In stark contrast to my usual MO, I've been very into picking up EPs lately. Partly a practical decision as it's easier to listen to an EP given how busy things have been as of late but also because the number of them in my wishlist had been growing and I thought it'd be high time to look at 'em anyway. Starting with Burial. I've been pretty quiet about Burial in recet years, but that's because I occasionally dip my toe into his works rather than take a full dive. A real nasty habit of mine in the past is essetially overloading too much too quick on an artist so I'm tryign to not do that here. Rodent is one that slipped me by, a gorgeously hazy rumbling house number with a B-side footwork remix from Kode9. The A-side is the real attraction here; as someone who only occasionally dabbles in Burial it's a refreshing change as well. If I had a complaint it'd be I'd like the body of the track to have more time to breathe seperate from that vocal sample - which I can see turning some people off with the repwtition. It does get a chance to shine through every now and then like around 1:30, but I'd love to be even more fully immersed in those sections.
A complete 180 in sound now, as I visit yet another artist that I've only a passing relationship with; Dopplereffekt, specifically an alias of theirs Der Zyklus. In concept I should adore their works - hi-tech sci-fi infused techno/electro is supremley up my alley - but the truth is I've often found it a little hard to get into some of them. I do have a few bits and pieces here and there though, and this is one EP that I'd actually already heard plenty of as both the A-Side and B-Side were featred in a ton of compilations around their original release on another EP in the early 00's. And both tracks are absolutley great, I think they hit a nice balance of the hi-tech vibe while keeping things more melodic than the Dopplereffekt work which is something that often turns me off, Elektronisches Zeitechno is a perfect example of the kind of electro I love for example. However today I'm going to talk about the B-side, the equally lengthy titled Mathematische Modelle. As one might expect from the title, there is more than a smidgen of Kraftwerk influence here and I am very much here for it. As I say all too often when a track like this comes up, I will always adore tracks like this - as a bright eyed young'un I was often fascinated by the sounds on old Kraftwerk records - they were so different and interesting sounding than anything else I couldn't help it. And as you may know to this day I still have a real love for it! Much like Warp's Artifical Intelligence compilations, to me, this is still the sound of the future.
And finally, slightly cheating as I picked this one up ages ago (and have also probably posted it before), Golden Boy & Miss Kittin's Rippin Kittin. Sadly, the version Kittin has archived on her bandcamp is missing my all time favourite mix by Alexander Polzin (that you can no longer actually buy anywhere digitally) it is still a solid version of the EP. Rippin Kittin was a bit of a hit in it's day, no doubt helped out by the brilliant Radio Mix by Glove. Truth be told it's not really that different from the album version - slightly restructured yes but mostly the same, although as I point out every time I talk about the alternate mixes, a lot of the remixes and this Radio Mix feature a chorus that is puzzlingly not at all present on the album version or the 'Original' mix. While an odd choice, it does make the Radio Mix a lot less bleak sounding than the original mix. Aside from that - I still love the slick production of it and the accompanying album Or, and it goes without saying at this point that I almost universially love Kittin's vocal contributions. She's very much in that early 00's stoic electroclash mode here which I appreciate might not be for everyone, but I have loved this tune for nigh on 2 decades now and that is highly likely to continue.
And so ends our brief dive into my bandcamp happenings - the rolling Bandcamp Fridays have been a real treat for me, letting me constantly dip into that wishlist and keep it slightly trimmed rather than having it grow uncontrollably like some of my other wishlists. Of course to not be selfish for a moment it's a real bonus for the artists as well, I'm very happy to see a lot more stuff on digital distribution these days - as much as I love collecting physically sometimes its more practical to grab a digital copy from the artists themselves. Though it's worth pointing out that you can buy physical things from bandcamp, I just haven't done so yet. Perhaps for the next trip report I will do so!
As always, stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
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