Ambience With Teeth
Great news reaches my ears... February 26th will see the release of 'The Book of Dogma', a double CD compilation of all the Black Dog's rare as fuck early vinyl singles - some of the most sought after records in electronic music.
Recorded between 1989 and 1992, these groundbreaking records have paved the way for so much quality music in the years that followed. As arguably the first people to bring electronic dance music into the home, without Black Dog it is likely that there would have been no Aphex Twin; no Autechre and no Boards of Canada. At least not in their current form.
Certainly in 1993's 'Bytes', The Black Dog created one of the masterpieces of electronic music, standing as one of the highlights of Warp's masterful Artificial Intelligence series (every home should own 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Surfing on Sine Waves', 'Incunabula' and 'Bytes'. And preferably 'Electro-Soma' as well!). If you're a fan of that, this is an essential purchase.
What really made Black Dog stand out was their drum programming. They eschewed a 4 to the floor beat in favour of complex rhythms rooted in Hip Hop or Samba... something you will probably pick up on in the tracks i'll be posting here.
The first CD of 'The Book of Dogma' contains remastered versions of the three EPs released on their own 'Black Dog Productions' label, 'Virtual'; 'Age of Slack' and 'Techno Playtime'.
Co-incidentally I picked up 'Virtual' on vinyl last weekend, as it appears on the Laurent Garnier & Carl Craig 'Kings of Techno' compilation. It's the first time i've listened to it for a good while, and it's wonderful stuff. It's not hard to spot the rave influences, with several 'hands in the air' synth lines and piano drops... but it's a bit too melancholy and complex for all but the bravest DJ to drop, and is far more suited to relaxing eyes closed in a fug of smoke.
THE BLACK DOG - VIRTUAL
Another highlight of the first disc is 'Seers and Sages', originally from the Techno Playtime EP. This is the rarest record of the three after the distributor decided to melt down 500 copies in order to free up a bit of shelf space. Whoops! I'm sure they've been kicking themselves since now they go for £100 a pop!
Like most of the electronic music I loved, this has great beats and melodies to die for. The title suggests that if you peer deep enough inside, there may be something to learn here.
THE BLACK DOG - SEER AND SAGES
For disc 2 we fast forward to 1991/2, by which time the group had moved to the newly formed 'General Production Recordings' (GPR). .. a label that was also to bring us Luke Slater, Beaumont Hannant, Stefan Robbers and Mark Broom.
These tracks have actually already been compiled as the 'Parallel' album on GPR, however the remastering has made a world of difference, and once again the tracks sparkle with life.
Glossolalia now has deeper bass and crisper drums, while the synth chords shimmer seductively and the hi-hats sound fresh and alive.
THE BLACK DOG - GLOSSOLALIA
Although the original Black Dog trio are still producing music, things went badly downhill for them IMO after an acrimonious split in around 1995. Ken Downie continued to produce under the Black Dog name, while Ed Handley and Andy Turner became 'Plaid' full time... an alias they first adopted in 1991.
Perhaps it was the tensions between the trio that produced such great music, for most of their work since they split has left me cold. From a quick glance at the Black Dog message board, it seems a reconcilliation might be some way off. This post from Ken last month:
"Happier Times"
Recorded between 1989 and 1992, these groundbreaking records have paved the way for so much quality music in the years that followed. As arguably the first people to bring electronic dance music into the home, without Black Dog it is likely that there would have been no Aphex Twin; no Autechre and no Boards of Canada. At least not in their current form.
Certainly in 1993's 'Bytes', The Black Dog created one of the masterpieces of electronic music, standing as one of the highlights of Warp's masterful Artificial Intelligence series (every home should own 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Surfing on Sine Waves', 'Incunabula' and 'Bytes'. And preferably 'Electro-Soma' as well!). If you're a fan of that, this is an essential purchase.
What really made Black Dog stand out was their drum programming. They eschewed a 4 to the floor beat in favour of complex rhythms rooted in Hip Hop or Samba... something you will probably pick up on in the tracks i'll be posting here.
The first CD of 'The Book of Dogma' contains remastered versions of the three EPs released on their own 'Black Dog Productions' label, 'Virtual'; 'Age of Slack' and 'Techno Playtime'.
Co-incidentally I picked up 'Virtual' on vinyl last weekend, as it appears on the Laurent Garnier & Carl Craig 'Kings of Techno' compilation. It's the first time i've listened to it for a good while, and it's wonderful stuff. It's not hard to spot the rave influences, with several 'hands in the air' synth lines and piano drops... but it's a bit too melancholy and complex for all but the bravest DJ to drop, and is far more suited to relaxing eyes closed in a fug of smoke.
THE BLACK DOG - VIRTUAL
Another highlight of the first disc is 'Seers and Sages', originally from the Techno Playtime EP. This is the rarest record of the three after the distributor decided to melt down 500 copies in order to free up a bit of shelf space. Whoops! I'm sure they've been kicking themselves since now they go for £100 a pop!
Like most of the electronic music I loved, this has great beats and melodies to die for. The title suggests that if you peer deep enough inside, there may be something to learn here.
THE BLACK DOG - SEER AND SAGES
For disc 2 we fast forward to 1991/2, by which time the group had moved to the newly formed 'General Production Recordings' (GPR). .. a label that was also to bring us Luke Slater, Beaumont Hannant, Stefan Robbers and Mark Broom.
These tracks have actually already been compiled as the 'Parallel' album on GPR, however the remastering has made a world of difference, and once again the tracks sparkle with life.
Glossolalia now has deeper bass and crisper drums, while the synth chords shimmer seductively and the hi-hats sound fresh and alive.
THE BLACK DOG - GLOSSOLALIA
Although the original Black Dog trio are still producing music, things went badly downhill for them IMO after an acrimonious split in around 1995. Ken Downie continued to produce under the Black Dog name, while Ed Handley and Andy Turner became 'Plaid' full time... an alias they first adopted in 1991.
Perhaps it was the tensions between the trio that produced such great music, for most of their work since they split has left me cold. From a quick glance at the Black Dog message board, it seems a reconcilliation might be some way off. This post from Ken last month:
"i'm really sorry that the 'plaid' in your post was automatically converted to 'pladwank'. I have no right to force my opinion onto others, and i apologise.
i don't think about E&A a great deal, but wherever they are, whatever they're doing, i hope they're OK. I know they don't give a fuck about me. but that's fine too."
"Happier Times"
posted by headphonesex @ 8:51 PM
