Made up of 22 tracks picked out by the staff of the London Rough Trade shops; Electronic 11 is a compilation of minimal electro creations for you to graze your ears upon as you stumble and groan over another unwelcome new year.
As you might expect when dealing with the kind of musical boffins required to be Rough Trade employees, the pool of knowledge from which these tracks are drawn is pretty vast. The definition of electronic here is as broad as conceivably possible; from sound art to dubstep, electro-pop to metal-machine music, basically anything goes as long as it has seen a computer/synthesizer/sounds a bit like a robot from the future.
That said there are many gems to be garnered from this assorted collection: ‘Space is Only Noise if You Can See’ by Nicolas Jaar, is a soporific murmuring of profound nonsense sure to a send a cloudy mind imploding into astounded introspection ‘grab a calculator and fix yourself’ he drones, all the while a ponderous gelatinous bassline slowly melts and solidifies all around you. John Maus’s contribution, together with Ford and Lopatin’s, nod to the 80’s; the former a synth heavy jaunt suitable to soundtrack a retro arcade game and the latter pairing Frankie goes to Hollywood-esque steely bass stabs with catchy pitch shifted vocals. More 21st century sounding is the rumbling low end of Azari & III’s ‘Manhooker’, reminiscent of Daft punk’s ‘Tron’ soundtrack but set to a laidback breakbeat loop. The compilation hits its stride with ModeSelektor’s ‘Evil Twin’ offering an all pistons firing metalic robotic march. At the more experimental end of the spectrum is Alva Noto’s white noise soundscape ‘Uni Deform’ and Marcus Schmickler’s barrage of the senses ‘Discordance Axis’ spinning out your head with disorientating beeps. Back in the present day Mark McGuire blurs the boundary between natural and artificial, blending a stirring hymn and clean electric guitar with enclosing spasmodic keys.
There are a few misses too, Hercules and Love Affair’s ‘My House’ doesn’t really fit in with the other tracks and is let down by the worst of 90s vocal styling which grates accordingly. Flying Lotus adeptly cuts up Thom Yorke’s vocals in ‘… And The World Laughs With You’ but the song sharply loses momentum when all elements are chucked together in a climax that turns out to be a bit of a damp squib. The charmless and almost instantly tedious ‘Guillotine’ seems to have somehow bludgeoned itself onto the track listing; It’s brash nature and lack of ingenuity a failing that is compounded when compared to the wealth of fascinatingly effortless innovation exhibited on the rest of the disc.
Because Electronic 11 brings together many disparate styles; as a complete album, it is hard to listen to in one sitting, but it’s unrefined nature also gives it a personalised feel, as if it were a mix tape from a friend, painstakingly put together after they heard you say you liked that new SBTRKT track in passing. It’s been created not just to pander to what you know but also to test your tastes, to show you something new by throwing in the odd wildcard here and there. Unquestionably this tactic pays off; overall there are far more hits than misses, the selection is brilliantly varied and never boring.
Electronic 11 will appeal to the avid listener/ record collector who favours no vocal left unaltered, every sound chopped up or filtered, and their bass lines thunderous. It is also an exhaustive example of the scope of the genre so can provide a great starting point if you want to begin a flirtation with all things electronic – Just don’t expect too many choruses, harmonies, or melodies.
Electronic 11 is out now!
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As you might expect when dealing with the kind of musical boffins required to be Rough Trade employees, the pool of knowledge from which these tracks are drawn is pretty vast. The definition of electronic here is as broad as conceivably possible; from sound art to dubstep, electro-pop to metal-machine music, basically anything goes as long as it has seen a computer/synthesizer/sounds a bit like a robot from the future.
