PSYCHODELIK by LFO is the best techno track dammit

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Well it fucking is OK.

TOMBOT, Thursday, 2 September 2004 02:30 (nineteen years ago) link

Not even the best track on that album.
"Advance", "Loch Ness", "Tied Up", "Jason Voorhees" and "Shove Piggy Shove" are all far better.

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 2 September 2004 02:41 (nineteen years ago) link

"Oh who's boring"

That's a quote. I have no fucking idea what you're on about.

Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Thursday, 2 September 2004 02:45 (nineteen years ago) link

?

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 2 September 2004 02:49 (nineteen years ago) link

hey TOMBOT you should nominate 'Advance' in the 90s poll kthnx

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 08:22 (nineteen years ago) link

i put 'Psychodelik' in my latest mix (linked to from Ronan's 'What Goes Wrong Trying To Make Friends' mix thread) after finally hearing 'Advance' in full properly recently. I think my favourite thing about it is that frequent whirring sound, very subtle but so cold and industrial and the whole sound of the track makes it sound like they're jamming in a large stainless steel vent, like the one Skywalker fell down on Cloud City, yeah

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 08:25 (nineteen years ago) link

"I have no fucking idea what you're on about." = I don't like LFO very much actually.

Although my mom weirdly referenced them in an email once, which made little sense to me.

Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:44 (nineteen years ago) link

i figure she was talking about Lyte Funky Ones...but then again, i don't know your momma

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:48 (nineteen years ago) link

LFO are the worst act on Warp. The only track I have ever had any time for is "LFO" and maybe at a push "Freak" the rest can go to heck.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:50 (nineteen years ago) link

you so crayzeh

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:53 (nineteen years ago) link

Mark Bell is one of the finest British producers of the last 15 years

'A Salute To Those Who Say Fuck You'

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:54 (nineteen years ago) link

Everything they do sounds horribly cheap and nasty and badly thought out and lame and boring. Why are they rated so highly? I thought the last album was a joke when I first heard it.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:55 (nineteen years ago) link

'A Salute To Those Who Say Fuck You' is a prime example of Zzzzzzzz.


Jez Varley's little bro sorted out my first berry - what a claim to fame. Nice guy, but sorry LFO really aren't very good.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 14:56 (nineteen years ago) link

Dog Latin you are smoking the crack rock. Seriously.

Ricardo (RickyT), Thursday, 2 September 2004 15:00 (nineteen years ago) link

compared to what other techno/electronic listening of similar nature?

i fail to see what makes e.g. Plaid better or more interesting.

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 15:02 (nineteen years ago) link

actually 'A Salute To Those Who Say Fuck You' and 'Psychodelik' share that spazzed random bleep seizure effect - it's similar tho not identical

'Sheath' wears it's back to basics declaration on it's sleeve. i thought u-ziq's 'Bilious Paths' was probably better tho.

is 'Homogenic' the best produced of the Bjork albums?

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 15:05 (nineteen years ago) link

I thought Sheath was too IDM.
Mark Bell is/was an excellent producer. I honestly think Advance is one of the most fantastic techno albums of all time, it certainly has more repeat listens in it for me than anything Plaid ever did. Saying LFO are the worst act on Warp is a statement of such pure idiocy I don't even know where to begin, my god.

"Vorhees", "Tied Up" and that other track Gez Varley worked on on the album are all throwaways to me though. I think Psychodelik should have been the single, obv, but that was about when I started to realize what other people liked about techno and what I liked about techno were often very diff. things (cf. "We Have Explosive" being the single off of Dead Cities and Ventolin being the single from ICBYO, wtf is that)

The little piano chord loop in Psychodelik with the goofy buzzing monotone bassline, I could listen to that all day really. I am, in my head.

TOMBOT, Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:12 (nineteen years ago) link

i fail to see what makes e.g. Plaid better or more interesting.

Plaid can write tunes and don't sound like a four year old randomly hitting a cheap bontempi organ on the "special fx" voice.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:21 (nineteen years ago) link

oh well, I'M convinced...

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:34 (nineteen years ago) link

you can argue the bleeps on 'L.F.O.' are as 'inane' (tho i prefer 'insane') as the 'Bontempi' on 'Psychodelik', they're more monotonous and limited on the former after all

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:40 (nineteen years ago) link

;-)

No, I've tried all there albums and I've never been able to put my finger on why they were supposed to be so great. The noises sound cheap and tacky, the few hooks they have grate on me, none of the tracks give me any kind of vibe or feeling. It's just really clinical minimal techno and it just sounds amateurish to me. I know a lot of bedroom boffins who could pound something better than any of the tracks on Sheath within a couple of hours. Oh, and Homogenic's production isn't THAT good c'mon!

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:41 (nineteen years ago) link

DL, how do you feel about the rest of pre-Artificial Intelligence Warp?

Lukas (lukas), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:42 (nineteen years ago) link

LFO are brilliant, they've made some of the most lasting things released by Warp. Course, if they did sound like a four year old randomly hitting a cheap bontempi organ on the "special fx" voice that would be great too.

noodle vague (noodle vague), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:43 (nineteen years ago) link

i'm listening to "a salute" for the first time in years. i like the beat a bit but that wangly noise just reminds me of a spastic clown with jelly for limbs trying and failing to dance.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:44 (nineteen years ago) link

yep. marvellous.

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:45 (nineteen years ago) link

dog, you keep coming up with descriptions about how GOOD they are.

noodle vague (noodle vague), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:46 (nineteen years ago) link

DL, how do you feel about the rest of pre-Artificial Intelligence Warp?

Bleep techno was some of the first music I remember liking and I loved "LFO" (the tune) when it first came out. I listen to the Warp "Classics" album now and it really does sound dated. There are a couple of good ones like "Join The Future" and "Testone" but I feel Mark Bell never learnt to make new sounds. Or get any ideas for that.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:47 (nineteen years ago) link

It's just really clinical minimal techno
Ha, I'd consider that praise :)

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:48 (nineteen years ago) link

OH GOD OH GOD! I SALUTE YOU IS STILL GOING ON AND ON! HOW CAN YOU SAY THIS IS GOOD?!!! IT'S FUCKING RUBBISH!!!

*phew* it's stopped now.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:48 (nineteen years ago) link

'Tied Up' came out and bloody hell it just sounded harder than anything done before, esp. the 'Acid' mix on the Blech tape - incredible with the 'We Are Back' vocoder after it. 'Kraftwerk on acid' is a stupid term, but it applies to LFO perfectly.

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:48 (nineteen years ago) link

DOOSH DOOSH DDOOSH DOOSH DOOSH DDOOSH
Wakablawablaaugh Wakablawablaugh

all going out of time and hitting itself. that's not good, it's lazy gypsy-skilled programming. please don't compare it to plaid chzthx.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:50 (nineteen years ago) link

Strange, I find 'Testone' far duller than anything LFO ever did.


Quality arguing, all week, on ILM!

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:50 (nineteen years ago) link

the timestretched squelch on 'Them' (or is it 'They'? can never remember)...makes my skin crawl. brilliant.

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:52 (nineteen years ago) link

and 'Shove Piggy Shove' is one of the best blissy choons of all time

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:52 (nineteen years ago) link

And that "Loch Ness" track? I'm not even going to dare put it on.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:52 (nineteen years ago) link

that's it, i am coming up to Harlow to kick - your - ass (it was bad enough with Spaced but this is just ridiculous)

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:54 (nineteen years ago) link

You really can't compare stuff like "Testone" and Mike Dunn's "Magic Feet" to anything by LFO. You can't get more stripped down and basic than those tracks. LFO never tried to keep it *that* minimal.

(xpost -- DL you're stepping over the line by talking shit about "Loch Ness"!)

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:54 (nineteen years ago) link

you know, with "all" the things we both like stevem, i dare say we'd get on brilliantly at a FAP ;-)

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:54 (nineteen years ago) link

haha, xpost

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:55 (nineteen years ago) link

actually it was a double xpost - i hadn't read stevem's last comment.

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:56 (nineteen years ago) link

[Aside : back in the day, we would use "Testone" as a kind of litmus test with non-technoid friends. We'd put it on in the car, start driving, the car would be quiet except for the music, and see how long it took somebody to scream out "WTF is this???"]

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:57 (nineteen years ago) link

LFO don't make enough records.

nick.K (nick.K), Thursday, 2 September 2004 17:59 (nineteen years ago) link

"don't"

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 23:26 (nineteen years ago) link

(sorry)

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 23:27 (nineteen years ago) link

"but I feel Mark Bell never learnt to make new sounds. Or get any ideas for that."

What the hell are you talking about? Have you ever listened to the dancer in the dark sndtrk he did with bjork? I pretty much hate bjork outside of Birthday by the Sugarcubes, but that record is brilliant. His production is spot on, the writing is solid, and the arrangements are great. It is an objectively good record from a technical standpoint, regardless of your aesthetic sensibilities.

The problem with that last record was that it was poorly sequenced. It jumped all over the place between the deeper more abstract chill tracks, which were the best part of the record, and loud dance tracks which were so-so. The problem was Bell never gave the music a chance to establish a mood through the course of the record. A lot of people never gave that record a chance, and they missed out bigtime on some great tracks.

I took four of the more mellow IDM jams a lined them up in a row without the dance stuff on a mix cd last year and about 40% of the people I sent it to were shocked about how good those tracks were and how they regreted not giving the album more time. It was odd how much that sentiment was echoed in the responces I got from that mix. I think Freek got all the attention and it wasn't so hot, so everyone just assumed that it was a retro 90's rave album and let it slip through the cracks. The quiet moments are the ones that really shine on Sheath.

Disco Nihilist (mjt), Friday, 3 September 2004 03:36 (nineteen years ago) link

i'm definately going to have to check out some more LFO. The only song i've heard/got is on dave clarke's "what was her name?" vinyl a side.

what's the best starter album to heard from LFO?

Anko (Anko), Friday, 3 September 2004 07:08 (nineteen years ago) link

'Advance'. 'Frequencies' may sound too dated/simple/boring to you now.

the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Friday, 3 September 2004 07:53 (nineteen years ago) link

I listened to 'Blown' on the way into work this morning, half asleep and with the sun streaming over London and glinting off the top of the Gherkin in the distance, and it sounded like the most perfect thing ever.

Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 3 September 2004 08:45 (nineteen years ago) link

Maybe I need to clean my brane.

dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 3 September 2004 08:57 (nineteen years ago) link

MattDC = OTM^9

Disco Nihilist (mjt), Friday, 3 September 2004 23:10 (nineteen years ago) link

Blown is easily the best track on "Sheath". I wish the whole album had been like that.

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Saturday, 4 September 2004 00:12 (nineteen years ago) link

"Frequencies" is probably my favourite warp album ever. The 5 track - We are back/Tan ta ha/you have to understand/el ef oh/ love is the message - sequence of the album makes me almost explode with joy. The sounds are so basic; the result is so rich. Gorgeous.

jed_ (jed), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:01 (nineteen years ago) link

6 track!

jed_ (jed), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:01 (nineteen years ago) link

ok, maybe "Spanners" is just as good.

jed_ (jed), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:03 (nineteen years ago) link

disco nihilist otm about sheath and also about selmasongs. i would like to hear that mix.

frequencies is one of my favorite warp albums too. actually it's probably one of my favorite albums ever.

tricky disco (disco stu), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:03 (nineteen years ago) link

"We Are Back" >>>>>> "LFO"

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:03 (nineteen years ago) link

you have to understand.

tricky disco (disco stu), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:05 (nineteen years ago) link

*JOY* (EXPLODES)

jed_ (jed), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:06 (nineteen years ago) link

understand!

tricky disco (disco stu), Saturday, 4 September 2004 01:12 (nineteen years ago) link

why oh why oh why oh why did they not put 'millionaire dogs' on 'Sheath'? why??? that + 'Blown' = complete and utter wow OMG blissness......

pete badmusik (pete badmusik), Sunday, 5 September 2004 02:09 (nineteen years ago) link

after listening to frequencies last night & before work today, I really don't hear the limitations (& "LFO" (or at least the Leeds Warehouse mix) are pretty fucking perfect) - it'll be top five of the decade for me. tho I haven't heard advance, admittedly.

etc, Sunday, 5 September 2004 20:39 (nineteen years ago) link

"Frequencies" sounds primitive compared to the newer stuff, but so does most UK techno made around 1990-1. I think people get too hung up on production sometimes -- 40's - 50's R&B and rock n roll also sound basic compared to stuff that was recorded afterward, but that doesn't mean that it isn't great.

Orbital's "Chime" and "Belfast" are also from that time period, and I think they will also draw a lot of votes in the poll.

Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 5 September 2004 20:50 (nineteen years ago) link

three years pass...

why?

moonship journey to baja, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:41 (sixteen years ago) link

why is a CD copy of "advance" so hard to find?

moonship journey to baja, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:41 (sixteen years ago) link

because it has the best techno song ever on it, duh

El Tomboto, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:41 (sixteen years ago) link

I just really, really, really love the shuffle and the sounds on this one

El Tomboto, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:42 (sixteen years ago) link

Is it really that hard to find? A quick check reveals you can order the CD even through a local online record store (www.cdon.com), whose catalogue is probably a hundred times smaller than the biggest online stores.

Tuomas, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:54 (sixteen years ago) link


Jez Varley's little bro sorted out my first berry - what a claim to fame. Nice guy, but sorry LFO really aren't very good.

-- dog latin (dog latin),

moonship journey to baja, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:54 (sixteen years ago) link

xpost i didn't say "hard to find in finland / the EU" dumbass

moonship journey to baja, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:55 (sixteen years ago) link

Oh sorry, I forgot you live in USA.

Tuomas, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:58 (sixteen years ago) link

about Sheath:

I took four of the more mellow IDM jams a lined them up in a row without the dance stuff on a mix cd last year and about 40% of the people I sent it to were shocked about how good those tracks were and how they regreted not giving the album more time..

that sounds like a good idea actually

lukas, Friday, 30 November 2007 00:59 (sixteen years ago) link

back to Advance ... TIED UP TIED UP TIED UP. i want to be killed by that song.

lukas, Friday, 30 November 2007 01:01 (sixteen years ago) link

i have that mix of mike's and w/ the four LFO tracks and it's sounds as good as he says

moonship journey to baja, Friday, 30 November 2007 01:07 (sixteen years ago) link

Here's a gift for you LFO fans, in case you don't already have it:

LFO - Slow Down Speedy

I think this tune was only released on an ancient Volume CD, plus on The Best of Volume comp. It's quite fun!

Tuomas, Friday, 30 November 2007 01:30 (sixteen years ago) link

here's the thing. you're right, tuomas, i could get a copy off amazon.com right now.

but alec empire albums from the mid-90s go for $1-5 dollars apiece on amazon and ebay. you can get plaid albums, squarepusher albums, autechre albums for a penny, 50 cents, 99 cents if you dig.

i've been looking for years and years and i haven't found a copy of advance *anywhere* for less than $10!

what gives

moonship journey to baja, Friday, 30 November 2007 01:47 (sixteen years ago) link

Maybe it's just better than the ones you've listed? I'd definitely sell my 90's ATR, Squarepusher, and Autechre records for cheap too, because I find them mostly crap these days and never listen to them.

Tuomas, Friday, 30 November 2007 01:55 (sixteen years ago) link

There are certain records you never find in the used records bins either, 'cause people just don't want to sell them. In August I had to go through half of Berlin's record stores to find some old Air Liquide CDs.

Tuomas, Friday, 30 November 2007 01:59 (sixteen years ago) link

are u not a downloady guy moonship

cos found a link for it straight away pretty much if u want

r|t|c, Friday, 30 November 2007 02:03 (sixteen years ago) link

i have a burned copy, i just like the physical artifact.

moonship journey to baja, Friday, 30 November 2007 02:27 (sixteen years ago) link

Thanks for that Link Tuomas. Listened to LFO a lot last week actually.

Herman G. Neuname, Friday, 30 November 2007 03:15 (sixteen years ago) link


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