I’ve pretty much taken my eye off dubstep this year. Whether it was an overdose, that it seemed to be atrophying (even if atrophying on a micro-scale as it gradually self-divided into more and more genres), or that I’m simply a shire-mired fud who only listens and doesn’t experience – whatever the reason, I just haven’t paid enough attention to what’s what. I’ve enjoyed the Grievous Angel’s ongoing series of mixes, the Kryptic Minds album (their mix for Blackdown is here), Cooly G (her FACT mix), some Silkie stuff, the Mordant Music/Shackleton record, and the upcoming King Midas Sound album (I guess the Hyperdub 5 compilation goes without saying), but generally if I ever did have a clue what was going on, I er, haven’t any more.
None of which means my ears didn’t instantly tingle when I heard about a Shackleton and Appleblim project to remix two tracks from the reissued Harmonia ’76 album Tracks and Traces. Some things just seem to make obvious and instant sense and Tracks and Tracesthis was one of those moments. The originals on Tracks and Traces allow for the intrusion of light and are in many respects vessels in structure, and despite being largely beatless, they do possesses that kosmiche propulsion, the sense of an outbound journey. And as the sessions involving Dieter Moebius, Hans-Jaochim Roedelius, Michael Rother and Brian Eno were definitively exploratory (they were a coming together of minds, an exercise in mutual respect – and never meant to be released), the reworkings on this 12” feel a bit like realisations instead of remixes.
Shackleton takes on the centrepiece of Tracks and Traces – the fifteen-minute ‘Sometimes in Autumn’. You can see how the original might have enticed Shackleton: beneath the passive exterior of swirling synth lines and tight-pitched oscillators is an ominous throbbing undertow; and being an exercise in sonic possibilities, it accepts rhythmic embellishment with a kind of avarice. There are pockets of the trademark Shackleton drums - the chopped snare hits that sound like sharp intakes of breath, the stilted tambourine shakes; and he manages to turn the mid-section into a kind of vortex, the bass churning against itself. He actually shaves off around 5 minutes from the original, and telescopes the closing half of the track, adding a brilliant closing rhythm pattern that, whilst far too dubbed and spliced to be anything approaching motorik, could easily have carried the track into infinity.
Appleblim’s contribution is to augment the edgy pastoral epic of ‘By The Riverside’, a languid nature symphony, which is all washes of light and buried birdsong. If anything, Appleblim’s remix is less reverential than Shackleton’s, adding a real sense of depth to the track with a trench-like bass and an array of skittish beats. Towards the close of the track, he adds what is sounds something like a prepared harp and it gives the track an eastern feel. The remix is certainly more daring yet it feels as if it sucks some of the life from the track – an odd thing given how languorous the original is.
When this project was first mentioned, I was under the impression it was going to be an entire album, and given how well these two tracks stand up I think it would work. Someone? Anyone?
This is the first release on Amazing Sounds - a label set up by the guys who run the ace Allez-Allez site. You can get the 12" from Boomkat. It's on white vinyl, too.
Of course, if you had asked me at the end of say, 2004 what are my favourite LPs of the year, my answer back then, would I imagine, be very different to what I would say now. The end of the year is of course far too soon to make such a list. Not only have I had little time to source many of the LPs I would liked but I have had far too little time to digest many of those I have.
But I’m a boy and this list means something.
2008 has been a disappointment for me. It’s not so much there aren’t LPs out there I like. On the contrary there are many and I have excluded many worthy records from my list, but I never found that genuine classic. This feeling of dissatisfaction is accentuated by the sheer blandness of bands forming the centre-left of pop. When bands such as TV On The Radio, although competent enough, are being hailed as cutting edge and groundbreaking then I believe this reflects a year where pop has lacked innovation and excitement. Alternative music has to be more than just pop/rock bands using production values associated with dance music. My tastes have traditionally been mainstream as well as leftfield but the lack of creativity from more middle of the road artists has, to paraphrase Neil Young, forced me towards the ditch. I know there is something else out there for me I’ve yet to find and I could really use a life-affirming album to get me through this cold and dark, credit crunched, British winter. Records which were close to making this include those made by Distance, Portishead, Al Green, DJ Rupture & Skream. This is my top ten right now for whatever it is worth...
Artist: Dusk and Blackdown
Album: Margins Music
Label: Keysound Recordings
This is a vivid collection of snapshots of multi-cultural London in 2008. Target’s hypnotic meandering vocal in the opener is sublime.
Artist: Tricky
Album: Knowle West Boy
Label: Domino
It is difficult to provide a balanced assessment of this LP, as I so want to like Tricky’s albums. He is an artist capable of the producing work of the highest order with unique insights into the human psyche. And this is a more than a fine piece of work with exceptional tracks like Past Mistake & the incredible single Council Estate. The drumming on this gets me every time. Tricky was never just trip-hop. How was his cover of Public Enemy’s Black Steel ever trip-hop? And this record uses rock, ragga & blues, all stamped with the authority of the utterly incomparable & unmistakable sound of the Tricky Kid.
Artist: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Album: Dig! Lazarus Dig!
Label: Mute
Cave is on a roll. By a distance the best rock album I heard released in 2008. Although not as filthy as the garage rock as found on 2007’s Grinderman’s record, The Bad Seeds have clearly been given a kick up the arse. An LP that is great to drink bourbon with, which further cements Cave & The Bad Seeds as one of the all time greats. And few can curse quite like Cave.
Artist: Various Artists
Album: An England Story (From Dancehall to Grime: 25 Years of the MC in the UK)
Label: Soul Jazz
So I’m cheating already as this compilation features few releases from 2008. Based on no. 10 of the stellar Blogariddims series by The Heatwave, Soul Jazz has put together the four records that have been stuck on my turntable most this year. It’s really hard to pick my favourite. There is General Levy’s Champagne Body. Or Stush with Dollar Sign. Estelle sounds incredible on Uptown Top Rankin. But it’s probably Papa Levi’s My God My King. If you haven’t much of this kind of thing in your collection it is essential.
Artist: Fuck Buttons
Album: Street Horrrsing
Label: ATP
I can’t stop playing this record. Sweet Love For Planet Earth, the opener is so completely engaging I have found myself going back to the beginning on numerous occasions. But I love it that this has been recorded with the tracks mixed into each other.
Artist: Shackleton/Appleblim/Peverelist
Album: Soundboy’s Gravestone Gets Desecrated By Vandals
Label: Skull Disco
Another collection of 12” singles from the Skull Disco label. There is the also the bonus of a whole disc of remixes from the likes of Bass Clef & Rupture. I have been trying to get hold of as many the 12” records from Skull Disco as I can. With their lovingly designed covers & incredible production values, they push all the right buttons aesthetically. Just as with 2007’s collection, Soundboy Punishments, Shackleton dominates procedures with his ultra dark and percussive take on the dubstep genre. Another great album title …and I wonder what this would sound like at a rave.
This is a little gem of a record, lovingly recorded with instruments & vocals given ample space to breathe with a gorgeous clean guitar sound. We all know about the African influences & their New York savvy, but at the end of the day it is about the tunes. In an era where too many bands concentrate on the sound they create and neglect the craft of actually writing songs, Vampire Weekend was most welcome.
Artist: 2562
Album: Aerial
Label: Tectonic
The trends within dubstep this year have witnessed a reduction in the use of the signature ‘wobble’ bass. As the sound has become global there has also been a shift from the original dub/2-step style, which served as its blueprint. Dubstep in 2008 has increasingly merged with techno and minimalist electronica & the boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred. As discussed previously in this blog, 2562 is Dave Huissmans (2562 being his postal code I have read), a Dutchman. He has produced a beautifully formed electronic record, with lush, sensual sounds that suggests, at least internationally, dubstep need not always be dark in tone, texture and mood. This was quite a revelation for me. Indeed, Aerial could be considered a minor classic.
Artist: The Bug
Album: London Zoo
Label: Ninja Tune
Essentially a contemporary dancehall record made & informed by the London bass scene. Kevin Martin is the man behind the beats & bass but the album intriguingly features a stellar cast of toasters including Spaceape (you will never hear him sound as good and pissed off as this), Flowdan, Tippa Irie and the wonderful Warrior Queen. The bass is incredibly full & loud, noticeably so compared with other bass-heavy albums this year. Although a record filled with drama, passion & urgency, Skeng, Insane & Warning to name a few, there is also the instrumental Freak Freak & Too Much Pain providing more subtle moments of contemplation. Although the lead singles were from 2007, this is the record that sounded most like 2008 to me.
Accompanying Track: The Bug (feat Spaceape) - Fuckaz
If you've got stuff for me to listen to or read then get in touch and I'll do my best to get something written - here, or by someone at The Liminal. You can reach me at mountain7blog at googlemail dot com
