I think it's best to start with some history. Nobody on the list has yet
mentioned coming to idm via the orb, which I am sure was the case for
many North Americans. 1991 saw Little Fluffy Clouds on the radio and the
KLF on the radio and Much Music in Canada.
But instead of going from the Orb to the Artificial Intelligence series,
that lag--there was about 1 and a half years--had to be filled with
something. It was of course, more Orb, the Ambient Dub series (on
Beyond?), and anything produced by Andrew Weatherall.
Although Steve (kung.funk) is on a pogrom maligning anything not directly
attached to drum'n'bass, those original singles by Banco de Gaia, the
Higher Intelligence Agency, Biosphere and so on were what turned me onto
idm. I still find them more satisfying than most of the idm output of the
last 12 months.
Which brings me to the Boards of Canada. They know their history. It's
hidden in bits and pieces. First of all, the samples. Just meaningless
bits of nothingness, spliced here and there. No politics, just something
that sounds cool. The beats. Laid back, always. Sort of like Autechre
discovered cool jazz. In the end you need melody, and these boys got it.
Drum-n-bass doesn't. At least the experimental stuff doesn't. There is
the occasional song--4 by Aphew Twin and Mushroom Compost by mu-ziq that
slips in--but otherwise it's just beats. On the BoC 7", that harsh noise
on chinook just has to be a homage to Kraftwerk's breathing noise on Tour
de France.
There's nothing new in Boards of Canada. But they've pulled what they
like--coincidentally what most of this list likes--and put it together
into the best down-tempo stuff I have heard this year.
Other recent pick-ups:
State of the Nu Art 2 -- Hit and miss. Couple great tracks, Digital
Truth, Marc Williams and Bedouin Ascent.
Derrick May -- Innovator. Not much to say. Buy it. See where techno came
from and how much people are still copying. (Is it labelled wrong? What I
thought was kaotic harmony 2.04 is labelled a relic mix.)
Small Fish with Spine -- Ultimate Sushi. Bought it at the Funkungfusion
show. Nice mix of funky beats and industrial crunch. A bridge between her
Neotropic album and the show.
Chill Out or Die IV. (1995) Rising High always had the touch. Still my
favorite record label. More chill than this April in Boston. How many
body parts would a Dreamfish album cost me? Was there one?
Weepy tunes thread seems to be over, but u-ziq's Sick Porter is what does
it to me. Also Beaumont Hannant's Sprint A87 Mug.
Idm spot: 4 by Aphew Twin was played as filler music on NPR's All Things
Considered. (A national news radio program for non-US types.
onnow: Flowchart - Flutterbye, Butterfly. Best pop song of the year.
Phil Downey