One reocrd at a time: 85. 808 State - EX:EL

In a world full of generic dance music, 808 State shine out as pioneers with a distinctive sound.

Whilst the death of Andy Barker last year means the future of the band is uncertain, their legacy is assured. My favourite 808 State album is "EX:EL" and here we have the numbered, double yellow vinyl release from 2016. Despite being a "Music on Vinyl" release on coloured wax, the sound quality is quite good. 

"San Francisco" is the perfect introduction with its amazing bassline that has Graham Massey's fingerprints all over it. Bernard Sumner from New Order adds vocals to "Spanish Heart" which grooves along with TR-909 beats and Roland D-50 presets. "Leo Leo" is a fun track that I imagine would always have a dance floor singing and grooving along. "Qmart" sounds like a track the band got so far with and then decided to ask Bjork to ad lib over the top - it's good but not inspiring. The next track, "Nephratiti" seems to morph through a whole series of ideas with each one raising the bar a little higher. 

The standout pop-dance instrumental "Lift" is next with its searing string refrain, 808 beats and bouncy bassline. Personally I'm not a massive fan of the second Bjork collaboration "Ooops" but I can hear that it isn't entirely without merit. At this point most albums would throw some filler in and begin to wind down for the last track; yet this is the juncture at which everything begins to really kick off on EX:EL.

"In Yer Face" is a distinctive dance track that managed to breach the top ten in the UK. Whilst tracks such as "Jack Your Body" had infiltrated the charts as far back as 1987, it felt like a boom in electronic music occurred in the early nineties and 808 State were among the vanguard. The relentless "Cübik" provides another aggressive and hypnotic dance tune that is irresistible. "Lambrusco Cowboy" and "Techno Bell" keep the pace high before the magnificent "Olympic" breezes in to round out the album in style. Side four also has a couple of remixes and the bonus track "Ski Family" which sounds a prototype of The Chemical Brothers mixed with some deep house. Highly recommend album. 4/5

One record at a time: 84. JB Dunckel - H+

This is the second solo album by Jean-Benoît Dunckel - who was one half of the duo Air (or is it AIR? I'm never sure). I wasn't really aware of this record when it was released, but it came up as a recommendation on Amazon last year and, as it wasn't too expensive, I purchased it. Any album that features Jean-Benoît's vocals will always be reminiscent of Air, but there is enough to differentiate this album and make it a worthy addition to my collection.

The first two tracks, "Hold On" and "Love Machine" are surprisingly upbeat and catchy songs. "The Garden" is a more wistful mid-tempo track that combines breathy vocals with soaring strings and remains the equal of the first two tracks. "Transhumanity" brings the analogue synths to the fore with a melody that reminds me of "Night Café" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. 

There's something about these tracks that sounds more care-free and joyful than Air. I remember reading there were often tensions between Jean-Benoît and Nicolas, but I think I assumed this tension drove them to new artistic heights. However, this album would suggest that the tension was not a pre-requisite to the success of the band as Jean-Benoît is clearly capable of producing high quality music on his own.

"Space Age" uses a Korg MS-20 arpeggio that somehow instantly makes you think of outer space as the strings and piano whirl around the speakers. As the second side of the album progresses the tempo slows and remains fixed at "background music for a dinner party" levels. "Show Your Love" even uses a vocoder to obscure the vocal to ensure that nothing will disturb the consumption of your sole meunière. "Ballad Non Sense" uses the chords from "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung with a vibraphone wandering around over the top. It's a bit like listening to Mike Oldfield's "Incantations" at the wrong speed. What's more surprising is that it is quite entertaining. This is a worthy album and essential for any fan of Air (or AIR). 4/5

One record at a time: 83. Dollar - The Dollar Album

I wasn't into Dollar when they were releasing records - they were a little before my time and, dare I say it, they were viewed as being a bit cheesy. 

The stimulus for me to buy this record was seeing a performance of "Mirror Mirror" on a re-run of Top of the Pops and realising it was the work of Trevor Horn. This epiphany must have been around 2009 but I was content with digital files until I came across this LP going cheap on eBay a few years ago. I'm glad I didn't pay much for this record as it is a bit noisy and seems incapable of reproducing frequencies below 500 Hz. It's like listening to a barrage of mid range with some occasional clicks thrown in.

Looking at the images on the sleeve might lead you to genuinely ask the question: were these guys serious? Well yes they were and Trevor Horn's involvement attests to this. Not only did Trevor write and produce four tracks on this album, but the lead vocal on "Hand Held in Black and White" sounds almost entirely Trevor to my ears. Also involved were Anne Dudley and Bruce Woolley on keyboards with Gary Langan behind the desk as engineer. Therefore it should come as no surprise that the "Trevor songs" are by far the best here. The afore mentioned "Mirror Mirror" and "Hand Held in Black and White" are complimented by ballad "Give Me Back My Heart". "Videoteque" draws a very eighties image of a near future in which video has become the primary medium for nightclubs. This song has some distinctive PPG Wave and Linn Drum sounds alongside the prototypical brass stabs and Fairlight wizardry employed by The Art of Noise.

The remaining tracks are written and produced by the band. Songs such as "I Got Your Number Wrong" and "Give Me Some Kind of Magic" have some cracking eighties slap bass that sounds so cliched it's almost good. "Dangerous Blondes" is probably the pick of the Dollar tracks, but they all lack a spark and sound a little naive when compared to the work of the maestro. Still, not the worst 99p I have ever spent. 3/5

One record at a time: 82. Digitalism - .JPEG

It took me a while to work out what this release was and I'm still confused about what it is called. The sleeve says the album is called .JPEG but Discogs lists it as JPEG_Complete and most people seem to refer to it as JPEG. Wikipedia gives us no idea as it doesn't even have an entry for the album.

As I understand it, this is a double vinyl release of the 2019 JPEG album which includes three extra tracks from the "Chapter Y" EP of 2021. Personally I am just pleased that some bands continue to release physical product and am content to refer to it as JPEG.

The title track is tinged with eighties house sensibilities and has a great groove. Whilst the lyrics are a little one dimensional, "JPEG" proves to be a perfect introduction and one of the highlights. "Panavision" builds into a dance track that has a syncopated beat that reminds me a little of drum and bass. There is a guest vocal from Louisahhh!!! on DISC_404 but it sounds like it belongs on a long lost album by The Prodigy circa 1997.  

"Chrome.exe" is another noisy instrumental club track that I'm having trouble digesting at 9am. The tracklist of the digital album and the vinyl become divergent here with the pounding beats of "Wish I Was There" being followed by the lacklustre and frankly annoying "Olympia". There are more eighties house vibes with "Knight Life" which develops into a nice track but is a tad too long. "Infinity" is immediately identifiable as a Digitalism track with it distorted lead and octave bassline. We hear a guitar for the first time on "No Data" which is as close to an 'indie-dance' track as you are going to get on this album. 

At this point it occurs to me that Digitalsim seem to have moved out of their usual formula or creating either club tracks or indie-dance pop; there's something more here. However, just as I began to hope they had left the French house pastiche behind them we hear "Voltage" which is more Daft Punk than Daft Punk. "Data Gardens" provides some respite from the pounding beats but by this stage everything is beginning to sounds the same. This isn't a bad album, but it isn't their best. 3/5

One record at a time: 6. Air - Twentyears

So, we come to record number six in my collection, the <ahem> unforgettable "Twentyears" by Air. As you may have noticed I am trying to work my way through my record collection in alphabetical order by artist; so coming back to the letter 'a' after over eighty entries is a bit of a cock up.

For some reason I keep box sets on different shelves to the rest of my collection and whilst I've had my eye on them to ensure I don't forget Enigma "The Complete Studioalbum Collection" (sic), I have completely overlooked this one.

"Twentyears" is a 'career defining' compilation album that was released on a variety of formats, including the three CD and double vinyl box set I am looking at today. In keeping with process I'm just going to play the vinyl today.

The first track "La Femme D'Argent" is taken from their classic debut album "Moon Safari". This song is a fantastic, laid back instrumental beamed to us from 1976. You can smell the flares and handlebar moustaches as Jean-Benoît teases licks and trills from the Rhodes piano.

I think must have already stated on this blog that the next track, "Cherry Blossom Girl" is a masterpiece, but it doesn't hurt to reiterate this and assert that no compilation album for Air would be complete without it. Another of my favourite tracks "Kelly Watch The Stars" features Solina synths stings, vocoder vocals and a Minimoog bassline - what's not to like!? At this stage, such an embarrassment of riches means I am beginning to think that this could be the best compilation album ever. However, things go a bit awry with "Playground Love" and "Sexy Boy" which aren't really to my taste. In fact, I hate "Sexy Boy". I have hated it since the first day I heard it wafting out the window of a student house sometime in 1998. I like a lot of Air's music but that one song really annoys me and I don't listen to it. So I've skipped it.

The Rhodes piano is wheeled out again for "All I Need" which is complimented by the etherial vocal talent of Beth Hirsch. The advert friendly "Alpha Beta Gaga" is presented as the "Single Edit" which unfortunately trims a minute and a half from the running time. If running time was a concern I would have suggested they jettison one of the less successful tracks (read awful) such as "How Does It Make You Feel?" rather than chopping up a good one.

Next up is the best song from the "Pocket Symphony" album, "Once Upon a Time". This is a dreamy piano driven song that Air always seemed to excel in delivering. I find "Alone In Kyoto" mesmerising and consider it one of their finest works. "Talisman" uses the same recipe as "La Femme D'Argent" but isn't nearly as good. "Run" is undoubtedly excellent and closing track "Le Soleil Est Près De Moi" is as relaxed and chilled a track as you could ever expect to hear.

Having reached the end, I am left a little bemused by this compilation. There is no track from the "Love 2" album and "Mer du Japon" should be on any and every Air compilation. The inclusion of the frankly awful "How Does It Make You Feel?" in preference to the tolerable "Don't Be Light" from the same album is mystifying. 3/5

One record at a time: 81. Digitalism - Mirage

I bought this record when it was released in 2016. I think I must have listened to it, decided it was another nice Daft Punk pastiche and promptly forgotten about it. 

Fast forward around three years and I was on a long and stressful train journey listening to my phone whilst it played on shuffle. As I sped through the countryside, a mysterious piece of music began to play in my earphones. The blurred images and flashes of light coming in through the window seemed perfectly attuned to the music and I became transfixed. Only when the song had finished could I wake my phone and see what had been playing. As it turned out the track was "Mirage, Pt 1" from this album and it led me to reappraise this record. Whilst I no longer neglect this album, it has been a while since I listened to it so I'm looking forward to giving it a spin again.

Digitalism songs tend to fall into two camps: disco stompers or indie-dance tracks. The first two tracks on this album illustrate this dichotomy perfectly. "Arena" is a slice of satisfying dance music that is redolent of Daft Punk and "Battlecry" is a catchy indie-pop song with a distinctive chorus. I can just imagine the third track "Go Time" being played in a tent at Glastonbury with bucket hat wearing young men singing along in appreciation - not somewhere I long to be. "Utopia" continues the pattern of schizophrenic style swapping and is an arpeggio driven EDM creation. The hook on "Destination Breakdown" doesn't quite deliver for me and the whole thing is a little too noisy, but "Open Waters" is much more successful.

I regard the two part, twelve minute opus that is the title track as the zenith of this album. When "Mirage, Pt, 1" opens you could be forgiven for thinking some sort of fault had occurred as the synths burble and pulsate erratically. As more layers are added the sound becomes mesmerising until our reverie is broken by a pounding kick drum. The finale of the track sees us gently lowered into the melodic introduction of Part Two, which then evolves into a slightly more beat driven piece. "Indigo Skies" and "The Ism" are rare misfires that are best forgotten but "Dynamo" moves outside of the usual Digitalism formula with more success. As the album plays out there is a fine slice of  French House courtesy of "No Cash". which pounds away like its 1997 all over again. A slight less rewarding experience that some of the band's other albums but there are some fine moments. 4/5

One record at a time: 80. Digitalism - I Love You, Dude

Whilst I bought Digitalism's first album in 2007 on CD, I didn't have the foresight to buy it on LP. As a consequence, their second album, "I Love You, Dude", is the first I own on vinyl.

According to Discogs my copy of the album is from 2011, but I'm not sure that is accurate as I didn't buy it from Amazon until 2019. Interestingly, this is one of few records I own that came with a plastic credit card containing the download code rather than a piece of paper.

As I listen to this album, I seem to be forced to compare each song to someone else's work. There's a strong influence of Daft Punk running throughout and I hear elements of contemporaries, Simian Mobile Disco, Justice and AIR to name but a few. That's not to say these aren't original songs and nearly all of them are very good, it's just that some sound highly derivative.

Broadly speaking, Digitalism songs seem to fit in two different camps: house stompers and indie-tinged electronic pop. Whilst the latter style is where Digitalism are at their most original, this is where I find them least interesting.

"Stratosphere" is an impressive slice of electronic dance music with a strong French house feel. The second track "2 Hearts" drops the pounding dance beats and is more like a traditional pop song replete with vocal. "Circles" is another more conventional song with strong Tomcraft vibes and another nice vocal from Jens. My favourite track is house stomper "Blitz". This track is nothing short of genius with its stuttering riffs and a great trance arpeggio played on what sounds like an FM synth.

"Forrest Gump" has good verses but the chorus annoys me a little. We flip back to more dance orientated material with "Reeperbahn" and "Antibiotics" before diving off into AIR territory with "Just Gazin'". "Miami Showdown" is Daft Punk by numbers but "Encore" is a more considered piece of electronic music. "Blade" is pounding club track that is probably the hardest thing on here. This is a bit of a schizophrenic album but I enjoy it a lot. 4/5