77DL - Martin Archer - Kelvin (collect) - Download only
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Martin Archer - all intruments
with
Rosie Brown - vocals
UTT Foster - turntables
James Archer - computer, horns
manifesting variously as these artists:
D P RAM
TENSER
KARNIVOR
ASHEN
TWO LIONS
OF JUDAH
During 2007, having reached a musical point where a number of things had stopped and a number of new things were still being formulated, I decided to aid the transition by making, and issuing anonymously on vinyl, 15 tracks influenced by the dubstep and related EDM I was hearing at the time. Some of these were solo recordings, but others featured vocalist Rosie Brown, who generously allowed me to take some liberties with re-pitching her voice, turntablist UTT Foster, and James Archer on computer and horns.
Some of the resulting vinyl releases were sold through Discus subsidiary label Kelvin, some went direct to specialist shops, and others were discreetly abandoned in the racks of various record shops where they could enjoy a chance encounter with an unsuspecting buyer. I still occasionally lodge a handful of the remaining copies in local charity shops.
More significantly, those listeners who follow my work will soon realise that many of these pieces subsequently formed the basis of tracks across my first four CDs with Julie Tippetts, particularly Serpentine, where they were orchestrated with additional music from drummer Peter Fairclough and guitarist Gary Houghton.
However - the original stripped back versions seem to have stood the test of time, and I’m very happy to collect them all together now in this download only release.
Slippery samples and sinewy, frazzled beats. Gritty sonic graffiti, yet this music later provided the foundation for refined arrangements made by Archer for his acclaimed collaborations with vocalists Julie Tippetts - JULIAN COWLEY, THE WIRE
Un Martin Archer molto elettronico e cool quello che ascoltiamo in quest’album. 15 tracce decisamente lounge, dubstep, con tonalità scure, a tratti cupe, e segnate da un voluto atteggiamento distaccato. A fare da protagonista è l’esibizione di anni di ricerca nella sperimentazione e nella manipolazione di campionature sonore e di macchine ritmiche. I brani sono per lo più strumentali, ma di tanto in tanto contribuisce anche la vocalist Rosie Brown. La caratteristica principale è il loro carattere ripetitivo: insistono su strutture e pattern timbrici/ritmici e cellule melodiche, muovendosi lentamente per addizione o sottrazione di elementi. Se è notevole l’impronta stilistica di un creativo come Archer, e pur immaginandomi il successo di questo sound mischiato al tintinnio del ghiaccio dei cocktail serviti in dance club alla moda, resto un po’ perplesso dall’eccesso di oaca luce opaca e soffusa, atmosfere dark e ritmi ossessivi e dalla mancanza di quella verve cui il musicista britannico ci ha abituati anche nelle sue produzioni più elettroniche. - A G Bertinetto, KATHODIK