IDM Mailing Archive

VARIOUS - Detroit: Beyond The Third Wave LP sampler (Astralwerks) The four-track taster for the album which came out last week has the tracks from K Hand (hard, raw and housey), Claude Young (deep, warm and melodic), Sean Deason (soft, throbbing and organic) and Stacey Pullen's Kosmic Messenger (crazy, metallic and frantic). Worth checking the album if Detroit does it for you. HOT LIZARD - Big Air (Pacific) A double-pack remix package from another of the hottest UK techno labels. The original is a smooth, melodic journey, Charles Webster puts a disco cut-up slant on proceedings, Stacey Pullen wins for me with his inimitable take, and Sunrise Society round things off. Not as good as 'Theme', but interesting nonetheless. INTERLOPER - Daddy Vegas (Plink Plonk) Gorgeous production, great sounds and a beautiful feel for this EP from one of Plink Plonk's brightest lights. Hints of Basic Channel stabs, modulating analogue sequences and a superb sense of melody make this a standout for me from recent months. One for the head as well as the feet. SOURCE DIRECT - unknown (Metalheadz 22) The young duo return following the success of 'Secret Liaison' and 'The Crane' with another two cuts of dark, Photekian breakbeat trickery. The A-side is more experimental, with fragmented beats and eerie atmospherics, while the flip will rock the floor with its tough (not Amen) beats and deep, deep bass. Fine stuff. J MAJIK - unknown (Infra Red 6) Another youngster, serving up two slices of cutting-edge breakbeat. The A is an Amen-based atmospheric track, very much in the Photek/Source Direct style, while the flip is more melodic, building with lighter breaks into another stormer. Interesting. see ya ____________________________________________________________ tom churchill e-mail: tom@chrchfam.demon.co.uk you can wear a pair of shoes, but I wouldn't try to eat them ____________________________________________________________

Hi all, some quicky reviews of stuff I bought last week. Not all are new releases. This is mixed idm and ambient content, so feel free to disregard things depending on whichever list you're on :) Autechre: Chiastic Slide & Envane very good, but neither of them has blown me away yet. but I know it's way too early to judge an ae record after only a couple listens. I'm not sure whether they'll come close to tri repetae, though, one of my all-time fav albums. One that DID blow me away, however, is: Autechre: Anti EP so glad I came across this brilliant 3-tracker from 1994 which I hadn't heard of until I got blech2. Djarum is one epic track. Definitely my favorite autechre EP. Plaid EP (clear) here's another older one. Also really glad I found this. 4 tracks, A1 and B1 are good, A2 is simply beautiful and B2 sounds like it's straight from Bytes. µ-ziq: Urmur bile trax 1&2 (ASW) this has been reviewed to quite some extent. Mike P on the jungle tip for the most part, but still very much sounding like µ-ziq, and I love it. I really enjoyed Das Ist ein Groovy... and Shaped to make... and I loved Makesaracket, but another one of those funked out releases might have become boring. Good to hear some µ-ziq again. Beaumont Hannant: basic data manipulation (GPR) Old one again, from '93. IMO, even better than Texturology, which is already a great album. I wish I would've been an IDMer already in 1993... this is timeless IDM. Jacob's Optical Stairway: same (R&S) This one I rented from a CD rental place and didn't even burn it on CDR. Hell, I didn't even *tape* it. d&b on the jazzier side that could have come out 1/2 years earlier. Very unimaginative, not to say dull. Mind the Gap - ultimate breaks&beats vol 2 (Gap/Groove Attack) Great comp from my hometown cologne. Best breaks-oriented compilation I've seen in a long time, ranging from chilled slower breaks to the dark no-U-turn-stylee: exactly the opposite of the weak d&b noodling of albums like the above. Just two of the 11 great tracks make the purchase worthwile: Fuckdub by Tosca (Dorfmeister/Huber) and the brilliant That was no Martian by Airgoose - wow. Red Snapper: Prince Blimey (Warp) Very good. For the most part not as relaxed as Reeled and Skinned, but if you liked that one (I love it), you'll also like this one since Red Snapper haven't really changed their style at all but have kept up the quality. 12 cool tracks that I find great to listen to in the afternoon. Bjork: Telegram Disappointing. None of the remixes go anywhere, with the exception maybe of the Dobie rmx of I miss you and the Deodato rmx of Isobel. Both are artists I've never heard of. LFO remix is really lame. Fila Brazillia: Black Market Gardening (Pork) I love it. Beautiful album. Sorry, don't know what else to say. Get it get it get it. The ultimate soundtrack for late breakfasts and rainy summer nights. I.F. 2 (Fax PS 08/56) I couldn't believe my eyes when I stumbled across this at my fav record store a-musik (word to fellow german listers: when in cologne, go there) right in the middle of the fax section at regular new-release price. Now I can't believe my ears. Dr. Atmo & Deep Space Network with 4 tracks of epic proportions. If you like your fax a bit heavier on the beats and find this CD (it's from 1994 though...), by all means get it. If you liked the hypnotic beats of Fanger&Siebert, wait till you hear "intergalactic funk". Oh wow. I can't stop listening to this. Move D / Namlook: Exploring the Psychedelic landscape (Fax PK 08/121) Best fax release since elektro, IMO. Quite some chunky beats with minimal rhythms. It grooves along while staying in the background. Again, well worth checking out for faxers on the idm tip. Datacide: Flowerhead (Asphodel) glad that asphodel rereleased this. After having heard Atom Heart playing live the other day, this is quite different: very chilled, not as much crazy drum programming, all in all quite lush. that's all. Off to go windsurfing, talk to you in 3 weeks when I'll be back just in time for autechre to come into town :) cheers, --tom

On 28-Feb-97 Tom Tonger wrote:

quoted 4 lines Bjork: Telegram

>Bjork: Telegram >Disappointing. None of the remixes go anywhere, with the exception maybe of >the Dobie rmx of I miss you and the Deodato rmx of Isobel. Both are artists >I've never heard of. LFO remix is really lame.

Total disagreement. I think that LFO mix is unbelievable. Sends shivers down my spine. The rest of the CD is excellent, except for that Deodato mix - bleh. Overall, I highly recommend Telegram. Jon Drukman jsd@gamespot.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- System Administrator SpotMedia Communications

On Fri, 28 Feb 1997, Jon Drukman wrote:

quoted 12 lines On 28-Feb-97 Tom Tonger wrote:

> > On 28-Feb-97 Tom Tonger wrote: > >Bjork: Telegram > >Disappointing. None of the remixes go anywhere, with the exception maybe of > >the Dobie rmx of I miss you and the Deodato rmx of Isobel. Both are artists > >I've never heard of. LFO remix is really lame. > > Total disagreement. I think that LFO mix is unbelievable. Sends shivers down > my spine. The rest of the CD is excellent, except for that Deodato mix - bleh. > Overall, I highly recommend Telegram. > > Jon Drukman

Sorry, but gotta agree with Mr. Tonger here. I don't own the disc personally (thank god) but the radio station does, and it sounds less than fulfilling. For new music, some of it is alright, but with names like LFO, Graham Massey, and Dilinja remixing it should stand out as a necessary to any collection. Unfortunately it does not. Yes, it does have its moments, but they are few and far between when compared to the likes of "Debut" and "Post". Anyway, different strokes for different folks -- how did ya'll like the tracks "Charlotte" and "I Go Humble"? Just compare the new disc to those songs and see what I mean when I summarize it as substandard. J

Speaking of 4 Hero, do those guys have anything out recently or soon? -- Chris

quoted 1 line Sorry, but gotta agree with Mr. Tonger here. I don't own the

>>> Sorry, but gotta agree with Mr. Tonger here. I don't own the

disc personally (thank god) but the radio station does, and it sounds less than fulfilling. For new music, some of it is alright, but with names like LFO, Graham Massey, and Dilinja remixing it should stand out as a necessary to any collection. Unfortunately it does not. Yes, it does have its moments, but they are few and far between when compared to the likes of "Debut" and "Post". Anyway, different strokes for different folks -- how did ya'll like the tracks "Charlotte" and "I Go Humble"? Just compare the new disc to those songs and see what I mean when I summarize it as substandard.<<< Does Bjork have anything "new new" on the way? LIke a whole new album? No disrespect, but her remixes beat some of her stuff to death in my humble opinion. -d- (I shouldn't have listened to it. RDJ was purchased on Friday, Feb 28)

2 new rephlex releases: The Like A Tim remix cd is okay, but not as good as the original songs. Kiyoshi Izumi's first 2 songs are okay also, the last one though is excellent. I certainly don't see what the mild hype was about though. moving on: Vibert's Big Soup is good, if overly long. Has a nice feel to it. I bought my third edition of Drum and Bass for Papa today also. I'm as confused as everyone else. Fucking stupid shit to put out a different disc and/or discs every time you print it. Anyway.

At 08:34 PM 10/5/97 -0700, you wrote: >

quoted 3 lines I bought my third edition of Drum and Bass for Papa today also. I'm as

>I bought my third edition of Drum and Bass for Papa today also. I'm as >confused as everyone else. Fucking stupid shit to put out a different >disc and/or discs every time you print it.

Annoying? Yes. Stupid? Not if you want to make additional money. Different versions means more than one copy sold to some people and equals a greater profit for the record company. T.

On 5 Oct 97, john/bergmayer wrote: (idm) some reviews:

quoted 3 lines I bought my third edition of Drum and Bass for Papa today also. I'm

> I bought my third edition of Drum and Bass for Papa today also. I'm > as confused as everyone else. Fucking stupid shit to put out a > different disc and/or discs every time you print it.

I'm sitting with the original Blue Planet (+1 EP) version - but I'm damned if I'm going to have to shell out MORE just to buy the whole shebang *again*. I feel for you - but people like you make record companies happy and fat... I *

hi all, some new and old stuff I bought last week: gas - zauberberg (blei) wolfgang voigt with a killer disc of lo-fi warmth and creepy coldness, mostly with very subdued straight beats that stay way in the background behind some very melancholic melodies that fit the name (thomas mann's novel, for those not german) perfectly. köln kompakt 1 (kompakt) 13 wicked, previously unreleased tracks from kandis, studio 1, j burger, dr walker, reinhard voigt, thomas brinkmann and other cologne heroes. all representing the same cologne stylee: always minimal, somtimes dubby, usually housy, and of course all funky as shit. I'm afraid this is only available at the köln kompakt store directly. david holmes: lets get killed (go beat) I'm surprised I didn't hear about this on the list last year. david holmes spent a weekend in nyc with a tape recorder and (according to an interview) an extra supply of acid and used his recordings to connect a dozen seriously funky tracks. while they're all cool, "don't die just yet" really stands out. I haven't heard a track with so many guitar elements that moved me so much in years. plaid: 333 (warp) ok, not much need to review this one. I'm neither disappointed nor thrilled. I don't really mind the vocals, nicolette comes in quite nicely sometimes, but what pissed me off was track 11 "Ol" starting out grooving away like there's no tomorrow, and then some uncoherent synth washes come in and destroy it all. not bad, but the clear ep was more beautiful and funkier at the same time. porter ricks: s/t (mille plateaux) mixed breakbeat, minimal house, and beatless tracks. most of them are quite chilled. some have guitar samples (one sounds like a van halen lick but they amazingly manage to get away with it). anybody know who these guys are? electric ladyland 5 (mille plateaux) I've heard different opinions here, but I think it's mostly mediocre noisy stuff that sounds scarily like fsol's last album (whatever that piece of crap was called). a couple tracks stand out, though: andre gurov with a distorted hip hop track that scares the shit out of the bassdrum delay button of my rebirth 338 :-), jammin unit with the melancholic "ausgangssperre", and sandbenders (who is that?) with an abrasively funky track "fallout". also nice is soulslinger's andromeda plate. but those 4 don't justify the below-mille plateaux standards of the remainder of this 2-cd. burger/ink: las vegas (harvest) how could I overlook this for over a year - it's brilliant. 10 very relaxed tracks, every single one is wonderful. some are simply touching. get this by all means. boards of canada: aquarius 7" (skam) I know you poor saps in the states won't like to hear this, but while you get the already beautiful aquarius on music has the right, chinook has got to be one of the 3 greatest BoC tracks I've heard to date. whith its deep, scary, kinda autechre-ish sound it sounds more like it could have belonged on ska008, but is not really in the vein of anything off music has the right. finding this sucker (2 of them, actually, but don't email me about the other one right now) made me smile for a couple days straight. ok, that's it for now. cheers, --tom

quoted 6 lines k?ln kompakt 1 (kompakt)

> k?ln kompakt 1 (kompakt) > 13 wicked, previously unreleased tracks from kandis, studio 1, j burger, dr > walker, reinhard voigt, thomas brinkmann and other cologne heroes. all > representing the same cologne stylee: always minimal, somtimes dubby, > usually housy, and of course all funky as shit. I'm afraid this is only > available at the k?ln kompakt store directly.

actually, this showed up at the amoeba in san francisco a few weeks ago. sounds like if it's "usually housey" i wouldn't be interested, but it looks like a quality release for fans of the kolnish abuse of that genre... also, i'll add a brief review of my own. i just got the new lithops lp on eat raw in the mail. (lithops is the solo project of mouse on mars' jan st. werner.) it's called _didot_, and it's a dense, wonderful expansion of some of the sketches contained on the other recently released lithops lp, _uni umit_, combined with rhythmic and compositional ideas also present in koln-based artists such as fx randomiz, mouse on mars (more their _instrumentals_ material than anything else), and kandis/visor/senking (a couple of the tracks from the recent senking 12-inch on karaoke kalk could easily have appeared on _didot_). the production value is very high (much higher than on _uni umit_)--a real benefit since many of the sounds could get lost in the chaos. _didot_ is probably less impressionistic than _uni umit_, but it's also much more varied stylistically, moving through busy electro, weirdbeat "house" (that's never an accurate term for werner and toma's 4/4 freakouts), electroacoustic, and even something like ambient post-rock, making it overall a fuller, more enjoyable release. i've only listened to it once, but i can already tell tell this is going to be spending a lot of time on my turntable in the coming months. i'll be including a full-review of this in the next issue of urban sounds, but for lithops newbies interested in hearing more, you can check out my review of _uni umit_ at: http://www.urbansounds.com/home/styles/electro/us_electro_lithops.com there are also realaudio samples available for three of the tracks. thanks, sc onnow: john fahey : womblife (table of the elements)

Couple of things I've picked up, but haven't seen too much mention of. U-ziq: Brace Yourself (Astralwerks) I really don't like drum'n'bass. Or drill'n'bass. But I'm always willing to give Mike P. a chance, considering his earliest Rephlex releases. Unlike most d'n'b artists, Mike keeps the melodies coming, which is what saves this release. Not much else to say, except this ep isn't as dark as the Lunatic Harness album. D'Archangelo: Diagrams.10.14 (Nature) Why aren't people talking about this one? pj at modernmusic says it's been a big seller, yet no reviews. I picked up D'Archangelo's Rephlex record on the recommendation of Kent, and it was excellent. One side of crunchy industrial stuff, the other melody-driven electro. So I didn't know what to expect from this Nature release. What I got was very good. Electro, but at faster tempos and with more complexity than the Rephlex release. A1 is notable for sounding like a collaboration between Drexciya and Yaz. Very good record, for those who want something faster than Skam but slower than d'n'b, with some 80's synth pads thrown in. Jega: Type Xero (Planet u) The other reviews on this list worried me, but I was satisfied by this release. Definitely on the dark side. I love the way Jega slides the bass lines, instead of stepping them. Gives him a unique feel. Two d'n'b cuts, two electro-ish ones. All are good, none are great. Gescom: (Skam 010) As usual, the faster Autechre go the better they get. It's only on its second time around the deck, but I am impressed. The songs vary widely, from a groovy trancer to breakbeats to random noises. It's closest in feel to the original gescom 02. They also include their poor remix of themselves from the Skampler. Bola: KMS 002 (Skam) Don't rip the blue wrap-around. It's not a sticker and it slides off nicely. The ep starts with Aguilla; as others have mentioned is driven by a beautiful melody. Darrell Fitton doesn't miss often, it seems to me. It evolves into a down-tempo lament. Filtered vocals are saying something, and are clearly unhappy. Clearly a rainy day song. On the flipside, Triangle Cake starts in full reverb-mode, with a...noise wavering throughout the entire song. The beginning is boring, but the arrival of minor chords in the background and horn stabs quickly turn it into a complex, intense song. Vocals (filtered again) creep into the ending. A unique effort. Not immediately grabbing, but I expect it will grow on me. Curbstard is short. Breaks, and an unfortunate attempt at jazz organ. Aguilla will grab you first, but I predict people will stay with Triangle Cake. Phil Downey

aemic - beta (m.a.s.) ----- again aemic confuses the hell out of me with this new 10" picture disc. the DR design depicts a series of bar graphs on one side of the wax with various bits of track information including creation date, m/bytes, and sampling frequency in hz. but the m:s:ms track durations shown on the graphs don't correspond to the actual track times at my preferred rotation rates (33 rpm on the pie chart side, 45 rpm on the bar graph side). whatever. anyway, the record fails to disappoint; it offers a fine balance of synthetic and organic sounds and groovy drum programming sans the lame attempts at complexity which litter large portions of some recent releases like the ischemic folks compilation. indeed, the tracks on beta even include melody, but not to a fault (as some m.a.s. releases do). the melodies are enough to make the songs sound like *songs*, but are also sparse enough to place emphasis on the harmonics tones of the more rhythm-oriented elements. nothingface (eat raw) ----------- like the other eat raw record i own (lithops - didot), this thing is pressed on one of the fattest slabs of vinyl i've ever handled. the record asserts an immediate impression of quality and luckily the music lives up to it. expect everthing from mellow downtempo breaks to forward-thinking pop melodies to minimal ambient techno. perfect music for a summer by the pool. now if i could just get the people at the neighborhood pool to play this instead of commercial crap from shania fucking twain and that dork from new kids on the block... stars of the lid - avec laudenum (sub rosa) ---------------- though this isn't this-listy, i had to mention it because it's the best CD i've heard in a long time. it is definitely (to quote those responsible for it's subtle washes of environmental noise and immense waves of analog drone) "pure pass out material." as someone who once spent long hours with environmental sound sources and various instruments including an e-mu modular analog synthesizer and multiple 2- and 4-track tape decks, trying to create music like that on this CD, i think the stars of the lid deserve massive props. fortunately, on monday (6/28) i'll get the chance to offer them the same, as they are playing a show in my neck of the woods, at the granada in lawrence, kansas. i encourage all midwesterners to attend. i'll be the one wetting my pants over the opportunity to see such an amazing show. matt

quoted 17 lines stars of the lid - avec laudenum (sub rosa)

> stars of the lid - avec laudenum (sub rosa) > ---------------- > though this isn't this-listy, i had to mention it because > it's the best CD i've heard in a long time. it is > definitely (to quote those responsible for it's subtle > washes of environmental noise and immense waves of analog > drone) "pure pass out material." as someone who once spent > long hours with environmental sound sources and various > instruments including an e-mu modular analog synthesizer > and multiple 2- and 4-track tape decks, trying to create > music like that on this CD, i think the stars of the lid > deserve massive props. fortunately, on monday (6/28) i'll > get the chance to offer them the same, as they are playing > a show in my neck of the woods, at the granada in lawrence, > kansas. i encourage all midwesterners to attend. i'll be > the one wetting my pants over the opportunity to see such > an amazing show.

Sounds good. How does it compare to previous couple of albums? I mean they're pretty droney (in a good way) but I can't say I heard much 'environmental sound' (at least I don't think I did). Do you mean there's like field recordings in there? I always thought their drone was made by guitar with heaps of effects rather than analog synth but I'm probably wrong. Nick