On Platts Eyott Island

On the evening of September 15, 2008, Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox recorded seven tracks at Studio Plateaux on Platts Eyott Island, a nature reserve on the Thames river in London. The session was held in memory of legendary Radio 1 disc jockey and independent music advocate John Peel (1939-2004).

The resulting EP — aptly titled On Platts Eyott Island and dedicated to Peel — features reworked Microcastle material, one previously unreleased song (Side A opener Cum Horizon), and a haunted version of Cryptograms standout Spring Hall Convert. Cox played all instruments and performed all vocals himself. The EP was released by 4AD in a limited 200-cassette edition (100 orange, 100 pink) and sold at select Deerhunter shows.

Studio Plateaux was equipped with a collection of vintage Ribbon microphones, preamps, and other rare gadgetry and effects, which, according to 4AD, had been sourced from all over the world. Cox, himself uniquely versed in self-recording (hear the prolific early output of his Atlas Sound project for evidence), was securely in his element there, and the Platts Eyott Island EP bears this out to mesmerizing effect.

If, like me, you weren't able to obtain one of the original cassettes when they were released, you aren't completely out of luck: they sometimes surface on the Discogs marketplace. And if the median price of $100 frightens you away, you can always stream it on YouTube.