Album Reviews |

Luke Vibert

Yoseph 8½ ( 2003 )
Liptones / Synthax / Freak Time Baby / Countdown / Nok Tup / I Love Acid / Ambalek / Acidisco / Stan D'infamy / Yoseph / Slowfast / Snapdance / Harmonic

To be honest with you, the shock of the new has gone out of electronic dance music. All the names we think of - Aphex Twin, Orbital, Art Of Noise, Kraftwerk, etc etc - are names from the past. The scene was utterly vibrant from 1988 through to 1996, or so. Since then, it's been slow decline in terms of new names coming through to capture fans imaginations. Luke Vibert isn't a new name, by the way. Not a new name on 'the scene' at least. He's new to me, however. The names i've listed above, for example - are the groups that also won over rock fans. Not being exclusively a dedicated listener to electronica above nearly all else, somehow, Luke Vibert had managed to escape me. Until now, that is. 'Yoseph' is an accomplished, slightly old-school, yet excellent piece of work. Luke creates sounds that seem ten years old, sound like they came from the prime era for this music, from the beginning and from the pioneers. He does this without sounding as if he's ripping anybody off, which is clever. Dance/techno music is a lot to do with the actual sounds created, as well as what the artist actually does with those sounds. So, Luke Vibert puts them together - these old sounding electronic instruments, keys, etc - and makes them sound fresh. Hints of early Aphex Twin and Orbital permeate this work. Acid house is also an influence, although Luke revisiting that scene as a mere part of his overall sound is absolutely fine. As I said, his use of old sounds has been done in a way that comes across entirely un-selfconciously. Done out of a love. The track 'I Love Acid' for example, a homage, plain and simple. Fun, touching. Mostly fun, though.

'Nok Tup' I pick out as a highlight here. Another name springs to mind, that of Autechre. This is the kind of thing they might have done before they got a little too obtuse for most fans tastes. There are other things you pick up listening to 'Nok Tup', however. A little 80s early techno, a freshness. You pick up the fact that the track, like most here, is incredibly well constructed. It makes sense, it's good to listen to and high quality music. The title track is a trip back in time circa 1988, but that's just the bedrock of the track. Other sounds and production effects layered over the top place this firmly in the 21st century - and that's what I like about this album as a whole. It combines elements from the past, good elements, that has recently been missing from electronic dance music. You can draw a parallel with the progression of rock music in the Sixties, if you like. Production values and song structures got more and more complex until sometime circa 1968. Bands such as The Beatles realised it was time to step back. The process of stepping back and realising again what exactly made you love the music in the first place led to something else altogether developing. It's this that needs to happen to dance/techno. It's possible this process has already begun.

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this page last updated 17/05/07