Happiness in Aeroplanes – Hunted Like a Ghost Machine 7.0

                Happiness in Aeroplanes is a misleading titled band. Nothing about these fourteen tracks expresses anything verging on happiness. In fact, many of these tracks tend to dwell in the lower part of the sound spectrum. They might as well be underground due to all the murk.

                Eddie J Palmer appears to have a certain degree of affectation for early IDM. I consider the entire homage as something of homage to the old IDM sound. The sounds are weird, percussive. All of the melodies are skewed and somewhat dark. Considering their origin of Brooklyn, New York this does make some sense.

                Personally I happen to enjoy the longer songs where he stretches out for a bit. “Exchopraxia” is one of my favorites. The effects happening in the periphery create tension. Even the melodies on this work with the length to make something rather affecting. "Autobahnen" is a sweeter, lusher song. I'm reminded of "I am Robot and Proud" whenever I hear this one.

                The album works best for late-night listening. All of the songs are rather tense. Don’t look for any light in these tracks. Expect a great deal of tension due to the percussion, noises, and constant modulations on the low end. It is a good album but it does take some patience. Find the whole thing here on his mysteriously vacant bandcamp page along with multiple choices of the album artwork.

Luke Vibert – We Hear You 6.7

                Luke Vibert has created an immerse discography, the kind of thing which can overwhelm you. Here’s his some of his more recent material, as he’s started to cool down the pace of releases over the past few years. Though it is enjoyable, a few times it sounds like he’s stuck in a rut of some sort. Sure, all the humor you’ve grown to expect from him is in abundance, but it sounds more like a project on Auto-Pilot, failing to chart any new course.

                Planet Mu brought this out. Maybe they listened to the first-half of the album. That part sounds much more interesting that what happens in the latter part. “Belief File” has a giant bass alongside general happy vibes. It is a good song, and goes nicely with “We Hear You”. After those two, the other winner might be “Batting for England” which uses the samples to greatest effect.

                Most of the album resides in enjoyable acid techno territory. He can write most of these songs in his sleep. Sure, he’s talented, but only on those few songs does it appear as if he tries to aim for something besides well-done, rote techno. Hopefully this is just a slight fluke in an otherwise pristine record. Either that or he’s growing old.

Gescom – Gescom EP 7.5

For me, Gescom appealed to me as the place where I got to hear Autechre cut loose. Usually they concerned themselves with making another extremely relevant and critically acclaimed album in their day job. Gescom allowed them to explore more of their impulses, so you could get a better idea of what they’d do if nobody was watching.

This particular release ends up being probably one of my more beloved Gescom releases. Containing some excellent melodies and that beautiful smell of early 90s IDM, before IDM became extremely stuffy, it works. Only four tracks long, it manages to keep out all filler, leaving only the ‘best of’.

“Dan One” sounds a lot like “Djarum” from their Anti EP of the same year. No worries, it is fine to have two different variations on the same theme. This take has a bit more on it compared to the sparser Autechre version.  “Five” has one of those builds on it. You know, one of those fantastic layers upon layer. Each little segments snaps so perfectly into place, with the slight melodies being embellished more and more as the song grows. 

Finally, the latter half is a bit more ambient in scope. It isn’t the boring type of ambient, it remains teeming with life. Honestly, the latter songs could be placed into an early Future Sound of London album and I don’t think anyone would notice.

I’m thankful that throughout the years they’ve kept up this little side project. By hearing them with some of their defenses down, it shows just how talented they really are in such a crowded field.

The Death of my first Musical Genre (IDM)

Yes, that means there were at least 16 volumes before this.

Everyone remembers growing up with a certain musical genre, one they truly could call their own. For me, that meant the Intelligent Dance Music, or IDM moniker. Used generally for electronic music that remained classified only by its unusual structures and lack of actual dancing, it served as the perfect gateway music for budding music snobs. The price of admission into this genre remained very low, basically anyone with a sense of melody and an interest in non-rhythmic music could join, so long as they had some ultra-cheap music software. 

Intelligent Dance music had to be the first musical genre created by and for the internet. Created in the US of A for the IDM list it was probably one of the first obsessive email lists dedicated exclusively for a specific type of music. Due to its origins in the US, a great deal of artists often described as “IDM” declared the term to be an American construct, particularly Richard D. James (Aphex Twin). Rather than just come to peace with the fairly stupid term, he decided to coin an even stupider term “braindance” and used that heavily for his own Rephlex record label. For whatever reason, the term “braindance” never caught on, probably because it looked so dang awful.

The weird thing remained how I never saw or heard the term “IDM” anywhere besides the internet. Even in what is commonly referred to as “reality” rarely did people bring up any artist who might have been considered “IDM”? What was going on? I later learned that this was an ultra-nerdy sub-sect of music which involved large doses of gear worship and familiarity with various avant-garde composers.

Just as I got it all together, that vast web of interconnected artists, it ended. That knowledge became useless, how this artist related to that one, when this one last put out a record, what record label released their first album. Genres never end swiftly, there’s always a few stragglers, a few artists who continue to follow their path. Listeners are even worse, I can’t tell you how many fans of Aphex Twin I’ve met, of undetermined ages, longing to stay young by listening to the music of their youth, when they were last relevant. 

Putting a year on it, I’d say 2004 marked the end. By then, only a few artists continually brought out a solid product, like Autechre, O9, and Venetian Snares. Most of the others had begun moving in other, more boring, directions. Squarepusher had passed his prime, Aphex Twin remained quiet. Pan Sonic came out with that absolutely monstrous Kesto 4 disc set, but those Finns could easily move themselves into the Glitch/Noise category if push came to shove.  

Snobby music changed in 2004. The indie renaissance began. Whoever were the arbiters of true taste decided that elitist music didn’t need to sound as masochistic as IDM. Instead, dance became simply dance music. DFA records confirmed that it was alright for us to re-explore the past, of what had gone on in that period between 1978-1989 in New York City. Dance music flourished, indie rock flourished. Even those who went the more masochistic route, by taking on noise, found that noise remained a less heavily curated genre than IDM ever was. Lacking the pretention of IDM while maintaining the weirdness, it fit those looking for something less accessible like a glove.

I remember releasing this genre had ended around 2004. As I looked around at the beach I was wandering around my friends put on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and I simply danced. No longer did I have to use obscure terminology for what I listened to. Instead, simple words like ‘dance’ and ‘rock’ became usable words again. I felt human, like part of a real community, a community that didn’t exist exclusively online. 

Part of me still misses the deeply weird musings of IDM. For that I have a few artists left who occasionally let out a great hurrah every now and then. But for the most part the scene left without announcement into cataloged internet posts, various dusty corners of the web, still keeping them warm with the music of the past.  

What was the hardest genre death for you to handle? Will Chillwave live? Is Witch house a real genre? What will 2011 bring, new genre-wise?

O9 – Church of the Ghetto P.C 7.7

Jesse Legg, some Oklahoma native, is responsible for the music behind O9. With this release, he left the music scene in a fever pitch. The music contained includes some of his best compositions, stuffed with all the muscle and melody he could muster.

All the songs are named after colors, for reasons not explained. The album title is a dedication of sorts to those Jesse knows who use ghetto PCs. He wants the music to be dedicated to their difficulties in using a near-broken, way-too-old computer. As someone who had a very ghetto pc until a few months ago, I relate completely to this sentiment. 

The music shows that it wasn’t written on an old computer. Each song shows off a real flair for flexible, beat-heavy music. “Red” uses Autechre’s technique of starting with near silence before it blasts off. Little melodies are thrown in as decoration, but there are a few pivotal moments where they take center stage. 

Most of the highlights are front-loaded in this album. Chaotic melodies take over in “Orange” and a pulsing rhythm rules over “Yellow”. But towards the end O9 treats us to probably one of the best tracks on here “Grey”. Here the melody slowly decays under so much distortion, only to be revved up again. This is an absolutely wonderful piece.

What takes away from these tracks' energy are the longer tracks. Those longer tracks lack the immediate impact of the shorter bits, and, had they been removed, might have resulted in a leaner, meaner album. 

Of course, for an artist who had released so little that is a minor concern. The album hits all the right spots, and it is a bit of a shame after this Schematic fell by the wayside.

ROM=Pari – View 6.9

If this sounds vaguely familiar, it should. Before Com.A and Joseph Nothing did their own thing, they made this. A mixture of beats and occasionally charming melodies shine through. Later on these two brothers would accomplish bigger, greater things. But it stands on its own merits as well.

“Thanks for the party” starts things up with virtually every percussive instrument they could find. Samples run rampant, for good “Here They Scum” and bad “Albert Fish”. Mostly, the songs work out best when they have them running through the halls screaming. In case the first half of the album isn’t working out for you (due to the high energy levels) there’s always part two, which seems to take a more relaxed approach.

Overall, this is a pretty decent IDM album. My personal preference would be for the more high-energy tracks on here, which feel better done. Some might call this breakcore, but realistically that isn’t true. While chaotic, it never reaches such levels of aggression. It remains a happy, if somewhat lite, offering of IDM from Japan.

Downliners Sekt – Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation 6.2

Downliners Sekt comes off like communism does for many people: great in theory, bad in practice. Mixing multiple tempos with often juicy bass ought to be a formula for success. Occasionally they do reach that point, of being dubstep meets Autechre, especially on the opening track “u gumbu”. 

Unfortunately, that quality is not maintained for the duration of the EP.  Each track, though not particularly long, outstays its welcome. The attempts to create tension fall flat, most noticeably on the closer “negative green”. 

This isn’t the worst thing I’ve heard, not by a long stretch. But a lot of what has been said about their skill is overstated. Parts of this EP lead me to believe that they will get it together, but they aren’t quite there yet.

B.R. Posse – Dreaming of the Bassline 6.1

Alright, this release sort of proves my theory I have about Rephlex: that they are so wedded to a particular style of music that it becomes stale. Sure, no one would argue that Jordan Muscott is doing a bad job here of referencing IDM and Deep House, but it isn’t very exciting. It sounds like the sort of thing you’d listen to once or twice and then politely forget.

Perhaps the inner two tracks (“Drop Anything But Acid” and “I want to help you Roland”) are the highlights. These actually engage the listener in some small way. At least the rehashing of familiar genres is done in a tasteful way. Having relatively memorable melodies helps of course.

I can’t exactly hate this EP. B.R. Posse did accomplish what he set out to do. Just sometimes I wish there was more ambition with this sort of thing.

Farmers Manual – No Backup 8.9

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.  

Farmers Manual are currently on hiatus following their release of every live performance they ever did (the RLA) in 2003. But this is perhaps the easiest way of getting acquainted with their sound. Consider it a Rosetta stone for their later recordings.

Casino Versus Japan – Whole Numbers Plays the Basics 7.5

Eric Kowalski sort of nailed it with this one. Rather than decide to engage in the nearly pointless drum programming happening around the same time, he felt a better use of his efforts would be just making sweet songs with pounding beats.

You’d be hard pressed to call this “Dance Music” since it couldn’t exactly be expected to help anyone get up on the floor. Instead, you’re left with either songs that move too fast (Summer Clip) or go too slow (Aquarium).

“Summer Clip” is him at his best. Easily the highlight of the whole album, there’s multiple melodies multiplying off of each other, like early Autechre. Comparing this to Boards of Canada would be wrong, however. Unlike Tycho which has much more a blatant rip-off vibe, Casino Versus Japan is able to distinguish himself from a lot of the IDM. For one, the music doesn’t sound stale later (keep in mind this was released in 2002, during my last music addiction phase).

The short vignettes are probably why a BOC comparison gets brought up. Rather than keep them as interludes, shorts like “Moonlupe” and the beautiful closer “Trad Velecido” are fully fledged songs. It is a bit of a shame that this Wisconsin native never much more of this wonderful stuff.

Tycho – Sunrise Projector 3.0

Tycho makes nostalgic tunes using analog equipment and Boards of Canada albums. Honestly, I wish I could say this was dramatically different from Boards of Canada’s material, but it isn’t. Instead of trying to create a new identity, Tycho instead felt like latching off of this giant group of musicians who dealt with type of music. Sure, other musicians got accused of Boards of Canada impersonations (like Casino Versus Japan) but those others could claim to unique aspects in their personality.

Not so with Tycho.  Each song sounds like another artists’ idea, re-appropriated for his use. I tried to look for a highlight or hook to prove to me that this wasn’t true, that I was just hearing things. Upon multiple listens, I learned this was the equivalent of IDM wallpaper. Lacking any soul of its own, it failed to leave any lasting impression on me besides the fact that it sounded “tasteful”.

Music like this worries me. Bands are allowed to be influenced by others, but I didn’t see any value in what Tycho did. There’s nothing new added here, I really can’t think of staler music than this. All I can say is that the production values are crystal clear.Listening to this is like eating confectioner sugar: it is sweet but proves no nourishment whatsoever.

The Tuss – Rushup Edge 8.4

Okay, Richard D. James, we know this is you. Can’t you just admit that, and let us move on with our lives of waiting for whatever album you’ll be releasing the next decade, since Rephlex has sort of fallen by the weirdo English wayside. And that “Braindance” label never really took off, sorry to say.

Let’s move on to the music contained within. I’ve never been a huge Aphex Twin fan (I thought a lot of his stuff got overrated compared to his contemporaries) but I do acknowledge that he sort of “paved the way” for a bunch of IDM artists. Here he’s probably created some of the most dance-orientated music of his career.

The construction of each song is so tight, and his funky rhythms are better realized here than on anything else I’ve heard him do. “Synthacon 9” is pretty much what I wish so much techno was. Multiple sections, all of them are flowing seamlessly into one another, with so much muscle makes this true joy. I enjoyed the “Rushup” songs as well, particularly “Rushup I Bank 12” with its fractured melody.

If you ever wanted to get somebody into Aphex Twin, I’d say this would be a perfect place. Unlike some of his earlier stuff, it hasn’t aged badly, and it doesn’t really sound like anything else of his that’s easily search able (I’m more than well-aware of some of his excellent, difficult to find tracks).

Will “Steelywave” wash over us in 2011?

Lo-fi didn’t always rule over us with a rusty iron grip. Back in the early 2000s, there was a movement towards excessive high fidelity, up to the point of almost sheer absurdity. Part of that had to do with IDM’s fascination of perfect sound, the beginning of MP3 sharing of “bedroom musicians” and the glitch movement. Bedroom musicians used to spend inordinate periods of time on their music, making sure it sounded sure of itself and fully polished. Radio still maintained a greater importance, and you could find alternative kinds of music from major stations (though it did happen mostly at night). Glitch, although supposedly focused on digital error, ended up having some very pristine, highly processed sound.

            Now that so many bands sound like “they recorded inside a bum’s ass” there’s bound to be some sort of indie rejection of what has become a norm for so many bands. Certain bands have already caught onto this, cleaning up sound that had previously been messier, like Neon Indian on that one new song, Ariel Pink on his newest album, or Nite Jewel on her new EP. Eventually these outliers will become the trendsetters, if it already hasn’t happened.

            Part of this lo-fi came from nostalgia for the “unremembered 80s” but what about the “yet to be mined for material” late 70s? And now, I’m not talking about No Wave and Punk. Punk died. No Wave may be explored, but so far precious few bands have tackled the difficult style. I’m talking about light jazz-rock fusion, you know, Steely Dan. Steely Dan, that YUPPIE band which played the YUPPIEST of music to investment bankers and other assorted rich New Yorkers, is poised to make a giant comeback.

            In terms of comeback, I don’t mean their ghoulish faces haunting your children’s nightmares, though they are legendary for being hideous people. Instead, they might decide that now, with interest in disco coming back, light jazz-rock fusion might be next.

            How do they take advantage of this? Well, they can use their extremely obnoxious sense of humor, like they did once they sent a letter to Owen Wilson about his role in “You, Me, and Dupree”. Perhaps sending a letter to Pitchfork about how hard they suck it and with rewrites of their album reviews, to make those albums look thrilling. Basically, the heavy irony they already incorporate in their day to day lives (from being assholes) will help to build a following among young people everywhere.

            Marketing will be important, so they might want to do something to be funny and get it somewhere besides their embarrassingly bad website, which looks like it was designed by your grandfather. I’d suggest crashing a party, or acting like the creepy weirdos you describe in so many of your songs. Or just write parodies of your old songs:

“Driving like a tool out to Hackensack

Snorting coke off of a hooker’s crack”

-Daddy Don’t Live in that New York City No More

            Failing this, there’s an easier way: re-edits. They’ve already been done with equally cheesy music (disco) and you don’t have to write any new songs. Get Todd Terje to come on in, and re-edit all your songs. He can even edit out those things you hate in music, like passion, emotion, and raw talent. Instead, all that will be left is your unhip sound, made hip using technology. Think of it as a facelift for music. I’m sure your old-school fans are more than familiar with the procedure.