LCD Genius

I didn’t really appreciate the eponymously titled LCD Soundsystem album until the more accessible ‘Sound of Silver’ came along a couple of years later. Seeing Mr Murphy perform live recently confirmed my suspicion that he is actually something of a musical genius.

Thus, I have looked forward to the new album ‘This is happening’ for some time; happily it does not disappoint. There are many marvellous electro tinged gems and electronic grooves to covert here. The opener ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ is a brilliant combination of analogue synths and conventional drums (who would have thought I would ever say that). The TR-808 gets a work out on the sublime ‘I Can Change’ and ‘You Wanted a Hit’ is underpinned with sublime EMS and Moog sounds. ‘One Touch’ is a particular favourite of mine with its TR-606 beat and Casiotone…. errrr tones.

Having seen the band perform live, I was intrigued as to which (obviously analogue) synths they were using. Happily the sleeve of this album tells us most of the gear used. As well as the afore mentioned TR-808 and 606 the EMS VCS3 and Polysynthi seem to have been used quite heavily, there is a smattering of CS60, Simmons Drums, Moog Rogue and the very random Moog Cordovox CDX amongst others. All in all there is a very healthy amount of synth on this album.

On the down side, ‘All I Want’ sounds like an annoying pastiche of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ and ‘Somebody’s Calling Me’ qualifies as the most annoying song of 2010 (no, it really is very very irritating). The cover art is dire and a couple more tracks would not have gone amiss.

Furthermore Murphy has hinted that this may well be his last LCD Soundsystem album. The cynicism of ‘You Wanted a Hit’ coupled with Murphy’s recent pleadings to fans not to leak the album before its release date smack of an irreversible disenchantment with the recording industry. This is both a sad and rather disturbing position that I sincerely hope Murphy does not stick to.

Yes, kill off the LCD Soundsystem moniker if you must, but don’t stop recording and releasing material. I beg you James; your moments of genius are beyond my comprehension.

Way Out West: Way good

I have never been able to pin point quite why I love the music of Way Out West. Ever since I first heard ‘Domination’ in 1996, I have been entranced by the band’s output. Album tracks such as ‘Sequoia’, ‘Activity’, ‘Call Me’ and ‘Ultraviolet’ are amongst the best pieces of electronic music ever composed.
Whilst their music is heavily influenced by the pounding beats demanded of the dance floor, there is always something far more intelligent in the work of Messers Warren and Wisternoff. Their best tracks do not rely on melody in the same way that Jarre or Vangelis might and yet they are far far more than just ‘grooves’.

I also strongly admire the fact that they do not feel the need to ‘mix it up’ and include slow or ambient tracks in order to create a ‘balanced’ album. It’s as if they are saying ‘we are an electronic dance group, so that is what you’re going to get from start to finish’. This is an idea I love and wish other artists had the courage to pursue.

I have become obsessed with the idea of Way Out West producing tracks for Pet Shop Boys. That would be a dream combination for me. Even a remix would do. Look into in someone and make it so. Thank you.

Oh but 'Don't Look Now' should be avoided. No really. Don't.

Live drumming

In case anyone should be interested, this is how I feel ALL electronic musicians should work. Yes, using a real drummer creates an energy and a vibe that programming just can not match. But it's seriously lame when your original work was purely electronic.

Forget an acoustic kit for your drummer. Do this:

Vinyl Factory

OK, so they are only trying to sell me stuff. But boy do I like what they are trying to sell me. The Vinyl Factory send me an e-mail every now and then letting me know how good their latest product is. Trouble is, I get tempted far too often.

I've sung the merits of vinyl before on this blog, and my love of the 'Ultimate Edition' of the Pet Shop Boys album 'Yes' should be familiar. So my affinity with the products provided by The Vinyl Factory makes perfect sense. The quality of both the vinyl and the artwork produced by this company are second to none and it is no wonder an increasing number of artists are turning to them to manufacture their limited editions or vinyl pressings. So do yourself (and your ears) a favour and order your next purchase from them.

And this should come as no suprise to anyone.

Kraftwerk sell me a box

“Without them there would be no hip hop, no house, no ambient music, no electro.” Q Magazine

Like them or not, you cannot deny the influence of Kraftwerk on electronic music and a whole generation of musicians. Personally, I find a large part of their work cold and impenetrable. Whilst “Computer World” and “The Man-Machine” are two of my favourite albums of all time, little of the rest of their back catalogue sounds nearly as good to me. Part of my ambiguity towards Kraftwerk is as a result of their attitude towards the press, their fans and the world in general. I hate it when people are aloof ‘just to be interesting’ or ‘arty’. It’s wank. Grow up and get on with life. Yet, I am constantly drawn back to Kraftwerk and their music as if it were some irresistible force.

In order to appreciate their music more I felt I needed to know more about the band. Thus, a few years ago I purchased the book “Man, Machine and Music” by Pascal Bussy. I purchased the second edition of the book in 2001 when Flür and Bartos had departed, but the integral duo of Hütter and Schneider remained intact. Reading the book did give me a greater insight into the band and also an appreciation of the experimental nature of albums I did not like such as “Radioactivity” and “Autobahn”. Yet I still had limited admiration for people I could not connect or associate with in any way.

Consequently, I decided not to purchase any of the remastered albums or the box set ‘The Catalogue’ when it was released last year and was content with my motley collection of original releases and imports. Yet something has drawn me back to ‘The Catalogue’ and during one late night shopping trip on amazon, that irresistible force acted once again. Almost before I knew what was happening I had ordered ‘The Catalogue’ on CD and was contemplating the vinyl versions of my favourite albums.

I really didn’t think too much about what the package would actually look like or consist of and thus when my box set did arrive, I was very impressed indeed. You see, like the ultimate edition of the Pet Shop Boys album ‘Yes’, ‘The Catalogue’ is as much a thing of beauty, as it is a collection of music. As an item it is very nice to own.

But the music: the remastered audio. You will read contradictory reports about the audio on the internet. This is with good reason. Some of the albums sound better thanks to their digitalisation and some sound worse. Personally I like the dynamic range of the new ‘Computer World’ and the noise reduction on ‘Radioactivity’ makes it a more pleasurable experience for me. Yet some bemoan the lack of background noise and dislike the new mixes and reconstructed tracks. Its all a matter of taste. For some albums I will revert to my old versions, for others I will go to the remastered ones.

Orbital (but not On+On+On)

For some reason I re-evaluate my opinion on certain artists every so often. I’m never sure why I do this. Is it to ensure my taste is what I think it is? Am I really so unsure of myself that I have to check to see if I really enjoy the music in my collection? Yet, I’m glad I do this, as I sometimes learn to appreciate the genius of artists I have previously dismissed.

One group I knew carried all the ingredients for great music, yet one I never warmed to, were Orbital. My brother was always a big fan; but somehow they left me cold. I disliked their music chiefly because of the track ‘Halcyon’. The reason I hated this track was because it samples of the abhorrent ‘Opus III’ track ‘It’s a fine day’. I found the original song intensely irritating and it doesn’t matter how you reverse, fade and otherwise manipulate the sound of the vocal, I will always dislike it. Ok, so I shouldn’t dismiss an artist because I didn’t like one of their biggest hits, but I hated (and still do) that track intensely.

Another reason I never liked Orbital much was because ‘Chime’ was always too slow and had been surpassed by the time I became fully aware of it in the early 90’s. The more electronic and experimental nature of Orbital’s back catalogue passed me by as I became obsessed with the frenetic dance music that was abundant in the 1990’s. The next time I became aware of Orbital was when ‘Style’ was doing the rounds in 1999. I hated it. Still do.

So what possessed me to buy ‘Work’ in 2002 I will never know. I liked a few tracks but not enough to listen to it more than a handful of times and certainly not enough to rip it to my hard drive. Their version of the theme to ‘The Saint’ and their remix of Kraftwerk’s ‘Expo 2000’ were good and made me realise there was a true ‘Orbital Sound’, yet it didn’t really make me want to listen to their work.

For some reason 2010 finds me quite obsessed with the music of Orbital. Some kind of early 90’s nostalgia has brought me back to ‘Belfast’, ‘Satan’, ‘Remind’, ‘Lush’, and ‘Choice’. More recent work such as ‘Funny Break’, ‘Illuminate’ and ‘Nothing Left’ are also mesmerising to me.

Having purchased their entire back catalogue, I still feel it is something of a mixed bag in terms of quality. They definitely have a tendency to be over indulgent and some tracks (‘Bath Time’, ‘Style’, ‘Halcyon’ etc) I find intensely irritating (I can’t warm to ‘The Box’ at all either I’m afraid). Yet when they get it right, well, Orbital are capable of hitting highs no other artist is capable of. Listen to tracks such as the live version of ‘Remind’ from their last ever Peel Session in 2004 and you will realise that Orbital were at one time, a groundbreaking and indispensable part of not only dance music, but electronic music in general. Make no mistake: they are important.

Ambition fulfilled: Depeche Mode Live

It’s not often you get to fulfil one of your life’s ambitions. It’s even less frequent that such an ambition lives up to your expectations. Yet in the case of seeing Depeche Mode live, both things happened.

Being in the standing area of the MEN allowed me to get pretty close to the stage and as ‘In Chains’ began to start, everyone knew we were in for a great night. Dave was his usual exuberant self and Martin was clearly set for a good time. Only Fletch spoiled the party with his ridiculous hand gestures and posturing.

Following the obligatory new album tracks (they are, after all, promoting a new album) they began to churn out cracking versions of ‘Walking in My Shoes’, ‘A Question of Time’ and ‘World in my eyes’. One highlight for me was ‘It’s No Good’ which sounded as fresh and exciting as when I first heard it. Following a lacklustre ‘Enjoy the Silence’ we reached the arm waving spectacle of ‘Never Let Me down again’. This was something I’ve always wanted to be a part of ever since I saw ‘101’ all those years ago.

Quite brilliant performances of ‘Behind the Wheel’ and ‘Personal Jesus’ rounded out a truly remarkable concert that did not disappoint. Whilst the set design did not seem to have moved on much from the ‘Touring the Angel’ tour of 2005/6 and the dreadful timing and incompetence of Mr Fletcher became evident the longer the show went on (I will be interested to see if his dreadful playing of the snare in ‘Behind the Wheel’ makes it onto the live album.), all seemed to have enjoyed seeing the band in the flesh. Here’s to next time. Still miss Alan’s input though.