| #671 |
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2003 |
Perilous 671 I can’t say I ever really bought the whole ‘analogue is better’ argument that was around in the early Nineties. And I was a part of Clan Analogue more because the people were interesting and involved in a multitude of creative artistic pursuits (both audio and video), than for any ideological leaning towards old gear. So it is with a strange nostalgic ear I listen to the latest Clan artist album – Dark Network’s Late Set. Like that other band that emerged from Canberra, B(if)tek, Dark Network have a serious old school gear obsession – one that seems even more unhealthy in this current age of software synths and dsp plugins. Clocking in at a full 70 minutes and slimmed down to just seven tracks, Late Set’s pleasures unravel slowly, and the mood is strictly atmospheric. Unlike the smoothly processed drums of the last 5 years of microhouse, Dark Network’s drum machines clatter and rattle, and their synths burble. It would do the album a disservice to label this album as retro, but it had me searching through the collection for old acid house records, and those early 90s analogue workouts from Cologne like Air Liquide etc. Interestingly Luke Vibert has also been exploring those early analogue days. With an album due out on Warp called Yoseph in October, the first 12” has emerged. On the A side there is a throwback to the prime of acid house with an appropriately named I Love Acid. A modulated vocoder sings about the pleasures of acid whilst a 303 snakes away underneath. A much maligned instrument since about 1993 (bar the screeching energies of Josh Wink’s Higher State Of Consciousness of course), more so since Rebirth first became available as a software 303 emulator in the late 90s, its quite fun to hear it back in the mix. Its unique qualities are still there – the endless looping patterns growing like arms of a Mandelbrot – ah yes . . the memories. The flip side Synthax is a more atmospheric 303 breakdown with those very distinctive analogue groans and foghorn-style sounds. As side note it is amusing to hear him doing both early 90s ardkore/jungle as Amen Andrews (on Rephlex) and this new acid material (on Warp)– he is definitely in a retro phase. In other news things have been firming up on the Sound Summit front with eleven workshops being held in the Newcastle Workers Club over three days in early October (3,4,5). There are workshops with some of Australia’s most knowledgeable and interesting producers and label people covering the basics of being either a self-releasing electronic musician or running an independent label through to royalties, licensing tracks to other labels and compilations, and assembling proper budgets for putting out albums. On the production side of things there is a mass cipher/freestyle session planned led by 8 well known MCs, beat production and creative sampling, and also sessions on software synthesis and sorting out a good live performance. Each workshop this year is $5. And the internationals locked in now are ComA (Tigerbeat6), Sutekh (Context), Dabrye (Eastern Developments), Machine Drum (Merck) as well as the inventor of a three armed turntable, Janek Schaefer (Fat Cat) who will be working with New York’s DJ Olive (theAgriculture). More at www.soundsummit.org. If you cannot make the Newcastle shows then there will be two very limited capacity nights at the Sydney Opera House with one-off collaborations and improvisations between these acts and local artists on October 11 & 12. Yellow Peril (www.snarl.org)  Goto
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