[SYRFox]

Originally Posted by Severian

Proper albums are few and far between in contemporary electronic music. Too many fuckin' EPs, video game soundtracks, 3-track singles, data dumps, etc. To me, none of that shit can compare to getting an actual fucking album, with packaging and a theme and art and a tour, signaling a new era for an artist.

I think that's because you approach it from an indie/etc background/point of view - I might very well be wrong of course. I know that all too well because that's how I got into electronic music as well it's just a completely different musical ecology with its own norms and a completely different approach to writing/releasing music, and EPs make a lot of sense in that context - they can be just as era-defining as albums in that case.
but I completely get you, that's one thing that used to really bother me with electronic music at first, and is why I (and I think a lot of people) was first mostly into artists such as Autechre, Burial or the likes who release albums where you can feel their evolution. But yeah, the whole footwork/jungle hybrid that's going off at the moment completely emerged out of EPs and it's a completely new aesthetic, same with the future beats d&b stuff.

It's tough though as it implies much more implication to properly follow stuff - that's actually how I began nearly listening to nothing but electronic music at some point, drowning deep into it seemed like the only way to really get what was going on

[SYRFox]

Speaking of albums though - this one's not to be missed imo: https://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=39172

Really hyped by this one - Nidia's one of the most creative artists in Lisbon's scene so I'm really interested to hear what she'll do with a full-length record

[Severian]

Hey everyone! There's a new Burial EP out. Well, more of a long single... another long single.

Oh, and guess what it looks like!

...

Yer damn RIGHT it's another black circle with white lettering!

 

Haha!!

Anyway, it's pretty Fucking good. Better than the one before it. New sound, with familiar sinister undertones. Seething, breathing, leviathan-like ambient music.

"Subtemple" (b/w "Beachfire") is out now.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Fox?

[SYRFox]

Yeah it's my favourite work of his in a loooong time. Didn't really care for anything he did after Kindred and Truant, but this one is really good -love Beachfire especially! Glad he went for this sound for sure

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SYRFox

Yeah it's my favourite work of his in a loooong time. Didn't really care for anything he did after Kindred and Truant, but this one is really good -love Beachfire especially! Glad he went for this sound for sure

Wait wait wait waitwaitwaitwaitwait...

You didn't like Rival Dealer?!?!?!?

Ah man... I think that EP is his absolute career high-water mark so far. Every time I listen to it, it just completely sucks me into another fucking world entirely. It's a scary world, but also a beautiful one.

I can even paint you a picture of where that "EP" (really, I see it as one long track) takes me when I hear it. Here, I'll try at least...

Imagine life in post-second civil war Sudan (circa 2006-present) as a really fucking epic film directed by Ridley Scott in the early '80s. Imagine being a child in that setting, which takes on the hues and tones of the climactic fight scene in Blade Runner, with a sinister rain pouring down and neon lights flashing. A brutal reality chopped up and accentuated by bizarre existential maxims from angels and demons (or nuns and Replicants, whatever helps with visualization.) But imagine that instead of fighting robots, you're dealing with the pains of adolescence, drugs, sex, and the larger-than-life quality that all of these things take on when you are young and trying to figure yourself out. Plus you're in the fucking Sudan, so there's nobody on your side, you live in an authoritarian regime, and you're tired and hungry and scared... but you survive because flashes of divinity pop up to unexpectedly remind you that life is so much bigger than your immediate experience, and though you are harrowed by all of this, you find just enough hope in the melancholy beauty of these moments.

That's where Rival Dealer takes me.

It's honestly one of the most powerful pieces of music I think I've ever heard. I've got nothing to compare it to musically. I could say listening to it is like listening to some kind of condensed amalgam of the most potent moments of Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, John Lennon's half of "A Day in the Life," and Boards of Canada and Autechre at their most resonant and ethereal -- but that would still be REALLY far from the mark.

Rival Dealer is one of the reasons I love electronic music. It can elicit moods that truly feel like they don't belong in this world. In some ways, electronic music (as a whole, you understand) can be quite emotionally relaxing, as it usually doesn't contain as much of the human element... the pleading and moaning about love and anger and sadness that can be far too easy to relate to and be brought down by. In other ways, it's capable of creating textures and atmospheres and emotional collages that are more heart-breaking AND -warming than anything a human voice or potent set of lyrics with organic instrumentation is capable of capturing, except for in the most unique and extraordinary of cases.

I don't listen to Rival Dealer often, because frankly it's a bit too much for me... but when I do, I don't bloody well turn that shit off for *anything.*

[SYRFox]

haha I guess I feel you man – I just couldn't understand when everyone around me was slagging Temple Sleeper which I thought was really good!

re: Rival Dealer, I guess I just didn't pay sufficient attention at the time it was released and it didn't really caught me when I listened to it - it was released at a time when I was really getting immersed in club-based electronic music and stepping away from the more home-listening / experimental / chillout stuff that initially got me into electronic music (though I was still enjoying it, it was just not what I wanted to discover). so yeah, guess I wasn't in the right mood to get it - must say the message he published after the release didn't help either hah

[Severian]

I've been listening to the Richard D. James Album at work today. God almighty, what a fucking album! It's amazing to me that after all these years, I still find myself peeking up to moments on this album that sound revelatory, even thought I've heard every song a hundred thousand times. I can never really be sure where my favorite moments are, or even which songs are the standouts. It's always changing. It's that kind of album, and that's possibly the best kind of album there is. It keeps me more engaged than other "classics" where I know how I'm going to respond to every moment ahead of time.

Take "Carn Marth" for instance. I was just listening to it, but for some reason this time around, it sounded like the clouds were parting and the heavens were coming alive in my brain.

Always liked the song, and the whole album. But without a single substance in my system (not counting caffeine) it gave me a fleeting moment of full-blown euphoria this time around. Like the calmest, most laid back and subtle moments of an ecstasy trip. But it's free! And last time I checked it wasn't a felony to ingest Aphex Twin.

[Severian]

I've been listening to the Richard D. James Album at work today. God almighty, what a fucking album! It's amazing to me that after all these years, I still find myself peeking up to moments on this album that sound revelatory, even thought I've heard every song a hundred thousand times. I can never really be sure where my favorite moments are, or even which songs are the standouts. It's always changing. It's that kind of album, and that's possibly the best kind of album there is. It keeps me more engaged than other "classics" where I know how I'm going to respond to every moment ahead of time.

Take "Carn Marth" for instance. I was just listening to it, but for some reason this time around, it sounded like the clouds were parting and the heavens were coming alive in my brain.

Always liked the song, and the whole album. But without a single substance in my system (not counting caffeine) it gave me a fleeting moment of full-blown euphoria this time around. Like the calmest, most laid back and subtle moments of an ecstasy trip. But it's free! And last time I checked it wasn't a felony to ingest Aphex Twin.

[Severian]

 

Found this on the ol' interwebs. From an RDJ forum.

This is weird as fuck for me, because the songs that hit me the hardest the first time around (and for years afterward) were "4, "Fingerbib," and "Girl/Boy Song." Haha.

[guest]

I'm actually surprised, the new afx record is the first thing he's done in nearly 20 years that isn't totally fucking useless. patchy as all hell as per usual with richard but it's at least interesting for the first time in a longggg while.



the actress record is still kicking my azz, hated it on first listen but man has it stuck with me hard.

[SYRFox]

Severian has exceeded their stored private messages quota and can not accept further messages until they clear some space.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SYRFox

Severian has exceeded their stored private messages quota and can not accept further messages until they clear some space.

Fixed.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by guest

I'm actually surprised, the new afx record is the first thing he's done in nearly 20 years that isn't totally fucking useless. patchy as all hell as per usual with richard but it's at least interesting for the first time in a longggg while.



the actress record is still kicking my azz, hated it on first listen but man has it stuck with me hard.

Wait, what new AFX record? Not Orphaned Deejay Selek ... (???)

[guest]

obviously not orphaned deejay selek, how could anyone call that something other than lifeless? the record he released at field day, mini lp if you will. throwback-y but at least coming at things from a more interesting angle.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by guest

obviously not orphaned deejay selek, how could anyone call that something other than lifeless? the record he released at field day, mini lp if you will. throwback-y but at least coming at things from a more interesting angle.

Well, when the hell is that going to be available to the rest of us?

I like Orphaned Deejay Selek well enough. It was an AFX record, not an Aphex Twin record. And as a between-albums AFX project it worked fine for me.

[SYRFox]

Saw Demdike Stare's Sean Canty playing mutant dancehall stuff on Saturday night. It was insanely good and immersive – really recommend catching him if you can see him DJ.

[guest]

Originally Posted by Severian

Well, when the hell is that going to be available to the rest of us?

I like Orphaned Deejay Selek well enough. It was an AFX record, not an Aphex Twin record. And as a between-albums AFX project it worked fine for me.

it's already out there in the world y'know......pirate it.

if afx is earmarked as his 'rave muzak for pseudo-intellectual dullards' project, how cum the last 3 aphex releases have been similarly mind numbing? sounded like a sad ket casualty teetering on the edge of the eastbourne pier in a real nice suit with light-up shoes.



^have seen canty play out here too, was marvellous. obviously prior to the equiknoxx explosion so not leaning *that* heavily on dancehall, but made a really strong link between uk soundsystem stuff and drone/ambient/concréte which was pretty whack at the time for a lot of people in a club context.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by guest

it's already out there in the world y'know......pirate it.

if afx is earmarked as his 'rave muzak for pseudo-intellectual dullards' project, how cum the last 3 aphex releases have been similarly mind numbing? sounded like a sad ket casualty teetering on the edge of the eastbourne pier in a real nice suit with light-up shoes.



^have seen canty play out here too, was marvellous. obviously prior to the equiknoxx explosion so not leaning *that* heavily on dancehall, but made a really strong link between uk soundsystem stuff and drone/ambient/concréte which was pretty whack at the time for a lot of people in a club context.

The last three Aphex releases were mind-numbing? I don't feel that way at all. But I'm not even sure which releases you're taking about. This one that you pirated+Orphaned Deejay Selek+Computer Controlled Acoustic? Or does the NTS shit count?

If you don't honor the difference between AFX and Aphex Twin, then what are the last three projects?

And you really no-likey Syro? That *has* to be in the "last three," especially if we're talking Aphex and not AFX. How could anyone not see Syro as a triumphant return?

[SYRFox]

Originally Posted by guest

^have seen canty play out here too, was marvellous. obviously prior to the equiknoxx explosion so not leaning *that* heavily on dancehall, but made a really strong link between uk soundsystem stuff and drone/ambient/concréte which was pretty whack at the time for a lot of people in a club context.

yeah, he's really impressive in this regard. the set he played here was able to convey the same atmospheres he does with Demdike Stare through dancehall / soundsystem tactics. brilliant stuff.


unrelated, but here's a great ambientish record that's worth your time: https://ostresamigos.bandcamp.com/album/anxious

also Leeds' 8MANA crew is about to release its debut various artists release and it's really an interesting work, using elements of instrumental hip hop / beats and bass music to come with a weird sound that I really enjoy. release is called Sorry Julia, it's out this week I think

[Severian]

Ekoplekz has a new album out, I just realized. It's called Bioprodukt, and after a quick listen on Apple Music, I'm liking it pretty damn well.

 

Here's my current favorite track from the LP: Ekoplekz - "Slipstream (YouTube)