Phantom Planet Outlaws flex Muscles From Outer Space

John Heckle, Mark Forshaw and Binny launch their new Boss Tracks label.

It’s always a breath of fresh air to see the sometimes po-faced world of techno injected with a bit of humour. While their music is not to be trifled with, Liverpool’s Phantom Planet Outlaws trio have intentionally built up an aesthetic that riffs on 2000AD-style sci-fi comic book brawn across releases on Tabernacle and Apartment. It’s not surprising to learn that the project is the result of a group of mates having a laugh and kicking out hard as nails jams, nor is it a shock upon hearing their releases to discover that John Heckle, Mark Forshaw and Binny are the men responsible. The music sounds like the artwork, all boldly painted ‘90s motifs with a thirst for an imagined future.

As the press release would have it, the Phantom Planet Outlaws are at a loose end, and “with no evil to lay waste to, they put their dinner money together to create the world’s greatest record label, Boss Tracks.” The label commences operations with a gutsy four-track 12” that features one collaborative jam from the trio complemented by solo tracks from Heckle, Forshaw and Binny. You should know what to expect by now – rambunctious hardware jams that put the fun and the funk back into techno, much like Heckle’s recently revived Head Front Panel project. Take a listen to the clips of Muscles From Outer Space below and get your fist shaking to some proper Merseyside muscle jams.

Boss Tracks will release Muscles From Outer Space by Phantom Planet Outlaws on October 3.

Tracklisting:

A1. Phantom Planet Outlaws – Muscles From Outer Space
A2. John Heckle – Hybrid 1
B1. Mark Forshaw – Flashback
B2. Binny – The Return

Boss Tracks on Juno