I think Farmers Manual embodies the myth of the nerd. The amount of information floating around about these people is ridiculous and not all of it is accurate. Among the more interesting tidbits: they recorded in a disused auto repair shop, they worked in the advertising industry, were influential wiki makers before it was cool, and heavily participated in the Viennese electronic scene in the early nineties. Due to the conflicting information, I can only confirm the last bit.
Numerous anonymous web junkies were involved in the proceedings, but the main anchors were Mathias Gmachl, Stefan Possert, and Oswald Berthold. Together these three brought much weird music into the world, but I’m going to focus on their first effort, No Backup.
What distinguishes this record from so many other Mego releases is how it merges the normal with the sublimely weird. Usually Mego releases (especially the early ones) were either dance or extremely experimental. No Backup included both, so you could play it for your friend who grew up on Aphex Twin, and he’d know it was different, but would not be able to put his finger on it.
According to the few interviews that existed with this trio, the music’s focus was rhythm, not melody. Upon starting up the disc, you see what they mean. “Macro-Woeb” does consist of a warped sense of time keeping. “Biomagic I” could pass as a dance track, except the infinite ratcheting of suspense and an ever insistent near-melody makes such a thing impossible. The follow up of “Biomagic II” is like listening to the previous track getting dissembled into its most basic elements.
Most of the music on here has a sense of humor to it, whether it is of the sorts of sounds used or the extremely bizarre references. “Perimeter 87” gives off the impression of a lackadaisical spy with its stuttering guitar-like sounds. But one of my favorite songs on here has to be “Farmers Manual”. It is nothing more than oddly delayed high-hats, which remove any sense of dance. What is interesting is how the background noises are the actual song, and the synthesizer in the background, giving the only hint of progression, is going through a quiet breakdown.