Aphex Twin - Didgeridoo EP (1992)

Aphex Twin. Is there any more revered figure among both EDM fans and indie hipsters in all of dance music? He's invented genres (well, he's the only one in Drill ' N Bass, but still), sold millions of albums, and garnered rave reviews from basically everyone. But was his first steps into a more techno based sound in the early 90's any good?

First up, Didgeridoo is a great song, and is possibly the most unique piece of EDM I've ever heard. It draws heavily from the native music of the Aboriginal people of Australia, and adds a dash of modernism in the form of acid breaks and weird synth bird chirps to create a strange track that manages to be both dancable and ambient at the same time. How Aphex Twin got acid to imitate a didgeridoo is unreal, and it works to create a mystically menacing sonic soundscape that entrances.

Analogue Bubblebath is the complete opposite of Didgeridoo. It's far simpler, a mix of relaxing breaks and floating synths, evoking the scene of a sunny nautical journey, with horns sounding in the distance. Flaphead starts the inorganic techno that Twin would become famous for later on, throwing around some harsh beats and abrasive acid, but still somehow manages to stay interesting over seven minutes. Isoprophlex is basically the same thing, but worse.

Really, Aphex Twin tries really hard to make evil music, doesn't he? I think of lot of his later stuff comes off as second rate industrial beats. It's not awful, but please, get back to your early 90's stuff, Selected Ambient Works, Didgeridoo, Analogue Bubblebath, Polygon Window.

Now that my short rant is over, the Didgeridoo EP is still a good pickup, especially for the first two songs.

Here's a link to Didgeridoo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAkFBQ6sIcc

Adam Freeland - The Hate EP (2007)

I do seem to recall making a statement earlier, speaking of my distain for noisy and abrasive techno. Well, that is exactly what Adam Freeland's The Hate EP is; harsh, metallic, and grating to the extreme. But it pulls it off so very well, in an impressive EP for the now well known Freeland.

The self-title Hate is an absolutely brilliant track, with its pumping beat and captivating rhythms that will lodge themselves in your head for days. Where's Our God Now reminds me of a more acidic version of Daft Punk's Robot Rock, with it's heavily distorted guitar riff and bass drums. Glowsticks adds a hint of glitch to the formula, before the EP thankfully ends before outstaying its welcome.

What makes The Hate EP appealing to someone like myself is the mixture of the catchy aspects of house and the jarry and scratchy elements of techno. Much like Akufen's My Way, it shouldn't work at all, but it does. Freeland manages to create melodies where there are none, and fills the holes with pounding drums to make something great.

Here's a link to the song Hate:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CZF7gvf2rsQ

808 State - Quadrastate EP (1989)

808 State are an interesting band. Acid house became a well known genre in the UK in the late 80's basically due to the constant playing of the song Pacific State on a popular radio station. Which is strange, because the version of Pacific State on their seminal Quadrastate EP doesn't actually any acid. Weird.

But what can you say about Pacific State that hasn't been said before. Its brilliance, its meshing of techno, rave, acid (the more well known version) and even proto-trance is unique. As is the fact that there is a saxophone riff that runs throughout, along with a natural ambienty undertone. This particular version of the song is much more drums and breaks heavy, with tinkling sound effects floating around as well. It is different to its more well known "remix", but is interesting enough to pull off what is sacrilege (having no acid).

The rest of the EP is a mixed bag. 106 is a short and intriguing song, which can only be termed as "jangly". State Ritual continues on where 106 left off, but with a softer sound and other chirps and twerps thrown in, as well as a good bass riff.

Disco State starts off the B-side well, with it's insanely catchy bassline, complimented with background synths and a small bit of acid. Fire Cracker finally gives us a big blob of acid (what, five songs into a six song EP?), as well as the subcontinental cries of an Asian persuasion. To close, State to State seems happy to re-remix 106 into another slower song, with more Asian cries.

As you can tell, there is actually little variation between the different songs on the Quadrastate EP, and this is a let down. Sure, Pacific State is a classic, but there are only really 3 1/2 ideas present here. Also, the EP is as dated as hell. There are lots of 80's cliches flying around, from the sometimes tinny drums and basses, to the plonky keyboards, to the very fact that I easily picture any one of these songs appearing in a late 80's/ early 90's video game.

And of course, there's the fact that this is apparently acid house, so where is the acid? Fire Cracker is fine, but there's barely any acid in any other song, but I guess that's the marketer's fault.

Don't let the negativity above fool you, the Quadrastate EP is still an extremely fun EP, but I would recommend picking up 808 State's later work, Utd. Pacific State, as it contains the better parts of this EP (Pacific State, Disco State), as well as a lot more variance, and a cleaner sound.

Here's a link to the Quadrastate EP version of Pacific State:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=nB7NW3uRtoo&feature=related

Plastikman - Sheet One (1993)

Let me start be saying I generally don't like techno. When I say that, I mean I dislike a lot of the harder, more mechanical stuff that's just abrasive to my ears, and give me a headache. Thankfully, this isn't the case with Sheet One.

Plastikman's Sheet One is considered a minimal techno classic, and it is. Waves of acid, synths, and interesting beats washed over me as I played it, and it struck me as something that can stand up to repeat listens.

The first three songs, Dre, Plasticity and Gak all meld into one another, an amalgamation of tribal drums, lonely sirens and dare I say, psy-trance acid. After a short sample of a man talking, we get into Helikopter, easily the worst song on the album. It's fast, cymbal heavy, and mostly, damn irritating.

After that disapointment, Glob recovers with its deep bass that reminds me of Towers of Dub by the Orb, complete with spacey sound effects and just a hint of acid. The epic Plasiticine is another pre-psy psytrance song, although this time a little slower and more sedate, before launching into the happy Koma, tinged with a flavour of the Orient.

After another short sample track, we reach the most hardcore song on Sheet One, which is Smak. A pounding beat over the top of a creepy synth, it is a wake up call against the relative calmness of the previous songs. With its screaming samples, it sounds like it should be scoring a chase scene in a horror movie.

Overall, it lived up to my expectations, and I will certainly give it a relisten soon, as well as checking out Plastikman's other stuff.

Here is a link to the song Smak:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=RyCnpcKi91M