Aphex twin: Computer Controlled Acoustic Music Pt. 2
Warp Records (2015)
The internet went into meltdown when a blimp appeared over London bearing the Aphex Twin logo……blah blah blah. Well, here’s the follow up to his first album in 14 years. Computer Controlled Acoustic Music Pt. 2 might not be a proper ‘follow up’ – in fact it’s a collection of odds, ends and experiments also collected over the previous fourteen years – but that doesn’t make it any less cohesive.
It may not be as musical as Syro. In fact it sounds completely different to its predecessor. It may not have the downright creepy weirdness of his earlier works, but what it doesn’t lack is funk. Yes, funk. You might never have associated the word ‘funk’ with Apex Twin, but it’s here. Clear as day. It’s in the head-nodding, old-school hip-hop rhythms. It’s in the bouncy, acoustic bass lines. It’s in the percussive clunk of the live instruments all of this is based on.
Those percussive vibes are what separates Computer Controlled Acoustic Music Pt. 2 from all the other ‘funky’ instrumental music that exists in the 2014. The instruments might be acoustic but they sound ‘prepared’ in a subtle nod to the sonic world of John Cage and his ilk. The pianos are clunky and stunted. The snares are all fucked up and tinny. The beats are sprinkled with tings, plonks and random off-shoots of sound. I’m not naive enough to think that Richard D James actually interfered with all thee acoustic instruments before recording them. I know full well that he’s a studio boffin who must have spent weeks twiddling knobs to get this recording sounding as it does. But that’s the intrigue; like the 30 second interludes of super-speed piano lines that sound ‘real’ even though they could only be played by a robot. And if you can accept Computer Controlled Acoustic Music Pt. 2 on its own, outside of the all baggage that comes with the second Apex Twin record in 14 years, it’s fucking fun.
Exoteric Continent: Primera Norma
Hospital Productions (2014)
Dominic Fernow continues to harness his support for techno’s deepest, darkest Industrial caves with the release of this limited edition cassette by Exoteric Continent on his Hospital Productions label. And it’s stronger than the recent Vatican Shadow output.
Everything about Primera Norma is dark and throbbing. From the thickened drum loops to the pulsating bass lines. Strange whirring sounds, like helicopters or spacecraft gearing up for take off permeate all four tracks. The vibe is dangerous and claustrophic. The threat of violence is real. The listener waits anxiously for something to explode. Nothing ever really happens though, and it’s this facade which ensures you don’t hit stop.
This is the sound of a drug fucked nightclub in a basement deep below the city, where only the weirdest freaks hang out. Everything looks like a scene out of Bladerunner. No one dances because everyone’s either too cool, or too wasted. Probably both.
Exoteric Continent is actually one guy, Arnau Sala Saez from Barcelona. He’s released a bunch of CDrs and tapes under various aliases on loads of small label, including the buzzworthy Opal Tapes. Here’s hoping he releases more of this stuff because Prima Norma is fucking excellent.
Jar Moff: Financial Glam
I loved Commercial Mouth, Jar Moff’s first release on PAN. We chatted about it on The Antidote where David wasn’t so keen, but goddam I think it’s a fun record. Financial Glam is even better and I can’t believe it’s taken me a full year to write about it.
Greek born Jar Moff trades in a style of abstract ‘sampledalica’ championed by the likes of John Weise, but his aesthetic also shares a musicality with artists like Jason Hammer. Composition is significant to Jar Moff, and the result is a sound collage that feels smooth and purposeful, never disparate. The point isn’t to come up with shocking juxtapositions. Instead he arranges unusual combinations of sound into dynamic shapes that morph around eachother. This record feels like it has strong narrative, and based on the title it’s easy view the work as a response to the economic desolation of his homeland.
Financial Glam lifts off with a gentle, electronic pulse like a subdued Wolf Eyes jam. Swathes of gnarled synths and strings begin eating away at the perimeter. Electronic clatter slowly takes over and we’re off on a Willy Wonka ride into a sonic jungle. Jar Moff’s knack for composition is what keeps this melting pot of samples from blending into a muddy, brown soup. He builds a forward momentum rather than slamming you with whiplash inducing dramatic turns. Moff’s collection of sounds rise and fall in smooth complexity; often dischordant but never jarring.
In fact, the over all effect is similar to a free jazz improvisation, potentially enhanced by Moff’s tendency toward fractured saxaphones and other reed-fuelled debris. Combined, all the disparate elements feel like part of a greater whole, and the snippets of ‘real’ instruments breathe life into what could easily be an electronic shit-sammy (at times, you can literally hear the muscians taking a breath before firing off a brass blast).
The B side is a more musical trip. A damaged guitar groans in despair over an off kilter drum beat, while an arrangement of out-of-key synths hovers around in the background. Eventually Moff introduces a more desolate arrangement of samples including irrationally triggered drum pads, something that sounds like a hammer drill, an annoying buzz, cheap feedback, spastic high hats and other musique concrete effects. hold on to your hats, kids.
This record should be a stomach churning, motion sick trip, but Financial Glam never feels like a road to nowehere. Everyone should take this ride.
Roly Porter: Lifecycle of a Massive Star
This year I’ve listened to more great music than I’ve been able to write or think about. Perhaps it’s my involvement in the Antidote Podcast, perhaps 2013 has been a great year for weirdo music, more likely it’s a combination of both. This Roly Porter record is one of those gems that almost slipped me by.
It starts off slowly, rising from the murk in a swirl of synths. It’s like the soundtrack to a thousand alien spacecraft descending on earth while its population stands mesmerised in disbelief. From there we wander through fragments of deconstructed Jungle and Rave references, calling to mind Lee Gamble’s sonic experiments. Rhythm is eschewed for ambience penetrated by blasts of noise and sonic shrapnel. The entire monster moves at the pace of Doom but the feeling is one of meloncholic catharsis rather than crushing defeat.
If there’s a noise scene at the moment it’s dug it’s way back underground (probably hibernating for a revival helmed by a new cast of misfits), and instead we get artists like Porter applying the aesthetics of noise to an electronic world with closer ties to rave culture and chill out rooms. Pete Swanson, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement and a large chunk of Pan’s amazing catalogue are pursuing similar interests. Roly Porter is another fantastic example of this shift. Don’t let Life Cycle Of A Massive Star pass you by.
Rashad Becker: Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. I
Over on The Antidote Podcast, Dave and I have recently found ourselves pondering the definition of Noise, spurred on by a mesmerising record by icelandic Sound Artist Bjarni Gunnarsson. This has coincided with a book I’m reading at the moment called Japanoise: Music at the Edge of Circulation which suggests that Noise music as a genre is defined by loud, relentless and ‘harsh’ slabs of sound.
I’m not sure I agree, because the first thing anyone who isn’t familiar with this sort of ‘music’ would think upon hearing Rashad Becker’s positively weird record, is that it was noise. And you know what? They’d be right. IT might not be harsh or loud but there is nothing recognisable on Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. I. It’s synthetic and bizarrely composed. There’s nothing to sink your teeth into except a fluctuating molasses of micro tones. Melody? Natch. Rhythm? Depends how many drugs you’ve consumed. Is it loud and relentless? Nope, but it’s definitely noise.
Imagine the cut n’ paste nature of John Weise, but slowed wayyyy down and based on non-sensical sounds rather than field recordings and samples. Throw in a pinch of the gloopy bleeps favoured by the likes of Black Dice and you’ll get a vague idea of the soup that Rashad Becker has cooked here. When I listen to this record I find myself thinking of soft, soapy bubbles floating around and then quietly bursting. Every track on this record is composed from little bubbles of sound, each one individually pulling itself free from the whole and spinning off into it’s own orbit where Rashad manipulates them until they disintegrate. Sometimes they fizz out into black holes of delay; sometimes they pop and splutter into nothingness; sometimes they gently fade away…..
Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. I isn’t an easy listen. It’s up there with the truly abstract Rene Hell record also released on Pan this year. But Becker’s expertise as a sound engineer makes this a nerdgasmic experience for fans of the experimental. Since the late nineties, Becker has developed a fine reputation as a recording engineer, having racked up credits on something like 1200 Electronic, Dance and Experimental records. His experience shines through on Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. I; every individual sound is unbelievably crisp and clear, existing in its own little dimension. Even the space between each ‘note’ shines in a way that only a professional can master. The precision adds to the curious nature of this strange little record without dipping into academia. Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. I might not be loud but it’s definitely not ambient. It might not be harsh, but it’s definitely Noise. A beautiful noise.
[PHYSICS]: Spectramorphic Iridescnece
Things start off all hipster cool with Casio beats and plastic synths sporting faux Pompadours and Buddy Holly glasses without lenses. Two minutes later we’re in a K-hole with Aphex Twin, and by track 3 things are getting decidedly weird. A rhythmical bass line drives odd electrical fuzz and hiss through sleets of reverb, turning everything into mush like an R&B My Bloody Valentine. Before you get comfortable it’s back to another 80s Sci-Fi fantasy soundtrack with echoey electro snares and cheesy arpeggios. What the hell is going on here?
This dreamlike record is experimental for its manic ability to veer between various digital music tropes of yore and somehow spew out a cohesive experience. But the Now is never far away. Like Emerald Forest, where creatures bubble and toil in a way that calls to mind the more tribal sounding moments of Black Dice. One can see Grace Jones gnashing her teeth and eating a man whole while listening to this.
There’s plenty of digital revival stuff going around at the moment but you’d be hard pressed to find a record that does as good a job of meat grinding retromania as this. The beauty of [PHYSICS], whoever they are, is their ability to take this sound into contemporary spaces. I could reference Oneohtrix Point Never but that would be selling [PHYSICS] short.
I bought this record for the cover art. Fuck you. It proved to be totally worth it.