from Christmas Day 1985 with a sample of 'Gymnopedie No. 1' by the French composer and pianist Erik Satie. The nostalgic warmth lures the listener to the darker reality of the here and now of 'I Get So Excited' where we meet Robotnik as a 27 year old guy grappling with the temptation of cheating on his girlfriend and messing with her head.
"Come walk through the open door, come step inside," sings Robotnik, reminiscent of early Beck. These parallels are augmented by the delicate interplay of programmed beats, guitar chords and a xylophone.
'People Walk Away', the first single taken from PLEASANT SQUARE, is infectiously catchy and testamant to Robotnik's ear for melodic fun. Plain and simple, the lyrics were actually inspired by the smiley faces better known from the rave culture. "The running theme is the shed load of emotions people experience from whenever they walk away from something," says Robotnik.
Whimsical Robotnik pops up in the "pure pop candy" of 'Michael Grady Went to Mexico'. And dip a few minutes into it and you can hear David Byrne guesting or is that Robotnik? This track also features contributions from Robotnik's 'Happy Gang' fraternity in Dublin.
'The Master' is inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov's 'The Master and the Margarita' and returns to Robotnik's lyrical love duel. Replete with bongos, a power ballad chorus and 80s synths, it dashingly evades the entrapment of any era.
'North Pole' takes us into a more sultry, late night sonic journey, which has clear echoes of 90s Radiohead in its uplifting chorus.
The absurdist 'I Found Jesus in the Year 2027' emerged from a dream/nightmare. "I found myself in prison with a guy who thought he was Jesus, was gay giving me a lot of hassle." explains Robotnik. Inspiration can be found in many places so we best let you discover that Jesus for yourself!
One of Robotnik's earliest compositions and best known track to date is 'Lazyboy' which pre-dates his current independence and thus takes in the scenic route offered by "living at home with his mother, being on the dole and waking up at quarter past twelve for Corn Flakes" as he says himself
On 'Vinedresser', Robotnik delicately assumes a singer-songwriter mantle on material dealing with God, love and hope. And when it sounds like a track deserving of the talents of Brendan Benson, there's no complaining.
The demented warble at the start of 'Kill the Stubborn' hints at the thrilling sonic trip, with Western showdowns and sci-fi odyssey, that lies ahead. In ways it feels like 'The New Sound' that the Mighty Boosh might have been looking for or at least the one that should accompany them on their search.
'Weird Road' returns to Robotnik's love conundrums of falling in love and resisting that old 'Weird Road' of before. "You don't know it but I'm walking out on you," he sings and you expect the rain to fail and girl to crumble. 'The Secret Cake Experience' continues in the same vein with Robotnik always "wanting more".
PLEASANT SQUARE has its date with dance destiny on 'Piece of Mind' with its propelling beats calling to mind Underworld before 'Dog with No Tail' where hope fades as "The sun is calling me outside but the moon is my room."
And so to 'Puddlestarter' which is Robotnik's own inimitable tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Prodigy's 'Firestarter'. Jumping into puddles in Krakow can be lots of fun and so can Robotnik. Welcome on board.