Urlaubshits

Over the last few years we’ve seen a disco revival, then a classic house revival; now, there’s considerable evidence mounting that we are somewhere in the midst of a revival of 90s styles. This is evident in many corners; the broken beat leanings of Floating Points, FaltyDL and the like, as well as the resurgence of interest in ambient electronic music (after being trapped in the noughties wilderness of “chillout”) mainly thanks to material from the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never, Emeralds and Stellar OM Source. But the trend that I am finding most interesting, and that has undoubtedly been gaining a reasonable amount of traction recently is the revival of 90s rave (specifically the more ambient end of the genre) and “IDM” sounds in the music of producers arguably too young to remember that music first time around. It’s an aesthetic that is particularly interesting because, in a time where “space” is the de facto standard in a lot of current electronic styles (especially in the work of James Blake, Pearson Sound et al) there is just as significant movement of producers concerned with filling every inch of that space with patchworks of thick, colorful textures and skewed melodies.

The most obvious is Lone, who wears those aesthetic influences quite clearly on his sleeve, whether it’s the Boards of Canada style melodies, or his utilisation of 808 State style textures and chord progressions (even his name sounds like it was lifted from Two Lone Swordsmen). His next EP is being released on R&S, who released some of Aphex Twin’s earliest material, giving an interesting sense of things coming full circle for the label (and indeed dance music as a whole). One of the tracks on this EP, (entitled Echolocations) is the sublime “Explorers”, which sounds like the sun coming up on an outdoor rave circa 1991.

A recent track on the more experimental end of early 90s sounds is the brilliant Rocketnumbernine remix of Luke Abbott’s “Trans Forest Alignment”. Treading a more obviously ‘ambient’ path, it starts out with a billowing soundscape that could have been created by The Orb twenty years ago (their recent single on Text Records, “Matthew and Toby” had similarly ambient leanings); but it’s Rocketnumbernine’s live percussion in combination with the synthetic drum machine beats that gives it a rhythmic complexity that most producers would struggle to match alone. But when the track really gets going it sounds like the most intense Aphex Twin (for instance this track), furious, and melodically off kilter.

Luke Abbott – Trans Forest Alignment (RocketNumberNine Remix)

Just released on Rush Hour’s Direct Current imprint (responsible for some of last year’s most exciting music from Cosmin TRG and FaltyDL) is the debut album from UK producer BNJMN. Entitled Plastic World, it is a 10 track odyssey of sonic exploration and experimentation. His sound is difficult to pin down; the opening track “Blocks” will have you thinking that he is interested from the same kind of all enveloping cloudy early 90s sound as Lone, but, the rest of the album is a lot darker, pulling as much from the sounds of Detroit as Sheffield. It sits easily alongside the deeper sounds of Cosmin TRG and Aardvarck on the same imprint, but with a deeply experimental bent that give his cavernous productions an early 90s feel. Each of the tracks on the album are all uniquely interesting whilst exploring different sounds in a cohesive way, and that’s not always the easiest thing to manage. It’s the kind of thing Actress managed on Splazsh, and whilst I’m not saying this is as good as Splazsh, it does seem to be cut from much the same cloth. Highly recommended.

Blocks by BNJMN

Of course it still remains to be seen whether this kind of aesthetic will genuinely take root, but I’m considering it an interesting addendum to the current post-everything musical landscape that will hopefully be looked upon more favourably than the “nu-rave” fad of 5 years ago – of course that was less concerned with a fuzzy nostalgia and exploration of old sounds, and more with a kind of neon artifice that had little engagement with the source material. For the time being, it’s worth keeping an eye on: there’s currently such a buzz around the post-dubstep/future garage axis that it will be interesting to see whether this crystallises into something more cohesive. And although the examples I have given are the most obviously of that sound, echoes can be heard in the productions of those more commonly connected to the post-dubstep scene, whether it’s James Blake’s more experimental leanings, or the seasick rhythms and reverb heavy soundscapes of Becoming Real. Finally, as an interesting postscript, KiNK’s recent mix for FACT is full of the kind of early 90s stuff that I’m talking about, and is well worth a listen.