From Philip Downey Sent Thu, Apr 30th 1998, 18:16
From Philip Downey Sent Thu, Apr 30th 1998, 18:16
I think it's best to start with some history. Nobody on the list has yet mentioned coming to idm via the orb, which I am sure was the case for many North Americans. 1991 saw Little Fluffy Clouds on the radio and the KLF on the radio and Much Music in Canada. But instead of going from the Orb to the Artificial Intelligence series, that lag--there was about 1 and a half years--had to be filled with something. It was of course, more Orb, the Ambient Dub series (on Beyond?), and anything produced by Andrew Weatherall. Although Steve (kung.funk) is on a pogrom maligning anything not directly attached to drum'n'bass, those original singles by Banco de Gaia, the Higher Intelligence Agency, Biosphere and so on were what turned me onto idm. I still find them more satisfying than most of the idm output of the last 12 months. Which brings me to the Boards of Canada. They know their history. It's hidden in bits and pieces. First of all, the samples. Just meaningless bits of nothingness, spliced here and there. No politics, just something that sounds cool. The beats. Laid back, always. Sort of like Autechre discovered cool jazz. In the end you need melody, and these boys got it. Drum-n-bass doesn't. At least the experimental stuff doesn't. There is the occasional song--4 by Aphew Twin and Mushroom Compost by mu-ziq that slips in--but otherwise it's just beats. On the BoC 7", that harsh noise on chinook just has to be a homage to Kraftwerk's breathing noise on Tour de France. There's nothing new in Boards of Canada. But they've pulled what they like--coincidentally what most of this list likes--and put it together into the best down-tempo stuff I have heard this year. Other recent pick-ups: State of the Nu Art 2 -- Hit and miss. Couple great tracks, Digital Truth, Marc Williams and Bedouin Ascent. Derrick May -- Innovator. Not much to say. Buy it. See where techno came from and how much people are still copying. (Is it labelled wrong? What I thought was kaotic harmony 2.04 is labelled a relic mix.) Small Fish with Spine -- Ultimate Sushi. Bought it at the Funkungfusion show. Nice mix of funky beats and industrial crunch. A bridge between her Neotropic album and the show. Chill Out or Die IV. (1995) Rising High always had the touch. Still my favorite record label. More chill than this April in Boston. How many body parts would a Dreamfish album cost me? Was there one? Weepy tunes thread seems to be over, but u-ziq's Sick Porter is what does it to me. Also Beaumont Hannant's Sprint A87 Mug. Idm spot: 4 by Aphew Twin was played as filler music on NPR's All Things Considered. (A national news radio program for non-US types. onnow: Flowchart - Flutterbye, Butterfly. Best pop song of the year. Phil Downey