dB Magazine - issue #238 29 Nov - 12 Dec 2000
Tim Koch
Please Don't Tell Me That's Your Volvo
Aural Industries
It's great to hear an artist who has an advanced sense of humour as well as
a gifted ear for sound and melody. 'Please Don't Tell Me That's Your Volvo'
is a collection of Koch's work from 1995 to the present day, and there are
plenty of crisp sounds and a delicate play with the serious culture of
electronic music production. The album begins with the 1995 / 6 track
Werdan which has a light and delightfully joyful air about it; but when the
second track Boybie Socks displays Tim Koch's advance in musical form in
1997 / 98 you will be hooked by the sounds this work has to offer. With a
complex beat and structure this track perfectly offsets its bubbly and
effervescent keyboard line. Tracks like this in the Koch collection remind
me of the sort of sounds that local artist Super Science has put together
over the past few years.
The first five tracks oscillate between these two periods in Tim Koch's
writing career and they demonstrate some fine moments in electronic
history. The mid - '90's gem Rzswing shows some complex modulation
reminiscent of LFO's work around the same period. And although it seems
unfair to compare every ambient electronic artist to the Aphex Twin,
Sudafed x2 shows some amazing ability with beats that are comparable with
the Twin's 'Analog Bubblebath', but combines these hard and perfectly
executed rhythms with a beautiful and melodic overlay.
However it is the comic inspiration of the energetic and dance friendly
Lull to the happy and saccharine charm of the inappropriately names Tsunami
Bros.ii [ this being the Barry Handler mix of the earlier version in '98).
Whilst conversely Meat Lovers Interlude and the recent My_Document are
weird and bizarre in their lack of any sort of track structure. The sublime
and captivating conclusion to the album includes the inspirationally
ambient symphonics of Binoce and Themaxa. The only other track circa 2000
is the interesting Obatem by Night, full of dark and conflicting sounds it
seems to reflect many of the themes of My_Document. But for me the
highlights of the album are the cute and bewildering I Split My Etnies [ if
you know what that's about please e-mail me ] and the superlative The
Generalist, complete with its growling animal sounds and dolphin samples.
Throughout Tim Koch's latest release you will find plenty to keep you
entertained and enthused about the potential of electronic art.
Anthony Paxton
3D World - issue #530 - 27 Nov 1 Dec 2000
PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THAT'S YOUR VOLVO
TIM KOCH
(Aural Industries)
4 out of 5 stars
Tim Koch's first release was under the guise Thug. With a definite Warp
ring to it there was no question as to where his musical influences lay,
maybe a little too obvious some might say. 'Please Don't Tell Me That's
Your Volvo' picks up where 'Isolated Rhythm Clock' left off, in that Warp
bleepy, video game feel. While the first album contained many slow emotive
pieces '...Volvo' has taken a more light hearted approach with many of the
tracks. Best described as cartoon like nursery rhythms taking a breakbeat
turn from time to time. Similar to Cylob in some cases (although not as
psychotic). Tim obviously spends a lot of time tweaking his box of tricks
as the album is full of crispy carrot fresh electronic noises expertly
layered and pieced together. He has also experimented in a few areas
producing some beautifully distorted, crushed and mashed tracks. While the
first album could of easily been the soundtrack to any number of video
games on the market this one has a more animated cartoon feel. The
soundtrack for those Tele-Tubies mornings?
Anton Borsch
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