Today’s Track: Floating Points – “Anasickmodular”

January 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

Is it science, magic or great music? a combination of all three? Time for a new post!

Pictured: Sam Shepherd in a photoshoot for an interview on the RedBull.com website (January 2018)

Jacob Braybrooke here! It’s not Rocket Science! Well, for this guy, it’s Neuroscience! Seriously, he has a degree in it! I’ve been listening quite a bit to Floating Points recently, a DJ of all things acid techno whose real name is Sam Shepherd, the co-founder of the Eglo Records label. His recent album, “Crush”, was released last November on the Ninja Tune label. It’s an experimental piece of music which dynamically mixes a range of improvisational sounds and electronic ambient works recorded around the world. It’s January, so there isn’t going to be much out until the early Spring heats up. That gives you the perfect excuse for you to go and check it out!

“Anasickmodular” is one of the singles from the album, which has made the A-list of BBC Radio 6Music for several weeks. It was named after the team who did the visual projections, the fact that he was feeling poorly on the day and how he bought a modular out of the box to record it! For me, “Anasickmodular” draws a heavy comparison to the likes of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. Since the genre of this single is of a similar tone and style, it reminds me of several Warp Records releases from around the mid-90’s, which partially contributes as to why I like it so much. The mixing and production of the track was created during Shepherd’s live improvised set at Dekmantel Festival in 2017, with other engineering stages completed during a tour date in Sydney. For me, this gives the track it’s freeform and carefree style, which echoes throughout the strange break-beat melodies and the ethereal, percussive garage beats. The texture, as a result, sounds very warm and euphoric, due to a hypnotic trance transition which feels like the music equivalent to a child’s drawing. A twitching, off-kilter drum pattern harkens back to Warp’s late-90’s IDM exports. The midway point is a real standout, as the assortment of ambient sounds swell up to form a synth tendril which forms the effect of an orchestral crescendo. It feels like Shepherd has definitely put his club sensibilities to the test and really pushed himself, as an artist, to deliver this track. He adds a layer of scientific IDM to make it essential!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Crush” (October 2019)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a new track from an Irish singer-songwriter and music producer who is known for being part of the Irish Trip Hop duo Moloko, who were responsible for the chart hits “The Time Is Now”, “Sing It Back” and “Familiar Feeling”! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Christmas Eve Special: Aphex Twin – “XMAS EVET_10 (Thanaton3 Mix)”

December 24, 2019 — 1 Comment

Merry XMAS EVE T_10 to you too! I know you’re a bit shy, Richard! I hope your card came! For everybody else, it’s finally time for a truly special Christmas Eve blog post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Syro” (2014)

Only the most hardcore of Aphex fans will get the Druqks reference above! I have already expressed just how much love, admiration and respect that I have for Richard D. James, otherwise known under his main pseudonym of Aphex Twin, SO many times on the blog and on social media. So, I’m not going to hammer over you with the details again. But, if you’re new to the blog – just to give you a hint, I spent a whopping total of over 95 hours listening to his material over the year of 2019. That’s not even half of it, as it doesn’t count his releases under many other pseudonyms like AFX, Polygon Window, GAK, The Tuss and others. I’m Jacob Braybrooke, I’m a nerd for Aphex Twin and this Christmas Eve on the blog, I’m covering “XMAS_EVET10 [120] (thanaton3 mix)” from Syro. I think it’s as much of a Christmas song as Die Hard is a Christmas film. I mean, it does have ‘XMAS-EVE’ in the title, so I think that’ll do for me!

I’ve been planning to write about this exact track for XMAS_EVE for about 4 months now. It’s very difficult to really explain which genre it is and how it sounds as the track is over 10 minutes long and there is just SO much to it. I should probably start by telling you that it’s been taken from Richard’s big comeback LP record following 2011’s “Druqks”, “Syro”, which was released in September 2014. On the record, Richard explores a more sonic direction and a deep-house style of production. It sounds very futuristic and complex, which is very different to his iconic 90’s releases. It’s lost it’s experimental value, as gone are the wacky melodies and the jabs at the music industry, which are instead replaced by a style of production where every single beat has been mechanically engineered to such a perfected degree. It’s entirely Meticulous and you’re going to have to give it a lot of time and work before you properly start to take different pieces from it. However, that’s a great compliment, as it is just such a fantastic record that will reward you in heaps and it’s going to stay in your Psyche for a long time, as it continues to unfold while you keep persevering with it. “XMAS_EVET10” is an ambient track, although it does have modulated vocals from Richard’s children. It’s still a little bit festive in the first few minutes, as it evokes a feeling of warmth and comfort. The childhood excitement of Christmas Day morning. As the track progresses, the Vaporwave-influenced bassline stutters and keeps replacing elements with alternating synth riffs and several hand-programmed, analogue mutations. There’s a quiet melodic energy and a 00’s IDM feel to the funky acid house rhythm. It’s deep techno done best by the legendary electronic maverick, with a sound that replaces a fading sense of familiarity with a strange sense of discovery. It’s very lush and it’s been layered very intelligently, with Richard tinkering away at the different computer-controlled beats to a near-endless level. The result is a gorgeous track that manages to justify a 10 minute long duration. How many other tracks can you think of that manage such a feat? Part of why Richard is such a hero to me is that even though the musical landscape around him changed unrecognisably in the years that he decided to seemingly retire the Aphex Twin moniker, he made his comeback with interwoven soundscapes that still manage to absolutely enthrall and captivate. I wholeheartedly feel that, as a student, I should be raving to more of this rather than the accepted dose of generic S Club 7 and One Direction that I’m being offered at my university events and I wish that more of my peers would understand where I’m coming from with that strong opinion. Now, that is my true Christmas wish!

Pictured: Richard D. James in a photshoot for a rare interview with MTV (October 1996)

You can also read my in-depth thoughts on 2001’s “Vordhosbn” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/24/todays-track-aphex-twin-vordhosbn/

Pictured: Richard D. James on a poster for a live performance at Hallum University, Sheffield, England (1993)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back in the proper festive spirit tomorrow, of course, for a Quick post (It’s my Christmas as well, you know!) on a legendary Christmas classic from a former Beatle bassist who is currently scheduled to be headlining The Main Stage on the Saturday night at Glastonbury in June 2020! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Caribou – “You & I”

December 9, 2019 — 1 Comment

With deadlines coming up for me on Thursday, it’s been just another Manic Monday, but Caribou is back to enlighten our moods! It’s time for your Monday music musing!

Pictured: Dan Snaith in a photoshoot for a Q&A interview with Stereogum (2014)

Leaving a six-year gap between 2014’s “Our Love” and his upcoming fifth studio release under the Caribou stage alias, which has been Canadian disc jockey Dan Snaith’s main gig since 2005, has left even his most patient fans with an awfully long wait. It’s difficult to remember that Snaith hasn’t been away from pumping out new material for very long, having dropped two new releases under his Daphni side-project in 2017. However, the overdue wait is finally over because Snaith has recently announced a new LP under the Caribou name, “Suddenly”, which is slated for release on February 28th via the City Slang records label. He’s also just been confirmed as part of the Saturday headliners for the All Points East Festival in May 2020 at Victoria Park in London next year, sitting comfortably alongside Tame Impala and Glass Animals. Not a shabby lineup at all! To start building up hype for the marketing machine of the new LP record, Snaith has unveiled a new single, “You & I”, which is a follow-up to the amazing soul-inspired, funk-heavy tune “Home” released in October.

The track starts off with a relatively slow-pace as the hallowed synth beats and the controlled drumbeat flickers between light moods and soundscape emotions like a disco ball shining down on a half-empty slow dance at some kind of school prom. Yeah, that sounded better in my head. Anyways, give it a listen and you’ll be able to hear what I mean. This is quintessentially a Caribou record, which has been mixed with a soul-laden influence of ambient experimentation lifted from the likes of Bonobo or Four Tet. From the slight tinge of neo-psychedelia and old-school electronic pop. A sudden (*boom*tiss) rush of guitar lines and autotuned male vocals provide a brief respite from the layered soundscapes and precise new-wave engineering, where Snaith manages to create an ultimate feeling of distance and dream circumstances not coming to a whole fruititon. The vocals, recited under a falsetto, “You can take your place up in the sky/I will find a way to get it on down here/Just as long as you aren’t here”, evoke an instantaneous effect of dream-pop and shoegazing, with the part-decimated vocal lines, in the drop, providing an effect of distortion, as the falsetto quickly fades out and gets replaced by a melancholic, but still dance-heavy, time-signatured sequence of IDM-heavy snares. The result is an overruling selection of themes, which bounce off each other and connect with each other to create an intelligent EDM sound which creates a wide contrast of themes and tones, all existing within an 80’s-drenched electro-funk soundscape, which creates an emotion of vulnerability and give-and-take nostalgia. Festival crowds, here he comes!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Suddenly” (February 28th, 2020)

You can also read my thoughts on “Home”, a previously released track from the forthcoming new record, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/28/todays-track-caribou-home/

Pictured: Dan Snaith hard at work producing music in his office studio!

Thank you for reading this post! Make sure you read the blog tomorrow, as I’ll be looking at a recent track from an American contemporary Christian singer who has performed across India, Uzbekistan, Israel, Guatemala and toured with Aaron Boyd. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: DJ Shadow (feat. Rockwell Knuckles, Tef Poe & Daemon) – “Urgent, Important, Please Read”

December 7, 2019 — 1 Comment

I ask for you to do the same by reading my blog! I’m urgently writing this post for you!

Pictured: Joshua Paul Davis sifting through his personal collection of over 60,000 records (2016)

DJ Shadow is back in our ears! “Our Pathetic Age” is the new, and sixth, full-length album from Shadow, his real name being Joshua Paul Davis. It works as a double-sided album, with the tracks on the first side of the record being instrumental, ambient-techno recordings and the tracks on the second side of the record featuring tracks with guest vocalists such as De La Soul, Nas and frequent collaborators Run The Jewels. Released on November 15, this record is a hip-hop commentary on the way that social media has changed our society and how online presence can be addictive for the public, more so than living life through a physical eyesight. “Urgent, Important, Please Read” is the third single on the record, featuring the vocal talents of Tef Poe, Rockwell Knuckles and Daemon. How many people does it take to record a song these days? That’s a rich pointer to make though, because like “Rocket Fuel” released earlier in the year, over the summer months, this track is an absolute corker!

The track starts off with an instant wave of reverb-drenched synth-led baselines as Poe introduces his vocal performance and the lyrical themes of the track: “I don’t know if you’ve been looking at your phones or looking at your screens, but, um…Careful with your info”, before the fast-paced grime flow kicks in over the top of Shadow’s trip-hop bassline, which adds a layer of drama and horror to the vocals, as the heavy breakbeat snares connote a sense of trauma and phobia in it’s fluctuating wavelength, as the industrial style dips above and below the lyrical references to digital surveillance and online manipulation of behaviour. A big shout-out, from a wrestling fan, to the name drop for WCW Nitro, by the way. A cornerstone of the 90’s, a title which Shadow also fulfills and plays off in his own right of the sound of this new LP record. There are brief glimmers of relaxation here and there, with a slow fading as the vocal bridge settles in: “So it seems to me this confusion is a human error/We keep allowing this to grow, the machines are gonna win/I’m…I’m gonna be the first to say it” before the track gets back to it’s very consistent drilling effect, although it’s not all doom and gloom. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking commentary on the online anxieties of futuristic technology and the 24/7 society which can threaten our earthly perspectives to change in specific ways and it shows new life for Shadow 20 years into his career, although the sound of the track also harkens back to the exciting underground hip-hop scene of the 90’s. There’s such a lot to unpack and discuss here!

Pictured: DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist (Lucas MacFadden) mixing together in the studio (Photo Credit: Derek Daily)

You can also read my thoughts on “Rocket Fuel”, a single featuring 70’s hip hop icons De La Soul from the brand new album, released over the summer, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/19/todays-track-dj-shadow-feat-de-la-soul-rocket-fuel/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Our Pathetic Age” (Released on November 15th, 2019) (via Mass Appeal Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post and for all of the kind comments I’ve been getting lately! I’ll be back tomorrow, as always, with your weekly throwback to the emo-pop/rock scene of the 2000’s as it’s nearly time for another Scuzz Sunday blog post! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Mark Arber – “Rasta Lion”

December 5, 2019 — Leave a comment

Rounding off your Thursday with a heavy techno track as underground as they come!

Pictured: Promotional Logo for the “Vegas Dirt Recordings” indie dance record label (2019)

Mark Arber is a heavy techno/IDM disc jockey who is currently signed to the Vegas Dirt Recordings label, a small underground electronic imprint dance label, which is currently based in London. Arber is a techno producer who is one of the original class of 88′ ravers. Arber has a very distinctive acid-house style to his techno beats. “Rasta Lion” is his second release and it will be available in February 2020! A massive shout-out goes to my friend and Vegan Voodoo, Eddie Bammeke, who provided me a copy of the track in early access! Make sure you stay tuned to Vegas Dirt Recordings on Facebook to find out more heavy-techno artists to appease your earbuds and for the latest information on live DJ sets and their latest music releases from the local scene.

“Rasta Lion” is a relentless assault on the earbuds on it’s first listen. This is a track which seems to have developed it’s roots in the influences of 90’s acid techno pioneers like The Future Sound Of London and Board Of Canada, as well as the modern electro scene. With very little background information on Arber and the label up on the internet, this is music that has to speak for itself and it does so fully, taking all of the stride in the world as it does so. It has several different break-beat sections, such as a distorted female vocal, which has a slight-pop vibe to it as it echoes under a fading synthesizer. It also has several bassline breaks, which creates the effect of a spotlight being rotated on a stage with several performers. Almost a strobe lighting effect, it propels the club-anthem feel of the rave-heavy bassline forward. The track also has a psychedelic, stoner-like male vocal, which implores the raver to “let the music carry you to infinity and space” under a heavy bed of ambient Jungle-based production and freakish electronic snares which distance themselves from the listener with fading techniques, transporting the listener to an African club aesthetic. Overall, it’s a shame the track’s not officially out yet, but I hope you’re looking forward to the release of the new track. It has a very exciting and club-like aesthetic which is primed to get you up and raving on a night-out with minimal work required!

Pictured: Alternate Promotional Logo for “Vegas Dirt Recordings” (March 2018)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at the new track from La Roux, which is getting released, with the premiere of a new music video, today! It’s called “Gullible Fool” and it’s taken from her upcoming third LP record, “Supervision”, which drops on February 7, 2020 via her own new label, Supercolour Records! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Caribou – “Home”

October 28, 2019 — Leave a comment

It’s been my second week of work experience at a professional broadcaster today, but now I’m Home, so it’s time for me to write you a paragraph or two about a new track!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Home” (October 2019) (Single Release)

“Caribou”, which is not to be confused with the energy drink “Carabao”, is one of the several different monikers of which Dan Snaith, a Canadian DJ, composer and producer, releases his works of art, in the form of intelligent dance music, under. Along with aliases such as “Manitoba” and “Daphni”, he has released several essential albums that have become influential for EDM artists to follow, such as his 2007 LP record “Andorra”, which won the 2008 Polaris Music Prize. He’s also known for curating the “Nightmare Before Christmas” in Minehead in 2013, which was also hosted by All Tomorrow’s Parties, with Snaith also co-performing alongside Battles and Les Savy Fely. “Home” is his new single, which is his first piece of new material in the five years since “Our Love”, a 2014 LP record, although he’s produced new music as “Daphni” since that point. The track lands with the announcement of Caribou headlining Liverpool’s Invisible Wind Factory next year, as well as a UK tour coming up later in 2020. The jam was premiered as BBC Radio 1’s “Hottest Record In The World” by Annie Mac on October 8th, with a new LP record possibly being on the way.

The main riff of “Home” is a sample taken from Gloria Barnes’ 1971 soul classic tune of the same title, with Snaith’s electronic production work acting as an enhancement of the soulful mood and the gospel influences off the original Barnes’ record. In an interview with NME, Snaith said the track reflects “moments when something changes suddenly”, which “catalyses a change in your whole life – when you need to go back to something familiar, pick up the pieces and start again.”, which is also a great summary of how a student like me usually feels when travelling on the train for a trip home at christmas time. Back on-topic now. The track uses house influences and bumps them up a notch, with a winding staircase of jazz melodies and chiming psychedelia adding an acid trip-feel to the thematic context of this track. It reminds me a little bit of The Avalanches, in which the layout feels dynamic and adds several layers of horns and string composition without it being easily noticed on the first listen. The vocal hook: “It’s just what she pleases/Cause she’s happy on her own/She picks up all the pieces, she’s going home” is wistful and has a child-like soul sensibility to it, making it feel accessible to a more casual audience than some of Caribou’s other records, without feeling too poppy or over commercial-ised. Overall, this is a solid single with a neat ending, yet it is very rewarding towards repeat listens.

Pictured: Dan Snaith (Caribou) in a photoshoot for a Q&A interview feature (2014) (Photo Credit: Stereogum)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a new track from a legendary 90’s US Pop/rock/whatever-he-wants icon who has secretly turned down a role in composing the score and soundtrack for the Netflix TV hit “Mad Men” not once, not twice, but multiple times! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: The Future Sound Of London – “We Have Explosive”

October 19, 2019 — Leave a comment

Here’s a crazy and influential drill and bass track from 1996 to get you in the mood for an old-school rave on a Saturday night!

The Future Sound Of London are an arcane IDM group who are well-respected in the online music community for those who know them. A very if you know, you know, kind of artist who are mainly known for a few successful albums in the mid-1990’s. In their career, the duo have been credited for pushing the boundaries of electronic instrumentation, with their electronic experimentation covering the likes of acid techno, trip hop, house, jungle, drill & bass and breakbeat, pioneering a new wave of ambient dance music. One of their records, “Dead Cities”, was released in October 1996 to huge critical acclaim and a lot of praise from both fans and music publications, as the industrial sound and the drill-and-bass experimentation created an album that is very dystopian and futuristic in style. “We Have Explosive” was released as a single in March 1997, with the track becoming a commercial hit, somehow eventually reaching the position of #17 in the UK Singles Chart in 1997.

Pictured: Cover Artwork For “Dead Cities” (1996)

This track features loads of samples, mostly taken from Run DMC’s 1988 LP “Tougher Than Leather”, with the “Part 3” track of the physical single record being a working of “Rockchester”, a 1987 track by Fats Comet. The track has a heavy drill and bass hook, which is different to the light techno sound of the other tracks on “Dead Cities”. It has a pulsating bassline and a menacing atmosphere, which feels very industrial in nature and manages to keep your interest with it’s energy and political themes, with several of it’s contextual elements working in tandem to create a track that feels urban and grounded, yet infectious and futuristic. There are a lot of layers that intertwine and unfold as the track goes along it’s 3-minute duration (for the single version, 6 for the album recording) and it may feel a bit too nauseous for some on a first listen, but there is definitely something intelligent about the rhythm, with the track setting the duo apart from the likes of DJ Shadow or Aphex Twin, but while evoking a sound that is as immediate as the duo’s peers, as it blends the influences of big beat and trip hop to a unanimously solid level of success. Overall, it’s a very fun track to listen to and it successfully captures the feeling of a cold aftermath from a state of urban decay. It’s loud, obnoxious and bombacious in style, but wildly evocative and electrifying!

Pictured: Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with the post that you’ve been waiting all week to read, as it’s almost time for the next weekly edition of my punk-rock themed “Scuzz Sundays” blog posts and this week, I’ve got a right throwback up my sleeves! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Butch & C.Vogt – “Desire”

October 17, 2019 — Leave a comment

If the spontaneous discovery of music, old or new, is one of your greatest desires, then you know what to do: like the Facebook page for One Track At A Time and give the blog a follow! It’s time for your daily post!

“Desire” is the new single by Butch & C. Vogt, two Latino electronic dance artists who are really blowing up, with this song in particular, on the international club scene. There’s not much information about the two EDM masters readily available on the internet, but they are currently signed to the Running Back indie record label. The track is a reworked rendition of a track by Andy Gibb, “Desire”, which was released in 1980.

“Desire” is a track that unifies several vibes and combines different flip sides of the EDM and IDM genres, as well as disco and synthpop-based influences, to a near-faultless degree of immediate sequencing and solid execution. The track evokes R&B, deep house, acid house, techno and world, all in one place by an effective clean sweep, created by the breakbeat-style engineering of the distorted vocal sections and the funk sensibilities created by the arrangement of the drum, dub and vocal melodies. It’s easy to see why the track has become so popular with a cult following in such a short span of time, as the track oozes charisma in it’s teases of bassline drops and the switch-up’s in the pacing and layout, as Butch & C. Vogt cleverly tease and trick you into expecting the ambient melody to reach a more heavy texture, but the melodies are pulled quickly enough to return you back to the infectiously groovy melodies of the record. The full version of the track comes in at a staggering length of 8 minutes, but if it puts you off a little bit, make sure you check out the radio edit so that you can still get an experience from this mega hit of a record! Overall, it’s a fantastic track that feels new within it’s genre and seems likely to become very influential in the next few years.

Pictured: Butch (left) and C. Vogt (right)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a track from an English indie rock/new wave/electro-pop group who, forgettably, won the Mercury Prize in 2007 for their debut LP record! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every daily new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Etienne De Crecy – “Am I Wrong?”

October 5, 2019 — Leave a comment

The wrong thing to do is miss out on a gem like this and the right thing to do is to like and follow the blog! It’s time for your Saturday blog post!

Pictured: Étienne De Crécy (French DJ/Producer)

Today, I’ve been listening to “Am I Wrong?” a track from Étienne De Crécy, a French DJ and Producer who specialises in the House genre and ambient dance music of the IDM category. It’s a very niche and alternative EDM track which I found on my automated recommendations list on Spotify. I’ve personally not heard of Étienne De Crécy before, but after undertaking a bit of research, I’ve heard that he’s been doing a little bit of a Richard D. James since the very late 90’s by releasing music under numerous different titles, including the likes of Superdiscount, Mooloodjee and Minos Pour Main Basse. In 2001, he released “Am I Wrong?” as a single from his second LP, “Tempovision”, which was accompanied by a 3D animated video directed by his brother, Geoffroy de Crécy, who also directed the 3D animated videos for the rest of the singles off the LP. It has become a cult classic in the European club scene and it reached a peak position of #44, just outside of the top 40, in the UK Singles Chart.

It’s a pretty weird and over-the-top video, right? It doesn’t particularly do justice for a song that is otherwise a pretty exciting jam. It’s a very enjoyable track because I like the distorted vocals and the bassline that sounds twisted and funky, almost riotous, but it remains fairly controlled in it’s main execution. The track creates a good excuse for you to just switch off, although it’s just a reworked sample of Millie Jackson’s “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right”, a smash hit from 1974. It feels like a cynical representation of pop music from the 70’s timeline, taking an influence in style from Aphex Twin’s ambient melodies, but the electronic instrumentation crackles as the lyrics snap around the peaceful tone of the pulsating snares, to create a feeling that is relaxing and comforting to listen to. Overall, it’s still an interesting track and a record that’s been meshed together well in terms of the composition and ambient style of the pop-filled rhythm, even if I feel the ending is a little bit abrupt as the drum beats just end without a smooth fade or a slow, but coherent, transition. It also sounds like an effective foreshadowing for 00’s dance hits led by a synthpop revival movement, such as Spiller & Sophie Ellis Bextor’s “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” and Modjo’s “Lady Hear Me Tonight”, although this is a record that’s a lot more niche and a bit less straightforward in it’s execution.

Pictured: Cover Art For “Tempovision” (2001)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with a brand new weekly edition of my special themed Scuzz Sundays series of blog posts! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Aphex Twin – “Vordhosbn”

September 24, 2019 — 2 Comments

At this point, I would normally come up with a little wisecracking joke as an introduction to today’s new post, but with a track with a title of “Vordhosbn” from an album where the track titles are a mix of genuine Cornish, Welsh and good old RDJ gobbledygook, I’m lost of words for once! So, it’s just Happy Tuesday for now, I guess!

Pictured: Richard at a live DJ gig in his early days!
Pictured: Cover Art For “Drukqs” (2011)

As we’ve already established on the blog, I’m a MASSIVE fan of Aphex Twin, the main intelligent dance project by Richard D. James, a genius mastermind and infinite tinkerer of equipment, both analogue and digital. If anybody who knows me is reading this, you will know that I’ve been COMPLETELY obsessed with his work for the best part of a year now. I absolutely love how enigmatic he is, an artist with a very special talent for creating a balance of twisted alien melodies and crooked old school rave anthems, but he’s also got the power of effortlessly tugging at your heart with a simple, or complex, ambient melody. If you haven’t heard of it before, as a wise man once said, you need to look at yourself in the mirror and make a change. The problem is that his music isn’t designed to be very simple or mainstream at all and it requires your brainpower to work it. A term once coined for Aphex Twin is “Braindance” and I honestly can’t think of a better term for it. I’d probably start with Selected Ambient Works 85-92 and make my way through his catalogue, but you should also check out his other monikers, as he’s released music under different titles like AFX, The Tuss, Analord, Polygon Window, Caustic Window and many others. In any case, make sure you go and listen. Then, listen again. And again, again and again, as it will eventually talk to you and it will become the most wonderful feeling in the world – I guarantee it!

Today, we’re looking at one of his tracks from his 2001 LP release, “Drukqs”, a record that was released to a divided critical reception and it proved to be his last until 2014’s “Syro”, a comeback which explores a sonic direction. A myth tells us that Richard left a USB stick of all the tracks on a plane and he immediately released the tracks as an album due to fear of it getting leaked. I like to think of it as an extended demo, an utter extravaganza of 2 sides and 30 tracks, which showcase RDJ’s creative freedom at one of it’s highest peaks. I can understand the overall criticisms of the record not really having a cohesive quality, but I really enjoy the batshit crazy tone of the record and the complexity of the different tones created by the ambient tracks on the record. It is really hard work, but it’s still a 9/10, close to a 9.5, record, in my book.

“Vordhosbn” is a track with a spooky opening and a vintage drum-and-bass texture to the overall sound. It’s an abstract piece of work that will take a bit of time and effort to really sink your teeth into, but it’s also a very smooth and rewarding track once you’ve persevered and worked your brain into it. The track has a start-and-stop nature, which allows the glitched-out bassline to flow in and out of the deep acid-based computer synth melodies. It keeps each of the layers running at a fast pace, but there are also little breaths of respite throughout to let the evocative underlayer of strobe effects to hit you with a gorgeous heft of emotional impact. It’s an ambient masterpiece that really has a lot of power in transporting your mind to a different dimension and evoking vivid memories of a time in your own personal life. This track is a fantastic representation of the early 90’s analogue influences which James explores on 2001’s “Drukqs”, an LP record which is designed to play in the method of deep listening, as it’s not designed to be as simple as “you hear it once, you like it” which the mainstream industry is based upon. It’s a polarising record, as some Aphex fans feel as though it lacks cohesion due to the simultaneous exploration of hard drill-and-bass sounds and soft, ambient piano textures being created and produced by James. However, I feel as though Drukqs features a lot of individual tracks which are low-key highlights of Richard’s entire discography on the whole, although I can see where the negative reception is coming from. Overall, I think that “Vordhosbn” is a very beautiful track from an astonishing artist who will, and never could, be replaced.

Pictured: Blimp used to promote “Syro” (2014)
Pictured: The master in his element!

Thank you very much for reading this post! Don’t forget to join me tomorrow as I explore another fresh jam from “The Return”, which is the debut LP of Sampa The Great! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/