Matthew J. Lehrer wrote:
quoted 15 lines On Fri, 17 May 1996, Greg Earle wrote:>
> On Fri, 17 May 1996, Greg Earle wrote:
>
> > But I'm wondering
> > if it's the oddball noises that people like, or is it the entire thing in the
> > context of Drum N' Bass/Jazz done with a different twist?
>
> The thing that really gets me going about the Plug stuff is Vibert's
> *drums*. The context is drum'n'bass, yet he's able to bring a real
> lightness/swing/variation to that type of rhythm that one would normally
> associate only with jazz trapsmen. Yet a lot of the actual
> percussive sounds and effects he creates can only be done
> electronically, which is where the idea of fusion comes into play,
> IMO. There's also a real attention to detail and freshnes in his rhythm
> programming that very few other d'n'b producers even bother with....
I agree - a lot of jungle is cutting and pasting of amen-style breaks without a lot of
expression, and a lot of the drum sounds are all of the same. The Plug material
has drumming with real dynamics, although some of the stuff Vibert cooks up isn't even
possible on a trapset. The other great aspect of the Plug breaks is that they have a
nice funky feel to them (e.g. 607 on Plug 1), which makes the grooves really danceable.
The oddball noises add character to the songs, as is the case with a lot of Aphex
material; I don't find them to be gratuitous in the least. And Vibert does a lot with
the songs from a compositional standpoint; although I love the rhythmic feel of
Squarepusher material, I find the Plug stuff to be better arranged. This said, I can't
wait for the Plug full-length...
GD