Electronica/Experimental Archive Music
Offers
Reviews
 |
Autechre in general
by Fennesz So, Autechre. Pioneers and supreme deities of techno and, to use that horrible word, IDM. Saying that doesn't do them justice, though. I grew up thinking techno was that vile rave and hardcore dance music, and to hear they are a techno group might have driven me away. Fans will mostly tell you that you can split the Ae ... catalogue in two and be left with two seperate experiences. This is true to an extent, with their early work being more traditionally danceable and the later very experimental, but there is more depth to it than that. Their earliest album, "Incunabula", was a very of the time techno dance record but it was very inventive and caught peoples attention. They followed that up with "Amber". Critically acclaimed, it revealed Autechre as a major talent with its lush melodic minimalism. Their difficult third turned out to be their defining record "Tri Repetae" and marked the infamous transition into experimentalism. It had the soul of Amber, but a mechanical heartbeat. Onward, if you dare. The wonders of Confield, Draft 7.30 and Untilted are many and varied, but they require patience to digest. Recommended for those who find beauty in austerity. If that's not for you, skip to Quaristice, their latest, and most accessible. Read the complete review |
 |
Aphex Twin in General
by Pulsebeat I just couldn't decide which Aphex Twin album to review, so I thought I'd just give an overview of the man himself and tell you a little bit about some of his best works. You could be forgiven for hearing the name Aphex Twin, without actually thinking that you've heard any of his music. Everyone from Radiohead to Limp Bizkit ... guitarist Wes Borland to Kid 606, have recently claimed that they have been influenced by Richard. D James. In the past few years, the man's profile seems to have rocketed skywards, especially in the States where the burgeoning IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) scene, has taken him as their father-figure somewhat. And though I just claimed that there is a chance that you may not have heard any of his music, this is not true, because he has written several cheesy dance smashes for chart acts (though he will not say which ones), and his music is frequently used in adverts (though British Airways probably won't be using the one that they commissioned him to do which features extreme noise and screaming). Aphex Twin was born in Cornwall 28 years ago and began making music as a very young child. Apparently, he would make synthesisers himself out of basic electronic equipment. He even claimed that he invented a music programme for the Spectrum computer, which was apparently impossible. Though Richard has recorded under many different aliases such as Caustic Window, Polygon Window, AFX and billions more, I'm just gonna stick to the music that he has made under the name 'Aphex Twin', because the category is called 'Aphex Twin in General'. The first album he put out under this moniker was 'Selected Ambient Works 84-91' and it instantly became hailed as a modern classic. It is a far cry from his work now and it relied on simple repetitive melodies and rythms, which created a truly beautiful sonic soundscape. It is 'chill out' music, but not in a coffee-table, bland, "I can't actually be bothered listening to music, so I'll just buy Chill-Out Euphoria Breakdown III" way. It is chill-out in that it gurgles and washes and floats in a non-aggressive manner, but it remains timeless, breathtaking and magnificent. A great place to start if you're looking to get into Aphex. Some people claim that he has never bettered this work, but each differ so greatly that this is somewhat of a foolish statement to make. The follow up to 'Selected Ambient Works 84-91' was 'Selected Ambient Works Vol. II', which sounds a little bit like 'Chill Out in Ibiza II', but only in terms of its title. Though this is ambient music, it could never be seen as 'chill-out', partially due to the fact that it is deeply disturbing. Various melodies and disembodied vocal clips fade in and out of view creating a hauntingly child-like atmosphere (the recovery of childhood innocence seems to be a major preoccupation of Aphex's). It lost him many of his fans and in some quarters it was critically panned. However, although it probably isn't the greatest starting point for those not familiar with Aphex's works, it is an immensely rewarding listen. Spread over two-discs and with symbols replacing song-titles, it is a demanding album, but it provided many treasures. Next up was 'I Care Because You Do' (actually a B-sides and rarities compilation entitled 'Classics' came next, but it a'int brilliant so I'm gonna ignore it). By this point Richard was starting to like NOISE. Don't get me wrong, its not amazingly noisy, but in parts, 'I Care Because You Do' uses harsh, dischordant frequencies and sounds to create an amazingly claustrophic masterpiece. This album is perhaps the fans' favourite, and was reportedly what Thom Yorke had jammed in his walkman during the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions'. It is also intensely melodic in parts, and is perhaps the best example of Ahex' ; penchant for mixing uneasy listening with great, heartbreaking melodies. 'Richard D. James' album was next up and seemed to capture the zeitgeist perfectly. Basically it is the sound of the London Philamonic Orchestra trying to play drum'n'bass with elastic bands. It was the first time that 'drill and bass', as it came to be known, edged near the public consciousness. This was the first Aphex album that I bought and it is quite simply astonishing. At a brief 38 minutes long, each moment is genius, especially 'Girl/Boy Song', if you haven't heard music like this, you're in for a surprise. This also became the album which seemed to influence the growing electronica scene the most and his evidence of this f@?ked up drum'n'bass can be heard in the music of Kid 606 and Bogdan Raciznsky'. Aphex released two amazing singles after this: 'Come to Daddy' (imagine The Prodigy doing gabba) and Windowlicker (imagine Daft Punk going through a shredder). Eac featured amazing MTV friendly videos, directed by Chris Cunnigham (who also directed Madonna's 'Frozen and Bjork's 'All is Full of Love'). Each featured Aphex Twin's head superimposed on little girls and big-titted bikini-clas women respectively. They were brilliant. "More!" everyone cried. "No said Aphex Twin. Apparently he was retiring from music altogether, but this year saw the emergenge of a new double album entitled 'Drukqs', which is apparently only a colloction of songs that Richard left on a minidisc in a plane and was scared would become bootlegged on the net, so he thought he'd release them. It is a hotch-potch bag on ambient doodles, cracking immensely fast drill n'bass, and classical piano interludes. It also features an answerphone message from his parents singing 'Happy Birthday' to him. It's not his most innovative work, but he has pushed back the boundaries of music with each release and this is still a brilliant album, even if it doesn't do that. Some other things you might like to know about Aphex Twin: 1) When Madonna asked for a remix, he asked her to do animal noises on the track. She refused. 2) When the Lemonheads asked him to do a remix, he forgot and just gave them a half-finished track of his own when the deadline arrived. 3) He used to own a tank and live in a bank-vault. 4) He had a brother who was born before him and shared the same name, but died as a baby. His grave features on the 'Boy/Girl EP' sleeve. You have thirty minutes to write an essay entitled "Why I should like Aphex Twin" and you must mention at least two albums in detail in your answer. You may begin. Read the complete review |
|
|
Plaid in General
by spoonfacer Are you sitting comfortably?..then I'll begin: Long long ago, back in the days when all music made with machines was expected to sound like either a juggernaut juddering through a foundation-shaking block party or a wispy-haired buddha noodling through the ambient emptiness of a distant star system(with a dub bassline), ... there existed in an unfashionable corner of money-blighted essex, a band called Black Dog. They were unusual in that, despite living near the Prodigy, and existing in a millieu where EVERYONE AND THEIR GRAN was making hit records, they never really made anything that made you jump up and dance like a puppet with the strings on fire. The reason being (and I speak as someone who really appreciates the kind of tunes that grab you by the innards and tell you deep in the pit of your stomach that you really OUGHT to dance) that they were too busy making music that was unique, and really (oooh there's a tear in my eye) quite beautiful. In these early days the dark canine crew took a metaphorical walkies through several sadly now defunct record labels (Rising High, GTR), before dropping a slightly dribbly newspaper on the mat and scratching at the door of the natural home of such electronic eccentricity- Warp Records. First bark from the plushly upholstered kennel built on the workshop side of Warp's extended semi-detached house was 1993's 'Bytes'-one of the albums that was responsible for the whole 'cor some electronic music is actually quite good to listen to at home' movement, and that remains one of my favourite albums ever (my vinyl copy is a sorry sight..too many late nights). In this vein, Black Dog went on to release 'Temple of Transparent Balls' and 'Spanners', both of which are lovely quirkily abstract records (particularly 'Spanners' which features some ugly-beautiful oddball classical-meets-electronica-and-techno-up-a-weird-alley-decorated-with-egyptian -symbols type action). Pat pat...good dog. However, in 1995, they ran into a slight problem in that two of the band's members decided they didn't like the third, and split off to form (or reform- having released occasional tracks under this moniker from 1988 onwards) Plaid. Since which, Black Dog (BD member Ken Downie on his own) material has slipped into obscurity and mediocrity. Bad move Ken! Plaid (Ed Handley and Andy Turner) had the good fortune (or good judgement.... or just the laziness) to stay within the Warp family, and, having messed around in their Bubble studio for a year or two, in 1996 released 'Not for Threes', an album which still makes me go 'oooh' and 'wow' today No point in explaining it, because it really has a readily identifiable and unique sound, but it sets the tone for the next two albums, with guest vocals from Bjork, Nicolette and others, surrounded by the trademark Plaid sound of plinky plonky synths playing pretty tunes, grinding strings, weird little mauled vocal snippets, bouncy electronic bass, and beautifully interwoven counterpoint. Their tunes nod along in a friendly fashion, constructing themselves into compicated shapes, with the occasional unexpected jump that changes the direction completely. And most unexpectedly for electronic music, Plaid's music is SAD, melancholy, beautiful, brave, resilient, cheerful, and has even been known to make me cry (which is unheard of). I've heard it described as 'abstract electronic folk music' and that's not far off the mark. I can always hear the ghosts in the machine....they're in there, not afraid to be reflective, not afraid to be melancholy.. 'Not for Threes' is a very strong album, with Bjork's pure and spooky vocal on 'Lilith' probably the highlight. 1998's 'Rest Proof Clockwork' continues the plinky plonky journey through space and time but with a ha ppier, more accessible feel. In parts the album wanders into a late 90s version of early 80s OMD, but mostly it's pure Plaid in all their wibbly-wobbly toytown symphony glory. The highlight is undoubtedly the closing tune (I could almost say 'piece' but my inbuilt pretentiousness radar starts to flash) 'Airlocked'. A delicately controlled warp and weft weave of calypso steel drum and Plaid weirdness extravaganza, it's a wonderful expression of something, not sure what, but it always makes me feel SOMETHING. and on to...2001's 'Double Figure' (took me a while to find the title on the typically arty cover). Bit of a mixed bag this one: Some classic Plaid, some more 'digital' sounding synths, some 80s-feeling electronic wizardry, and some harking back to Black Dog moments of high speed techno tunelessness. However, all (forgivable) semi-lapses of taste are atoned for by the lovely tones of 'Zamami' and last tune 'Manyme' (seems to be a rule that the last tune on a Plaid/Black Dog album is an absolute corker). So where now? Plaid are said to be contemplating a change of style, and leaving the first three albums as a trilogy of plinky plonky magic. In terms of fame, major production credits for Bjork have done them no harm (I have a sneaky feeling they might 'do' Madonna at some point in that William-Orbit-becomes-instant-superstar tradition), but really, who knows what to make of the motivation of people who call their tunes 'Porn Coconut Co', 'Pino Pomo' and 'Abla Eedio' ????????? I'll certainly be keeping my eyes out...so should you.. Ooh one more thing...look out for 'Trainer', an album of almost unobtainable early (pre Black Dog) Plaid tracks..out on Warp now. It's slashed the value of my record collection but I'll forgive it (harrumph) So there we go, Plaid. Try 'em. Love 'em. Hate 'em. Whate ver... :o) Read the complete review |
Electronica/Experimental Archive Music |
||
|---|---|---|
|
1 review Archive Music / |
|
|
|
1 review Archive Music / |
|
|
|
1 review Archive Music / |
|
|
|
1 review Archive Music / |
|
|
|
3 reviews Archive Music / |
|
|
|
1 review Archive Music / |
|
|
8 reviews Archive Music / |
|
| Electronica/Experimental Archive Music Recommendations 1 | ||
| dooyoo Results 1 - 7 of 7 | ||
