…even though that’s pretty much what it is. I’ve recently been falling in love with electronic music all over again, and blair at music.for-robots deserves a lot of credit for that. While the entire blog is great, his posts have always led the pack as far as I’m concerned. Over the past year or so, he’s chipped away at my encrusted prejudices about all things bleepy and thumpy, showing me grand new vistas of unexplored funkiness. From the hills of German techno to the shores of Folktronica remixes, it has been quite a ride.

Those who knew me in high school know I’ve always loved the bright lights of the Warp Records stable: Aphex, Squarepusher, Autechre, etc. Eventually I figured out that they call that kind of music IDM, and so I signed on as an official Fan of IDM. Like many fans, over time I built up a hard shell around my genre, sealing up everything dope and making sure nothing wack infiltrated the edges. If there’s one thing fans love to do, it’s categorize, and electronic music fans have made it into an art in and of itself. Nothing is better proof of that than Ishkur’s Guide. Though the presentation may be a bit lacking in artistry, the breadth of information there is glorious. With such categorizations in hand, I proceeded to exclude all the genres I thought were not serious or intellectual enough; basically if you weren’t pushing to the bleeding edge of what was possible, you were “formulaic” and deserving of scorn. Thanks to Isaac’s influence, I always had a soft spot for jungle, but house, techno, breakbeat, etc. were all written off as frivolous and wack. It was a narrow-minded approach and I regret it, though I was not always wrong; Happy Hardcore and Anthem Trance are still both completely ridiculous. Thankfully, I have mellowed with age and can now appreciate all things that are dope, not just what I allow myself to believe is dope.

These two tracks are from the most excellent BPitch Control label in Berlin, who are the vanguards of German minimalist techno. Headed by Ms. Ellen Allien, it is the first label since Warp where I have bought into their aesthetic and appreciate everything they are releasing, whether it is to my taste or not. Both these tracks were posted by blair on MFR, so apologies all around, wherever necessary, but I had to give the world another crack at them:

Paul Kalkbrenner: Gebrunn Gebrunn
from Camping 2 (BPitch Control 2005) [MFR post]

Fuck a song of hope for the new millenium, this is The March of Victory In The War Against Unfunkiness. It is a relentless destructive onslaught against Those Who Do Not Bob Their Heads. V-U Day is here, deny it at your peril.

Apparat: Cheap Thrills
from My Parade (BPitch Control 2004) [MFR post]

This is The Other March Of Victory, from the opposite flank. It shuffles and sneaks along, rather than stomping everything in its path flat, but it is no less undeniable. Resistance is futile.

All I can offer to conclude is that if these tracks were too massive, if they plowed you under and left you buried under the weight of their funk, don’t be afraid to come back. We’ll have some nice soft soulful tracks for you next, and hopefully “next” won’t be more that week away.

evan :: Nov.17.2005 :: The Roll :: No Comments »