Autechre may be perceived as being wilfully difficult. Maybe they are. Almost without fail, the first time you listen to new Autechre material it is impossible to get your head around. It sounds like a mess.

But the music always reveals its majesty after repeat listens. It is the aural equivalent of a magic eye puzzle, only less naff and much more stylish.

‘Intelligent dance music’, the genre of music most often associated with Autechre, has fallen off a cliff for me in recent years. It just isn’t exciting to me in the way it was five or ten years ago.

Sure, there are a few big names that you can depend upon. Those are the Aphex Twins and Boards of Canadas of this world — although releases from these artists become less and less frequent. Once you start searching for new acts beyond them, the quality drops steeply. Most ‘IDM’ these days is disappointingly derivative.

But Autechre still always push the boundaries far beyond what anyone else can even think of. It says a lot when even Autechre’s off albums are still more fascinating than the music of their peers.

Listening to Autechre’s back catalogue is like hearing a pair of audio explorers in search of the pinnacle of electronic music. 2001′s Confield was the culmination of the search. My jaw still drops when I listen to it, and it disappoints me that no-one — not even Autechre — have come remotely close to creating another album as good as this.

2003′s Draft 7.30 was a fine follow-up. But since then new Autechre material has felt like a step below what is possible — even though it was still miles ahead of the rest.

Oversteps

Following the slightly clunky and plodding Untilted, and the sketchy and uncohesive Quaristice, their new album Oversteps marks a return to form for Autechre in my book. In both previous albums, it seemed like Autechre were operating within their comfort zone. Quaristice especially sounded like it was churned out without much thought, turning to styles they had explored in previous albums.

In a reversal of the trend, Oversteps brings us an Autechre we haven’t heard before. Their ability to push things forward like this is what I always admired most about Autechre, which is why for my money their new album is their best since Draft 7.30. (I gather the reaction of many Autechre fans has been more negative, which I think is a shame.)

Autechre have probably not been this melody-focussed since 1994′s Amber. But this does not mean that they have sacrificed any of their uncompromising approach — quite the opposite in fact.

As you would expect, this is music unlike anything you have heard before. It is dense and viscous-sounding, yet also shimmering and liquid. Somehow it all feels right, as though this was the way music was always meant to be.

After just a few weeks of listening to Oversteps, it feels like I have been listening to music like this for years, even though it is totally unique. Much of the album has a pleasingly organic vibe to it, ‘krYlon’ perhaps being the best example.

For me, ‘ilanders’ is as catchy as music gets, even though the beats are particularly unconventional. Another highlight is ‘known(1)’, which is deceptively — perhaps irritatingly — simple at first, before transforming into one of the most mind-bending pieces of the album. In that sense, this is the ‘Surripere’ or ‘Fermium’ of the album.

It’s not all about the melodies though. My favourite part of the album is probably the rip-roaring ‘d-sho qub‘, reminding us that Autechre are making (what might be loosely described as) dance music.

Move of Ten

The accompanying EP, Move of Ten is released today. Although it was common in the 1990s for Autechre to release an EP related to each of their albums, that trend had stopped. With Quaristice, they released new ‘versions’ of the album’s tracks. It was a nice idea, almost like a “making of” the album, although by the time the last ones came out it was starting to sound quite repetitive.

Move of Ten sees a refinement of the concept. It reminds me of the 1990s approach where Autechre would remix their own tracks, but with originals being almost unrecognisable. But the relationship with the original tracks is much clearer in many of these tracks — closer to the Quaristice Versions / Quaristice.Quadrange.ep.ae model.

As you might expect, Move of Ten shows us Autechre with their hair down a bit, relative to the ‘serious’ work of an album. Some of the tracks here are very immediate. Autechre have brought the funk, and you can clearly hear the duo’s roots as hip-hop aficionados.

The best example of this is ‘rew(1)’. This track teases you, hinting at an immensely funky basis. But like many of Autechre’s best music, it never fully reveals its full powers, leaving the listeners to fill in the gaps to their own delight.

Move of Ten mixes the best of Autechre’s always-forward-looking approach with nostalgic reminisces of vintage Autechre. ‘nth Dafuseder.b’ in particular sends a chill up my spine as it begins sounding like a lost Autechre recording of 15 years ago. But it brings with it also a jazz vibe with a cold wind blowing through it like the best work of Brothomstates.

I gather that Move of Ten has gone down better than Oversteps among fans in general. For me, it feels more like an EP than an album. It just lacks that extra bit of cohesion that an album should have. But with both releases, Autechre have demonstrated that they are still at the height of their powers, and at the absolute pinnacle of path-finding electronic music.

I just wish that others could step up to the plate and make music as good as this. If not, I hope Autechre are documenting their approaches so that this wonderful approach is never lost.

The Designers Republic back from the dead

The excellent artwork for Oversteps and Move of Ten was designed by The Designers Republic. This marks the rebirth of the firm, which closed down in early 2009. Just another reason why Autechre’s material this year has been great!

Warp20

A series of posts

1. 20 years of Warp Records
2. 20 Warp albums — part 1
3. 20 Warp albums — part 2
4. 20 Warp albums — part 3
5. 20 Warp albums — part 4
6. 20 Warp albums — part 5
7. Warp20 (Box Set)

Warp Records celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year with an extravagant box set, Warp20 (Box Set). Measuring in at 10 inches × 10 inches × 3 inches, it truly is a thing of beauty. Packed in there are five CDs and five 10 inch records, full of Warp goodness old and new.

It was not cheap either, so was only for the most fanatic of Warp followers. Luckily for Warp, there are plenty of fanatical followers — myself included.

Warp20 (Chosen)

Also released separately as a 2CD album on its own, Warp20 (Chosen) is designed to be a collection of the best of the first twenty years of Warp Records.

The first ten tracks, making up disc one, were chosen by voters on the internet. As such, the top ten is sadly predictable. You really could have forecast in advance the inclusion of the likes of ‘Windowlicker’, ‘Roygbiv’ and ‘My Red Hot Car’ in the top three.

The inclusion of most of these tracks was surely never in doubt. Certainly, the top eight are bona fide Warp classics (I am not so sure about Jimmy Edgar’s ‘I Wanna Be Your STD’ or Clark’s ‘Herzog’, but I can understand their inclusion). There is also a noticeable skew towards the late 1990s / early 2000s. Only one track, LFO’s ‘LFO (Leeds Warehouse Mix)’, is from before 1998.

It is clear that the current fans of Warp Records — at least those who voted in the internet poll — are a bit like me. They were not around for the birth of the label, and cling on to the late 1990s IDM explosion as Warp’s classic sound. I think this is Warp’s best period too, but I would have preferred a greater variety in the first disc.

Luckily, the second disc is on hand to provide some of that variety. Label boss and co-founder Steve Beckett chose a further fourteen tracks which make up disc two. While all the usual suspects are again present and correct (giving the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Autechre two appearances on the compilation), other periods and genres are given rightful recognition.

Ultimately, though, while there are a couple of gems here that I didn’t previously own, Warp20 (Chosen) is a bit redundant for me, and no doubt for almost everyone else who bought this box set. If you are such a great fan of Warp that you are going to shell out eighty quid or so, you almost certainly need no such overview to the label.

Perhaps of more value is the fold-out poster of comments posted by the internet users who placed their votes, providing (relatively) qualitative information to accompany the raw top ten.

Warp20 (Recreated)

This is the surprise highlight of the package — a double-disc album of Warp artists covering classic Warp tracks. It shows you how far Warp has come in the past ten years. For its tenth anniversary, Warp released an album of Warp artists remixing classic Warp tracks.

But with a more diverse range of artists on its roster, and plenty of artists with a different set of skills, it seems as though it makes more sense to ask artists to do covers rather than remixes. The results are pleasingly wonderful. Clearly, when you take maverick musical geniuses and ask them to take on the works of other maverick musical geniuses, the results are going to be deliciously skewed and entertaining.

The album opens with Born Ruffians covering Aphex Twin’s classic humorous tracks from the mid-1990s, ‘Milkman’ and ‘To Cure a Weakling Child’. The band’s stripped down approach works surprisingly well. The vocals are shouted out as though from the rooftops, rather than being distorted by electronic effects, adding to the comedy effect.

Another surprise highlight is Maxïmo Park’s take on ‘When’, originally by Vincent Gallo. This is a wonderful piece of dark synth-pop. Hopefully it signals a new direction for Maxïmo Park, whose sound has otherwise become stale.

Meanwhile, Jamie Lidell’s version of Grizzly Bear’s ‘Little Brother’ is just as beautiful and organic as the original. It is another instance of an artist revealing something otherwise unheard in his audio arsenal.

But the real highlight of the album is ‘Phylactery’ by John Callaghan, which is based on Autechre’s ‘Tilapia’. This transforms one of the first signposts of Autechre’s foray into increasingly unique and obscure electronics into a wonderfully wonky pop song.

One instance where a remix may have been a better idea is when Luke Vibert tackled ‘LFO’. The results are actually rather good — undoubtedly a Luke Vibert take on a classic Warp track. But it certainly lacks the punch of the original. This makes it a slightly trudging, though intriguing, listen.

Overall, though, Warp20 (Recreated) is a marvellous document. It reveals sides to Warp artists that hadn’t been revealed before. It’s like peering into the fourth dimension of an already-extraordinary label.

Warp20 (Elemental)

This disc contains an hour-long mix of 65 Warp tracks, created by remix maestro Osymyso. A similar mix, by Buddy Peace and Zilla, was released five years ago along with the WarpVision DVD. Although Osymyso had five years’ worth of extra material to work with, I am less fond of his effort. Nonetheless, the creativity involved in creating such a mix, containing a diverse array of Warp music from the past twenty years, still astounds me.

Warp20 (Unheard)

Moving on to the vinyl in the box set, we have three ten inch records made up of eleven previously (sort of) unheard tracks. Incidentally, these are smartly presented with a minimalist design and debossed text.

The selection kicks off with Boards of Canada’s immersive ‘Seven Forty Seven’. This is not, strictly speaking, unheard. It was originally featured in an interactive Boards of Canada website several years ago. But it is the first time it has been presented as a track itself. It is so good that I can’t work out why it hasn’t been released before.

This is followed up by the equally exciting ‘Oval Moon (IBC mx)’ by Autechre. Named after IBC, the Manchester-based pirate radio station through which Autechre first made their name, this is real old school stuff. Having been produced in 1991, it is almost as old as the Warp label itself! And it’s excellent.

After these two stonkers, the rest of the collection does not quite stand up to the same level. But it is still a good listen. Fair efforts from Clark, Plaid and Flying Lotus are included, along with classic unreleased material from Elektroids and Nightmares on Wax.

Meanwhile, the plodding and uneventful ‘Sixty Forty’, originally from a 2003 Peel Session, is probably the most disappointing Broadcast song I have ever heard. The collection is rounded off with ‘As Link’, a new Seefeel track, whetting appetites for their rumoured comeback.

Warp20 (Infinite)

Musically, the box set is rounded off with a couple of records made up entirely of locked grooves. There are fifty loops in total, plundered from Warp’s back catalogue. It is an interesting experience to experiment with them for a bit, but probably of limited use to anyone who is not a DJ.

Warp20 (1989-2009) — The Complete Catalogue

The final item in the box is a large book that documents the artwork for every release on the Warp label. It is interesting to leaf through and assess how the label progressed over the years, and recall the memories of hearing all of this wonderful music for the first time.

Warp Records is almost as well known for its strong visual identity as for its music. There is some fantastic artwork in the Warp catalogue. While this book is not at all the best way to appreciate the artwork, it does serve as an excellent historical document cataloguing Warp’s classic covers.

Why? Well, this programme has single-handedly made me do two things I would probably never otherwise do. For one, it has got me listening to 6 Music. But perhaps more significantly, it has made me wake up early on Saturdays. And Saturday morning radio is normally a complete entertainment void and intellectual desert, so it was such a relief to discover that Adam and Joe had got a radio gig at that time around a year ago.

It has always confused me why this pair of funny chaps aren’t just all over the place. About a decade ago they had a late night Channel 4 programme with all kinds of japes and tomfoolery like Quizzlestick and miscellaneous spoofs involving Star Wars figurines.

After that, not much of note happened on the Adam and Joe front for ages. But last year they broke into the Big British Castle and managed to get a radio show. And it’s hilarious! Here’s a clip from the radio show introducing the world to juvenilia superhero ‘STEPHEN!’

The programme is perfect for the Saturday morning vibe. It is a pleasing mix of easy chit-chat, silly voices, amusing observations on pop culture and juvenile toilet humour (all plus points for me). And because the pair have known each other since school, the chemistry is awesome.

If you’re not awake on time on Saturday morning (and I am usually not), the podcast is a great way to catch all the laughs. Over the past year, it has become my favourite podcast. Only yesterday I was on the train laughing like a drain, only to discover when I recovered that the ticket inspector was waiting for me.

The highlight of the show is Song Wars, where Adam and Joe both enter songs on a particular topic for the listeners to vote on. It’s quite incredible, because normally the comedy song genre has a bad whiff around it and is to be avoided. But Adam and Joe avoid all the pitfalls to regularly produce amusing songs that are often silly* and witty in equal measure. Read below the fold so that I can pester you to listen to some of them.

Note that in most instances these videos were made by fans, but the music is all Adam and Joe.

Here are their proposed theme tunes to the James Bond ‘Quantum of Solace’ film.

Here is Joe Cornish’s song of “family friendly erotica”.

Here is Adam Buxton performing ‘Middle Class Festival Song’ at a middle class festival.

A few months ago they had a ‘Video Wars’ competition, where listeners could create videos to some classic Song Wars songs. This hilarious pastiche of Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’ video should have won, but didn’t.

And talking of Radiohead, here are Adam Buxton and pop video / film director Garth Jennings (standing in for Joe) with their remixes of ‘Reckoner’.

“List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.“

First of all, I need to get this pedantry out of the way. If it doesn’t have words, it isn’t a song. Now on to my seven songs and / or other pieces of music.

I’ve placed this ‘below the fold’ because I’ve embedded YouTube videos and Bleep audio. Remember with the Bleep audio you need to press play again after it fades out every 30 seconds.

1. Portishead — The Rip

   As with Chris, Portishead’s Third is, for me, the album of the year so far. Eleven years on from their last album, it was all set up to be a massive disappointment. But Third has turned out to be a real treat. It is a solid progression on the Portishead sound (without all the now-clichéd-sounding scratching) with a darker, more electronic feel in general.

   My favourite track is ‘The Rip’. When I first heard it I thought, this sounds like a Radiohead song. It sounds particularly like ‘Arpeggi/Weird Fishes’ from Radiohead’s last album, with those guitar-based arpeggios. Sure enough, they have covered it. Anyway, ‘The Rip’ is just a beautiful song that builds up really nicely and is my favourite song from the album.

2. The Focus Group — Hey Let Loose Your Love

   The Ghost Box record label has been my discovery of the summer. In fact, I am kicking myself for overlooking it in the first place, because I was well aware of its existence but I just never investigated it. But a recent edition of Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone podcast contained a Ghost Box showcase and I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer.

   The label has a strong identity — both visual and audio — that is a slightly off take on nostalgia. The genre of electronic music is known as ‘hauntology‘ or ‘memoradelia’ (I think I prefer the latter, although the former seems to be more common). Think about the skewed, hazy nostalgia of Boards of Canada — deteriorated cassettes, faded photographs and so on — or Look Around You without the comedy and you will be getting there.

   The Focus Group is a project of Julian House, famous for doing the artwork for Broadcast and Stereolab (he also co-runs and does all of the artwork for the Ghost Box label). His music has the same 1960s-influenced collage feel to it. This track is the title track and centrepiece of the Hey Let Loose Your Love mini-album. It’s the only release of The Focus Group that I have got my hands on so far, but I know I need to get more.

3. The Advisory Circle — Frozen Ponds PIF

   The other Ghost Box artist I’ve checked out so far is The Advisory Circle (who may be better known for his releases as King of Woolworths on Lo Recordings). The world of The Advisory Circle is a journey into a past dystopia where everyone is told what to do by the government through media such as public information films. The music also tinkers with ideas to do with television idents (a subject close to my heart as long-time readers will know) and suchlike.

   I really like the idea of making music inspired by public information films. PIFs are strange things that have to perform two conflicting roles — telling you about the dangers in the world while simultaneously assuring you that everything is safe because the government is looking after you. It fits in neatly with the Ghost Box aesthetic of dark, uneasy nostalgia.

   ‘Frozen Ponds PIF’ is not necessarily representative of The Advisory Circle’s output. It’s the only track that really fully recreates a PIF as it might sound in real life (although even this track is not entirely faithful, coming with cartoony electronic ‘danger’ sound in the middle). But it is perhaps for that reason that I like this track so much. That voice perfect recreates that paternal PIF narrator sound.

   This track is ‘Frozen Ponds PIF’, although it’s been incorrectly labelled by Bleep as ‘Erosion Of Time’. Remember, mind how you go.

4. Venetian Snares — Banana Seat Girl

   I have no idea why, but this track is stuck in my head all the time just now. It took me a while — years, infact — to get into Venetian Snares, but now I am a hardened convert. Here is a madcap piece of cartoony, jazzy breakcore.

5. Scott Walker — Angels of Ashes

   I got into Scott Walker when The Drift came out a couple of years ago. I thought it was a fascinating album, so I have been working my way backwards through his important albums. Tilt is excellent, one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. Climate of Hunter, it turns out, is not very good.

   Most recently I have bought Scott 4. It is a quite exquisite album. There are lots of great songs, but ‘Angels of Ashes’ stands out a bit more than the others for me.

   ‘Angels of Ashes’ at Last.fm

6. Delia Derbyshire — Blue Veils & Golden Sands

   I’ve also recently bought the first two volumes of the series of CDs entitled Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. I have very little interest in Doctor Who, but I have a great deal of interest in electronic music and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

   Delia Derbyshire is rightly regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music, having created one of the most famous pieces of electronic music in the world, the theme tune to Doctor Who. Apart from the theme tune, she didn’t do much music for the series though.

   But included in volume 2 is ‘Blue Veils & Golden Sands’. I already had this track on an earlier purchase, Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, but its inclusion on the Doctor Who CD has reminded me of its eerie charms. A gentle gong-type sound begins this journey to an intriguing and exotic soundscape. A captivating piece of ambient music.

   ‘Blue Veils & Golden Sands’ at MySpace

7. Sia — Breathe Me (Four Tet remix)

   Another (belated) recent purchase was Four Tet’s Remixes album. At first my favourite track on the album was the Beth Orton remix, but this remix of Sia has grown on me a lot. I have no idea who Sia even is, but this I like Four Tet’s interpretation whatever.

I’m not even sure I’ll come up with seven people to tag. Here goes. Gordon, Laura, Calum, Mat, Pinksy, Ponzonha (I’ll crack open the old Google Translator specially to read it since my Spanish isn’t up to much ) and Clairwil.

By the way, I hate the number seven.

Music of 2007

A series of posts

1. What I listened to in 2007
2. Music of 2007: #40–#21
3. Music of 2007: #20–#11
4. Music not of 2007: three reissues
5. Music of 2007: #10–#4
6. Music of 2007: top three

Getting there slowly but surely. We might be two weeks into 2008, but that won’t stop me from looking back at 2007. By this rate it will be February before we get to the end of this list…

20. The Tuss — Rushup Edge

Whoever is responsible for this is at least a genius at generating hype. While the music is ostensibly by Brian and Karen Tregaskin, there are all sorts of clues that point towards this being the work of Richard D. James.

It’s difficult to imagine such an obscure record to make the pages of The Guardian under normal circumstances, but the whiff of Aphex made it happen. And the sight of IDM spods on the internet excitedly polishing off their magnifying glasses (after The Campfire Headphase failed to contain any codes to crack) carried the hype overboard.

Of course, I had to buy it to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out the music is okay, and it certainly sounds like Aphex. I’d be very surprised if something this accomplished really was the work of a hitherto unheard-of duo based in deepest Cornwall.

19. Field Music — Tones of Town

Field Music are the least well known, but easily the best, of the triumvirate of artsy indie-rock bands from the north east of England (the other two bands being The Futureheads and Maxïmo Park). I have to admit to being a bit disappointed with this album at first, but as with previous Field Music records its wonders were revealed with repeated listens.

Their first album was a little delight that combined contemporary indie sensibilities with a liberal dose of syncopation, Beatles-style strings, some quasi-Steve Reich-style minimalism and little snatches of oddness. Tones of Town (while a bit on the short side) expanded on the template beautifully.

However, my highlight is a song that deviates slightly from the template: the more melancholic ‘Place Yourself’, a pleasant, reflective song.

Since the release of Tones of Town, Field Music have gone on hiatus as a band as we know it. But a solo project on Thrill Jockey is in the offing. I’m looking forward to hearing more of School of Language.

Video: ‘In Context’ — highly recommended viewing!

18. Scott Walker — And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball?

Definitely the strangest release I got my hands on this year. Scott Walker wrote this music to accompany a contemporary dance piece. So we know what territory we are in here.

The music took some time to get used to, even for a fan of Scott Walker’s recent work. ‘Part 1′ really just consists of some electronic hums and some strange scraping sounds that sound a little bit like that noise people make before they exaggeratedly spit. This lasts for over three minutes, when some largely atonal strings come in, abruptly starting and stopping seemingly arbitrarily.

‘Part 2′ is no less weird, with a foreboding, driving, deep drum beat and string and horn sections squealing like an elephant in a particularly rhythmic distress. But the biggest surprise of them all isn’t to do with the music. Scott Walker’s distinctive voice does not make a single appearance in this entire work.

As you might guess, And Who Shall Go to the Ball?… takes some getting used to. I was certainly left feeling disappointed when I first heard it. But now I think it is quite good.

It certainly seems as though Mr. Walker is entering a rather prolific phase. In past decades you were lucky if Scott Walker brought out a new album every ten years. But hot on the heels of The Drift, he has been appearing on compilations and all sorts. Not to mention the other projects between Tilt and The Drift such as the Pola X soundtrack or producing Pulp’s We Love Life. Every year he seems to be doing a bit more than in the previous year. Here’s hoping.

17. Jonny Greenwood — There Will Be Blood

I think Jonny Greenwood is one of the most important musicians around at the moment. He is most famous for whacking around with guitars in Radiohead, but his solo music reveals him to be a highly accomplished composer as well.

The soundtrack to the film There Will Be Blood further cements this. The film is set in the early twentieth century, so there is not quite the same space for electronic experimentation as Jonny Greenwood had with Bodysong. What you get instead is a beautiful, melancholic mixture of piano, strings and ondes Martenot. The ondes Martenot is such a magical instrument, and it is used to great effect here.

Maybe I am getting carried away because Jonny Greenwood is a rock star. But I really think that ‘Eat Him By His Own Light’ is within touching distance of some of Erik Satie’s work.

The soundtrack contains a lot of work that Jonny Greenwood has done in his role as the BBC’s ‘composer in residence’. Notably, it contains excerpts of ‘Popcorn Superhet Receiver’. It is such a shame that ‘Smear’ — probably my favourite Jonny Greenwood piece — does not make an appearance as originally promised.

Unfortunately, not all of the music is engaging. Also, this album is only half an hour long even though Jonny Greenwood recorded two hours worth of music for the film. I suppose we should be grateful for the scraps, but the album ends without you realising it was even close to the end. Oh well.

16. Battles — Tonto+

I have to say that ‘Tonto’ wouldn’t have been my first choice as a single. Nothing against the song — it’s just a bit long-winded for a single. Mind you, my brother disagrees with me strongly on this!

There are no new tracks on the EP, although it is still quite a treat. After a disappointing remix of ‘Tonto’ by The Field, the seemingly omnipresent remixer Four Tet comes up with the goods. A remix of ‘Leyendecker’ by DJ Emz featuring Joell Ortiz is good enough, although it completely jars with the rest of the EP and the general Battles vibe.

Perhaps the best part of the EP, though, is two live tracks — performances of ‘Tonto’ and ‘Leyendecker’. I go on and on about how great Battles are live, and this is further proof. But as ‘Leyendecker’ winds down on this EP you can hear drummer John Stainer beginning ‘Race: In’, which just makes me desperate for a full live album of some sort. Make it happen!

Video: ‘Tonto’

15. Sigur Rós — Hvarf / Heim

A fair couple of mini-albums. I was getting a bit sick of Sigur Rós, but Hvarf / Heim won me over again.

Hvarf is basically a collection of old songs that never got released before, so it was never going to be a five star album. But nevertheless it is a good listen.

Heim is a more engaging listen. It is made up of some rather lovely live acoustic recordings of some of Sigur Rós’s best songs. The highlight is one of my favourite Sigur Rós songs, ‘Ágætis Byrjun’.

My original review of Hvarf / Heim

14. Air — Pocket Symphony

A reasonably pleasant album from Air. Not their best, but a good listen nonetheless. My main criticism with this album is that it sounds so similar to Talkie Walkie. So if you don’t like previous Air albums, it’s probably best to give Pocket Symphony a miss.

Even a collaboration with Jarvis Cocker feels like a missed opportunity. Another collaboration, ‘Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping’, with Neil Hannon, is more successful — although it plays up to the stereotypes of ‘chill-out’ music. Nice song though.

There are some good songs — ‘Left Bank’ and ‘Mer du Japon’ are particular highlights. However, there is nothing approaching some of the killer songs they have come up with on previous albums.

If you like Air though, you will not be disappointed with Pocket Symphony.

13. Gescom — A1–D1

The mysterious Gescom collective resurfaces for the first time since 2003′s immense Iss:Sa. This new EP, A1–D1, appears to be a collection of six remixes, glitched up to the max.

The only one I can recognise is ‘B1′, which is a remix of Brian Eno + David Byrne’s ‘Come With Us’. It really highlights the spookier elements of the original song, which hadn’t really grabbed me before. It’s quite creepy to listen to really. One of those tracks to ban myself from listening to at night.

I haven’t heard of any of the other stuff that has been remixed for A1–D1, although people with a much better knowledge of the history of electronic dance music will apparently recognise them. It’s really groovy though.

‘A2′ is a good blast of messed up acid. ‘C1′ has a tantalising melody and jumpy beat that never seems to sit still (despite the fact that it doesn’t change much, if at all), leaving you wanting more. ‘C2′ starts off with one of the most dizzying soundscapes I have ever heard.

It is also being claimed by Skam that this is the world’s first ‘left-handed’ CD case. Yes, it opens the wrong way.

All-in-all, a really good Gescom release. I don’t know if the Autechre lads had anything to do with it, but it is nonetheless a good CD to have while we wait for Quaristice to come out.

12. Burial — Untrue

What I know about the fledgling dubstep genre could be written on the back of a postage stamp. It would say ‘Burial’ on it. I kept on reading about Burial. Somehow he has captured the attention of the chatterati, as I read more and more about him in places like The Guardian. Having seen ‘Burial’ written in too many end-of-year lists and ‘hear this before you die’ articles, I took the plunge and bought Untrue.

I had no real preconceptions. All I knew was that Burial was a ‘dubstep’ artist (dubstep being a relatively new kind of electronic music popular with Shoreditch types), and that he was fiercely anonymous to the point that “only five people know I make tunes“.

On first impressions I was a little underwhelmed. It sounded good, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It was like a more experimental, sparse garage music. A bit like what Pole would sound like if he came from London.

I have to say, now that I am used to the sound I think it is fabulous. It sounds like it is from a futuristic urban dystopia. “London 2030, you’re the last man alive” sort of thing. A good accompaniment to last-night walks around town.

I don’t know if it will make me investigate the dubstep genre much further. It will certainly make me buy Burial’s first album at some point. Good stuff.

11. Modeselektor — Happy Birthday!

The latest Modeselektor album contains nothing revelatory. It certainly doesn’t grab me in the same way as their first album, Hello Mom!. And in a lot of ways, Happy Birthday! feels a lot like they are recycling old Modeselektor tunes.

However, I have still found myself enjoying this album immensely. ’2000007 (feat. TTC)’ particularly gets stuck in my head a lot. It is an excellent mix of great music and good humour.

The collaborations with Thom Yorke and Maxïmo Park are missed opportunities for me. And if you’re looking for something different to their first album, you’ll have to look elsewhere. But it’s nonetheless a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging listen.

Anyway, flags. What a load of horse dung. I don’t mean that. I quite like flags themselves, as in the designs of them and so on. While we’re at it, I’ve been reminded of this website about flags that MatGB linked to a while ago. I didn’t link to it at the time because I don’t actually agree with a lot of it. Surely the Brazilian flag is one of the world’s coolest?

But what I really cannot stand about flags is the intense symbolism that surrounds them. Some people act like a flag is the most important thing in the world. I have been led to believe that in some parts of the USA a child could be swimming in his own shit outside a house, yet a passer-by would be more shocked by a tatty stars and stripes. That would probably happen in parts of Britain aswell, come to think of it.

I am one of these people who couldn’t really give two hoots about nationality. Sure, I like good aspects of Scotland / Britain / whatever, but that’s only because I was brought up here, and all of my memories are here. If I was born in Slovakia I would probably quite like Slovakia. Even if I was born in Scotland then moved to England when I was two years old I would probably feel more English than Scottish. Nationality is a load of old pish really. I am sorry if this makes me a wet old hippy. So be it.

So I think it would be kind of pointless to go around waving a Saltire. And I am not one of those people who thinks that it’s some kind of choice between the Saltire and the Union Flag and something else. I’m not a particular fan of either flag. The Union Flag is quite cleverly designed, but it looks like a complete mess.

Meanwhile the light blue used in the the “traditional” Saltire (to the right) just makes it look washed out, as though it’s been left out in the sun for too long (surely an impossibility in Scotland?!).

For what it’s worth, I quite prefer the design of England’s flag. Red and white is such a simple idea, and it works brilliantly. The English flag is bold, minimalist, and a dream for remixers to boot. So says Chris Applegate at least:

There is an important design element to it; many of the St George’s Crosses flying out there have been modified in many different ways. Corporate logos can be added to promote a brand, lions have been placed in the corners (alluding to the England team’s crest), or worst of all, “ENGLAND” is splashed across it (a big no-no in vexillology).

Defacing a flag like this is probably actually a hangable offence, but being a callous flag-hater I actually quite like the fact that people are claiming their flag in this way by adapting it to their own tastes (no matter how tasteless). I like this comment over at Qwghlm:

I think it shows a healthy lack of deference towards our prime patriotic symbol. The George Cross – unlike the Uion Flag – seems to have emerged as something to be enjoyed, not something to be revered. That’s about as healthy an approach to national identity as it gets, I say!

Davo the Bawbag is more a fan of Angola’s flag, so much so that he has adopted it as the header for his blog!

They also have possibly the most terrifying flag in the modern world – black and red with a fucking machete on it. That flag surely makes a statement. That statement being – “Fuck off or lose your legs. Your choice.”
They chose for their flag the colours of fear and blood, then stuck a fuck off big knife right in the middle of it.

Genius.

Anyway, on to the crux of my post. Given my indifference towards flags, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I find flag burning one of the most bizarre activities in the world. I don’t blame the flag burners themselves. They want to cause a fuss and get a big reaction, and setting fire to a particular piece of cloth certainly gets them that with the minimum of effort.

And therein lies the problem. People who act as though burning a flag is an act of war or something! In the USA flag burning is so awful that they are always planning on making it illegal (even though they never seem to have a problem with starting actual wars where people die and stuff). Apparently the American flag is such a strong symbol of freedom of speech that they need to curb freedom of speech in order to protect this symbol of freedom of speech, otherwise freedom of speech will be eroded and the terrorists have won!

Here is Longrider:

I’ve always viewed the behaviour of angry flag burning mobs as little more than playground temper tantrums that never quite made it to the adult world. Libertine views the matter similarly to the burning of books and I guess he has a point. There is something repugnant about it, which is why people do it. The desecration of a national symbol is deeply insulting and it is intended to express maximum displeasure. The counter to this, surely, is to ignore it; refuse to rise to the obloquy.

And via Longrider, in the Times Online News Log (dead tree, geddit?):

Speaking for the protection of Old Glory, the Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist said: “Countless men and women have died defending that flag. It is but a small humble act for us to defend it.”

A load of rubbish. I think if anybody died for the sake of a flag then they must have been a bit thick. As Longrider points out:

Surely they died defending what it represented and in passing this amendment to the constitution, it would no longer represent that, would it?

And, via Guardian Unlimited’s Newslog, Jonathan Alter:

For dad – and me – any member of Congress who supports amending the Bill of Rights for the first time in the history of this country for a nonproblem like flag burning is showing serious disrespect for our Constitution and for the values for which brave Americans gave their lives. Such disrespect is a much more serious threat than the random idiots who once every decade or so try (often unsuccessfully) to burn a flag.

Some people obviously care very much about what a flag represents but at the end of the day I say it is just a piece of cloth. And if people didn’t get so worked up about it, flag burners probably wouldn’t burn flags.