After the last post I managed to grab some new stuff from my 'recommended's that would make a decent follow up, but I've put those plans to one side for a minute as in the process I found something new as well. Soichi Terada's Omodaka alais that I thought was retired is still very much active - and in its current incarnation is doing some very interesting things when it comes to electronic music.
First and foremost Omodaka is now a full on performance experience - with Terada donning a blank white mask and a shrine maiden's outfit, surrounded by wires, tweaking the electronics as screens play out a combination of motion graphics and slightly surreal video edits. This past meets present aesthetic extends to the songs as well, the main methodology of the Omodaka project has been about fusing traditional Japanese folk music with modern electronics. Well, modern-ish, because as you'll soon hear a lot of the backing for these tracks is full on chiptune. Take a look at the 2-minute trailer for the most recent Omodaka album 'Gujoh Bushi' and have a listen for yourself:
It's an odd combo for sure, one that I'm not quite sure always works but there are definitely moments on this LP that have me falling head over heels. I've never really been much into chiptune as a whole, I have a couple of tracks here, and even then usually from soundtracks. I do have quite a strong nostalgia for them having said that though, one that comes from a lot of long haul flights with Pokémon generations 1 & 2 when I was little. The intro to Kariboshi Kiriuta hits that note something fierce, and when the worlds collide with that bassline at around 6 seconds in - this album immediately shot up my list of things to get a hold of. The Enka-esque vocals I can see putting some folk off, and in this early honeymoon phase of the album for me sometimes I feel that. Though for me I think it's a case of the instrumentals being gorgeous and I just want to spend a little bit more time with them.
The album does have a fair bit of variety in it though even when sticking to those same key elements. Hyamikao is fast on it's way to becoming my favourite so far, here Terada slips back into his old House grooves, with a thumping kick and bassy stabs taking over the expected chiptune intro - as it develops the chiptune elements almost take a backseat and it becomes more like a traditional Terada house tune. I also love the almost text-to-speech style cut-up treatment the vocals get here (again, my bias showing as I love anything to do with altered vocals!), I think it injects a nice bit of variety to the LP - the jumpy cuts making some nice unexpected melodies. and makes them feel a little more fitting than the above track for example. That and if we're getting philosophical, it's truly then a merger of the new and the old.
Speaking of returning, on Tosa Miren Terada brings out his Drum & Bass skills again, those of you familiar with his work on Ape Escape will find a fair bit of similarity here in the more melodic parts - especially when the little bits of chiptune flash through in the most playful way. This one and Hyamikao are currently locked in a fight for my no. 1 favourite from this LP. I think this is one of the more accessible tracks here to boot, the traditional vocals really work in its favour. But that's something I'd expect that as Terada has experimented with mixing them and Drum & Bass going back to 1996 - it's nowhere near as prominent as on this album, but there are hints of chants and such on Sumo Jungle, the album that got the attention of Sony and led to his work on Ape Escape. It's used throughout, but my favourite use of it is on Sukiyaki Dohyo Chanko. But enough of that, enjoy the tune!
I'm really excited to see Terada still active, his output rarely disappoints and having done a bit of research for writing this he seems like he has a lot of fun making stuff. Doubly so when he's performing as Omodaka, from the videos I've seen he'll just occasionally wander out into the crowd and give whoever's in the front row control of bits and pieces of equipment, making the whole thing more of an experience than just a concert. It seems as if he was gearing up to do more regular performances as well which is a shame - here's hoping he can get back to them when things are a little more safe. But in the meantime I am more than happy to jam out to this album, and I hope you are too!
And as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
Friday, 12 March 2021
Tuesday, 9 March 2021
How Deep is your House?
Following on from the Bandcamp scoops, I've dug into my archives to find what little bits and pieces of Deep House I have in there. See, it's a genre I'd say I love the sound of, but I don't seem to have much of it. A lot of that was me just riding the high of Mr. Fingers' Amnesia, home of Can You Feel It? among others. And if I had to point to a track that was probably my favourite example of it, Feel It would probably win out. But I've already talked about it a bunch in the past, and it is also (rightfully so) one of the more popular bits of retro electronic out there. So instead let's see if I can't round up some similar sounding stuff.
Sam Francis - Her Blue Deeps (1972)
Laurent Garnier to start out - one of those names again that always came up in the circles I frequent but I never really investigated in much detail. Still, even then he's managed to have several tracks come on my radar, and one that instantly came to mind when I was thinking about this post was Last Tribute From The 20th Century - suitably, the closer from 2000's Unreasonable Behaviour. As the name would suggest, much like Daft Punk's Teachers, this is a love letter to Garnier's influences - as the track itself says: "New York, Detroit and Chicago".
It's one of those tracks that gripped me from the get-go, as you all know by now, I'm a sucker for that kinda sweeping smooth sound. The whole thing has a tinge of melancholy to it, but that's easy to overlook when you slip into the groove of that bassline - I appreciate the little flourishes here and there that are evocative of Frankie Knuckles and company too. Last Tribute is definitely one of the highlights from the album and has more than earned its place here.
Admittedly this one is more straight up Detroit Techno than Deep House, but I think it still fits the bill. Burujha is a lovely and melodic cut - nice and bouncy but carrying that slight melancholy mentioned before. This is actually the track that made me sit up and pay attention to Octave One after hearing it on the Games' eclectic 'Spend The Night With' mixtape (where it's actually incorrectly listed as the title track from the 'Art And Soul' EP that it's from) - that mixtape really runs the spectrum of genres, from full on Detroit techno like this to Eccojams-esque disco cuts - Lopatin & Ford even give Enya the vaporwave treatment on it at one point! It sounds absolutely gorgeous on there - it plays back a little slower which really makes it sound more techno, and as a bonus the cassette tape gives it a great lo-fi edge, even distorting some of the synths.
But I think my heart has to belong to the real deal release one, the whole album it's from The Living Key (To Images From Above) is great but Burujha remains my absolute favourite, and like Last Tribute above makes for a fantastically fitting album closer. Burujha also catches me off guard on the regular, as there's 30 seconds of silence at the end before a little untitled hidden track starts.
And lastly, Soichi Terada. One of the ones I had in mind when I started writing and annoyingly one of the only ones readily available for streaming not from YT. You (and I) are probably more familiar with Terada's Drum & Bass work - I've talked about it a fair few times in the past here, his work on the Ape Escape 1 & 3 soundtracks is incredible - really playful, often lush and surprisingly heavy for what it's soundtracking! Terada actually got his start making House music in the late 80's and early 90's, producing tracks like Sunshower in '89 that could have easily gone here.
The track I've picked out though is a slightly reworked version of Purple Haze - one of Terada's early solo productions. The original is a little rough 'round the edges, charmingly so with those MIDI Piano stabs leading us in. I'm a little on the fence about the Hendrix sample however, while I do like it I have to say I much prefer the (Edit) that doesn't have it - that said, I'm also sure a big reason for this edit was to avoid having the rights holders coming knocking. The edit is overall much cleaner sounding too as a result of that and some little production tweaks here and there, which I think suits it better in the end - I absolutely adore those lush backing synths that seem to have been designed to directly target the part of me that loves that sound. Only complaints I have is that I would maybe like some build up to the main body of the track as you might expect from a Deep House cut, but I can't deny that I love that this one is all action as soon as you hit play.
And that'll about do it for this time, a shame I couldn't find more actual music streams but at least they're all from official sources. Speaking of, I can't do a deep house post without a least giving honourable mention to Marshall Jefferson's Mushrooms - specifically the Salt City Orchestra Remix, a frequent appearance on my more hi-tech sounding playlists, Mushrooms also has the unique twist of the spoken word storytelling guiding you through the experience. That'll do it for this one, I'll stop myself there because I could go on and on! And of course: As always - Stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
Laurent Garnier to start out - one of those names again that always came up in the circles I frequent but I never really investigated in much detail. Still, even then he's managed to have several tracks come on my radar, and one that instantly came to mind when I was thinking about this post was Last Tribute From The 20th Century - suitably, the closer from 2000's Unreasonable Behaviour. As the name would suggest, much like Daft Punk's Teachers, this is a love letter to Garnier's influences - as the track itself says: "New York, Detroit and Chicago".
It's one of those tracks that gripped me from the get-go, as you all know by now, I'm a sucker for that kinda sweeping smooth sound. The whole thing has a tinge of melancholy to it, but that's easy to overlook when you slip into the groove of that bassline - I appreciate the little flourishes here and there that are evocative of Frankie Knuckles and company too. Last Tribute is definitely one of the highlights from the album and has more than earned its place here.
Admittedly this one is more straight up Detroit Techno than Deep House, but I think it still fits the bill. Burujha is a lovely and melodic cut - nice and bouncy but carrying that slight melancholy mentioned before. This is actually the track that made me sit up and pay attention to Octave One after hearing it on the Games' eclectic 'Spend The Night With' mixtape (where it's actually incorrectly listed as the title track from the 'Art And Soul' EP that it's from) - that mixtape really runs the spectrum of genres, from full on Detroit techno like this to Eccojams-esque disco cuts - Lopatin & Ford even give Enya the vaporwave treatment on it at one point! It sounds absolutely gorgeous on there - it plays back a little slower which really makes it sound more techno, and as a bonus the cassette tape gives it a great lo-fi edge, even distorting some of the synths.
But I think my heart has to belong to the real deal release one, the whole album it's from The Living Key (To Images From Above) is great but Burujha remains my absolute favourite, and like Last Tribute above makes for a fantastically fitting album closer. Burujha also catches me off guard on the regular, as there's 30 seconds of silence at the end before a little untitled hidden track starts.
And lastly, Soichi Terada. One of the ones I had in mind when I started writing and annoyingly one of the only ones readily available for streaming not from YT. You (and I) are probably more familiar with Terada's Drum & Bass work - I've talked about it a fair few times in the past here, his work on the Ape Escape 1 & 3 soundtracks is incredible - really playful, often lush and surprisingly heavy for what it's soundtracking! Terada actually got his start making House music in the late 80's and early 90's, producing tracks like Sunshower in '89 that could have easily gone here.
The track I've picked out though is a slightly reworked version of Purple Haze - one of Terada's early solo productions. The original is a little rough 'round the edges, charmingly so with those MIDI Piano stabs leading us in. I'm a little on the fence about the Hendrix sample however, while I do like it I have to say I much prefer the (Edit) that doesn't have it - that said, I'm also sure a big reason for this edit was to avoid having the rights holders coming knocking. The edit is overall much cleaner sounding too as a result of that and some little production tweaks here and there, which I think suits it better in the end - I absolutely adore those lush backing synths that seem to have been designed to directly target the part of me that loves that sound. Only complaints I have is that I would maybe like some build up to the main body of the track as you might expect from a Deep House cut, but I can't deny that I love that this one is all action as soon as you hit play.
And that'll about do it for this time, a shame I couldn't find more actual music streams but at least they're all from official sources. Speaking of, I can't do a deep house post without a least giving honourable mention to Marshall Jefferson's Mushrooms - specifically the Salt City Orchestra Remix, a frequent appearance on my more hi-tech sounding playlists, Mushrooms also has the unique twist of the spoken word storytelling guiding you through the experience. That'll do it for this one, I'll stop myself there because I could go on and on! And of course: As always - Stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
Saturday, 6 March 2021
What I Got (on Bandcamp Friday)
Not gonna lie, Bandcamp Friday kinda sorta snuck up on me this time, gears are turning when it comes to IRL stuff is the excuse I'll use this time though. Still, I managed to come up with a plan for what I was gonna scoop - and then in true BC Friday tradition for me, ended up with an almost different set of things. This time might be the most varied yet, so let's get into it.
Rodolfo Arico - Struttura (1967)
Swayzak leading the charge, not all of their releases are available on their BC, and some of them have different covers for some reason too, but that's not why I was there. Tale as old as time for me, I'd scooped some compilations and noticed Swayzak appearing more and more on them so decided to check them out based on that - and as I so often do in cases like that, I go back and check out their debuts. Their appearances I had heard on the compilations was from their later poppier days and by contrast their first album is back-to-back slightly minimal techy deep house stuff.
There was a time not too long ago where I was really looking for more Deep House stuff for my collection, it's a genre I've found I can be quite picky with - Snowboarding In Argentina would have been perfect around that time as Swayzak's work on here is supremely up my alley. Speedboat opens with waves of synth that are directly evocative of Omni Trio's Sanctuary - and from there it's off to the races as more and more layers get added, and it's not long before you find yourself in a toe-tapping groove. The tracks on Snowboarding are really long as a rule, with the shortest one clocking in a 7:30 - which is both a blessing and a curse, sometimes you get super into the flow and it doesn't feel that long but other times I get 3/4 mins in and am reaching for the skip. Still, I've actually listened to this album quite a bit as it makes for good 'round-the-house music for working, and after spending a lot of time with it I'm more than happy to have it added in my collection. It's also another one of those releases that makes a slight hypocrite of me, for all my banging on about how much I don't care for minimal I sure seem to end up talking about tracks that fall under that label a lot!
HEALTH next - I was also feeling like something along the lines of DEATH MAGIC so their follow up was a natural choice. It's not as out and out brutal as DEATH MAGIC I don't think, but that's not really a criticism - though I was surprised by the acoustic and delicate DECIMATION as the outro track I think it works really well - the almost lo-fi trip hop twins really well with Jake Duzsik's vocals. On VOL. 4 HEALTH's twinning of Noise rock and Electronic continues - with STRANGE DAYS coming out with those electro-house style handclaps giving way to the machine-gun thumping at around 40 seconds in. I need to spend a bit more time with it to nail down my favourite tracks (Apart from FEEL NOTHING, which I've already posted!), but I am excited to see HEALTH continue with this type of sound, this time erring on a more Industrial side, it's pretty unique and I think they do it really well.
It's a little bleaker than DEATH MAGIC too, both sonically and lyrically, often to great juxtaposition: title track SLAVES OF FEAR building up to a thundering 4/4 backed with lines like "Slaves of fear / 'til we're dead in the ground". Tracks like GOD BOTHERER may summarise the album better, but I can't stop repeating STRANGE DAYS at the minute.
And finally, to do a complete 180 in terms of sound - more from Hiroshi Yoshimura. One of the re-issues from Light In The Attic, one of the labels putting a ton of work in to make vintage Japanese releases way more accessible. If you are into Ambient at all I can't recommend Yoshimura's work enough, and if you've never really given the genre much attention his works are a solid introduction.
1982's Music For Nine Post Cards is a great entry point for both - a compact and cosy package that in true ambient fashion is at home in the background or actively being listened to. Yoshimura's work here is much more melodic than a lot of Ambient out there - far from the sparse Piano flourishes of Brian Eno's Ambient 1 or even the roomy aquatic ambience of his alter 1986 album Soundscape 1: Surround.
And part of that is because none of these tracks are especially long, these aren't hour long soundscapes or anything, the longest tracks top out at around 6 minutes, practically bite-size in the Ambient world. This length makes the tracks really accessible but also means that they don't wear out their welcome, if you're listening to this album front-to-back, the individual pieces slide into one another almost effortlessly. Blink may be my favourite example of this, as it could very easily be a short ambient interlude on an electronic album - but the main melody is taken and played around with over the 4-ish minutes in all kinds of ways, my favourite is the little delay that gets introduced at the very end which is just a masterful touch. The end result doesn't really sound like your typical 'Ambient' archetype, sounding more like those little jam sessions Röyksopp used to put out from time to time, and for that I love it.
So wraps up this edition of my Bandcamp Friday scoops - this month's potentially the most varied so far. Like I mentioned at the top, things are starting to move again so expect perhaps slightly longer gaps between posts from now on, I managed to buy myself some time with some scheduled posts but they're all up by now. On the plus side too we are down to ~1000 posts left to publish from the archives as well so I'm pretty proud of that. I'll try swing back in a couple days with more for you, but until then: Stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
Swayzak leading the charge, not all of their releases are available on their BC, and some of them have different covers for some reason too, but that's not why I was there. Tale as old as time for me, I'd scooped some compilations and noticed Swayzak appearing more and more on them so decided to check them out based on that - and as I so often do in cases like that, I go back and check out their debuts. Their appearances I had heard on the compilations was from their later poppier days and by contrast their first album is back-to-back slightly minimal techy deep house stuff.
There was a time not too long ago where I was really looking for more Deep House stuff for my collection, it's a genre I've found I can be quite picky with - Snowboarding In Argentina would have been perfect around that time as Swayzak's work on here is supremely up my alley. Speedboat opens with waves of synth that are directly evocative of Omni Trio's Sanctuary - and from there it's off to the races as more and more layers get added, and it's not long before you find yourself in a toe-tapping groove. The tracks on Snowboarding are really long as a rule, with the shortest one clocking in a 7:30 - which is both a blessing and a curse, sometimes you get super into the flow and it doesn't feel that long but other times I get 3/4 mins in and am reaching for the skip. Still, I've actually listened to this album quite a bit as it makes for good 'round-the-house music for working, and after spending a lot of time with it I'm more than happy to have it added in my collection. It's also another one of those releases that makes a slight hypocrite of me, for all my banging on about how much I don't care for minimal I sure seem to end up talking about tracks that fall under that label a lot!
HEALTH next - I was also feeling like something along the lines of DEATH MAGIC so their follow up was a natural choice. It's not as out and out brutal as DEATH MAGIC I don't think, but that's not really a criticism - though I was surprised by the acoustic and delicate DECIMATION as the outro track I think it works really well - the almost lo-fi trip hop twins really well with Jake Duzsik's vocals. On VOL. 4 HEALTH's twinning of Noise rock and Electronic continues - with STRANGE DAYS coming out with those electro-house style handclaps giving way to the machine-gun thumping at around 40 seconds in. I need to spend a bit more time with it to nail down my favourite tracks (Apart from FEEL NOTHING, which I've already posted!), but I am excited to see HEALTH continue with this type of sound, this time erring on a more Industrial side, it's pretty unique and I think they do it really well.
It's a little bleaker than DEATH MAGIC too, both sonically and lyrically, often to great juxtaposition: title track SLAVES OF FEAR building up to a thundering 4/4 backed with lines like "Slaves of fear / 'til we're dead in the ground". Tracks like GOD BOTHERER may summarise the album better, but I can't stop repeating STRANGE DAYS at the minute.
And finally, to do a complete 180 in terms of sound - more from Hiroshi Yoshimura. One of the re-issues from Light In The Attic, one of the labels putting a ton of work in to make vintage Japanese releases way more accessible. If you are into Ambient at all I can't recommend Yoshimura's work enough, and if you've never really given the genre much attention his works are a solid introduction.
1982's Music For Nine Post Cards is a great entry point for both - a compact and cosy package that in true ambient fashion is at home in the background or actively being listened to. Yoshimura's work here is much more melodic than a lot of Ambient out there - far from the sparse Piano flourishes of Brian Eno's Ambient 1 or even the roomy aquatic ambience of his alter 1986 album Soundscape 1: Surround.
And part of that is because none of these tracks are especially long, these aren't hour long soundscapes or anything, the longest tracks top out at around 6 minutes, practically bite-size in the Ambient world. This length makes the tracks really accessible but also means that they don't wear out their welcome, if you're listening to this album front-to-back, the individual pieces slide into one another almost effortlessly. Blink may be my favourite example of this, as it could very easily be a short ambient interlude on an electronic album - but the main melody is taken and played around with over the 4-ish minutes in all kinds of ways, my favourite is the little delay that gets introduced at the very end which is just a masterful touch. The end result doesn't really sound like your typical 'Ambient' archetype, sounding more like those little jam sessions Röyksopp used to put out from time to time, and for that I love it.
So wraps up this edition of my Bandcamp Friday scoops - this month's potentially the most varied so far. Like I mentioned at the top, things are starting to move again so expect perhaps slightly longer gaps between posts from now on, I managed to buy myself some time with some scheduled posts but they're all up by now. On the plus side too we are down to ~1000 posts left to publish from the archives as well so I'm pretty proud of that. I'll try swing back in a couple days with more for you, but until then: Stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
Wednesday, 3 March 2021
Unheard
My Warp revisit continues - when I was first taking my deep dive into Warp's backcatalogue it was a great time as they were doing a year long celebration thing that meant re-issues of classic albums in double pack format were really easy to come by, in this futursitic if a bit clincal grey packaging. Alongise that were three compilations, much like the Warp10 ones but a bit different in practice.
The three are subtitled (Chosen), (Unheard) and (Recreated) respectively. And the titles pretty much give it all away - (Chosen) is community and Warp selected picks from their archives, (Recreated) is covers of classic Warp tracks by other Warp artists and (Unheard) is previously unreleased stuff. And it's this compilation in particular that I'll be talking about today.
The compilation is real good, but there's no denying that there are some deliberately chosen standout tracks on there. Case in point, it opens with the simply divine Seven Forty Seven from Boards Of Canada. If you've ever gone on a trip into the BoC fandom, you will know that there is a mountain of unreleased material from them - from snippets of tracks played only at live shows to early fragments of demos from cassette tapes and Seven Forty Seven is actually a slightly revised version of a track originally 'called' Audiotrack 6A from the 'Random 35 Tracks' tape.
The original is hauntingly beautiful in it's own right - the tape hiss and other cassette artifacts only playing into that fuzzy nostalgia that BoC do so well, though the beat sounds a little out of place, it very clearly signposts the sound that they were heading towards come their actual releases. And that makes Seven Forty Seven so interesting, it's the BoC boys revisiting a decades old sample and putting together a more refined version of their vision that more easily comes with all that extra experience. The track itself would have fit right in on The Campfire Headphase but it's perhaps even older than that, as snippets of this could be heard on the really old Boardsofcanada.com flash (RIP) website back in the day. Over time the song grows into a cacophony of various sounds, but it manages to not feel overwhelming in doing so. It's not my favourite BoC sound, but it's certainly one of their finest hours and an incredible demonstration of their aesthetic approach.
Autechre next - as I've said before their earlier work circa Incunabula and Amber are my favourites, and this compilation was a treat in that sense. Scratching an itch that wouldn't be hit again until they released the Warp Tapes 89-93 as a freebie a couple of years ago now is Oval Moon. Far removed from their genre bending trips into electronic that they are known for these days, their early pieces are very much befitting of that 'Listening Electronic' idea that Warp was pitching around the early 90's, a sort of ambient techno that's often infused with a high-tech melodic edge.
I have plenty of favourites from that era - from Richie Hawtin's work as F.U.S.E. on Dimension Intrusion to the decidedly Sci-Fi Electro-Soma from B12, to Autechre themselves, but I think if I had to pick one song that defined most of the elements of that style it would be Oval Moon - it's maybe a smidge repetitive to be the perfect example IMO, but that could easily be because this is a previously unreleased track, perhaps even a demo. Despite that I'd still consider it a solid example: all of the sounds are there and the little techy flourishes sprinkled throughout are an absolute delight, really capturing the spirit of that series. If you like this as much as I, absolutely seek out those Warp Tapes 89-93 I mentioned earlier (they were free from Autechre's store way back when but I don't know if that's still the case...) - it's essentially two continuous hours of early Autechre jams like this one.
And finally, Sixty Forty, Broadcast's cover of Nico. This one's another case like BoC where the (Unheard) tag isn't 100% true - they had performed Sixty Forty a few times, maybe at some live shows but absolutely on one of their many Peel Sessions (I know this because I have a recording of one!). Still, as with the BoC track it's nice to have a studio version at least and not a radio rip of it - though like Seven Forty Seven the lo-fidelity recording suits the skeletal electronics that Broadcast were playing with around the Tender Buttons era (though the Peel Session recording is actually from a few years before). There are other unreleased Broadcast tracks I would have loved to hear proper versions of if they exist - Forget Every Time from another Peel Session being one of them. The surviving Broadcast member James Cargill has put quite a few demos and other Broadcast miscellany on Soundcloud in recent years, so it's a possibility at the very least.
But that's veering off topic - I love Sixty Forty, but it being a cover leads to many, many pretentious arses whinging about it 'ruining' it. It's a different sound for Broadcast, the electronics are very much like what they would go on to use in Tender Buttons, especially on the title track of the same name - but the slow build up of layers and layers of sound on top of that as the song progresses is something new for them, and one that's done really well here. Trish's vocal is great too, (though that is something that also draws out the cover comparisons) perhaps not the best demonstration of her flexibility but very much in line with that stoic delivery that was present in certain tracks of Tender Buttons, a sound that suits that stripped back approach oh so well too. There is a bit of bias there as I have said many times that Trish is one of my favourite vocalists ever, there are definitely other Broadcast tracks where she shines brighter - but I love the bittersweet Sixty Forty all the same.
That'll do it for today, I could go on and on about these compilations but I'll refrain for now. Do check out the others if you're interested - (Chosen) is a solid rundown of the best bits of Warp and (Recreated) has some astounding covers on it to boot - my favourites being the ambient Piano inversion of Aphex Twin's Vordhosbn from Leila and the intense breakcore styled rework of Milanese's So Malleable by Clark. But I'll hold onto those for a rainy day sometime.
And as always - Stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
The three are subtitled (Chosen), (Unheard) and (Recreated) respectively. And the titles pretty much give it all away - (Chosen) is community and Warp selected picks from their archives, (Recreated) is covers of classic Warp tracks by other Warp artists and (Unheard) is previously unreleased stuff. And it's this compilation in particular that I'll be talking about today.
The compilation is real good, but there's no denying that there are some deliberately chosen standout tracks on there. Case in point, it opens with the simply divine Seven Forty Seven from Boards Of Canada. If you've ever gone on a trip into the BoC fandom, you will know that there is a mountain of unreleased material from them - from snippets of tracks played only at live shows to early fragments of demos from cassette tapes and Seven Forty Seven is actually a slightly revised version of a track originally 'called' Audiotrack 6A from the 'Random 35 Tracks' tape.
The original is hauntingly beautiful in it's own right - the tape hiss and other cassette artifacts only playing into that fuzzy nostalgia that BoC do so well, though the beat sounds a little out of place, it very clearly signposts the sound that they were heading towards come their actual releases. And that makes Seven Forty Seven so interesting, it's the BoC boys revisiting a decades old sample and putting together a more refined version of their vision that more easily comes with all that extra experience. The track itself would have fit right in on The Campfire Headphase but it's perhaps even older than that, as snippets of this could be heard on the really old Boardsofcanada.com flash (RIP) website back in the day. Over time the song grows into a cacophony of various sounds, but it manages to not feel overwhelming in doing so. It's not my favourite BoC sound, but it's certainly one of their finest hours and an incredible demonstration of their aesthetic approach.
Autechre next - as I've said before their earlier work circa Incunabula and Amber are my favourites, and this compilation was a treat in that sense. Scratching an itch that wouldn't be hit again until they released the Warp Tapes 89-93 as a freebie a couple of years ago now is Oval Moon. Far removed from their genre bending trips into electronic that they are known for these days, their early pieces are very much befitting of that 'Listening Electronic' idea that Warp was pitching around the early 90's, a sort of ambient techno that's often infused with a high-tech melodic edge.
I have plenty of favourites from that era - from Richie Hawtin's work as F.U.S.E. on Dimension Intrusion to the decidedly Sci-Fi Electro-Soma from B12, to Autechre themselves, but I think if I had to pick one song that defined most of the elements of that style it would be Oval Moon - it's maybe a smidge repetitive to be the perfect example IMO, but that could easily be because this is a previously unreleased track, perhaps even a demo. Despite that I'd still consider it a solid example: all of the sounds are there and the little techy flourishes sprinkled throughout are an absolute delight, really capturing the spirit of that series. If you like this as much as I, absolutely seek out those Warp Tapes 89-93 I mentioned earlier (they were free from Autechre's store way back when but I don't know if that's still the case...) - it's essentially two continuous hours of early Autechre jams like this one.
And finally, Sixty Forty, Broadcast's cover of Nico. This one's another case like BoC where the (Unheard) tag isn't 100% true - they had performed Sixty Forty a few times, maybe at some live shows but absolutely on one of their many Peel Sessions (I know this because I have a recording of one!). Still, as with the BoC track it's nice to have a studio version at least and not a radio rip of it - though like Seven Forty Seven the lo-fidelity recording suits the skeletal electronics that Broadcast were playing with around the Tender Buttons era (though the Peel Session recording is actually from a few years before). There are other unreleased Broadcast tracks I would have loved to hear proper versions of if they exist - Forget Every Time from another Peel Session being one of them. The surviving Broadcast member James Cargill has put quite a few demos and other Broadcast miscellany on Soundcloud in recent years, so it's a possibility at the very least.
But that's veering off topic - I love Sixty Forty, but it being a cover leads to many, many pretentious arses whinging about it 'ruining' it. It's a different sound for Broadcast, the electronics are very much like what they would go on to use in Tender Buttons, especially on the title track of the same name - but the slow build up of layers and layers of sound on top of that as the song progresses is something new for them, and one that's done really well here. Trish's vocal is great too, (though that is something that also draws out the cover comparisons) perhaps not the best demonstration of her flexibility but very much in line with that stoic delivery that was present in certain tracks of Tender Buttons, a sound that suits that stripped back approach oh so well too. There is a bit of bias there as I have said many times that Trish is one of my favourite vocalists ever, there are definitely other Broadcast tracks where she shines brighter - but I love the bittersweet Sixty Forty all the same.
That'll do it for today, I could go on and on about these compilations but I'll refrain for now. Do check out the others if you're interested - (Chosen) is a solid rundown of the best bits of Warp and (Recreated) has some astounding covers on it to boot - my favourites being the ambient Piano inversion of Aphex Twin's Vordhosbn from Leila and the intense breakcore styled rework of Milanese's So Malleable by Clark. But I'll hold onto those for a rainy day sometime.
And as always - Stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
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