The rare Scott Walker beetle (genus: Driftus, species: Epizootica) is among the most high profile, and certainly the most musical, of the wide array of holometabolous insects on God’s green earth. Though the early stages of the Driftus Epizootica’s life-cycle are often typified by a flurry of activity, both in the form of collaborative endeavors with ersatz family groups and solitary pursuits, they are perhaps most notable for the middle period of their development. This middle period usually manifests in the creation of a thick, mysterious cocoon, through which only intermittent emissions are observable. Most frequently this comes in the form of increasingly opaque albums released at relatively lengthy intervals, such as 2006’s The Drift and 2012’s Bish Bosch (TMT Review).
However, until now, the final stages of the Driftus Epizootica’s metamorphosis have not been observed by scientists. As a result, the recent discovery of a well-maintained late-stage Driftus Epizootica in the wild has lead to much tittering and back-slapping in the entomological community. These truly are exciting times! We have already observed a subtle up-tick in the release of albums (the mere six years between The Drift and Bish Bosch is almost half the amount of time between The Drift and its predecessor, Tilt), in addition to the entirely unexpected manifestation of what scientists are calling a “multimedia event.”
Now, fellow scientists The Quietus are reporting that Driftus Epizootica seems to be re-enacting its earliest stages of development by reissuing its first five releases, Scott, Scott 2, Scott 3, Scott 4, and ‘Til the Band Comes In. Available June 3 via Universal, they seem to re-mastered from their original tapes and packaged both in CD and vinyl box sets. The vinyl box set will include an 11” print from Scott 2 and a 48-page booklet with an essay by Rob Young (author of No Regrets: Writings on Scott Walker) as well as four archive interviews with the Epizootica specimen from NME and Melody Maker. The CD box set will contain a 16-page booklet by Rob Young, as well as photos and extensive liner notes. The magnificence of creation is surely on display here! Though no one can quite guess what’s next in the metamorphosis for Driftus Epizootica, scientists and laypeople alike are surely glued to their science machines for the next exciting development!
• Scott Walker (Driftus Epizootica): http://4ad.com/artists/scottwalker
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