LFO. Advance. (Mark Bell, Ges Varley)
Warp Records LTD. WARPCD39P. CD
To Be Released. 29 Jan 1996
"The Aphex Twin releases everything, any old rubbish. We don't do that. We've
been working very hard," says Mark [Bell] without any trace of irony. " We've
been experimenting, collaborating and most of all learning."
DJ, No.129, 8-21 December 1994, pages 38-39
It has been nearly five years since LFO released their landmark debut album,
'Frequencies'. Since then, they have been almost silent. Mark Bell surfaced
as Speed Jack on R&S twice; together they have labored over some remixes and
compilation appearances. While the rumours of a new LFO album circulated, they
released a new single, 'Tied Up' as a taster of new material. Opinions burned
like incense as the new single did not sound familiar to most of those who had
waited. Gone was the bleepy electro of 1991's 'Frequencies', replaced by
relentless distortion and a heavy, almost industrial atmosphere. There was
certainly a whiff of the old days on 'Tied Up Electro', but most of those
waiting for a new 'Frequencies' outing felt betrayed. Those of us who liked
what we had heard, were left gasping for air. There could be no expectations
as no-one knew what to expect. And then, after another year -
The silence is broken.
'Advance' has a familiar scent. It reeks of progress and new ideas. Instead of
warming up old memories or getting caught in the popular music bandwagon, Mark
Bell and Ges Varley are composing music for themselves. Thorough in its
reworking of the LFO image, 'Advance' crystallizes in a pure graphic of
a fractal nature - diverse and extremely beautiful. The whole album complements
itself, building unique structures of sound. They have been learning, indeed.
I went a few years back to Helsinki just to see LFO live; I had to go through
several hours of agonizing ear torture, including The Prodigy, waiting for LFO
to give me what I had come there for. I was trembling almost ecstatically with
the plain rush of adrenaline when they finally begun their set just an
hour-and-a-half before the place was to be closed. I danced with my eyes closed
all through the set, smiling like an idiot. 'Advance' brought the memory back
as vivid as I had been there yesterday. This album is really what new
electronic music should be all about. Progress without pretentiousness.
--
Nuutti 'Gordon' Meriläinen. nmerilai@tsac.tampere.fi. Technostructuralist.
Tampere School of Art and Communications/Comms. dept./Multimedia production.
Please set your CC to gordon@sata.fi. Mail to my school tends to get lost.