B12 - "Time Tourist" (Warp CD37)
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VOID/Comm / Infinite Lites (Primitives Mix) / Cymetry / Gimp / DB5 /
Phettt / Epilion / Scriptures / The Silicon Garden (Flymocut) /
Radiophonic Workshop
"Time Tourist" is set in the future. On Earth, yes (London in fact), but
in the future. The year's 2166 and we're talking hi-tech, virtual
reality, big brother, sprawling, hi-rise conurbations etc., etc.. HuMan
is one of the few remaining species still able to survive on the
polluted and over-populated planet. Part of the London Underground is a
museum (the rest is where London's homeless thousands sleep at night)
and it's the only place where you can now find a double-decker bus or a
black cab. London Transport has been using beat-in, air-born
transporters for the last 60 years. "Time Tourist" is the aural
equivalent of "Blade Runner."
Quite why certain people have greeted this release with only muted
enthusiasm is beyond me. And the suggestion that there's been little or
no progression since "Electro Soma" is unfounded. "Time Tourist" is an
infinitely more accomplished work. The sound is ultra smooth - so smooth
it's almost unbelievable. But there's more to the music than skin-deep,
polished veneer. Underneath the surface there lies glorious, surging
power (the power of the British Republic's one hundred-odd C22
NucleoFusion power stations). Power that's been harnessed and
manipulated with precision. "Time Tourist" is quite simply some of the
finest techno I have ever heard. Science fiction for your ears - this
music feeds your imagination.
Out now.
Disjecta - "Clean Pit And Lid" (Warp CD41)
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Gammi / Conviction Hic / Kracht / Cheekchops / Pit / Smokehead / Are You
An Echo ? / Sudden Squeeze / Is That Really It ? / Timorous Bitster
"Clean Pit And Lid" is the debut solo album from Mark Clifford of
Seefeel and follows on from last years "Looking For Snags" e.p. (which
to my mind wasn't far short of an album in itself). The sound on this
latest release is not markedly different from what we've heard before.
Notably absent though is the frantic, jungle-esque percussion which
characterised "Looking For Snags." This record presents us with another
helping of cold, moody and percussive ambience to chill our souls. It's
been said before and I'll say it again: Mark Clifford likes Aphex Twin
and it shows. Which to me, and most other people who might consider
forking out 12-odd quid for this record, is no bad thing. Remember,
Seefeel this aint. Minimalism is the word and it's been taken to heart.
"Conviction Hic" is a favourite for me here. It's like riding on the
merry-go-round of a haunted fair: dark, late at night, the horses
revolve sluggishly about the organ in the centre, and the music
emanating forth is eerily slow - a chilling but gripping experience. The
hard, driving percussion of aptly-named "Kracht" breaks the spell and
brings the listener back to Earth. Next up is "Cheekchops" and Mark
Clifford is a cheeky-chops for pinching Aphex Twin's "Donkey Rhubarb"
steel drums. But the track as a whole is quite different from its
predecessor and after several listens finds a niche in my mind all of
its own. "Pit" (an incongruous name for the delicate, understated
ambience it describes) is gorgeous, but the best is yet to come. "Is
That Really It ?" is a glorious, evocative ballad to place alongside Kid
Spatula's "Cough." Strings wash in and out with the breeze and
intertwine inextricably with the soft, brassy tones of horns and
trumpets. A faint heart-beat filters through from beneath, lingers for a
while, and then fades imperceptible before the close, allowing "Timorous
Bitster" to draw "Clean Pit And Lid" to a perfectly timid end.
Released 15 April, 1996.
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s e n d c d s f o r r e v i e w t o :
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||||\\ //|||| ___ //////////////////////
|||| \\// |||| ||// \\ /////
|||| |||| |||. ____ ///// Paul Jarvis,
\\\\\ ///// John Innes Centre,
\\\\\ ///// Norwich Research Park,
jarvisr@bbsrc.ac.uk \\\\\// Colney, Norwich NR4 7UH,
England, United Kingdom.
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