Diamond Gord Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Again, my narrower definition of electronic music has meant another album that wasn't in my list is possibly lower than it should be. I only put in music with electronically produced sounds and not sample based music. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 Again, my narrower definition of electronic music has meant another album that wasn't in my list is possibly lower than it should be. I only put in music with electronically produced sounds and not sample based music. I had Endtroducing in my list but didn't include Massive Attack, it's a tricky one really, in general I also went for more electronic sounds but I guess Endtroducing is pretty much entirely made using electronics (while Massive Attack would have a higher quota of "organic" sounds). I guess they and others that I didn't include (like say, Maxinquaye) fit into multiple categories without comfortably fitting into one in particular. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaking Decency Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I had Massive Attack, but Blue Lines instead of Mezzanine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Brilliant Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Haven't listened to Endtroducing for years - but absolutely will tonight after reading that! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 I hadn't listened to Endtroducing for ages (2 or 3 years probably) until fairly recently when for some unknown reason the opening to Changeling popped into my head and I went back to it and remembered exactly why I loved it so much back then. I think Shadow's more recent music had been so disappointing in comparison that I had decided to shun him entirely 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) 7 Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1993) Throughout his prolific 1990s era, Richard D James developed an aura of mythology surrounding his music and his life, largely by design yet happily perpetuated by a swooning music press and lapped up by his fanatical audience. Lived in a bank vault. Drove a tank. Composed during periods of lucid dreaming. DJ'd using sandpaper and a food mixer rather than vinyl. He was presented as a prodigal teenage electronics whizz and musical genius who built his own instruments to create otherwordly techno innovations that took electronic music in entirely new directions. It conjured up images of the strange loner from Cornwall, surrounded by mountains of cables and bits of old machinery, somehow coaxing ever captivating rhythm and sounds from them. On listening to SAW85-92 we realize that actually, he might have been using many of the same analogue Roland synths and drum machines as everyone else, yet somehow this becomes even more impressive - we realize that whatever the truth, RDJ was an incredibly gifted artist even at an early age - if the title is literal then James would have been 14 when some of these tracks were created (although we don't know which). Whether his machines were customized or not, this young outsider offered up a (then) unique take on the music he loved. SAW85-92 is electronic techno music marvellously skewed to sound somehow fuzzy, glowing with emotional warmth, packed full of gorgeous riffs and hooks. The ambience of the title suggests meandering beatless synth adventures but for the uninitiated, you need to look to the mind-melting Volume II for that. SAW85-92 is packed with beats and percussive hooks, from the 80s drum pops of Green Calx to the lively breakbeats of Heliosphan. Here, "ambient" might refer to the way the sounds might live in the "real world" - the bass drum on pulsing opener Xtal sounds like it might be coming through the wall of the club underneath the nearby arches. The bubbling synth and tapping rhythm of Tha is accompanied by muffled speech throughout, audible yet not clear enough to have explicit meaning. There's never a thought that this might be "mere" machine music - sonically these tracks seem alive, more than just composition and arrangement, somehow something much much more than that. What's perhaps most striking throughout though is James' exceptional gift for melody - he wasn't dubbed the "20th Century Mozart" for nothing. It's not just the high end riffs and figures, and often circular beds of synthesizer that nowadays are best just described as Aphexian - the basslines positively sing on this album. The bleeping melody of Ageispolis is underpinned by a tune that is as much the soul of the track as the rest of the arrangement. The acidic bass riff of Ptolemy will bury itself in your brain, while the dubby low end of We Are The Music Makers is the star of the show, as if the electric keys and Gene Wilder-as-Willy-Wonka samples are just there as part of the accompaniment. Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is one of the most important, original and influential albums of all time, and despite repeated plays it still sounds as fresh and captivating today nearly 20 years after its release. It should be seen not just as an essential example and key work in Aphex Twin's catalogue, but as a wonderful entry to the world of electronic music in general. Edited December 5, 2012 by Colin M 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Gord Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 This thread makes you dig out those forgotten albums that you haven't listened to in a long time. SAW is one of those. I may have to rip the CD or even buy it again mind you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mambostaggie Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) I love ambient works, wish I'd put it in now! Edited December 4, 2012 by Mambostaggie 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberman Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 A brilliant album and the third from my top 10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Brilliant Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 My #1, and I think my number #1 in the Top 50 poll as well. Transcendant music. In my musician days I wrote a paragraph about it for Hot Press magazine in Ireland: I managed to call it (despite it being my favourite album) 87-92 - eternal cringe. Another great write-up! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 I've been ranking Polygon Window above SAW85-92 in these polls but I think that might just be me being typically contrary, and I must admit I do sometimes find it annoying that 85-92 is often lauded so much more than the rest of RDJ's catalogue, cos I think it's (almost) all amazing. Certainly there's little more reassuring for me than hearing that opening pulse of Xtal - there aren't many albums that I've listened to more in my life. (The Low End Theory and Illmatic probably ) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Brilliant Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I've been ranking Polygon Window above SAW85-92 in these polls but I think that might just be me being typically contrary, and I must admit I do sometimes find it annoying that 85-92 is often lauded so much more than the rest of RDJ's catalogue, cos I think it's (almost) all amazing. Certainly there's little more reassuring for me than hearing that opening pulse of Xtal - there aren't many albums that I've listened to more in my life. (The Low End Theory and Illmatic probably ) Agree about the start of Xtal. I think that was what I was getting at with 'trascendant' although I can't put my finger on whatever it is a I mean. Sometimes I would argue for Drukqs ahead of SAW but really someone who didn't like the latter would have something more fundamentally wrong with them I'll make Illmatic the next thing I try - followed up your D'Angelo pick previously and was glad I did. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 Agree about the start of Xtal. I think that was what I was getting at with 'trascendant' although I can't put my finger on whatever it is a I mean. Sometimes I would argue for Drukqs ahead of SAW but really someone who didn't like the latter would have something more fundamentally wrong with them I'll make Illmatic the next thing I try - followed up your D'Angelo pick previously and was glad I did. Excellent! Illmatic is great, Nas is exceptional with the rapping and the producers are like a who's who of early to mid 90s hip-hop legends - Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor and Q-Tip. On some days Voodoo is just the greatest thing ever to me, I might start a Top 2 D'Angelo albums thread just so I get to lavish it in praise 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 6 Leftfield Leftism (1995) Of all the great crossover electronic acts of the 90s, Leftfield were perhaps the most faceless, managing to maintain a level of anonymity while others courted the limelight. Neil Barnes and Paul Daley seemed content to stay in the background, letting their accomplished music do the talking. If Aphex Twin was an eccentric weirdo knocking up homebrew concoctions in his shed, and Norman Cook a cheeky chappy market trader selling his wares, Leftfield were high end lab engineers, creating state of the art product to flood the marketplace and influence a generation of following producers. Perhaps taking their cue from Massive Attack, Leftism saw Barnes and Daley combining their own production skills with a number of vocal collaborators, an approach that lent itself to crossover potential. Earl Sixteen's contribution to earlier single and opener Release The Pressure is not a million miles from the Horace Andy voiced Massive Attack tracks, while the rock and indie set were openly courted with offerings from Sex Pistol John Lydon on Open Up and erm, Toni Halliday from Curve on the shuffling hypnotic groove of Original. Release The Pressure's reggae inflected swell also points towards another theme that runs through Leftism - the music here is part rooted in UK and Jamaican soundsystem culture and a key work in that lineage. It's present throughout, from Release the Pressure's infectious skank to the Lee 'Scratch' Perry samples on Inspection (Check One) to the warmth of the padded bass on breakbeat epic Storm 3000. Make no mistake though - Leftism is neither indie-dance nor dub adventure - we're never far away from a hedonistic thumping progressive monster. There's nothing abstract here - this is brilliantly produced and presented dance music that fits as easily into Pete Tong's world as it did the after hours party. Precision-tooled hi-hats open up the magnificent Space Shanty, while the swell of strings on Song Of Life is as life-affirming as music gets, forming part of one of the greatest dance tracks ever created. Sadly Leftfield were not as prolific as many of their peers, following this album 4 years later with the (also recommended) Rhythm and Stealth and ultimately disbanding (though Barnes is now active again touring using the Leftfield name). Leftism then is an album to be treasured, an era defining collection that still resonates strongly today. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin M Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 One of the huge plus points from this labour of love for me has been rediscovering Leftism, an album that I really hadn't listened to for a loooong time. I always knew it was great and listened plenty at the time, but it had been badly neglected for a while. It's good to go back to these things with fresh ears again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mambostaggie Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Yeah I had it on my top 5 despite not having heard it in years. Think ill bang it on tonight 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizzy Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Xtal Hadn't heard it until tonight. Now I have, and I love it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinto McGinto Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Strangely enough, Leftism wasn't in my top 10-I actually preferred Rhythm & Stealth. Wish I'd got my vote in now... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaking Decency Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Strangely enough, Leftism wasn't in my top 10-I actually preferred Rhythm & Stealth. Wish I'd got my vote in now... Big fan of both, but R&S just pips Leftism. Also wish I'd put it in my list. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JogaBonito Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Bump! Don't leave us hanging NB: Pretty sure I had R+S in my top 5. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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