Pinch's Tectonic label continues to grow in stature and ambition. The recent release of Moving Ninja's Formations EP suggests a strong affinity with the more ambient, atmospheric possibilities locked within the Dubstep framework. But the boldest move is yet to come - the first Tectonic long-player by a single artist is due to drop in April, and it's awesome. From The Shadows is the debut album by Random Trio's central figure, Cyrus, and in some ways it feels like the first to offer a truly accurate account of what dubstep is (currently) all about. Defiantly hardline in it's outlook, this is a zero-compromise collection of spectral halfsteppers; the almost complete lack of vocals (sampled or otherwise) suggesting an eerie, depopulated nocturnia. Indeed, there's an absence of foreground in general - the barest wisps of melody and dub-texture flit pensively into view, before ducking back into the inky shadows behind the beats. There's not much that could be called a 'riff'' - you could never confuse it with instrumental grime. This music is iPod unfriendly - listen to MP3s on the ear-buds and you'll hear some snares, tambourines and strings, and perhaps the merest hint of a bass undercurrent. This music says 'fuck you' to the convenience of iPod culture - it grew from the soundsystems , and demands to be listened to in that environment, with the cloying sub bass frequencies pushing the air around. You need to feel this music coursing through your entire body, not just your ears. A decent home hi-fi system should be adequate, though. Only serious bass-headz and audio-freaks need apply. In some ways it represents exactly what I'm trying to move away from, yet in others it totally fits the bill. It's certainly as minimal in it's intent as anything coming from the techno community. I think it might prove to be an historically important album, too: in years to come, it will give scholars a benchmark of just how emptied out this 'dance music' became before it evolved into something else. To the casual listener, pumped-up by the information overload of the mainstream, there's practically nothing there to listen to.
The album opens with "Gutter" (I'd love to think it was named in my honour, but very much doubt it), a militant mix of galloping kick drum and teasing whirls of harmonium, before easing into the shivery elegance of "Mind Games", where sweeping string pads and restless bass throb are underpinned by a brutally efficient halfstep riddim that suddenly bursts into a double-time thrash, to startling effect. But then "Paradise Dub" sails out into deep space, it's digidub flavour augmented by the barest brush strokes of environmental texture, subliminal drone and a single, perfect wobble bass note in the middle. Just when you think the album is about to drift off into a catatonic stupor, portentous strains of distant feedback usher in the mighty "Rasta From", brimming with suppressed energy, as the malevolent hi-hats scuttle over quagmire bass and intensely accented snare. A couple of points deducted for falling back on the old rasta dialogue samples, but who's counting? "Dirt" and "Calm Before The Storm" add yet more spine-tingling washes of understated pad melody and barely audible background crowd ambiance - true ghosts lost in the machine - before "Watcher" decimates all in it's path with a relentless bass note throbbing on eighths.
Cyrus' music refuses to give the slightest concession to the needs of the wider market place. It isn't trying to make any new friends. If you weren't already a convert at Dubloaded or FWD>>, this album is unlikely to draw you in. The decision to release on CD might still prove to be a masterstroke, though, as it won't alienate a larger potential audience. But unlike the Hyperdub albums, there will also be a vinyl release, spread over three discs, thus staying true to the 'spirit of the culture'. It's a well structured album, too. Even the split-second pauses between tracks seems to have been carefully tracked to give just the right sense of flow and momentum. This is one of those albums that actually hits it's peak near the end: the final trio of tracks providing a very satisfying finale. "Dark Future" injects a pounding 4/4 kick drum adrenaline rush under swooping washes of synth and a delicious descending bass pattern, whilst "Crying Game" adds amorphous wailing noises and impressionistic dashes of piano to the mix. In fact, it feels like Cyrus is gradually starting to add some musical flesh to the emaciated rhythmic bones, so that by the appropriately named title track it really feels like dawn is approaching. Cyrus steps from the shadows, his eyes blinking involuntarily as the first rays of sunshine sweep across and warm his pale, sallow complexion.
Anyone in the near vicinity is strongly advised to get down to Dubloaded in Bristol, this Friday, where Cyrus will be playing out (along with Dubstep godfather Hatcha) and no doubt showcasing the material on this album, offering a perfect chance to preview in the environment in which this music is ideally suited.
26 February 2007
24 February 2007
COMIX HAUL
Everything I post here is from the perspective of an ex-comic book reader/collector. I treasure what I still have, but rarely even look at them. Yet still they excerpt some sort of tug on my subconscious; they are a part of what made me the person I am. I think.
So anyway, last week I took the family over to visit relatives in Belfast. Grannie had bought a few books and comics at the local store to keep our kids amused. For the eldest, who's ten, she'd grabbed a random selection of Marvel and DC titles. Now, my son, gawd bless 'im, couldn't give a flying fuck about superhero comics. He's never been interested in them. Ever. But of course, as you can probably guess, I devoured the fucking lot during our visit, and even made sure to smuggle them home again, so I could peruse at my leisure. I am nearly 38 years old. How sad izzat?
So what do we have here? The Spider-Man and Marvel Heroes annuals are aimed squarely the juvenile market, featuring basic plots, minimal characterisation, colouring pages and puzzle sections. Not a great deal there to chew on, to be honest. Some of the artwork is fun, though. Shane Davis' Spider-Man hits a level of extreme stylisation that I've never witnessed in the web-slinger before - a crooked, spindly caricature with outrageously bulbous eyes. Captain Britain makes an appearance on the contents page of Marvel Heroes, which warms the cockles of my heart, obviously. But enough, let's get to the meaty stuff...
Sticking with Marvel, there's The Astounding Spider-Man #142. Unlike the kiddies' version, Peter Parker is no longer a meek student, but a fully rounded, professional adult. Glad to see he's finally matured. He's up against the usual suspects - Doc Oc, Scorpio,Green Goblin, etc, but the storyline seems to suggest that the reason Spidey keeps fighting the same villains over and over again is due to some sort of conspiracy involving the ruling classes. I love it when writers try to rationise the inherent ridiculousness of comic book logic. I mean, it's all nonsense, isn't it? I've been away for over two decades, yet still all these characters have hardly aged, still having the same problems in their personal lives, with the same people...Forever People, indeed.
Take Steve Rogers aka Captain America. In Marvel Legends #2, Rogers is still haunted by his WWII experiences and especially the death of the original Bucky, still doesn't seem to have anything approaching a normal private life, still has a tense on-off relationship with Sharon Carter and is still in his mid-30s. The guy was only frozen for a couple of decades, he must be over 60 by now! Mind you, Nick Fury looks even better. He fought in WWII as well, yet, even without the benefit of suspended animation, he's still looks fucking great, with just the perennial streaks of grey at the sides of his head. Mind you, the once ever-present cigar seems to have been consigned to the ashtray these days. Despite puffing on those stogies for at least 50 years, Fury's lungs are in great shape now. Back-up strips are Iron Man (inevitable costume upgrade, but still the same old Tony Stark) and Thor in a good old fantasy romp with nice artwork by Scott Kolins, in a sorta European style. Incidentally, these are all published in the UK by Panini Comics (who presumably have exclusive rights with Marvel) and don't they look lovely. Thick card sleeves, luxurious paper quality, sophisticated full colour throughout...it shows up the old Marvel UK for the shoddy operation it was! Although back then even newspapers were in black and white. What happened in the intervening years that made full colour publishing so easy and economically viable? I remember when I was a kid, my dad took me on holiday to Italy, and I was amazed by the quality of their Marvel reprints - even nicer than the US originals (I still have a souvenir issue of Fantastici Quatro lying around somewhere) and it seems like we've finally caught up with that level of presentation. But still, for all the paper quality and artistic sophistication, part of me still yearns for the pulpy world of Kirby, Buscema, Perez et al. It was all about the design, the ruthlessly efficient composition that led your eyes across the page so beautifully. This new generation of artists all bring something fresh, but they just don't scan as nicely. And what ever happened to caption bubbles? The third-person narrator has died. Captions only appear when in the first person, like a substitute for the thought balloon. Today's comics seem to aspire to the condition of motion pictures. The story is propelled entirely by visuals and dialogue. I think this is a trend that began in the '80s. The most significant gain from this has been the vastly improved level of dialogue writing, which can often flows very naturally, and is occasionally rather amusing. But still, I miss those "meanwhile, back at Avengers H.Q..." caption boxes. And then there was that style of caption writing pioneered by Stan Lee, whereby the writer/narrator seemed to be addressing the readers, like we were actually involved, part of the process. Now we are the unacknowledged spectators. Comics just aren't as inviting and friendly as they were. It's probably all Frank Miller's fault.
But anyway, let's move on to the DC stuff: Batman Legends #40 and a graphic novel-style collection called Hush Returns that compiles Gotham Knights #50- 66. Batman is one of the very few heroes with whom I've continued to have some sort of relationship with in adulthood, although the last thing I read was probably something like Batman & Dracula, which was well over a decade ago. Both of these specimens have overlapping plot elements and obviously take place in nearby time zones: the Joker's fall from grace as the criminal king of Gotham (now just a washed out wreck hiding in a derelict amusement park) and Batman's troubled relationship with Green Arrow are common factors, plus both story lines involve figures from Bruce Wayne's past relentlessly closing in on him - namely the Red Hood (who appears to be the second Robin come back to life) and Hush, who might be Wayne's brilliant-but-twisted childhood friend Tommy Elliot. The Joker's part in Hush Returns is the real centerpiece for me, delving back into his origin sequence so brilliantly imagined by Alan Moore back in The Killing Joke. We see the pain behind the cracked smile emerge once more, as he learns the identity of the man who killed his wife. Interestingly, the origin sequence is tampered with slightly: here, the Joker only finds out his wife is dead after the botched chemical plant raid, rather than beforehand - just another example of how, in the comics universe, the sequence of events can be altered, whilst the core facts remain the same. It was also fun to see the guy who makes all the special customs - for the good guys and the bad guys - an independent specialist with his own hidden garment factory, creating all those suits to the hi-specs required of his super-customers ("I don't take sides, I just take cash"). This is an idea I first saw in a short text story called Neutral Ground in the paperback Further Adventures Of Batman, published in 1989. All good, ripping yarns.
Although I've expressed some reservations, the fact remains that I was totally sucked into all these stories, and as I finished each one my overriding reaction was what happens next?! So many intriguing little plot strands and characters to explore. The urge to track down the surrounding issues and flesh out the story lines to my own satisfaction is remarkably strong. Even though much has changed, the characters and situations are still the same ones I followed all those years ago, and it's like coming back to the old neighbourhood and becoming embroiled in all those familiar lives once more. The Marvel and DC universes are so old and vast now, and constantly referencing and re-examining their own histories - the present is always firmly latched onto the past, which in turn informs the future, which can change slightly, but never really detaches itself from the core historical facts. Everything changes enough to ensure we keep reading. Nothing changes enough to ensure that, no matter how convoluted the storyline, by the time it concludes, reality has returned back to the default position. But the fun is in watching it all unfold. I've got a feeling I might be hanging around in these worlds again for a while, as least for a few months. I think a trip to Forbidden Planet is on the cards....
Everything I post here is from the perspective of an ex-comic book reader/collector. I treasure what I still have, but rarely even look at them. Yet still they excerpt some sort of tug on my subconscious; they are a part of what made me the person I am. I think.
So anyway, last week I took the family over to visit relatives in Belfast. Grannie had bought a few books and comics at the local store to keep our kids amused. For the eldest, who's ten, she'd grabbed a random selection of Marvel and DC titles. Now, my son, gawd bless 'im, couldn't give a flying fuck about superhero comics. He's never been interested in them. Ever. But of course, as you can probably guess, I devoured the fucking lot during our visit, and even made sure to smuggle them home again, so I could peruse at my leisure. I am nearly 38 years old. How sad izzat?
So what do we have here? The Spider-Man and Marvel Heroes annuals are aimed squarely the juvenile market, featuring basic plots, minimal characterisation, colouring pages and puzzle sections. Not a great deal there to chew on, to be honest. Some of the artwork is fun, though. Shane Davis' Spider-Man hits a level of extreme stylisation that I've never witnessed in the web-slinger before - a crooked, spindly caricature with outrageously bulbous eyes. Captain Britain makes an appearance on the contents page of Marvel Heroes, which warms the cockles of my heart, obviously. But enough, let's get to the meaty stuff...
Sticking with Marvel, there's The Astounding Spider-Man #142. Unlike the kiddies' version, Peter Parker is no longer a meek student, but a fully rounded, professional adult. Glad to see he's finally matured. He's up against the usual suspects - Doc Oc, Scorpio,Green Goblin, etc, but the storyline seems to suggest that the reason Spidey keeps fighting the same villains over and over again is due to some sort of conspiracy involving the ruling classes. I love it when writers try to rationise the inherent ridiculousness of comic book logic. I mean, it's all nonsense, isn't it? I've been away for over two decades, yet still all these characters have hardly aged, still having the same problems in their personal lives, with the same people...Forever People, indeed.
Take Steve Rogers aka Captain America. In Marvel Legends #2, Rogers is still haunted by his WWII experiences and especially the death of the original Bucky, still doesn't seem to have anything approaching a normal private life, still has a tense on-off relationship with Sharon Carter and is still in his mid-30s. The guy was only frozen for a couple of decades, he must be over 60 by now! Mind you, Nick Fury looks even better. He fought in WWII as well, yet, even without the benefit of suspended animation, he's still looks fucking great, with just the perennial streaks of grey at the sides of his head. Mind you, the once ever-present cigar seems to have been consigned to the ashtray these days. Despite puffing on those stogies for at least 50 years, Fury's lungs are in great shape now. Back-up strips are Iron Man (inevitable costume upgrade, but still the same old Tony Stark) and Thor in a good old fantasy romp with nice artwork by Scott Kolins, in a sorta European style. Incidentally, these are all published in the UK by Panini Comics (who presumably have exclusive rights with Marvel) and don't they look lovely. Thick card sleeves, luxurious paper quality, sophisticated full colour throughout...it shows up the old Marvel UK for the shoddy operation it was! Although back then even newspapers were in black and white. What happened in the intervening years that made full colour publishing so easy and economically viable? I remember when I was a kid, my dad took me on holiday to Italy, and I was amazed by the quality of their Marvel reprints - even nicer than the US originals (I still have a souvenir issue of Fantastici Quatro lying around somewhere) and it seems like we've finally caught up with that level of presentation. But still, for all the paper quality and artistic sophistication, part of me still yearns for the pulpy world of Kirby, Buscema, Perez et al. It was all about the design, the ruthlessly efficient composition that led your eyes across the page so beautifully. This new generation of artists all bring something fresh, but they just don't scan as nicely. And what ever happened to caption bubbles? The third-person narrator has died. Captions only appear when in the first person, like a substitute for the thought balloon. Today's comics seem to aspire to the condition of motion pictures. The story is propelled entirely by visuals and dialogue. I think this is a trend that began in the '80s. The most significant gain from this has been the vastly improved level of dialogue writing, which can often flows very naturally, and is occasionally rather amusing. But still, I miss those "meanwhile, back at Avengers H.Q..." caption boxes. And then there was that style of caption writing pioneered by Stan Lee, whereby the writer/narrator seemed to be addressing the readers, like we were actually involved, part of the process. Now we are the unacknowledged spectators. Comics just aren't as inviting and friendly as they were. It's probably all Frank Miller's fault.
But anyway, let's move on to the DC stuff: Batman Legends #40 and a graphic novel-style collection called Hush Returns that compiles Gotham Knights #50- 66. Batman is one of the very few heroes with whom I've continued to have some sort of relationship with in adulthood, although the last thing I read was probably something like Batman & Dracula, which was well over a decade ago. Both of these specimens have overlapping plot elements and obviously take place in nearby time zones: the Joker's fall from grace as the criminal king of Gotham (now just a washed out wreck hiding in a derelict amusement park) and Batman's troubled relationship with Green Arrow are common factors, plus both story lines involve figures from Bruce Wayne's past relentlessly closing in on him - namely the Red Hood (who appears to be the second Robin come back to life) and Hush, who might be Wayne's brilliant-but-twisted childhood friend Tommy Elliot. The Joker's part in Hush Returns is the real centerpiece for me, delving back into his origin sequence so brilliantly imagined by Alan Moore back in The Killing Joke. We see the pain behind the cracked smile emerge once more, as he learns the identity of the man who killed his wife. Interestingly, the origin sequence is tampered with slightly: here, the Joker only finds out his wife is dead after the botched chemical plant raid, rather than beforehand - just another example of how, in the comics universe, the sequence of events can be altered, whilst the core facts remain the same. It was also fun to see the guy who makes all the special customs - for the good guys and the bad guys - an independent specialist with his own hidden garment factory, creating all those suits to the hi-specs required of his super-customers ("I don't take sides, I just take cash"). This is an idea I first saw in a short text story called Neutral Ground in the paperback Further Adventures Of Batman, published in 1989. All good, ripping yarns.
Although I've expressed some reservations, the fact remains that I was totally sucked into all these stories, and as I finished each one my overriding reaction was what happens next?! So many intriguing little plot strands and characters to explore. The urge to track down the surrounding issues and flesh out the story lines to my own satisfaction is remarkably strong. Even though much has changed, the characters and situations are still the same ones I followed all those years ago, and it's like coming back to the old neighbourhood and becoming embroiled in all those familiar lives once more. The Marvel and DC universes are so old and vast now, and constantly referencing and re-examining their own histories - the present is always firmly latched onto the past, which in turn informs the future, which can change slightly, but never really detaches itself from the core historical facts. Everything changes enough to ensure we keep reading. Nothing changes enough to ensure that, no matter how convoluted the storyline, by the time it concludes, reality has returned back to the default position. But the fun is in watching it all unfold. I've got a feeling I might be hanging around in these worlds again for a while, as least for a few months. I think a trip to Forbidden Planet is on the cards....
15 February 2007
BEFORE I GO...
I shall be away most of next week, but hoping to catch M.R.K. 1, Pinch and Rob Smith's More Rockers at this l'il shindig on the 24th, if I get back in time.
Wicked 'mini-documentary' of Shackleton's in-store appearance now showing at the Rooted blog. Big-up the Madboy!
Also, it's interesting to see what my fellow Bristolians have got to say about the Minimal-Dubstep crossover idea, on this heavy thread at Hijack. Some wise words there...
Wicked 'mini-documentary' of Shackleton's in-store appearance now showing at the Rooted blog. Big-up the Madboy!
Also, it's interesting to see what my fellow Bristolians have got to say about the Minimal-Dubstep crossover idea, on this heavy thread at Hijack. Some wise words there...
11 February 2007
HIGHROAD
Well I'll say one thing for young Chris - he knows how to throw a good party! The second Highroad night at Cosies was as rammed and vibey as the first one back in November. Once again, Chris assembled an imaginative roster of artists and djs for the evening, and the soundsystem was packing plenty of weight, even if the upper frequency range wasn't quite as well-defined as I would've liked. Unfortunately I missed Chris' own warm-up session on the decks, but arrived in time for another mouth-watering set from The Peverelist, whose debut 12 inch "Erstwhile Rhythm/The Grind" hit the streets last week, on Rooted Records' in-house label Punch Drunk. Whether you wanna call it dubstep, minimal, or even 'post-jungle', these tunes have been causing a minor stir on dubplate with their aerodynamically assembled beats, and shades of Hardwax-style hypnotic propulsion, and it'll be interesting to see if they're destined to have any lasting influence over the coming year. Further tantalising evidence of the semi-mythical 'dubstep-minimal crossover' was in evidence, although Tom was keeping the artist/track details close to his chest (damn those plain black dubplates he uses - you can't even grab a sneaky peak at the labels!!), although there was definitely some fresh tunage from Appleblim and Gatekeeper in there, plus Tom's own delicious "Roll With The Punches", which, with it's pensive percussion and wistful squarewave melodies, strikes me as a sort of post-Grime reverie.
We were honoured to have something of a living legend in our midst, when Rob Smith - of Smith & Mighty fame - stepped-up for what was, as far as I'm aware, his first publicly-performed dubstep set. For anyone who forgot, Smith & Mighty were part of the original Bristol hip-hop and dubwise scene that spawned The Wild Bunch, Nellee Hooper, Massive Attack and Tricky. Their early releases on the Three Stripe label are still considered classic records by many (myself included) and they even troubled the mainstream charts with their production work on tracks like Fresh 4's "Wishing On A Star". Their rise to super-stardom seemed assured, but bad contractual dealings saw them fall at the final hurdle. By the time Smith & Mighty had re-grouped, the momentum was lost and even though they continued to record and produce throughout the following decade, there was always that sense that they never achieved the level of success they deserved. Whatever, when someone decides to write the definitive history of Bristol bass-culture, Smith & Mighty deserve a weighty chapter. But what's Rob's new material like? I was expecting it to be quite tentative, but obviously he's been really working hard at it. I managed to grab a few words with him, and he explained that he'd been playing about with dubstep-influenced ideas for about a year. The thing that struck me most was the level of sophistication, that comes from 20 years of production experience. The music was steeped in tradition - lot's of heavy dubbed-out chords and beautiful melodica phrases, chugging dancehall basslines and explosive layers of reverb and echo - but mostly held together by unmistakably halfsteppy beats, and some nicely applied (but not over-used) wobble bass tremors. A few tracks played around with breakstep ideas - there was one that even put me in mind of the breakbeat garage sound of Zinc from a few years ago, and another that had curios hints of Belgian hardcore riffery. It was a mixed bag, but I reckon Rob's definitely onto something, bringing in plenty of familiar elements from dub and breaks that could have some serious crossover potential. I'd hesitate to use the word 'slick', because of the negative implications, but that's basically what it amounts to. Rob's not doing this for a hobby - he's serious about getting these tunes released, and when that happens, I think he could take dubstep to a whole new audience.
Our headline act was Sam Shackleton, of Skull Disco fame. This was the first time I'd linked with Sam for over a year, and the first time I've seen him play out ever. Despite his own assertion that his mixing was a bit 'sketchy', I thought he put on a brilliant show. Hearing a solid hour of pure Shackleton music on a system is quite an experience. He's developed such a distinctive sound, and I love the way that, to the outsider, all his tracks probably sound very similar - he has an almost fetishistic need to use certain key percussion sounds and sub-bass frequencies, and each new piece of music is a slightly different aspect of the greater whole. All the variation is in the details - the endlessly absorbing layers of percussion (Sam's intricate beat programming makes everyone else sound lazy by comparison) that writhe and smolder with all the intensity of a voodoo ritual. The thing I most respect Sam for is the way he has relentlessly pursued his own vision, with only the barest concessions to the dubstep fraternity (basically, the tempo and the bass weight) and now he's starting to get some of the respect he surely deserves, both within the community and further afield from the likes of minimal high-roller Ricardo Villalobos. This in turn seems to have re-energised Shackleton. After a year of personal problems, he was all set to abort the Skull Disco project, but I can confirm that he is very much back in business. The next release is due in about three weeks, with Sam's own bare-boned exercise in sustained tension "You Bring Me Down", coupled with Appleblim's remarkable "Vansan" - full of reverb-heavy Basic Channel chords, pattering 808 percussion and frozen wastes of harmonium drone. I was lucky enough to leave with a test pressing under my arm - cheers lads!!
The night was rounded-off perfectly with a back-to-back session from Bubonic and Kymatik, full of all the frantic energy we've come to expect when these guys hit the decks. Plenty of old favourites making an appearance (both grime and dubstep) , plus some fresh tunes that caught my ear including a Rossi B and Luca track that samples a huge chunk of The Specials' "Ghost Town" - love it! Apparently that one's out now on A.R.M.Y. Records - I must keep an eye out for it. Of course they threw in a few exclusives from local talents like Wedge and Bubonic's production alter ego Forsaken, too. All in all, it was a great evening, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. It was nice to have a proper heart-to-heart chat with Atki2 as well, and special mention for Delsa, who looked like he was gonna thump me at one point - proper punch drunk, innit...
(Some pics of Shackleton's earlier set at Rooted Records here.)
We were honoured to have something of a living legend in our midst, when Rob Smith - of Smith & Mighty fame - stepped-up for what was, as far as I'm aware, his first publicly-performed dubstep set. For anyone who forgot, Smith & Mighty were part of the original Bristol hip-hop and dubwise scene that spawned The Wild Bunch, Nellee Hooper, Massive Attack and Tricky. Their early releases on the Three Stripe label are still considered classic records by many (myself included) and they even troubled the mainstream charts with their production work on tracks like Fresh 4's "Wishing On A Star". Their rise to super-stardom seemed assured, but bad contractual dealings saw them fall at the final hurdle. By the time Smith & Mighty had re-grouped, the momentum was lost and even though they continued to record and produce throughout the following decade, there was always that sense that they never achieved the level of success they deserved. Whatever, when someone decides to write the definitive history of Bristol bass-culture, Smith & Mighty deserve a weighty chapter. But what's Rob's new material like? I was expecting it to be quite tentative, but obviously he's been really working hard at it. I managed to grab a few words with him, and he explained that he'd been playing about with dubstep-influenced ideas for about a year. The thing that struck me most was the level of sophistication, that comes from 20 years of production experience. The music was steeped in tradition - lot's of heavy dubbed-out chords and beautiful melodica phrases, chugging dancehall basslines and explosive layers of reverb and echo - but mostly held together by unmistakably halfsteppy beats, and some nicely applied (but not over-used) wobble bass tremors. A few tracks played around with breakstep ideas - there was one that even put me in mind of the breakbeat garage sound of Zinc from a few years ago, and another that had curios hints of Belgian hardcore riffery. It was a mixed bag, but I reckon Rob's definitely onto something, bringing in plenty of familiar elements from dub and breaks that could have some serious crossover potential. I'd hesitate to use the word 'slick', because of the negative implications, but that's basically what it amounts to. Rob's not doing this for a hobby - he's serious about getting these tunes released, and when that happens, I think he could take dubstep to a whole new audience.
Our headline act was Sam Shackleton, of Skull Disco fame. This was the first time I'd linked with Sam for over a year, and the first time I've seen him play out ever. Despite his own assertion that his mixing was a bit 'sketchy', I thought he put on a brilliant show. Hearing a solid hour of pure Shackleton music on a system is quite an experience. He's developed such a distinctive sound, and I love the way that, to the outsider, all his tracks probably sound very similar - he has an almost fetishistic need to use certain key percussion sounds and sub-bass frequencies, and each new piece of music is a slightly different aspect of the greater whole. All the variation is in the details - the endlessly absorbing layers of percussion (Sam's intricate beat programming makes everyone else sound lazy by comparison) that writhe and smolder with all the intensity of a voodoo ritual. The thing I most respect Sam for is the way he has relentlessly pursued his own vision, with only the barest concessions to the dubstep fraternity (basically, the tempo and the bass weight) and now he's starting to get some of the respect he surely deserves, both within the community and further afield from the likes of minimal high-roller Ricardo Villalobos. This in turn seems to have re-energised Shackleton. After a year of personal problems, he was all set to abort the Skull Disco project, but I can confirm that he is very much back in business. The next release is due in about three weeks, with Sam's own bare-boned exercise in sustained tension "You Bring Me Down", coupled with Appleblim's remarkable "Vansan" - full of reverb-heavy Basic Channel chords, pattering 808 percussion and frozen wastes of harmonium drone. I was lucky enough to leave with a test pressing under my arm - cheers lads!!
The night was rounded-off perfectly with a back-to-back session from Bubonic and Kymatik, full of all the frantic energy we've come to expect when these guys hit the decks. Plenty of old favourites making an appearance (both grime and dubstep) , plus some fresh tunes that caught my ear including a Rossi B and Luca track that samples a huge chunk of The Specials' "Ghost Town" - love it! Apparently that one's out now on A.R.M.Y. Records - I must keep an eye out for it. Of course they threw in a few exclusives from local talents like Wedge and Bubonic's production alter ego Forsaken, too. All in all, it was a great evening, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. It was nice to have a proper heart-to-heart chat with Atki2 as well, and special mention for Delsa, who looked like he was gonna thump me at one point - proper punch drunk, innit...
(Some pics of Shackleton's earlier set at Rooted Records here.)
06 February 2007
AT LAST
So I finally got myself hooked-up with Last FM. You can see the little 'recently played' chart/link thing at the top left of the page now. I might move it somewhere else later. I've had people recommending Last FM to me for ages, but I never bothered with it because (it might surprise you to know) I don't actually listen to much music on the computer. I mainly listen to vinyl, CD or tape on separate hi-fi equipment, so most of my listening activity will go unrecorded. But what the hell, I'll give it a go, although I'm not committed enough to become a fully paid-up subscriber just yet. To be honest, I don't think I've fully grasped the potential of Last FM (other than to show-off one's brilliant taste in music??) but perhaps it'll prove useful in the long run. If nothing else, it'll probably reveal a lot about my wider musical tastes. I listen to lots of stuff that never gets mentioned here...it's weird that I only feel motivated to write about certain types of music, isn't it?
At the time of writing there's only two MP3s up on the chart, which is what I've been listening to for the past half-hour. One is a long mix, though. It's the latest effort from Siah Alan, aka Patternloader and you can grab it here. His blog has always been a good read, but now he's branching-out into mixing. So far, technically speaking, the results are a bit patchy. But there aren't many people with the balls to do all their learning in public, and of course I empathise after all the struggles I had trying to re-master the art of beat-matching throughout 2005-06. There's still a few moments of greatness in there, and you certainly can't fault the imaginative track selection (and I'm not just saying that because he used one of my 'Gutter dubz'!). My only advice would be (a) don't give up because it can only get better and better and (b) try and keep the transitions short 'n sweet, for the time being - there's a tendency to be a bit over-adventurous with some of the longer segues. But the important thing is, Siah feels an overwhelming urge to share his musical tastes and he knows that mixes are the only ethically approved method of disseminating new music, so he's fucking going for it, and best of luck to him. He's actively encouraging unknown producers to send him their work, so what are you waiting for? I personally took a decision last year that, no matter how much I enjoyed it, I had to stop encouraging people to send me demos, because it was becoming a real problem finding the time to listen to it all, and to give constructive criticism, etc. Some stuff I never got around to listening to, never even replied to, and I bet the kids who sent them figured I was an areshole - and who could blame them? I would love to be a sort of John Peel figure, plowing through piles of demos all day and putting the best stuff in the mix (and getting paid a salary for the privilege!) , but I had to re-focus and get my priorities sorted out. That's one of the reasons why there's no contact info on this blog anymore. It's a shame, I know, and maybe I would've found the next Boxcutter this year, or whatever, but this is how it's got to be from now on. Of course, all my regular producer friends can keep the beats coming (you know who you are) but that's about all I can actively manage to deal with for the time being.
Hey, there might actually be snow in Bristol this week. 70% chance tomorrow night, according to the Met. Office. Cool. It's been a long time since we had a decent dollop of the white stuff around here...
At the time of writing there's only two MP3s up on the chart, which is what I've been listening to for the past half-hour. One is a long mix, though. It's the latest effort from Siah Alan, aka Patternloader and you can grab it here. His blog has always been a good read, but now he's branching-out into mixing. So far, technically speaking, the results are a bit patchy. But there aren't many people with the balls to do all their learning in public, and of course I empathise after all the struggles I had trying to re-master the art of beat-matching throughout 2005-06. There's still a few moments of greatness in there, and you certainly can't fault the imaginative track selection (and I'm not just saying that because he used one of my 'Gutter dubz'!). My only advice would be (a) don't give up because it can only get better and better and (b) try and keep the transitions short 'n sweet, for the time being - there's a tendency to be a bit over-adventurous with some of the longer segues. But the important thing is, Siah feels an overwhelming urge to share his musical tastes and he knows that mixes are the only ethically approved method of disseminating new music, so he's fucking going for it, and best of luck to him. He's actively encouraging unknown producers to send him their work, so what are you waiting for? I personally took a decision last year that, no matter how much I enjoyed it, I had to stop encouraging people to send me demos, because it was becoming a real problem finding the time to listen to it all, and to give constructive criticism, etc. Some stuff I never got around to listening to, never even replied to, and I bet the kids who sent them figured I was an areshole - and who could blame them? I would love to be a sort of John Peel figure, plowing through piles of demos all day and putting the best stuff in the mix (and getting paid a salary for the privilege!) , but I had to re-focus and get my priorities sorted out. That's one of the reasons why there's no contact info on this blog anymore. It's a shame, I know, and maybe I would've found the next Boxcutter this year, or whatever, but this is how it's got to be from now on. Of course, all my regular producer friends can keep the beats coming (you know who you are) but that's about all I can actively manage to deal with for the time being.
Hey, there might actually be snow in Bristol this week. 70% chance tomorrow night, according to the Met. Office. Cool. It's been a long time since we had a decent dollop of the white stuff around here...
01 February 2007
MINIMAL - FULLY RINSED?
So...another eye-opening thread at Dissensus. It's been a while since I last tuned into Rinse FM, but the thought of pumping minimal techno on the Capitol's leading underground pirate station is bound to increase speculation. Whatever the motives or circumstances, it feels weird, because London's never really been techno-friendly, has it? Massive generalisation, I know, but still you could say that this thing we call the 'Nuum, which coalesced into being from House, Hip Hop and Reggae culture, was never as much in thrall of the coldness, the austerity, the economy of expression that pure techno invites, as, say, Sheffield or Berlin. Indeed, when I think of minimal now, I automatically look to the Germans for inspiration - if I was a professional journalist, no doubt I'd be taking expense-paid trips to Berlin this year, hanging out at the clubs and record stores, trying to divine some meaning from it all. In the UK, it feels like 'proper' Techno's been dead for a decade. As my comrade Ali Wade said recently in conversation, "...at the end of the nineties it all just got stuck in a loop. it's not surprising so many people (dare I say younger than myself) diss techno." Others have made mention to me of that 'generation gap', too. The idea that anyone under the age of thirty thinks techno is irredeemably naff is a sobering concept...and it's a wall of prejudice I'd love to help destroy - time and energy permitting. One thing that needs to be reclaimed for starters is the name 'Techno'. In the past few years I've heard some incredibly cheesy, unimaginative music described as Techno, and it pisses me off. But then, maybe the nature of techno has changed and I'm just an old fart. And anyway, I don't listen to music just because of the way it's labeled. I listen out for a certain approach, and a certain feeling...and theoretically it can come from anywhere.
But back to the main thrust - the dubstep-minimal crossover. Or lack of. My friend Tom 'Peverelist' Ford was scratching his head recently, trying to answer questions sent by an inquisitive journalist on this matter. Of course, it's all Tom's own fault for producing such a zeitgeisty tune that he finds himself having to go on record with his opinions. Personally, I think the magazine in question is jumping on this idea a little too early...I think it's a subject that should remain in the more fluid, nebulous world of blogs and forums for a little while yet. Heh.
If there is a crossover, then where is it likely to occur? Will techno absorb more dubstep, or vice-versa? In Berlin, the minimal scene centers around the Hard Wax record store - so much so that much of the music that has flowered from the Basic Channel root is often referred to as coming from the 'Hard Wax stable'. If Minimal Techno has a spiritual heart, it's probably that shop. Check the Hard Wax online store and you'll see they've got a pretty healthy dubstep section. So obviously the people who run it, and the people who buy from the store, are aware of dubstep, absorbing the sounds and incorporating them into their mixes (and if anything gets the crossover ball really rolling, it'll be the djs, not just the producers, who'll be leading the way in terms of priming audiences for change). The only actual piece of music I've heard to emerge from the Hard Wax stable that I would say clearly displays a dubstep influence is Substance's Remix No.1 of Monolake's "Alaska", which has a strong halfstep vibe, combined with heavy, almost claustrophobic textures that put me very much in mind of Vex'd. In fact, it's so dubsteppy that it's not really techno anymore! I guess it's an experiment on Substance's part, which might lead to more intriguing cross-pollination shortly. It's one of those one-off things that pricks-up my ears (like the track "Blocked" on Andy Stott's long-player, which could almost be a Headhunter tune). But I don't think we're gonna see "Minimal Dubz - The Croydon-Berlin Alliance Vol. 1" just yet, eh?
So far, so ambiguous...
But what of dubstep producers incorporating techno elements? Well, it's been happening for ages anyway. Look at Mala. And what about Mark One? I know he's got that techno gene inside him (the guy was raised in Sheffield, fer chrissakes!) and he's already recorded the odd banging tune, like "Can't Touch Dis", which others might describe as 4x4 grime, but to my ears reveals a different legacy. In fact, I said as much when I reviewed it two years ago, for an early dubstep think-piece. Then there's some of those lovely tunes Search & Destroy used to make, like "Wavescape" and "Sphere", which, although still classed as dark garage, revealed a sublime synthetic sheen of minimalist intent at their hearts. Or what about "Round Sound" from Artwork's first and only Big Apple EP? Rhythmically, it's not techno - but it comes back to what I said before about feeling and emotion. It has that 'star quality' that I'm always looking for. There's a lot of threads from the 2003-04 period of dubstep's development that need to be re-examined. I'm not the only one who feels this. My man Autonomic feels it too...maybe not in exactly the same way, but I think Paul would agree with me in principle. Even some of those late-comer halfstep evangelists (hahaha!) like Paul Meme can't hide a sense of restlessness when reviewing singles earlier this week. We all know dubstep desperately needs a kick up the arse right now, and we've all got our own theories on how that's to be achieved. Some people maybe think it needs more vocals and should be aiming to get to the Next Level. That might well be true, but if so I probably won't be listening. I'm into undiluted music. I'd rather keep it instrumental, at a more basic emotional level. I don't wanna see more traditional musical forms being bolted onto it. Of course I'm being really idealistic here, and I know you can have great vocal tracks - how about Goldie's "Angel"? -a crowning achievement of the mid-90s d'n'b scene. So maybe with the right voice, the right lyric and the right tune, there might be someone out there who can make a vocal dubstep tune that'll reduce me to tears. I hope it happens. But aesthetically I'm just following this really fucking lean, cold vibe right now.
But back to the main thrust - the dubstep-minimal crossover. Or lack of. My friend Tom 'Peverelist' Ford was scratching his head recently, trying to answer questions sent by an inquisitive journalist on this matter. Of course, it's all Tom's own fault for producing such a zeitgeisty tune that he finds himself having to go on record with his opinions. Personally, I think the magazine in question is jumping on this idea a little too early...I think it's a subject that should remain in the more fluid, nebulous world of blogs and forums for a little while yet. Heh.
If there is a crossover, then where is it likely to occur? Will techno absorb more dubstep, or vice-versa? In Berlin, the minimal scene centers around the Hard Wax record store - so much so that much of the music that has flowered from the Basic Channel root is often referred to as coming from the 'Hard Wax stable'. If Minimal Techno has a spiritual heart, it's probably that shop. Check the Hard Wax online store and you'll see they've got a pretty healthy dubstep section. So obviously the people who run it, and the people who buy from the store, are aware of dubstep, absorbing the sounds and incorporating them into their mixes (and if anything gets the crossover ball really rolling, it'll be the djs, not just the producers, who'll be leading the way in terms of priming audiences for change). The only actual piece of music I've heard to emerge from the Hard Wax stable that I would say clearly displays a dubstep influence is Substance's Remix No.1 of Monolake's "Alaska", which has a strong halfstep vibe, combined with heavy, almost claustrophobic textures that put me very much in mind of Vex'd. In fact, it's so dubsteppy that it's not really techno anymore! I guess it's an experiment on Substance's part, which might lead to more intriguing cross-pollination shortly. It's one of those one-off things that pricks-up my ears (like the track "Blocked" on Andy Stott's long-player, which could almost be a Headhunter tune). But I don't think we're gonna see "Minimal Dubz - The Croydon-Berlin Alliance Vol. 1" just yet, eh?
So far, so ambiguous...
But what of dubstep producers incorporating techno elements? Well, it's been happening for ages anyway. Look at Mala. And what about Mark One? I know he's got that techno gene inside him (the guy was raised in Sheffield, fer chrissakes!) and he's already recorded the odd banging tune, like "Can't Touch Dis", which others might describe as 4x4 grime, but to my ears reveals a different legacy. In fact, I said as much when I reviewed it two years ago, for an early dubstep think-piece. Then there's some of those lovely tunes Search & Destroy used to make, like "Wavescape" and "Sphere", which, although still classed as dark garage, revealed a sublime synthetic sheen of minimalist intent at their hearts. Or what about "Round Sound" from Artwork's first and only Big Apple EP? Rhythmically, it's not techno - but it comes back to what I said before about feeling and emotion. It has that 'star quality' that I'm always looking for. There's a lot of threads from the 2003-04 period of dubstep's development that need to be re-examined. I'm not the only one who feels this. My man Autonomic feels it too...maybe not in exactly the same way, but I think Paul would agree with me in principle. Even some of those late-comer halfstep evangelists (hahaha!) like Paul Meme can't hide a sense of restlessness when reviewing singles earlier this week. We all know dubstep desperately needs a kick up the arse right now, and we've all got our own theories on how that's to be achieved. Some people maybe think it needs more vocals and should be aiming to get to the Next Level. That might well be true, but if so I probably won't be listening. I'm into undiluted music. I'd rather keep it instrumental, at a more basic emotional level. I don't wanna see more traditional musical forms being bolted onto it. Of course I'm being really idealistic here, and I know you can have great vocal tracks - how about Goldie's "Angel"? -a crowning achievement of the mid-90s d'n'b scene. So maybe with the right voice, the right lyric and the right tune, there might be someone out there who can make a vocal dubstep tune that'll reduce me to tears. I hope it happens. But aesthetically I'm just following this really fucking lean, cold vibe right now.
19 January 2007
I'LL TAKE THE HIGHROAD...
Highroad returns next month for it's second outing, after a very successful launch party back in November. The brains behind all this is Chris, Tom's right-hand man at Rooted Records. By the way, there's been signs of life at the Rooted blog recently, including some nice Youtube'd footage of Bass Clef's in-store appearance.
#2 looks like another winning combination, with headliner Shackleton's stock at an all-time high recently, due in part to the Villalobos connection. Looking forward to seeing Sam play-out. I've met him a couple of times but never managed to catch the man in action. As with Bass Clef, there will be an in-store appearance/performance at the shop beforehand at about 6pm.
Apparently Rob Smith has been writing 'wicked' dubstep tunes and is promising a hot selection, new and old. Sterling support coming from local heroes Pete Bubonic, Kymatik, Peverelist and Chris himself - probably playing a bit of reggae early on (but c'mon mate, can't you think up a catchier DJ name?!).
Cosies is a tiny venue, and I reckon it's gonna be fucking rammed for this, so get down early to avoid disappointment!
See you there, all being well...
--------------------
On the subject of Rooted, it's good to see the online store is expanding it's horizons, with the vinyl section now including reggae, jungle and, er, 'other'. There's so much more to Rooted than just grime and dubstep, and I'm really glad they've decided to upon things up a bit. But it's still only a small part of what you can find in the racks. Sure, they've got the latest Sleeparchive doublepack, but when I was in the other day I managed to scag a couple of hard-to-find limited techno pressings I'd been searching for, which weren't listed online. There isn't much demand for minimal techno, apparently, but Tom's on a mission to keep a few choice releases on the racks for discerning customers. Always worth e-mailing if there's something you want but can't see on the site. You never know...
Tenuous Shackleton link to Minimal Techno: Sam shares a name with the famous explorer Earnest Shackleton, who had a right miserable time when his ship got stranded on Elephant Island. The first Sleeparchive ep was called 'Elephant Island' too. Surely this is no coincidence? Eh? Eh?!
Tenuous Shackleton link to Minimal Techno: Sam shares a name with the famous explorer Earnest Shackleton, who had a right miserable time when his ship got stranded on Elephant Island. The first Sleeparchive ep was called 'Elephant Island' too. Surely this is no coincidence? Eh? Eh?!
16 January 2007
FREE TECHNO, ANYONE...?
Free, yes. But don't get too excited - it's just some old crap by me.
Desperately trying to prove my techno credentials (to myself, more than anyone else) I went searching through a stack of old cassettes, trying to find any evidence of contemporaneous mixtapes that might shed some light on what sort of tunes I was playing out, 'back in the day'. I know I used to make recordings of practice mixes, but alas I can't seem to find any. Probably just taped over them. But I did come across several forgotten demo tracks I'd made, on a distinctly minimal tip, from around the mid-'90s, likeDeep Pan. This is the sort of thing I would've almost certainly considered a failure at the time - the production is a bit ruff and over-compressed - but to my ears has actually aged quite well, in fact sounding a lot better than much of the work I considered my best at the time. I think there's more acceptance of degraded/wonky production values these days, and it might even fit into a particularly leftfield minimal mix today. I have a vague recollection of the session when this was recorded (in early '95, I think) and I was on a real purist analogue kick at that time. There's no samples or digital kit in there at all, not even any MIDI. The various machines were connected using Roland's old Sync 24 system, including three drum machines - the 707, 808 and 909, plus a filthy acid gurgle from the TB-303, and probably the Juno 60's arpeggiator sync'd to the 707's rimshot for the bassline part. The whole thing would've been a live jam, bringing elements in and out on the mixing desk, freaking with the fx as the mood took me. That's my dark, twisted soul laid bare on tape, folks. As such it's practically a live recording, and a nice illustration of the sort of performance elements I yearn to bring back to my own music, as described in my recent 'Guttertech' post.
"Pollyfilla""Jazz Hands", and I'm dedicating it to my mate 'Mr. D'.
These tunes are so old and half-remembered, I can barely recognise them as my own musical offspring. At the time I suppose I must've simply dismissed them as 'works-in-progress', half-developed and sloppily produced. It's only now, over a decade later that I can enjoy them for what they are: snapshots in time, the creative process in it's raw state. And it's hard to remember how isolated I would've been then. This was long before I had internet access. There was no Myspace or message boards to connect with like-minded people and promote myself through those direct channels. The only people I had any kind of feedback from were my immediate circle of friends, most of whom wouldn't have been inclined towards these type of tracks anyway. These are just a small handful from all the hours of music I made back then, and most of it has probably never been listened to by anyone but me. What was it all for, I wonder...?
Desperately trying to prove my techno credentials (to myself, more than anyone else) I went searching through a stack of old cassettes, trying to find any evidence of contemporaneous mixtapes that might shed some light on what sort of tunes I was playing out, 'back in the day'. I know I used to make recordings of practice mixes, but alas I can't seem to find any. Probably just taped over them. But I did come across several forgotten demo tracks I'd made, on a distinctly minimal tip, from around the mid-'90s, like
"Pollyfilla"
These tunes are so old and half-remembered, I can barely recognise them as my own musical offspring. At the time I suppose I must've simply dismissed them as 'works-in-progress', half-developed and sloppily produced. It's only now, over a decade later that I can enjoy them for what they are: snapshots in time, the creative process in it's raw state. And it's hard to remember how isolated I would've been then. This was long before I had internet access. There was no Myspace or message boards to connect with like-minded people and promote myself through those direct channels. The only people I had any kind of feedback from were my immediate circle of friends, most of whom wouldn't have been inclined towards these type of tracks anyway. These are just a small handful from all the hours of music I made back then, and most of it has probably never been listened to by anyone but me. What was it all for, I wonder...?
14 January 2007
SATURDAY
I hooked-up with the Doppelganger for pre-match drinkees at my old haunt The Prince of Wales on Gloucester Road. Conversation was stimulating as always, although I did blurt-out some stuff about my deviant past that, perhaps with hindsight, should've remained undisclosed - and him a Psychology expert, too! Doppelganger's tone was one of mild interest as he gently probed around the edges of my neurosis, but his eyes said 'you dirty little fucker'. Despite this, we were getting quite comfy in our little corner of the overcrowded pub, until a text from Bass Clef roused us on our way across town to the legendary Black Swan for another one of those all-night raves that I occasionally muster enough strength for. A respectable queue had already formed outside the venue, so we knew the night was taking off. Wasn't sure if I'd made the guest list, but thankfully there was a friendly face on the door to wave me through anyway (my luck's definitely in this year!).
Checked the main event first. The home team's soundsystem at one end of the room and the visitors from Cambridge at the other - spitting mercilessly violent bursts of sten gun beats at each other across a no-man's land of dreadlocked freaks, evil-bastard clowns and coked-up gonzos. Welcome to hell. In the middle of all this we found the Bass Clef, in his Ralph Cumbers secret identity, looking thoroughly bemused. "Five minutes of breakcore and I'm full", said he, and suggested we go chill (quite literally) in the garden area with Atki 2 and Hanuman. John was fretting because his laptop was misbehaving, plus he'd just bumped into an old flame and was feeling a bit unnerved by the experience. So then we headed upstairs for the far more agreeable vibes of the Ruffnek Discotek, in time for a couple of saucy dj sets from Punksi (disco-dub-breaks) and Kymatik (not as stylistically adventurous as some of his previous sets, but still an immaculate craftsman). Managed to grab a bit of social/networking time with visiting dignitaries Pinch, Peverelist and Gatekeeper, too.
Then Ralph donned his stage suit, turned into Bass Clef and proceeded to fuck us all up with yet another blinding live performance. I last saw him play in November, at Cosies, a venue so tiny that he had to set up his gear precariously on a little table in a corner of the room with the crowd surrounding him in a semi-circle, but it was wonderful to watch him working so close-up. I think he enjoyed that too, as it gave him an opportunity to pass out percussion instruments and let the audience join in on the final track. By contrast the dj booth at the Swan is like a dug-out, placing a big barrier between us and him. Bass Clef is a performer, in the truest sense of the word, and he really needs to be seen properly, but apart from that it was sheer bliss. No doubt bolstered by the critical success of his debut album, Ralph's confidence was at it's peak as he led us through all the hits. "Clapton Deep", with it's ponderous chords and disjointed beats that clatter like drunken tap dancers, is still the benchmark of excellence, but "Welcome To Echo Chamber", "Opera" and a slightly revised "Cannot Be Straightened" still worked a powerful spell too. The temperamental Theremin was sounding better than ever, as Ralph literally coaxed voluptuous sine-wave swoops out of thin air, plus the ubiquitous trombone was in full effect, especially with that big harmonic drone thing he did near the end, gradually swelling into an overwhelming multi-octave crescendo, before suddenly shattering into a million digital particles, only to gradually coalesce into a shimmering sea of delicate, fluctuating tones. A truly spellbinding moment - and not a beat or bassline in sight! But by that point Ralph had the crowd eating out of his hand - he was invincible, beyond reproach, the bearded demi-god from Hackney come to cleanse the Bristol massif with his love vibrations. "We love you Ralph!" some over-emotional fan screamed as the final wisps of echo-plasm dissolved into the ether. Couldn't have put it better myself.
If I'd been a member of Monkey Steak, I would've been shitting myself at that point - I mean, how do you follow that?! But with their usual easy-going nonchalance, Atki 2 and Hanuman wasted no time in taking us a whole other strange trip. I try to catch these two in action at least every six months, and each time you can be sure the set will be almost completely unrecognisable from the last time, not just the tracks, but changes in overall emphasis too. This was easily the most wide-ranging, far-reaching set I've witnessed to date. Hanuman's interest in ethnic & world music is increasingly coming to the fore, but they're also mounting a full-on 2-Step revival, filled with lashings of euphoric synth, breathy ghost-whispers of female chanteuses and blurred, oscillating trumpet-loops that put me in mind of Terry Riley's "Poppy Nogood". They're taking vocal aceppalas from Flow Dan and Joanna Newsom and forcing them to co-exist in a new mutually compatible environment, and they're skanking out with Junior Mervin in a righteous dubzone. Like Bass Clef, it's about serious music, but also about having a wild party, with a big grin on it's face. Monkey Steak were always on their own circular orbit, but now it's like they're constructing their own galaxy, built on a sublow foundation, where anything and everything can happen. Surely 2007 is the year they get to make an album...?
By the time Monkey Steak took a bow, it was 3am, so myself and Doppelganger (who'd been shaking his booty on the dancefloor for hours) staggered wearily to the exit, just as our host Dub Boy was kicking-off his dancehall set. We both agreed it had been a fantastic night, but with a combined age of 74, and six children between us, we knew that we needed to get to bed urgently. But fuck it, we were there.
Checked the main event first. The home team's soundsystem at one end of the room and the visitors from Cambridge at the other - spitting mercilessly violent bursts of sten gun beats at each other across a no-man's land of dreadlocked freaks, evil-bastard clowns and coked-up gonzos. Welcome to hell. In the middle of all this we found the Bass Clef, in his Ralph Cumbers secret identity, looking thoroughly bemused. "Five minutes of breakcore and I'm full", said he, and suggested we go chill (quite literally) in the garden area with Atki 2 and Hanuman. John was fretting because his laptop was misbehaving, plus he'd just bumped into an old flame and was feeling a bit unnerved by the experience. So then we headed upstairs for the far more agreeable vibes of the Ruffnek Discotek, in time for a couple of saucy dj sets from Punksi (disco-dub-breaks) and Kymatik (not as stylistically adventurous as some of his previous sets, but still an immaculate craftsman). Managed to grab a bit of social/networking time with visiting dignitaries Pinch, Peverelist and Gatekeeper, too.
Then Ralph donned his stage suit, turned into Bass Clef and proceeded to fuck us all up with yet another blinding live performance. I last saw him play in November, at Cosies, a venue so tiny that he had to set up his gear precariously on a little table in a corner of the room with the crowd surrounding him in a semi-circle, but it was wonderful to watch him working so close-up. I think he enjoyed that too, as it gave him an opportunity to pass out percussion instruments and let the audience join in on the final track. By contrast the dj booth at the Swan is like a dug-out, placing a big barrier between us and him. Bass Clef is a performer, in the truest sense of the word, and he really needs to be seen properly, but apart from that it was sheer bliss. No doubt bolstered by the critical success of his debut album, Ralph's confidence was at it's peak as he led us through all the hits. "Clapton Deep", with it's ponderous chords and disjointed beats that clatter like drunken tap dancers, is still the benchmark of excellence, but "Welcome To Echo Chamber", "Opera" and a slightly revised "Cannot Be Straightened" still worked a powerful spell too. The temperamental Theremin was sounding better than ever, as Ralph literally coaxed voluptuous sine-wave swoops out of thin air, plus the ubiquitous trombone was in full effect, especially with that big harmonic drone thing he did near the end, gradually swelling into an overwhelming multi-octave crescendo, before suddenly shattering into a million digital particles, only to gradually coalesce into a shimmering sea of delicate, fluctuating tones. A truly spellbinding moment - and not a beat or bassline in sight! But by that point Ralph had the crowd eating out of his hand - he was invincible, beyond reproach, the bearded demi-god from Hackney come to cleanse the Bristol massif with his love vibrations. "We love you Ralph!" some over-emotional fan screamed as the final wisps of echo-plasm dissolved into the ether. Couldn't have put it better myself.
If I'd been a member of Monkey Steak, I would've been shitting myself at that point - I mean, how do you follow that?! But with their usual easy-going nonchalance, Atki 2 and Hanuman wasted no time in taking us a whole other strange trip. I try to catch these two in action at least every six months, and each time you can be sure the set will be almost completely unrecognisable from the last time, not just the tracks, but changes in overall emphasis too. This was easily the most wide-ranging, far-reaching set I've witnessed to date. Hanuman's interest in ethnic & world music is increasingly coming to the fore, but they're also mounting a full-on 2-Step revival, filled with lashings of euphoric synth, breathy ghost-whispers of female chanteuses and blurred, oscillating trumpet-loops that put me in mind of Terry Riley's "Poppy Nogood". They're taking vocal aceppalas from Flow Dan and Joanna Newsom and forcing them to co-exist in a new mutually compatible environment, and they're skanking out with Junior Mervin in a righteous dubzone. Like Bass Clef, it's about serious music, but also about having a wild party, with a big grin on it's face. Monkey Steak were always on their own circular orbit, but now it's like they're constructing their own galaxy, built on a sublow foundation, where anything and everything can happen. Surely 2007 is the year they get to make an album...?
By the time Monkey Steak took a bow, it was 3am, so myself and Doppelganger (who'd been shaking his booty on the dancefloor for hours) staggered wearily to the exit, just as our host Dub Boy was kicking-off his dancehall set. We both agreed it had been a fantastic night, but with a combined age of 74, and six children between us, we knew that we needed to get to bed urgently. But fuck it, we were there.
13 January 2007
Possibly the first, pivotal Techno-Dubstep soundclash event* of the year... and I missed it!
Oh well...
Last call for Bass Clef, Monkey Steak, etc at the Black Swan 2nite. Dunno if he sanctioned this, but you can grab Bass Clef's remix of Peverelist's "The Grind" over at Tape blog***. It's a wicked lickle re-rub, that remains respectful to Tom's hypnotic original, yet subtly juggling with the raw data, punctuated by those distinctive rhythmic shuffles and a dash of old skool bleepage, ultimately dissolving in a warm bath of pure echo-chamber ambiance.
* Scroll down the page and check Jim's mix, too. Wow, definitely on my wavelength there...
** Christ, unofficial remixes getting shared at blogs before the original's even been released?! Personally, I reckon Ralph's remix is good enough for release in it's own right!
Oh well...
Last call for Bass Clef, Monkey Steak, etc at the Black Swan 2nite. Dunno if he sanctioned this, but you can grab Bass Clef's remix of Peverelist's "The Grind" over at Tape blog***. It's a wicked lickle re-rub, that remains respectful to Tom's hypnotic original, yet subtly juggling with the raw data, punctuated by those distinctive rhythmic shuffles and a dash of old skool bleepage, ultimately dissolving in a warm bath of pure echo-chamber ambiance.
* Scroll down the page and check Jim's mix, too. Wow, definitely on my wavelength there...
** Christ, unofficial remixes getting shared at blogs before the original's even been released?! Personally, I reckon Ralph's remix is good enough for release in it's own right!
10 January 2007
MINIMAL TECHNO: NOTES TO SELF
Okay, firstly I should point out that, over the past few months, not only have I not been blogging but I've also been generally 'out of it' in terms of what's going on in the wider sense. I haven't been listening to radio, nor hardly any online dj mixes, haven't been reading the forums much, only checking a handful of blogs, etc. But I have still been buying records. Every month, without fail, I spend at least fifty quid on vinyl, sometimes more when I can afford it. Most of my shopping during that time has been with online emporiums Boomkat and Juno, and my tune selection has been almost entirely based on my personal reaction to the sound-clips available at the sites. I've bought a few dubstep releases - the ones I really like - but mainly I've been buying Techno records, of the variety that, for convenience, I'll call 'Minimal', because that's the term everyone uses now. My interest in this area goes back well over a decade, but I only really picked-up on it again, very tentatively, with Sleeparchive's "Research EP", back in March '05 (which again I bought on the strength of the clips and write-up at Boomkat). Initially fascinated and bemused in almost equal measures, my interest in Minimal has grown from a trickle to a veritable deluge of enthusiasm in recent times. As far as I was concerned, this renaisance was all just going on inside my own little head, so you can imagine my amazement when I saw the 'Minimal Techno Blowing Up' thread at Dissensus last September.
Then, last month, I returned here with a few blog posts, making coy references to this new area of interest, just in time it seems for a sudden burst of comment and reportage from other quarters. My man Kek independently made the Minimal connection over Peverelist's "Erstwhile/Grind", then Blackdown was moved to make a few pointed observations on the matter after hearing "the Grind" at FWD>>, then Philip Sherburne waded-in with some enlightening background on the Shackleton/Villalobos connection, which in turn has inspired another Dissensus thread arguing the merits of a possible stylistic blend betwixt dubstep and minimal (and thanks to Mr 'Sodiumnightlife' for mentioning my "Post Natal Depression Mix" in there - and yes, my mix doesn't blend the two style particularly, but it does at least attempt to get them talking in the same room!).
So clearly something is afoot. Why Minimal? Why now? In the wider sense, I have no idea, all I can express is what's been happening in my head and on my turntables. I hadn't really been making my new interest known around Bristol, because most people I know around here are from more of a Jungle/D'n'B/Breaks/Dancehall background and I didn't think they'd be interested - funny to think then, that it's Bristol artists and djs like Peverelist, Pinch and Appleblim who seem to be focal points for this new minimal-crossover direction. I haven't been out and about as much as before, so I'm learning about this second hand - I've had no discussions with Pinch* or Appleblim on this subject at all. I don't know what these new minimal-inspired tunes are in Pinch's sets, I haven't seen him play out for several months. I haven't even heard Villalibos' "Blood On My Hands" Remix!
But I've not really been thinking about a 'crossover' at all, anyway. The bpms are a bit different, but it's still fairly easy to match tempos between Minimal and Dubstep (more so than d'n'b, which is so much faster) and all I ever tried to do was find suitable tunes to segue between styles - Mala's "Left Leg Out" being the obvious example in my mix. I wanted to find a way to represent both areas in a mix by finding natural transition points. That's as far as my thinking on the subject went. But if there is to be some sort of genuine crossover, I'm all ears!! But it's too early, and there's simply not enough data to hand for me to surmise any further on the hybrid option. So the rest of this post is purely concerned with my thoughts on Minimal Techno in itself.
Techno is in my blood. Sure, I like Jungle and all sorts of other avenues of dance culture. But my first love is the 4/4 pulse of early house and techno. I used to dj a bit in the early-mid '90s. My set-lists were made-up almost entirely of leftfield, minimal and ambient Techno. But somewhere after about '95 I just lost interest in that area (besides, so much so-called 'techno' I've heard since didn't seem to have much in common with what I understood to be techno). My life moved into a different phase, I stopped djing, etc. It was Grime and Dubstep that drew me back to the decks, and back to 12" vinyl again, and just generally re-energised me and brought me back to the underground. But inevitably I've been feeling the pull of my roots, drawing me back to the Prime Directive. Getting back into djing with these new minimalist tracks has been a revelation. The thing about mixing dubstep is that the tracks tend to obey certain structural laws. I don't mean just the beat patterns, but the way the tracks are organised in blocks, much like the software applications on which they're created, I suppose. Once you've got the feel for those structures, everything tends to fall into place and you start to instinctively know where to come in, where to drop out, etc. It becomes quite a formal technique. With minimal it's so much more open and creative for the dj. Most tracks extend past the six minute mark, and tend to follow a more linear path (ie, much more monotonous!) , giving the dj far more options for longer transitions and imaginative use of equalisation, drop-outs, extra fx, etc. Having said that, I couldn't believe how difficult is was for me to adjust back to mixing with the 4/4 kicks again. You'd assume it was the easiest thing in the world, but actually keeping two minimal tracks locked for any length of time is quite tricky. You have to be so precise, so delicate, because if things start to drift, even slightly, it's very noticeable (although occasionally you might get a strangely pleasant 'phasing' of beats, and unpredictable polyrhythms start to develop out of nowhere - what Brian Eno might describe as a bit of 'Africa' drifting into the mix). Bizarrely, after a few weeks of practice, having regained my 4/4 'legs', I found that I'd completely lost that instinctive flow for dubstep and had to try and get it back again. Then the new baby came along and I had to temporarily abandon my research. I'm only just starting to pick-up from where I left off.
In terms of the actual records, some of the new artists who've really grabbed my attention apart from Sleeparchive are Andy Stott and Claro Intelecto, who are both putting out some fantastic sub-bass heavy minimal shit on the Modern Love label presently. Incidentally, both these artists have also shown a different side of their characters in the long-play format, having made some beautifully emotive intelligent/melodic techno that subtlety updates the classic Reload/B12/Black Dog/FUSE tradition with the albums "Merciless" and "Neurofibro" respectively. Other artists I've been checking include Murmer, Marcel Dettman and Add Noise. I'll try and write in more detail with some reviews when I get a chance.
'Dubby-Minimal' is another area of keen interest, and I've been busily filling the gaps in my Basic Channel/Rhythm & Sound/Chain Reaction/Burial Mix collection, because it's a sound I absolutely adore and really want to use in my mixes from now on. Those tracks simply do not date. Related artists like Monolake, Scion and Deep Chord are also very much on the agenda. Again, that's the subject for a post of it's own.
The there's the whole Sahko scene coming out of Finland, based around the work of Mika Vanio in his Ø and Philus guises. I first discovered Vanio when I saw him in his group Pan(a) Sonic supporting Suicide at the Garage in London back in March 1998. I've been a fan of Pan Sonic ever since, but didn't know much about Vanio's earlier solo work until all the vinyl re-issues started cropping-up last year. It's incredible that those basic tracks he was cranking out in his little analogue studio back in 1993 have suddenly taken on so much fresh relevance, possibly even eclipsing that perennial god of minimalism, Richie Hawtin**, last year. Again, this is the subject for a separate post sometime. Incidently, 1993 was also the year that Basic Channel and (I think) Hawtin's Plastikman project began, so I guess we can refer to it as Minimal Techno's 'Year Zero'***.
Okay, I'm done for now...
* But then of course I remembered that Pinch had already proclaimed his interest in "minimal electronica and dubbed out techno" when I interviewed him nearly two years ago, so the creeping influence of minimal into his sets now is probably a perfectly natural step on from that.
** By chance (?) it seems that Hawtin's early Plastikman/Plus 8 catalogue is also getting the vinyl re-issue treatment recently. Market forces in full effect...
*** Quite possibly nonsense, and besides, why does minimal have to have a 'Year Zero' anyway? But still it's interesting that all those pivitol, influencial minimalist all seemed to crawl out of the woodwork around 1993. But of course there were isolated minimal experiments long before that. Indeed, the re-issue last year of Monoton's amazing "Blau" album reveals a techno-primitive dubwise precurser to Basic Channel going back to 1980!
Then, last month, I returned here with a few blog posts, making coy references to this new area of interest, just in time it seems for a sudden burst of comment and reportage from other quarters. My man Kek independently made the Minimal connection over Peverelist's "Erstwhile/Grind", then Blackdown was moved to make a few pointed observations on the matter after hearing "the Grind" at FWD>>, then Philip Sherburne waded-in with some enlightening background on the Shackleton/Villalobos connection, which in turn has inspired another Dissensus thread arguing the merits of a possible stylistic blend betwixt dubstep and minimal (and thanks to Mr 'Sodiumnightlife' for mentioning my "Post Natal Depression Mix" in there - and yes, my mix doesn't blend the two style particularly, but it does at least attempt to get them talking in the same room!).
So clearly something is afoot. Why Minimal? Why now? In the wider sense, I have no idea, all I can express is what's been happening in my head and on my turntables. I hadn't really been making my new interest known around Bristol, because most people I know around here are from more of a Jungle/D'n'B/Breaks/Dancehall background and I didn't think they'd be interested - funny to think then, that it's Bristol artists and djs like Peverelist, Pinch and Appleblim who seem to be focal points for this new minimal-crossover direction. I haven't been out and about as much as before, so I'm learning about this second hand - I've had no discussions with Pinch* or Appleblim on this subject at all. I don't know what these new minimal-inspired tunes are in Pinch's sets, I haven't seen him play out for several months. I haven't even heard Villalibos' "Blood On My Hands" Remix!
But I've not really been thinking about a 'crossover' at all, anyway. The bpms are a bit different, but it's still fairly easy to match tempos between Minimal and Dubstep (more so than d'n'b, which is so much faster) and all I ever tried to do was find suitable tunes to segue between styles - Mala's "Left Leg Out" being the obvious example in my mix. I wanted to find a way to represent both areas in a mix by finding natural transition points. That's as far as my thinking on the subject went. But if there is to be some sort of genuine crossover, I'm all ears!! But it's too early, and there's simply not enough data to hand for me to surmise any further on the hybrid option. So the rest of this post is purely concerned with my thoughts on Minimal Techno in itself.
Techno is in my blood. Sure, I like Jungle and all sorts of other avenues of dance culture. But my first love is the 4/4 pulse of early house and techno. I used to dj a bit in the early-mid '90s. My set-lists were made-up almost entirely of leftfield, minimal and ambient Techno. But somewhere after about '95 I just lost interest in that area (besides, so much so-called 'techno' I've heard since didn't seem to have much in common with what I understood to be techno). My life moved into a different phase, I stopped djing, etc. It was Grime and Dubstep that drew me back to the decks, and back to 12" vinyl again, and just generally re-energised me and brought me back to the underground. But inevitably I've been feeling the pull of my roots, drawing me back to the Prime Directive. Getting back into djing with these new minimalist tracks has been a revelation. The thing about mixing dubstep is that the tracks tend to obey certain structural laws. I don't mean just the beat patterns, but the way the tracks are organised in blocks, much like the software applications on which they're created, I suppose. Once you've got the feel for those structures, everything tends to fall into place and you start to instinctively know where to come in, where to drop out, etc. It becomes quite a formal technique. With minimal it's so much more open and creative for the dj. Most tracks extend past the six minute mark, and tend to follow a more linear path (ie, much more monotonous!) , giving the dj far more options for longer transitions and imaginative use of equalisation, drop-outs, extra fx, etc. Having said that, I couldn't believe how difficult is was for me to adjust back to mixing with the 4/4 kicks again. You'd assume it was the easiest thing in the world, but actually keeping two minimal tracks locked for any length of time is quite tricky. You have to be so precise, so delicate, because if things start to drift, even slightly, it's very noticeable (although occasionally you might get a strangely pleasant 'phasing' of beats, and unpredictable polyrhythms start to develop out of nowhere - what Brian Eno might describe as a bit of 'Africa' drifting into the mix). Bizarrely, after a few weeks of practice, having regained my 4/4 'legs', I found that I'd completely lost that instinctive flow for dubstep and had to try and get it back again. Then the new baby came along and I had to temporarily abandon my research. I'm only just starting to pick-up from where I left off.
In terms of the actual records, some of the new artists who've really grabbed my attention apart from Sleeparchive are Andy Stott and Claro Intelecto, who are both putting out some fantastic sub-bass heavy minimal shit on the Modern Love label presently. Incidentally, both these artists have also shown a different side of their characters in the long-play format, having made some beautifully emotive intelligent/melodic techno that subtlety updates the classic Reload/B12/Black Dog/FUSE tradition with the albums "Merciless" and "Neurofibro" respectively. Other artists I've been checking include Murmer, Marcel Dettman and Add Noise. I'll try and write in more detail with some reviews when I get a chance.
'Dubby-Minimal' is another area of keen interest, and I've been busily filling the gaps in my Basic Channel/Rhythm & Sound/Chain Reaction/Burial Mix collection, because it's a sound I absolutely adore and really want to use in my mixes from now on. Those tracks simply do not date. Related artists like Monolake, Scion and Deep Chord are also very much on the agenda. Again, that's the subject for a post of it's own.
The there's the whole Sahko scene coming out of Finland, based around the work of Mika Vanio in his Ø and Philus guises. I first discovered Vanio when I saw him in his group Pan(a) Sonic supporting Suicide at the Garage in London back in March 1998. I've been a fan of Pan Sonic ever since, but didn't know much about Vanio's earlier solo work until all the vinyl re-issues started cropping-up last year. It's incredible that those basic tracks he was cranking out in his little analogue studio back in 1993 have suddenly taken on so much fresh relevance, possibly even eclipsing that perennial god of minimalism, Richie Hawtin**, last year. Again, this is the subject for a separate post sometime. Incidently, 1993 was also the year that Basic Channel and (I think) Hawtin's Plastikman project began, so I guess we can refer to it as Minimal Techno's 'Year Zero'***.
Okay, I'm done for now...
* But then of course I remembered that Pinch had already proclaimed his interest in "minimal electronica and dubbed out techno" when I interviewed him nearly two years ago, so the creeping influence of minimal into his sets now is probably a perfectly natural step on from that.
** By chance (?) it seems that Hawtin's early Plastikman/Plus 8 catalogue is also getting the vinyl re-issue treatment recently. Market forces in full effect...
*** Quite possibly nonsense, and besides, why does minimal have to have a 'Year Zero' anyway? But still it's interesting that all those pivitol, influencial minimalist all seemed to crawl out of the woodwork around 1993. But of course there were isolated minimal experiments long before that. Indeed, the re-issue last year of Monoton's amazing "Blau" album reveals a techno-primitive dubwise precurser to Basic Channel going back to 1980!
09 January 2007
08 January 2007
BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH V/Vm
GTTRBRKZ: I must say that your 'UK Product Assistant at Warp' e-mail was the funniest, and possibly most penetrating, thing I've read in ages. Good luck in the 'new job', James - your generation needs you!
V/Vm: Hey Nick, you know I have had a hard time this year, mate. Maybe not as hard as a 9-5, but as hard as a musician can get, and that mail out I did before has given me more pleasure than a top selling release ever will. I am glad you found it funny because I have a smile from ear to ear right now due to the overwhelming response I have been getting from people. There are actually some real people out there making things and trying to make a difference and you find these people, so don't give up and feel it's worthless at your end. And by that I am not referring to my own activities - there is a gift there, so the generation maybe needs you more than it needs someone like me who just pokes a stick right into the eye of the wasp's nest - only because no-one else ever will!
G: Aw mate, don't go saying stuff like that! My sense of relief that I've extricated myself from that position gets messed-up by profound pangs of guilt when people say things like that, but I think I might have to come back this year...if I can find the time! I set out to fill a gap that I knew in my heart needed filling but I only ever expected a small readership. I found it really hard to deal with the huge interest and becoming some sort of spokesperson for a whole genre. All I did was blog my thoughts, but I blogged conscientiously, with commitment and love. And I needed to put some of myself in there too, because I'm not interested in just doing reviews, y'know? It became so hard to be open and honest about my life with so many people watching, yet the blog has to have an element of autobiography for me to remain interested. Maybe I'll get the balance right next time, we'll see...
V/Vm: It's a real strange one - you start off really pushing what you like and it's real honest and always remains honest, but I guess you then feel some kind of responsibility when too many people start reading what you're writing and sending you releases. It adds an unseen pressure to yourself. What was once fun isn't that much fun anymore and becomes a chore because people are waiting to see what you will write and push next.
G: Totally, and I reckon there can't be many bloggers who get complete strangers coming up to them in clubs and shaking their hands and saying how much they love the blog and they know so much about you, even though you know nothing about them...it's the nearest thing to minor celebrity I think you can get without actually going mainstream..and of course that's amazing but very hard for me to cope with too, because I never set out to do that. Sorry for unloading my thoughts on you, James...I get a bit down about it sometimes, especially when I think of all the potential I'm wasting.
V/Vm: If you feel the need to genuinely share some enthusiasm for something be sure to do it, as it means more than those who just plug their friends and spread false feelings for music they don't really care about.
G: That's fucking deep, man. I'll try and stick to that premise. But enough of me, what about you? What's all this about dropping the V/Vm brand?!
V/Vm: It's true I am kind of winding down V/Vm Test. The name V/Vm does me no favours, to be honest. I can do some music - for example that White Death mp3 release or the New Beat thing and people just ignore it because they think it's gonna be remixes of Chris Rea or something , so it's time for a change of direction with things.
G: What's next on the horizon, then?
V/Vm: There is a Caretaker double vinyl coming out on We/Me, the label who did the Made in Belgium 12", so that's something I need to work on.
G: The Caretaker project certainly captured the imagination of several bloggers - K-Punk even wrote the sleeve notes! I'm ashamed to admit it was simply too big a concept for me to organise my thoughts into some sort of review. I was just...overawed by it's magnitude. Has it been selling well?
V/Vm: I am almost sold out, which is great as only two shops had copies of it.
G: And how do you feel about the 365 Project, now that it's all over?
V/Vm: Well, the aim was to have fun, but it caused me to be ill in the end because I couldn't shake being ill due to the pressure of completing the task! That said, it's good to push yourself sometimes and really live a project instead of making just a ten-track disc and saying it was torture to make that.
G: So, post-V/Vm, what's the overall plans for 2007?
V/Vm: It's all about having a nice time this year with less stress.
G: Amen to that!
V/Vm: Stay lucky and keep in touch...
V/Vm: Hey Nick, you know I have had a hard time this year, mate. Maybe not as hard as a 9-5, but as hard as a musician can get, and that mail out I did before has given me more pleasure than a top selling release ever will. I am glad you found it funny because I have a smile from ear to ear right now due to the overwhelming response I have been getting from people. There are actually some real people out there making things and trying to make a difference and you find these people, so don't give up and feel it's worthless at your end. And by that I am not referring to my own activities - there is a gift there, so the generation maybe needs you more than it needs someone like me who just pokes a stick right into the eye of the wasp's nest - only because no-one else ever will!
G: Aw mate, don't go saying stuff like that! My sense of relief that I've extricated myself from that position gets messed-up by profound pangs of guilt when people say things like that, but I think I might have to come back this year...if I can find the time! I set out to fill a gap that I knew in my heart needed filling but I only ever expected a small readership. I found it really hard to deal with the huge interest and becoming some sort of spokesperson for a whole genre. All I did was blog my thoughts, but I blogged conscientiously, with commitment and love. And I needed to put some of myself in there too, because I'm not interested in just doing reviews, y'know? It became so hard to be open and honest about my life with so many people watching, yet the blog has to have an element of autobiography for me to remain interested. Maybe I'll get the balance right next time, we'll see...
V/Vm: It's a real strange one - you start off really pushing what you like and it's real honest and always remains honest, but I guess you then feel some kind of responsibility when too many people start reading what you're writing and sending you releases. It adds an unseen pressure to yourself. What was once fun isn't that much fun anymore and becomes a chore because people are waiting to see what you will write and push next.
G: Totally, and I reckon there can't be many bloggers who get complete strangers coming up to them in clubs and shaking their hands and saying how much they love the blog and they know so much about you, even though you know nothing about them...it's the nearest thing to minor celebrity I think you can get without actually going mainstream..and of course that's amazing but very hard for me to cope with too, because I never set out to do that. Sorry for unloading my thoughts on you, James...I get a bit down about it sometimes, especially when I think of all the potential I'm wasting.
V/Vm: If you feel the need to genuinely share some enthusiasm for something be sure to do it, as it means more than those who just plug their friends and spread false feelings for music they don't really care about.
G: That's fucking deep, man. I'll try and stick to that premise. But enough of me, what about you? What's all this about dropping the V/Vm brand?!
V/Vm: It's true I am kind of winding down V/Vm Test. The name V/Vm does me no favours, to be honest. I can do some music - for example that White Death mp3 release or the New Beat thing and people just ignore it because they think it's gonna be remixes of Chris Rea or something , so it's time for a change of direction with things.
G: What's next on the horizon, then?
V/Vm: There is a Caretaker double vinyl coming out on We/Me, the label who did the Made in Belgium 12", so that's something I need to work on.
G: The Caretaker project certainly captured the imagination of several bloggers - K-Punk even wrote the sleeve notes! I'm ashamed to admit it was simply too big a concept for me to organise my thoughts into some sort of review. I was just...overawed by it's magnitude. Has it been selling well?
V/Vm: I am almost sold out, which is great as only two shops had copies of it.
G: And how do you feel about the 365 Project, now that it's all over?
V/Vm: Well, the aim was to have fun, but it caused me to be ill in the end because I couldn't shake being ill due to the pressure of completing the task! That said, it's good to push yourself sometimes and really live a project instead of making just a ten-track disc and saying it was torture to make that.
G: So, post-V/Vm, what's the overall plans for 2007?
V/Vm: It's all about having a nice time this year with less stress.
G: Amen to that!
V/Vm: Stay lucky and keep in touch...
03 January 2007
UPSTAIRS WITH RUFFNECK
Dissident vs Life4Land & Ruffnek Diskotek
Saturday 13th Jan 2007
The Black Swan, Stapleton Road, Bristol
10-5, £5 all night
Bristol’s [Dissident] Soundsystem will be taking on Cambridge’s Life4Land Soundsystem in a jungle, breakcore & DnB soundclash of monstrous proportions!
In the [Dissident] corner: Ironside, Mad Tek, Fix, Headphobe, Jon Deviant, Alkemy & Noisy Boy
In the Life4Land corner: Arithmetek, MDS, Ed Cox, Scamp, Ghost, Monsta, Stivs & Mattycore
2 Rigs, one winner, you decide!
Upstairs:Ruffnek Diskotek (Dubstep, Ragga, Bass Pressure)
Bass Clef (Blank Tapes)
Live set from the artist formerly known as RLF. Genius dubstep & electronics with live Trombone and Theramin (sic)!
Monkey Steak (Death$ucker / Punch Drunk)
Live set from Ruffnek favourites pumping out mangled grime, warped dubstep & skewed ragga
Dub Boy vs Midas (Ruffnek Diskotek / P.R.A.N.K)
Riddim assault from two of Bristol's dancehall heavyweights.
Kymatik (Noir / Byte)
Exclusive sludge set mashing up dubstep, breaks, techno, grime & more!
Brother Wetlands vs Star Delta (Boggle / Ruffnek Diskotek)
Bass, electronics and everything inbetween.
www.myspace.com/dissidentfaction
www.myspace.com/ruffnekdiskotek
www.myspace.com/life4land
Yeah, I could well be up for this. Obviously I'm more attracted to what's happening upstairs. If you've yet to check Bass Clef live, you need to get down there and witness Ralf in action, because it's fucking divine. Watch out for Neil Kymatik and his 'sludge' sound, too - hectic!
Might try and check what's happening in the main arena too...get mi lickle dose of breakcore tomfoolery for the year.
Saturday 13th Jan 2007
The Black Swan, Stapleton Road, Bristol
10-5, £5 all night
Bristol’s [Dissident] Soundsystem will be taking on Cambridge’s Life4Land Soundsystem in a jungle, breakcore & DnB soundclash of monstrous proportions!
In the [Dissident] corner: Ironside, Mad Tek, Fix, Headphobe, Jon Deviant, Alkemy & Noisy Boy
In the Life4Land corner: Arithmetek, MDS, Ed Cox, Scamp, Ghost, Monsta, Stivs & Mattycore
2 Rigs, one winner, you decide!
Upstairs:Ruffnek Diskotek (Dubstep, Ragga, Bass Pressure)
Bass Clef (Blank Tapes)
Live set from the artist formerly known as RLF. Genius dubstep & electronics with live Trombone and Theramin (sic)!
Monkey Steak (Death$ucker / Punch Drunk)
Live set from Ruffnek favourites pumping out mangled grime, warped dubstep & skewed ragga
Dub Boy vs Midas (Ruffnek Diskotek / P.R.A.N.K)
Riddim assault from two of Bristol's dancehall heavyweights.
Kymatik (Noir / Byte)
Exclusive sludge set mashing up dubstep, breaks, techno, grime & more!
Brother Wetlands vs Star Delta (Boggle / Ruffnek Diskotek)
Bass, electronics and everything inbetween.
www.myspace.com/dissidentfaction
www.myspace.com/ruffnekdiskotek
www.myspace.com/life4land
Yeah, I could well be up for this. Obviously I'm more attracted to what's happening upstairs. If you've yet to check Bass Clef live, you need to get down there and witness Ralf in action, because it's fucking divine. Watch out for Neil Kymatik and his 'sludge' sound, too - hectic!
Might try and check what's happening in the main arena too...get mi lickle dose of breakcore tomfoolery for the year.
30 December 2006
GUTTERTECH: CLEARING OUT THE CUPBOARD
Despite being resolved to get back into producing this year, I only managed to complete a meagre half-dozen tunes, nearly all created within a brief two-month creative spurt in April/May. My extended absence from blogging should've been a perfect time to concentrate on the music, but it just didn't happen. I seem to be crippled by a deep-set lethargy. The ideas are still coming, and there's several other unfinished sketches lying around on my hard drive, yet I just can't find the will to see them through to the finish line. I think the problem might be the soft-studio environment I'm working in now. Although initially excited by the potential of FL Studio, I must admit I now find the whole thing a bit of a chore to work with. I see Fruity Loops now like an executive toy - fun to play around with for ten minutes, making a little 8-bar riddim, but then all the box-pushing, copying and pasting required to build it all into a finished piece of music just seems too steep a hill to climb. It's never really felt natural to me to build music in structured sections. I like to set something linear and repetitive in motion and then modify it at the mix-down, in real time. I like to feel that I'm performing as the music is recorded...applying freeform/intuitive improvisation, because I think maybe that's the part where a bit of my soul might leak out...or maybe just because I feel comfortable and satisfied by that approach. And of course that methodology requires a certain 'touchy-feely' interface with the machines, and that means hardware. It means knobs, sliders and switches, because I need some kind of physical relationship with my machines...which is maybe pretty weird, but that's just how it works for me. And I like linking machines with other machines...not just in the sense of midi/sync, but in terms of creating audio chains - jacking a drum machine into a distortion pedal, then into an echo unit, then through a synth filter...treating the whole studio like a big modular laboratory, surfing on a sea of quarter-inch jack plugs. Yeah, that's what making electronic music is all about for me. Of course I admire loads of stuff being done with software - I love the amazing results other people can obtain, but it's just not what makes me tick creatively. Listening to that Reanimator record that came out a few months back, and then reading Philip Sherburne's article on them in The Wire reminded me of the joys of hardware exploration, and I began to realise what I'd been missing. I've done my best to embrace this digital-virtual world, but a vital chunk of my creative instinct is stuck in the old analogue one.
Okay, so now I've isolated the problem, but unfortunately I no longer have a hardware studio, other than a dusty old cassette four-track and a few other bits and pieces stored away somewhere. There's also a big cardboard box that's literally stuffed full with every type of audio connecting cable you can think of. At one point I was thinking of just throwing them all away, but now I wish I had a few machines to plug them all into again. The idea of rebuilding my old hardware studio is tempting, but right now I have neither the time nor spare cash to even consider it. Thankfully, the writing and dj mixing provide a sufficient level of creative outlet to make me feel that I'm at least doing something productive. I'm not sure what the far-flung future might hold for me, but for now I guess I'll have to just bide my time. The really irritating part is that I now have more industry contacts than ever - I'm pretty friendly with a number of people running good record labels, and if I only had some decent product I reckon I might've been able to convince someone to release it. But I'm just not cutting it as a producer. The tracks I made this year are okay...they're quite basic, but I wanted them basic, because I like to work with a very restricted sound-palette. I can't deal with too many options. Keep it simple. And they're all attempts to emulate older drum machine sounds and synth textures and dub fx, taking the feeling from the classic music that first inspired me, but trying to place it in a contemporary setting - which at that point was 140bpm halfstep. I was trying to realise my own personal take on 'Roots 'n Futurism', and there's a couple of things in there I'm actually quite pleased with, but I know they're not really 'marketable'. So I'm giving them away to you, dear reader. Some of my close friends and associates will already know some of these - "Show Dem 626" got played once on Wedge's radio show, "Cloister Bell" featured in one of Forensics' recent mixes, and I sneaked "Substation" into my own Afterimage Mix under an assumed name - but I think there's one track in there that's never been heard by anyone apart from me. Maybe it should've stayed that way, but what the fuck.So, here's a zip file containing all six of my musical moments of 2006, rendered at 320kbps...
You know the deal with Yousendit links - this download is only available for a limited period. There will be no reloads.
Happy New Year!
28 December 2006
BLOGARIDDIMS: THE YEAR IN BRIEF
1: Droid + Slug - Shwantology: 2
2: Gutterbreakz
3: Matt B. - Idle Thoughts
4: Paul Meme & John Eden - Dancehall Pressure
5: Bassnation
6: Soundslike1981 - Collide+Coalesce
7: The Rambler - Voices From Afar
8: Paul Autonomic - Mr. Bump's 'Rude Interlude'
9: 'Hal' Halvorsen - Absolute Norwegian
10: Heatwave - An England Story
11: Wayne&Wax - Another Crunk Genealogy
12: John Eden's Office Party Mix
Subscribe/back-issues available here.
Well, it's been an amazing ride so far, with plenty more to come. I think bloggers have that perfect combination of a major superiority complex (we all secretly think we've got the best fucking music taste/record collection in the world) combined with the pathological urge to share our knowledge with the world at large. We've probably all been doing something like this for our entire adult lives - but where once it was just making cassette comps. and lecturing our friends down the pub, we now have an international stage on which to vent our unqualified opinions on the ignorant masses. I think Blogarriddims is like the ultimate get-together of all these weird, musically obsessed people. It's a bit monstrous in it's all-consuming, relentless intensity, but really quite exquisite, too. Big-up Droid for envisioning, creating and managing the whole project. Dealing with all those high-profile bloggers and their super-egos must be a thankless task. I'm still hoping that some of my fellow west country cohorts like Kek and Loki might come on board, but whatever - here's to the next twelve installments!!
21 December 2006
H.E.N.C.H @ THE TUBE
Last night was the first time I've reached a H.E.N.C.H party since the summer. I had my door tax at the ready, but it seems the old privileges are still in place, and I was waved through straight away. It's like I've never been away! First time I've hit the town for well over a month and, despite the freezing fog conditions, it was well worth the effort. As expected, much of the material being played by the H.E.N.C.H djs in attendance was new to me, especially Komonazmuk's set. What really impresses about his material is the high level of engineering - he seems to find more frequency space than anyone else. His basslines are heavy, yet the kick drums punch through forcefully, the snares sound gigantic and the high end is always very tight and well defined. Komonazmuk (above) has made it his business to learn a lot of professional recording tricks (he was trying to explain to me some stuff about compression and side-chains) and the results speak for themselves. Later, Whiteboi, back-2-back with Headhunter, turned out a truly shocking series of halfstep-horror anthems - full of gothic choirs, piercing feedback drones and ectoplasmic waves of lo-end filth. Bizarrely, most of the audience at that point were female...so strange to watch all those women in their party frocks twisting and swaying in slo-mo to this violent rapture. Headhunter provided the more uplifting counterpoint, also throwing in a couple of new dubs by Jakes that are completely off the radar. There was one with a gibbering synth line sounding like The Clangers through a ring modulator, and another with a freaky screeching sound like an elephant in labour. I dunno what the fuck is going on in Jakes' beautiful little mind, but I love it. I'm assured that some of the material these guys are firing out will finally be getting released early next year, and about bloody time, I say. More news as it happens, etc.
The headliner for the evening was original souljah Geeneus (left), who treated us to a high-octane set that, as expected from a man with his pedigree, flowed freely between dubstep and instrumental grime. I was particularly impressed by a D1 dub called "8 Bar", which recalls the fierce urgency of classic Plasticman. That's the sort of D1 material I'd rather see released. It was also a pleasure, as always, to check another set from The Peverelist, aka Tom from Rooted Records, dropping a typically understated selection, including some choice cuts from Bass Clef and Pinch's rather beautiful "One Blood". But it's Tom's own productions that are really getting me excited right now...trying to find the common ground between minimal/hypnotic techno and dubstep. Anyone who listened to my new mix will see that I'm interested in combining elements from both genres, and I'm totally on Tom's wavelength. It's not as far fetched as it sounds, afterall some of Mala's tracks, like "Left Leg Out" show clear connections with Techno's pulse beat, and with Shackleton forging links with Ricardo Villalobos, anything's possible, right? Whether or not this approach is a possible exit-route from halfstep orthodoxy, or a creative cul-de-sac, remains to be seen, but you can be sure that when Tom releases "The Grind" and "Erstwhile Rhythm" on his Punch Drunk imprint early next year, he'll be at the vanguard. Check Kek's review for further insights...All in all, a great party. I left just after 3am, and punters were still paying to get in. It's fantastic that H.E.N.C.H has built up such a successful format in my absence. The venue is nice, although the acoustics are a bit weird. If you wanna feel some proper chest-rattling bass, you need to stand along the back wall. Move forward a couple of paces and it just disappears!
Shout-outs to all my crew who reached: Doppleganger, Bubonic, Delsa, Atki 2, Gatekeeper, Madboy...and all the others I always say hello to, but aren't quite sure what their names are.
Honourable absences: Wedge & Appleblim (gigging in Wales), Pinch (gigging in Helsinki), ThinKing (too skint).
20 December 2006
With the new baby taking up so much of my wife's attention, it's left to me to try and look after his older brothers during every spare minute of the day. This extra-curricular parenting is fucking exhausting. Still, hopefully we'll all adjust to the new addition soon, and some semblance of normality will return. But first we've gotta get bloody Christmas out of the way...
Managed to grab a spare hour today and thought I'd use the time profitably by recording a quick end-of-year mix. This isn't a 'best of 2006' by any means, mainly just a little selection of tunes that I've picked-up in the latter half of the year, since I stopped blogging.
The mixing is a bit sloppy due to me being a bit rusty, plus I was making it up as I went along so not sure it flows that well in places, but what the hell. This mix is basically for all my 'older' mates who don't buy 12" singles anymore...a little taste of what's going on out there.
Switched-on listeners might notice a bit of minimal techno creeping into my setlist. It's certainly an area I've been taking a keen interest in these past few months and, when I get the chance, I'll hopefully write down a few thoughts on that matter. In the meantime, enjoy the beats...
Gutterbreakz - Post Natal Oppression Mix
Boards Of Canada - Under The Coke Sign (Warp)
Andy Stott - Hi-Rise (Modern Love)
Marcel Dettman - Quicksand (Ostgut Ton)
Substance & Vainqueur - Immersion (Scion Versions)
Mala - Left Leg Out (DMZ)
Geiom feat. Terrible Shock - Feel So Bad (Berkane Sol)
Hijack - Nightmarez (Tectonic)
Kromestar - Surgery (Deep Medi Muzik)
Shackleton - I Want To Eat You (Mordant Music)
Pinch - Punisher (Loefah's SE25 Remix) (Planet Mu)
Skynet - Isolate (Argon)
Reanimator - Special Powers (Community Library)
Deitrich Schoenemann & Tony Rohr - Lockjob (Hidden Agenda)
Sleeparchive - Transposition Reverse (Sleeparchive)
Gez Varley - Nemesis (Keys Of Life)
Managed to grab a spare hour today and thought I'd use the time profitably by recording a quick end-of-year mix. This isn't a 'best of 2006' by any means, mainly just a little selection of tunes that I've picked-up in the latter half of the year, since I stopped blogging.
The mixing is a bit sloppy due to me being a bit rusty, plus I was making it up as I went along so not sure it flows that well in places, but what the hell. This mix is basically for all my 'older' mates who don't buy 12" singles anymore...a little taste of what's going on out there.
Switched-on listeners might notice a bit of minimal techno creeping into my setlist. It's certainly an area I've been taking a keen interest in these past few months and, when I get the chance, I'll hopefully write down a few thoughts on that matter. In the meantime, enjoy the beats...
Boards Of Canada - Under The Coke Sign (Warp)
Andy Stott - Hi-Rise (Modern Love)
Marcel Dettman - Quicksand (Ostgut Ton)
Substance & Vainqueur - Immersion (Scion Versions)
Mala - Left Leg Out (DMZ)
Geiom feat. Terrible Shock - Feel So Bad (Berkane Sol)
Hijack - Nightmarez (Tectonic)
Kromestar - Surgery (Deep Medi Muzik)
Shackleton - I Want To Eat You (Mordant Music)
Pinch - Punisher (Loefah's SE25 Remix) (Planet Mu)
Skynet - Isolate (Argon)
Reanimator - Special Powers (Community Library)
Deitrich Schoenemann & Tony Rohr - Lockjob (Hidden Agenda)
Sleeparchive - Transposition Reverse (Sleeparchive)
Gez Varley - Nemesis (Keys Of Life)
18 December 2006
Whether it be from Jeff Wayne's soundtrack album, or Marvel Comics' adaptation (see left), Spielburg's blockbuster, or even the original book itself (first published in 1898), H.G.Wells' War Of The Worlds must've touched everybody at some point. A true timeless classic, it's fearful account of humanity under dire threat of annihilation at the tentacles of an alien invader remains the first, and still definitive, example of this particular form of Sci-Fi horror.I was quite a keen reader of Wells' science fiction writing as a young teenager, in particular The Time Machine and The Invisible Man. Then, a couple of years ago I chanced upon a secondhand hardback edition of his collected works at a local bookshop, for a mere four quid. Of course I couldn't resist it, but then it spent the next 18 months collecting dust on my book shelf. Eventually I made a start on it and, several months later, I'm still reading it on a nightly basis, gradually working my way through Wells' entire sci-fi oeuvre. I've already ingested the horrific antics of mad vivisectionist Dr. Moreau, shaken my head in wonder at the keen imagination of The First Men In The Moon, and been completely enthralled by lesser known works like The Food Of The Gods. It's possible to detect a clear development of sophistication through his work. The earlier stories are shorter and focus on the scientific ideas that drive the fantastical storylines, but by Food Of The Gods, it's clear that Wells was intent on injecting some deeper observations about society and the human condition. One of my favourite moments is near the end when Redwood is suddenly struck by the way his relationship with his grown-up son has changed...
"For the first time in his life perhaps he realised how much more a son may be to his father than a father can ever be to a son; he realised the full predominance of the future over the past. "
But it's the combination of fanciful scientific ideas from the perspective of the beginning of the 20th Century, coupled with Wells' keen eye for social commentary and subtle political observations that really brings Olde England to life. I'm currently halfway through In The Days Of The Comet, which so far has had very little scientific element at all, apart from the ominous threat of the approaching comet. But the main focus is the Socialist anti-hero, railing against his lot at the wrong end of the class system in a grim industrial town, against a backdrop of war with Germany (an uncanny prediction from Wells in 1906). Wells' attention to detail, describing so eloquently the particulars of the man's life, and the relative levels of filth and squalor endured by the working man, really are very pungent. And it's quite strange that, the older I get, the more interested I become in history. I realise that I've never actually explored any of Wells' non-science fiction work. Perhaps I really should.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)