Burial & Four Tet: Moth/Wolf Cub

moth

Text Records 2009. TEXT006

Discogs

Perhaps the most hyped release of 2009, at least in the world I inhabit, was this 12″, a collaboration between what I think have been the most exciting musicians in the electronic field in recent years.  A stupidly limited pressing (I was lucky to get a copy) and black labels and covers all added to the mystique.  The only information supplied is what’s etched into the runout grooves.

For once the music lived up to the hype.  Moth is the better of the two tracks and sounds like nothing  either have produced before.  It’s very laid back, very eerie sounding with manipulated vocals wandering in and out.   Wolf Cub sounds more like you’d expect, to the extent that it’s possible it’s simply an amalgam of material worked on prior to this collaboration.  Whatever, it works really well, and is only overshadowed because it’s paired with the remarkable Moth.

Unfortunately it’s a very noisy pressing.  I’ve put it through my record cleaning machine twice, but to no avail.  Normally I’d have sent it straight back, but since there was no chance of getting another copy, I decided to live with it.

Further listening?  Well Burial’s first, self-titled album is essential, and Four Tet’s new 0181 is working well for me, that is if you can find a copy.  Both are so consistent though, that it’s worth buying anything you see, especially the very limited Text 12″ singles.

Scientists: You Only Live Twice

front

Karbon Records 1985.  KAR007

Discogs

This is a request, but I can’t remember where from….

I don’t know much about The Scientists, other than their influence.  They were constantly being referred to by grunge outfits in the late 80s and early 90s – wikipedia specifically mentions Mudhoney but I remember there being others.  Curiosity roused, I bought this 7″ single (which it turns out is very rare) and the Blood Red River LP which I’ll get around to posting at some point.

This is a cover of the well known Nancy Sinatra Bond theme.  I’ve long grown tired of punk acts covering inappropriate songs; it was funny when I was 15, but not any more.  However this single really works – a cacophany of distorted guitars with Cramps style vocals which fits the song better than you’d expect.

Bill Drummond: The King Of Joy

Folder

Creation 1987. CRE039T

Discogs

Hallelujah.  After a long wait my turntable is up and running again (new phono stage if you’re interested), so here’s the first vinyl rip.

Bill Drummond’s career has been endlessly interesting, right back to his stint as manager of The Teardrop Explodes and Echo And The Bunnymen.  Since then he’s best know for his commercial success with The KLF, as the guy who burnt a million quid, and more recently as artist and author.

Between the Manager phase and the KLF phase was a short lived period as a solo artist on Creation which yielded an album (The Man) and this single.  It is one of the most uplifting  records I own; I’ve spent far too much time this morning gyrating around the house to it.  While completely different in style to what he did next, the quality of these two tracks shows that the appeal of the records he made with Jimmy Cauty was grounded not in the pranks, but in the ability to write and produce great material.

The title track, King Of Joy is lifted from the album I’ve already mentioned.  Drummond himself says the song which is his “theme” is True To The Trail, a country style ditty from The Man, but for me King Of Joy does the job much better.  It’s a great song, and I’m a total sucker for pop songs with trumpet parts.  Never mind that ol’ Bill isn’t much of a singer – the overall effect is great and works all the better for his Scottish accent.

I Want That Girl is also on the album, but this is an instrumental version including a beautiful trumpet part by Henry Lowther.  It also has a Hammond solo too – could it get any better?

The B side is the spoken word The Manager, apparently the soundtrack to a film, although I’ve never seen it.  He’s ranting about the state of the music industry and what he’d do to fix it in his usual slightly unhinged but very entertaining way.  It works as a kind of statement of intent for what he was to become famous for.  You can hear True To The Trail playing in the background at the start.

Further listening?  Well there’s nothing available.  His Creation material is long deleted and the KLF and related stuff was all ceremonially deleted by Drummond and Cauty when they left the music industry.  He’s written quite a few books over the years, most of which are also out of print and very rare, but right now you can get 45 pretty easily which is a great read about his rather idiosyncratic take on the music industry.  It’s also worth keeping an eye on his web site.

The album is available (for a short time) here

Techno Animal – Re-Entry

Techno Animal - Re-Entry

Virgin Ambient 1995. AMBT 8

Discogs

I seem to be having a weekend dominated by Kevin Martin, but I suppose there are worse things. This is Martin as musician (alongside Justin Broadrick of Napalm Death and Godflesh fame) rather than curator; here we have his second album under the moniker Techno Animal, another release in the Virgin Ambient series.

At the time, this was a ground breaking album, so much so that it stands up pretty well 18 years down the line. It’s dark, sinister and slow with a distinctly industrial feel; it reminds me very much of Burial’s material over the last couple of years (I’ll be posting some Burial vinyl here at some point), which is perhaps not surprising as Martin currently records as King Midas Sound for the same label: Hyperdub. It also has elements of hip-hop, and is even sometimes psychedelic. This all sounds like a horrible mish-mash, but it works together superbly and is for me one of the best electronic albums of the 1990s. Just don’t listen to it alone, late at night.

More music? Well I’ve never heard Kevin Martin put a foot wrong so anything you find would be worth getting. In terms of what I have that’s still available, Waiting For You by King Midas Sound is fantastic.

Various Artists: Macro Dub Infection Vol 2

Various Artists - Macro Dub Infection - Volume 2 (Disc 2)

Virgin Ambient 1996.  AMBT14

Discogs

The second and final volume in the Macro Dub Infection series, again compiled by Kevin Martin.

For the general idea behind this compilation, have a look at Volume 1.

This is slightly less successful than volume 1, but still has enough great material to make it essential listening, that is, if you’re into this kind of thing. For me the most bizarre track is the last, which brings together “Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Ice (yet another Kevin Martin alias) to make an incredible futuristic dub version of a Will Oldham classic. Other stand-outs are the ever reliable Mouse on Mars, Rhys Chatham and, unsurpsingly, Martin’s own Techno Animal.

Various Artists: Macro Dub Infection Vol 1

Various - Macro Dub Infection Vol. 1

Virgin Ambient 1995.  AMBT 7

Discogs

This is another installment of Virgin’s excellent Ambient series from the 1990s.  Like Jazz Satellites, this was compiled by Kevin Martin, aka The Bug, Techno Animal amongst others.  Martin is always worth listening to; always innovative, always interesting.

There’s not much on this album you’d call dub in a traditional sense.  What it’s about is artists using dub ideas in other genres, in other words, the legacy of dub rather than dub itself.  A project like this is of course spoilt for choice given the overwhelming influence dub has had in experimental music, so the success of this compilation lies in Martin’s skill as a curator.  It spans electronica, hip-hop, jungle and even jazz, but what it all has in common is a spacey feel, thundering bass lines, and elements of the tracks, especially vocals  swinging in and out of the mix.

Standouts are Tortoise, Bedouin Ascent, Coil and Spring Heel Jack, but what makes this a great compilation is how it hangs together.

It’s a double CD ripped as though it was a very long single because it plays better that way.

Lindstrøm: It’s A Feedelity Affair

lindstrom_its_a_feedelity_affair

Small Town Supersound 2006.  STS126CD

Discogs

We all need some Nordic Space Disco in our lives.  Maybe you haven’t realised it yet, but believe me, you do.  This is a compilation of some of Lindstrøm’s singles issued between 2003 and 2006, and there isn’t a duff track here.  In fact every track is pretty much stupendous and it is one of the most consistently brilliant albums I’ve bought over the last 10 years or so.

It achieves the remarkable feat of using every corny retro trick in the book to make a catchy dance record, with a lot more than a nod to Abba, while not sounding kitsch at all.  It’s very retro while at the same time very contemporary.  It ought to be a really irritating record, but I find it utterly distracting – I can’t get anything done while it’s playing.

I don’t get why he’s not a lot more successful – I guess maybe at home in Norway he is.

More Lindstrøm?  Well this is my favourite.  Some of his later albums haven’t been as good, but the new one, Smallhans is quite a return to form.

Adorable: Sistine Chapel Ceiling

sistine

Creation 1993.  CRESCD153

Discogs

Adorable were short lived (1990 – 4) and had a crap name, but they made some great guitary indiepop for Creation.  This was their fourth single, and like their debut, was single of the week in NME.

I bought a couple of Adorable singles, and while I liked  them, I never got really into them.  Maybe I’d heard too much of this sort of stuff by then – and according to this article on Creation’s web site it was all very badly timed anyway.

Twenty years down the line, I’m writing this because I feel like listening to some 90s indiepop, and it sounds pretty good to me.  I guess they deserved more success than they got.

The Fall: Levitate (2CD version)

front

Artful Records 1997. ARTFULCDX9

Discogs

I posted the rare double six mix of Hit The North recently, and said I wouldn’t be posting much more Fall, because it’s mostly available.  It turns out I was wrong about that – a surprising amount is out of print.  This album is particularly difficult to find, especially in its original 2CD format because the label went bankrupt.

Frankly, it isn’t the place to start if you’re not already a fan.  The usual dominance of guitar work is replaced by a lot of electronics, supplied by Mark E Smith’s then girlfriend, Julia Nagle who also appears a lot in the writing credits.  There are also drum ‘n’ bass elements courtesy of D.O.S.E who Smith fell out with early on in the process.  There’s less in the way of conventional songs and the thunderous bass lines which usually feature.   The production is often bizarre and uncompromisingly lo-fi.

However, MES knows what he’s doing, and it’s usually a mistake to dismiss his work because it wasn’t what you were expecting.  Of course he’s on ranting good form here as always – the lyrics are by turns funny, surreal and incomprehensible, but always entertaining.   Standouts are the utterly manic 4½ Inch, the dirty bassline of  The Quartet of Doc Shanley and the very obscure surf cover, I’m a Mummy.

That this album is a difficult listen is perhaps because The Fall were in a phase which was chaotic even by their standards; during the tour to promote this album, MES sacked the whole band.  Persist with it though and it rewards your efforts.

So what Fall stuff should you buy?  Well my preference is the earlier stuff.  I’ll stick my neck out and say Perverted By Language is their best, but ask me tomorrow and I’ll have a different answer.  After pushing 40 albums, most of which are excellent, it’s very difficult to pick out a favourite.  Just be careful of the endless (and mostly pointless) live albums.  If you want a career retrospective, 50,000 Fall Fans Can’t Be Wrong is a good one.

There’s an unofficial Fall web site which is a great source for more info about the band than you ever knew existed.

Various Artists: The Bridge, A Tribute To Neil Young

R-688837-1201824631

Caroline Records 1989.  CAR CD 5

Discogs

This album is from the days when tribute albums were quite a new idea, and it has a most impressive list of contributing artists; impressive enough to make it worth having for most people interested enough in music to end up reading this blog.

As is always the case, the album is less than the sum of its parts.  Sometimes it just provokes an overwhelming desire to dig out the Neil Young originals, which of course is no bad thing.  Loop for example are so faithful to the original that there doesn’t seem much point, but Bongwater take Mr Soul somewhere entirely new.  Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr and Nick Cave all contribute in ways that are entirely predictable, but they were on such great form in 1989 that predictability works here.

If you’re not familiar with Neil Young and like the songs here, you could do worse than get a compilation like Decade which has the original versions of some of these tracks.