IDM Mailing Archive

I was most impressed with the Vapourspace and Juno Reactor videos on last week's Amp. Is the rest of their stuff similar? Also, what CJ Bolland CDs besides "The Analogue Theatre" are good? Thanks, Adam

On 6 Mar 1997 18:09 -0500 (-1000), Adam Bender wrote to me:

quoted 3 lines I was most impressed with the Vapourspace and Juno Reactor videos

> I was most impressed with the Vapourspace and Juno Reactor videos > on last week's Amp. Is the rest of their stuff similar? > Also, what CJ Bolland CDs besides "The Analogue Theatre" are good?

Of CJ Bolland's three albums, I found "The Analogue Theatre" to be his weakest. "The 4th Sign" was Bolland's debut, a very fast and hard record mastering breakbeats and zippy 4/4 techno to beautiful proportions. His followup, "The Electronic Highway" (a collection of unreleased and rare material) is a little more intelligent in it's construction, fumbling around in more speedy breaks, with a beautiful excursion in drum'n bass as well. It's got its flaws (the album was put together quite hastily in an attempt to complete his contract with R&S, and get the hell out) but tracks like "The Tower of Naphtali" and such are really beautiful. Both are worth tracking down. One other note, I found the production (with the exception of "Obsidion") on The Analogue Theatre to be quite bland and muddled. His previous albums were sharp as a needle, and it struck me with curiosity, just what happened? onnow: v/a "mysteries of creation" (axiom) Lame Thread Prevention in Effect: Aaron Michelson --------------------------------------------------------------------- aw-teck'r (autechre) "Everything you Know is Wrong" For reviews, interviews, art & trash http://www.on-it.net/~aaron/ aaron@defiant.on-it.net

The Analogue Theatre is *not* good. I found it disappointingly typical, with simplistic repetitive beats, out-of-the-can samples, cheap synths. I expected so much more because Sugar is Sweeter seemed refreshingly different at the time. I don't even like that one anymore because it sounds just like Firestarter now. CJ Bolland has a "DJ Kicks" mix cd which might be good because it's mostly not his own music. Speaking of Firestarter, the Villiage Voice has a review of U2's Pop this week. They call it "Where the Chords have no Change", and, even better, "The Unforgettable Firestarter". Ha! -Chris Fahey

quoted 15 lines -----Original Message-----

> -----Original Message----- > From: idm-owner@hyperreal.com [SMTP:idm-owner@hyperreal.com] On Behalf > Of Adam Bender > Sent: Thursday, March 06, 1997 6:09 PM > To: idm@hyperreal.com > Subject: (idm) Vapourspace, Juno Reactor > > > I was most impressed with the Vapourspace and Juno Reactor videos > on last week's Amp. Is the rest of their stuff similar? > Also, what CJ Bolland CDs besides "The Analogue Theatre" are good? > > Thanks, > > Adam

quoted 3 lines I was most impressed with the Vapourspace and Juno Reactor videos

> > I was most impressed with the Vapourspace and Juno Reactor videos > > on last week's Amp. Is the rest of their stuff similar? > > Also, what CJ Bolland CDs besides "The Analogue Theatre" are good?

Seems the Juno Reactor and CJ Bolland questions have been answered, so to the Vapourspace... Vapourspace was/is Mark Gage who also has recorded under other names, one of which is Cusp another of which, I believe, may have been Microset Morning (?). A contentious quote of times past from the NME ran "Mark Gage is the American equivalent of the Aphex Twin" (NOT my words). "Themes from Vapourspace" was a well reviewed album that spawned a dance floor hit with 'Gravitational Arch of 10'. Cusp was a slightly more dance floor obtuse project which released some fine 12 inches on Probe. I do recall seeing some more recent Mark Gage releases than these (possibly the video you saw?) but being completely honest, though I still enjoy the stuff of his I've bought in the past, I kinda lost interest in tracking his current stuff down... Maybe someone could let me know if I missed anything that I shouldn't have? Rubyjune.