he music of Solex couldn't have originated anywhere else but in the basement of a secondhand record shop, what with its mish-mash of musical styles, sounds, and samples from the farthest reaches of time and musical space. PICK UP seems to follow no discernible pattern as it creates a musical pastiche of various beats, bleats, and instrumental colourings that range from everything from a calliope to power tools.
Elisabeth Esselink did indeed get the spark for Solex by experimenting with an 8-track machine in the bowels of her Dutch store. Furthermore, her music exhibits the sheer energy and joy of a music fanatic running up and back down the creaky stairs with every obscure record she could find to drop into the mix, along with a few better-known LPs, say Sugarcubes, Kurt Weill, and Jacques Brel. To sweeten the deal, Esselink layers on her own urgent and imploring vocals, pealing out abstract stories that form a seamless pastiche of their own.|
Rovi