After three months lurking, my first contribution to the list...
I made it to Glastonbury too...am just getting over a heavy cold which
came from getting myself and all my gear soaking wet on the first day
and never getting a chance to dry off properly...have made a mental
note not to wear waterproof trousers whilst dancing in future...thick
mud meant I couldn't get them off, so they acted like drainpipes,
funnelling my own perspiration into my wellingtons like some kind of
desert survival technique for water collection...
Saw Aphex Twin play and found his set enjoyable but mildly frustrating
- it seemed to be a bit pick 'n' mix style, one track from each album,
with no new tunes and little variation on the album versions - the
crowd was keen to get down to some of his harder stuff, but he seemed
intent on giving us as many symphonic tracks as danceable ones, and
when he played "Inkeys" from the Girl/Boy EP, he kept teasing us with
short bursts of stuttering beats...head down at the back of the stage,
shrouded in military poncho, Aphex didn't look at the crowd once, and
none of his eccentric musical gear was on display, although a whole
team of people behind him were busy mixing the hell out of something
or other. The guys in the fluorescent bear suits provided some
entertainment, as they staggered and rolled round the stage.
I also saw Speedy J play - most tracks were from Public Energy #1 and
went down well with the crowd. At the start of his set he played a
short burst of music that sounded incredible - a weird series of tones
that seemed to penetrate your head.
The Orb had played exactly the same thing at the start of their gig
the night before, and it went down a treat then too - if anyone was
there and recognises the music I'm on about, I'd be grateful if you
could let me know what the track was. Unfortunately, one of my friends
attending the Orb gig in a chemically enhanced state felt queasy so I
had to leave with him and missed the rest of their set - we headed off
back to the tent and I dried my soaked mud-encrusted clothes by the
campfire to the distant pantomime rave sounds of the Prodigy - poor
old Maximum Reality tried swearing constantly and throwing tantrums
during lame tracks in an attempt to work the crowd up, then there was
20 minutes of silence and impromptu comedy owing to an electrical
fault, followed by a half-hearted continuation of their set.
I can't work out why Squarepusher and T-Power were given such early
morning slots (11.15am for Squarepusher), but either way I missed both
gigs. The mud slowed down everything, and meant that you had to
_really_ want to see a band before setting off to face the trenches...
Moving on...given the fact that I spend 90% of my income on music and
am sick of buying 9 turkeys for every decent track, ( being
adventurous costs, especially here in Cologne where there are no
listening booths, no refund/exchange policies for dud purchases, and
CDs ain't exactly cheap either ) it'd be good to see a few more
single/album reviews amongst the postings - looking back at the IDM
archives, it seems that there used to be more of these posted than at
present...I'll post a few myself if I ever buy anything worth
recommending :- )
Lastly, is there anyone else on the list (other than the Black Dog
gentleman) who makes IDM themselves ? I ask because I think that for
better or worse, this definitely changes your perception of a lot of
music that's around now - I'd be interested to hear your view.
James
now playing - Future 3 , "We Are The Future"