People and Industry

Gordon Chapman-Fox returns to Castles in Space with a second volume of stately electronica from his Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan project. The album picks up where the first left off, really. Musically, People Industry was recorded back to back with Interim Report, March 1979. There is a progression in the sound, but it’s definitely cut from the same cloth as the first album. It still very much exists in this euphoric melancholy (or melancholic euphoria) that seems to be his signature. This time however, the theme is very much to celebrate the workers and industry that was absolutely booming around Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn in the late 70s. From coal mining, to chemicals, to cars, the area was an absolute hive of industry. Some of those businesses are still very much in the area, but a lot has changed since then. This album, much like the first, looks back to look forward. It is is nostalgic but with 40 years of hindsight.