My favourite holiday spot as a child was Disney World in Orlando, Florida, because with the sun always shining and the palm trees swaying, it was a world away from what I was used to growing up in the Mid-Atlantic. My parents probably recognised early on that I had boffin tendencies, because I avoided the roller coasters of the Magic Kingdom and gravitated towards the technologic geekery of Epcot Center. But as a child, there was wonderment to be had to be thinking about what could be in the future, and that’s what Epcot, ‘Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow’, offered. And from the sounds of Windmill’s second album ‘Epcot Starfields’, Matthew Thomas Dillon and I had similar memories.
The London-based Dillon became fascinated with Disney’s vision for the future and seemingly limitless ideas for this Florida amusement park that was only realised after his death. Dillon’s fascination with these fueled the writing of this album, and even a glance at the song titles (‘Ellen Save Our Energy’, named after a ride at Epcot, for one) indicate an obvious Disney/Epcot influence. The Independent and the Sunday Telegraph gave ‘Epcot Starfields’ their kudos. Have a watch of the whimsical, aeronautically-themed video for ‘Big Boom’, a track from the album, and see if you agree. Aborted attempts at eating ice creams are always love.
‘Epcot Starfields’ is available now from Friendly Fire Recordings.
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