What can I say? I expected to be disappointed, I don't like compilations
as a rule, and I thought the first AI compilation was very weak ('cos
most of the tracks had already appeared elsewhere - or would do).
AI2 is very impressive. And not just 'cos I'm on the cover. It's exactly
what it claims to be, ie "more electronic listening music from warp". This
IS /listening/ music. Dreaming music. Dozing off, listening to, type
music... Beautiful.
One of the first things to strike me, after listening through everything
for the first time, is how consistent the tracks are. ie. consistently
good. There are no fillers here. Ironically the only track to stand out
as being 'odd' (for me) was Balil's _Parasight_, one of my favorite
tunes out of the BDP stable. It might just have been because I'd heard
it before, but I think it's just a bit too upbeat, too squiggley to fit in
with the other tracks.
Tracks that stood out as being a little bit special were Fitton's
_Blipsalt_, B12's _Scriptures_, Kirk's _Reality Net_ and Link's _Arcadian_.
Heh, the fact that that's nearly half the album should tell you something!
_Blipsalt_ is a pretty stunning track, I'm new to the work of Mr. Fitton,
I hope future releases are as good. It's the longest track on the LP by
quite a margin, over 9 mins, but you hardly notice, lost in fantastic sea
of strings, moving passionately under the neat percussion, little themes
build, grow and bloom before disappearing again...excellent.
The B12 track is I think one of their best yet. Haunting as most of these
tracks are, it builds to quite a subtley powerful bassline (great to mix
with!) and it again has fantastic strings and a great squiggley synth noise.
The whole side (2) of the album is pretty awesome, the Autechre track
is...well.. Autechre, really, with their trademark sound. I think this is
the 'soft' track they played live. It's got some nice fucked up vocal
samples. Speedy J's contribution is quite unlike any other Speedy J stuff
I've heard (ie the +8 stuff), very ambient.
Not quite sure what to make of Hannant's track, it has his sound, but I
think drift's around to much, losing purpose. Richard Kirk has come up
with the goods again. _Reality Net_ is a minimal techno masterpiece. The
frame work for the track is provided by a single synthy 'wow', which
repeats (sometimes invisibly) throughout. Pianoey riffs blend in and out
and he uses a bassline that should be familiar to those who have
_Virtual State_, but here it's evolved slightly, bringing on a different
mood.
Seefeel's _Spangle_ is interesting, I like the way the vocal bit seems to
blend in with the rest of the track, only becoming prominant at the end.
I think I might check out the EP. RDJ's track is..errr.... a bit odd.
Maybe. It sounds a bit like the inside of someone's stomach. Wierd, but
definately listenable. Bit of a throw away track tho, it has a disjointed
rythym that makes it difficult to get into. I think I just contradicted
myself there. oh well.
I found the Franklin track a bit tedious at first, the initial melody is
repeated for ages, before anything really happens, however it has grown
on me a bit, but I'm not sure this should have been the opening track.
HIA's track is good if a little bland, this is the first I have heard of
them, but it pales beside the Link (aka Reload) track. Bit of a stunner.
It could have been taken stright off 'A collection of..', it has the
distinctive Reload breakbeat bit, spun off over gorgeous melodies. Pretty
damn good.
So, to sum everything up in one word....'dreamy', I think. It was quite
difficult to review actually, none of the tracks are outrageous 'burn
onto memory' types, but the album as a whole works very well indeed,
everything blends together perfectly. I've been humming one melody or
another for days now. It's a record you can get lost in.
greggy
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