Big Spaceship is the side project for Martin Kennedy of All India Radio. Any fans of All India Radio will have plenty to rejoice in here - the ambience and wistful melancholy are abundant - but this time with more synthesisers! Big Spaceship's debut album Dream On is a gentle, electronic mood-enhancer somewhere between New Order and Air with enough lift and joy to fill your ears for months.
The album features guest vocals from Glenn Richards from much loved band Augie March. Big Spaceship is a combination of all the music Martin Kennedy loves and, when filtered through his instinctual pop aesthetic the results are soothing, exciting and joyous - all at the same time...
The album was produced by Martin Kennedy and by co-mixed by Michael Paul Stavrou. Michael was given his first break at Sir George Martin's AIR studios in London and has mixed, recorded or produced Siousxie & The Banshees, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Cat Stevens and countless others.
The album cover features an original painting by veteran UK sci-fi artist Tim White. The painting was originally used on the front cover of the 1976 paperback edition of Arthur C Clarke's novel 'Expedition To Earth'.
Released through Karmic Hit - home of Steve Kilbey ( The Church ), Jack Frost ( Steve Kilbey / Grant McLennan ), SNOG and SOMA (Pieter Bourke from Dead Can Dance).
This is the nicest surprise that myspace has yielded since we set up a profile on here. The music is really fantastic. Rarely do I sit in front of my computer bopping to music instantly but I just couldn't help it. - Air Strip One
Rating: 5 out of 5
So there I was ordering a few things off Karmic Hit's website (mostly to pick up the re-released Jack Frost self-titled album) when I noticed this Martin Kennedy (y'know, Mr All India Radio) side-project, and having been utterly enthralled by this year's release Echo Other it took no time at all to decide to buy this one, figuring that I'd "probably like it".The cover picture's suitably retro-scifi (the myspace page says it had been used on an Arthur C. Clarke novel). The major difference between Big Spaceship and All India Radio is that there's a lot more vocals. The music's a bit more up-tempo, rather than slow and deliberate, and trainspotters will have an easy time seeing hints of Air in a couple of tracks and New Order-like bass lines in quite a few others. Bonus points for the mellotron (or mellotron-like?) sounds, Mr K. There's plenty of earwormy goodness in this album - little synth riffs that pop up in your head a few days later on, prompting you to go back and listen to it Just One More Time.What's next? Martin Kennedy is/was apparently working on something with Steve Kilbey. Well, I'm excited. - THE MONKEY PUZZLE
Dreamy and ambient, the album flows from track to track as though they were motions in a rock opera, or soundtrack, rather than a pop album, making the experience of continued listening one that is bound by theme, emotion and imagery that is, in itself, commonly bound. Quiet and delicate, Dream On is exactly what one would derive from both the title and the band name, and well worth a listen for anyone who is in the mood for a little bit of fantasy in their head. Lovely stuff - X-RESS MAG
..there's some really engaging stuff going on here. Some of the guitar lines are very like The Cure, and Martin pulls off the trick of giving the music a wistful vibe that sits strangely with the upbeat drum patterns and synth lines. Simultaneously melancholic and vaguely hopeful. The songwriting is strong and there are plenty of catchy melodies to keep you humming the tunes. "One Step Behind" is in my head right now with its lovely vocal line. I listen to this album occasionally and find new things to enjoy about it each time- Tim Clarke Luna Kafe, Norway
This album from Martin Kennedy of all India Radio is one of my favorites. All my friends want to know who it is and why they haven't heard of them. If you like New Order you'll love Big Spaceship. Can't wait for more. - Jesse W. CD Baby Review
