I can't wait....
- Dan J.
Y : bibowski
Founder - BoC Forum
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/boardsofcanada
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Williamson" <georgewilliamson@btinternet.com>
To: <idm@hyperreal.org>
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2002 8:21 PM
Subject: [idm] Geogaddi first impressions
'lo Peeps,
Just back from the listening session and I thought that a short, track by
track review would be in order.
The actual preview was in a quite nice church which was very atmospheric,
unfortunately the acoustics weren't great and some definition was lost, but
you could ertainly hear what was going on.
Lots of small plastic turquoise hexagons were dotted around the place (I got
to take a few home, and will probably ebay them for millions of quid in a
few years...), and there was also a projected show of some kaleidoscope
pictures (mainly family snaps and countryside scenes mirrored and spun into
art similar to the cover).
This review is created after one listening of Geogaddi, the track numbers
are likely to be wrong due to the little intro bits probably being at the
end/start of other tracks.
Undoubtably the review will become painfully awful when the album actually
comes out, but I think I'll press on anyway.
Track 1: A nice intro rolls over you, like waves at the beach, seagulls
calling and noisy synths dominate, children laugh distantly, a typical BOC
minute long track
Track 2: Return to a grainy synth drone start, overlayed with a ghostly
synth melody and clicks, this continues pleasantly for a few recycles with
slightly different filters, soon a nice bass beat starts and drives the tune
along. Clicks sound somewhat like some of the Arovane/Autechre. Ends with
seaside murmuring
Track 3: Short distorted merry-go-round style crackly organs (as recorded
from a decayed tape) tune twinkling nicely for a short while.
Track 4: A somewhat harsh and scary track, autechre style coldness, mauled
childrens voices echo about. Bass beats with snaps, very natural, organic
sounding noises, culimnate in a hiphop style rhythm. Good track
Track 5: Synth intro with some nice reversed reverb samples, an nature video
reading about volcanos.
Track 6: This is track 4 from the ATP show, and is excellent, mumbling
voices singing along to a simple bass beat, with occasional reversals. Nice
sweeping synth drones, somewhat landscape like, slow but overwhelming.
Track 7: Like music from a seventies TV show, the bit where things get
serious. After being run through a lawnmower and dipped in acid...
Track 8: Classical mashed up woodwind synth sounds, with distant voices. A
violent snapping bass beat presides, somewhat rock like in tempo and style.
Track 9: Quack-Quack. Tweet-Tweet. Echoed Postgate/Firmin style musics,
flutish through a furry pipe.
Track 10: Somewhat retro space styled themes, almost tron like at first,
then shifts up to the regular BOC plan, heavy distorted bass beats and a
sound like bubblewrap being trodden on, warped backwards with some childrens
voices.
Track 11: Intro. Water gurgling, TV newscaster (maybe).
Track 12: Water gurgling sounds combined with what sounds like a wind
intrument rolled in grit, sounds idylic, like being by a pond in the woods.
Drum sounds come in, a hollow plastic barrel sound, along with some nice
glitchy bits. Some sounds like tube trains in the distance. Eventually
returns to the idylic watery sounds.
Track 13: Intro track sounding like someone breathing over bamboo pipes
(literally).
Track 14: One of the tracks from the promo (the one of which people were
confused about the playback speed, definately 45). Quite pleasant, although
not one of the best, a feeling of speed driven by the lilting melody and
drum sounds. Voices, distortion, etc.
Track 15: Intro consisting of little couples of reversed notes played in a
melody.
Track 16: Echoed wooden sounding percussion, lots of children laughing.
Crackling, as of frying eggs. Sampled kid saying daaaaaaaad. Long and
repetative, my least favourite track (although once I buy the album I'll
probably love it...)
Track 17: Short organlike 5 note repeat, with occilating synthy stuff.
Track 18: Another short track, bubbling bass noises, with voices morphing in
and out.
Track 19: Nice reversed home wooden organ sounds with reversed echo sounds,
very short.
Track 20: Tinkling sounds give way to granular grinding synths, dark beefy
beats on top. A small childrens choir phases about, acompanied by some short
woodwind synth melodies.
Track 21: Nursery rhyme style pianos alongside an echoed beat of varying
frequency, somewhat like a snare rush of varying speed (but a nicer sound)
Track 22: This was probably my favourite track. Initialises with a sound
like someone tying baloons together jammed up with a sound like a solid
steel car door being slammed in an echo chamber to make a wonderfully catchy
loop. The chorus is back, but this time the voices are deeper and somewhat
darker, a pseudo bass guitar line comes in nicely parrallel to a smooth
violin style synth melody. Some flutes trill in an echoing manner and the
tune fades for a few seconds only to swell again, finale of someone
singing//shouting to-play-to-play-to-play-to-play.
Track 23: Synth swells, were back at the ocean, and a sound like an
orchestra heard through a wall of foam plays us out.
Overall:
Just as expected. Lovely, lots of mangled voices and low res synths chained
together with catchy bass beats. All the descriptions cannot convey the
niceness of it all and the detail to which things go, the tracks are all
individual and yet in the indisputible style of BOC. Samples used seem
somewhat more organic and homegrown than before, almost like they found some
home videos from when they were six, and this lends a somewhat homey feel.
The album consolidates their position as themselves, and again shows that to
love it you just have to hear it. It may not be enormously innovative, nor
is it (yet) as high in my mind as ABPITC, but it does stand testament to the
fact that nobody does this better.
Cheerio
georgewilliamson
"The Key to productivity is to rotate your avoidance techniques"
georgewilliamson@btinternet.com
http://www.chemeng.ed.ac.uk/~emju49/
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