i'm totally head over heels for d.i. go pop and i just got a tattoo of the radar logo last week...i havent had the chance to hear any of the eps yet so this is very exciting
― stairwaytoevan, Friday, 23 July 2010 09:23 (2 years ago) Permalink
Ha that makes two people I know of with that very tattoo. It's the new Germs burn.
I think you'll be very, very pleased with what you hear.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 July 2010 14:33 (2 years ago) Permalink
So some news:
The release has been slightly delayed again until early next year, but my understanding is they're ironing out last formalities and technical details for the sleeve and so forth. So slight bummer there, obviously, but everything still on track!
Ian mentioned to me that the remastering process brought out details he had forgotten in many songs, or allowed him to hear them in a new way, so that's cool to hear indeed.
I'll have a brief personal essay about my fandom and thoughts about Disco Inferno in the next issue of Yeti, due for release shortly. There's also another project well underway.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 15 October 2010 14:23 (2 years ago) Permalink
There's also another project well underway.
???
― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Friday, 15 October 2010 14:30 (2 years ago) Permalink
And that's all I'm going to say about it for now.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 15 October 2010 14:30 (2 years ago) Permalink
Ach, you tease!
― Harrison Buttwhistle (NickB), Friday, 15 October 2010 14:38 (2 years ago) Permalink
They're doing an album with MBV. It's almost finished.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Friday, 15 October 2010 22:41 (2 years ago) Permalink
Dre will be handling the remixes.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 15 October 2010 22:51 (2 years ago) Permalink
Well that's all fine and fucking dandy but who's doing the cover art???
― ilxor being real fucking helpful in this discussion (ilxor), Saturday, 16 October 2010 02:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
Hipgnosis.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Saturday, 16 October 2010 02:35 (2 years ago) Permalink
― Tim F, Saturday, 16 October 2010 04:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
A vision.
Anyway, ilxor, as I said in the opening post to the whole thread...
* Fuel, the designers of the original single sleeves, will be doing a new cover for this collection.
And I've seen it and I can assure you it's quite something.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 16 October 2010 04:44 (2 years ago) Permalink
Thank you Ned Raggett for serious reply to joek question. :)
― ilxor being real fucking helpful in this discussion (ilxor), Saturday, 16 October 2010 05:17 (2 years ago) Permalink
The suspense is killing me waiting on this release. Haven't looked forward this much to something for so long. Yes, I am sad like that.
When I get some more information from Ian, I will put some details about the release on the DI myspace page.
― crumbsinthebutter, Monday, 18 October 2010 12:51 (2 years ago) Permalink
No update on the date of release but it is forthcoming.
I did receive something the other day, though. With thanks to Ian, and with his permission:
It really is one of the most amazing moments of my life to finally see this.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 8 November 2010 15:49 (2 years ago) Permalink
Tease!
Looks great though, can't wait to hold that in my hands.
― "I am a fairly respected poster." (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 8 November 2010 16:04 (2 years ago) Permalink
Oh wow, that's beautiful!
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Monday, 8 November 2010 16:23 (2 years ago) Permalink
I remember one time a TV ad came on for a burger called the Baconator, and the moment it was over, my husband said, "I want it!" and drove out and got one. That is the kind of feeling I am having now, but with that CD instead of a Baconator.
― 17th Century Catholic Spain (Abbbottt), Monday, 8 November 2010 18:14 (2 years ago) Permalink
i really like the cover. perfect for the music inside.
― decent skinsmanship (Michael B), Monday, 8 November 2010 18:19 (2 years ago) Permalink
Fucking wow.
― Captain Ostensible (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 8 November 2010 19:42 (2 years ago) Permalink
Will there be vinyl?
― kwhitehead, Monday, 8 November 2010 22:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
According to Ian, no. (This was asked and answered above...)
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 8 November 2010 22:11 (2 years ago) Permalink
Ned, just got my copy that Ian kindly sent me. I am at work and couldn't wait to get home to listen. I am at my desk, headphones in and I am not doing much work.
It sounds sonically stunning hearing these tracks on a proper CD for the first time.
A review will appear here http://crumbsinthebutter.art.officelive.com/default.aspx
very soon!
― crumbsinthebutter, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 13:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
I can't but agree to all that.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 13:47 (2 years ago) Permalink
I'm looking at that cover and all I'm seeing is a stickman running up the inner curve of that soundwave. Tell me it ain't so...
― Sméagol-Eye Cherry (NickB), Tuesday, 16 November 2010 13:50 (2 years ago) Permalink
I have only had one look at my copy and that isn't a stick man. Looks more like a crack in a building.
― crumbsinthebutter, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 13:55 (2 years ago) Permalink
Stickman it ain't. Just some farm/building complex in the original shot.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 13:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
And writing a review of this is going to be hard, as I have far too much excitement running through my head at the moment to remain sentient!
― crumbsinthebutter, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 13:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
And all was well with the world. xp
― Sméagol-Eye Cherry (NickB), Tuesday, 16 November 2010 14:00 (2 years ago) Permalink
In a weird way, I'm actually very glad I *don't* have to write a review of this. I'm interested to hear others' takes.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 14:01 (2 years ago) Permalink
Ned, are you sure you don't want to? hahaIt is going to be a challenge but I suppose I should just say what I have been saying about this band for so long!
― crumbsinthebutter, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 14:16 (2 years ago) Permalink
Actually, here's an idea.
Maybe we could get the people from this thread to write a little about this release and we could make that into a review.
If not, it is down to me to spew forth vignettes of loveliness!
― crumbsinthebutter, Tuesday, 16 November 2010 14:18 (2 years ago) Permalink
Meantime the forthcoming issue of Yeti, now available for pre-order:
http://yetipublishing.com/
...features an article of mine on the band and my fandom. Might be of interest to some here so I just wanted to let folks know about it!
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 18 November 2010 17:33 (2 years ago) Permalink
?
― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 12 January 2011 12:09 (2 years ago) Permalink
Oddly you can already buy it from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/5-Eps-Disco-Inferno/dp/B00424PF1E/
'Temporarily out of stock'
― seminal fuiud (NickB), Wednesday, 12 January 2011 12:17 (2 years ago) Permalink
Still due sometime in the next few months, am checking on any further word.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 12 January 2011 15:46 (2 years ago) Permalink
I know I have all these songs, but I still want this.
― Ukranian crocodile that swallowed a mobile phone (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 7 February 2011 18:40 (2 years ago) Permalink
It will come.
Also wanted to remind everyone about that Yeti issue I linked a few posts back.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 7 February 2011 18:44 (2 years ago) Permalink
i love that article ned!
― 69, Monday, 7 February 2011 19:56 (2 years ago) Permalink
Thanks!
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 7 February 2011 20:27 (2 years ago) Permalink
Unless various searches mislead me, I'm surprised no ILM poster has ever gone for an "In Snarky Water" pun.
― EDB, Monday, 7 February 2011 20:31 (2 years ago) Permalink
I have word of a formal release date -- Sept. 12.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 16 May 2011 13:14 (2 years ago) Permalink
yesssss
― ilxor running, w/ laptop in hand, checking ILX as he sprints (ilxor), Monday, 16 May 2011 14:22 (2 years ago) Permalink
going back to the thread start:
* Its current release date is September via One Little Indian
clearly Ned was right all along about September, just never told us 2011, right? ;)
― ilxor running, w/ laptop in hand, checking ILX as he sprints (ilxor), Monday, 16 May 2011 14:23 (2 years ago) Permalink
Mm.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 16 May 2011 14:42 (2 years ago) Permalink
Pitchfork going to be 10.0ing this bitch and hoovering up all of Ned's cred.
― Hazy, Monday, 16 May 2011 15:14 (2 years ago) Permalink
What matters is the music gets heard. The rest is gravy.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 16 May 2011 15:22 (2 years ago) Permalink
i hear Ned is going to guest-review this for Pfork, give it a 10.0 and baffle all the Sleigh Bells-loving hipsters
― ilxor running, w/ laptop in hand, checking ILX as he sprints (ilxor), Monday, 16 May 2011 15:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
day after my birthday! :D
― spätzle logic (donna rouge), Monday, 16 May 2011 16:34 (2 years ago) Permalink
Okay folks, it took way longer than I ever figured but!
--
Disco Inferno‘The 5 Eps’ released 12/09/11One Little IndianCD + Digital Cat. No. tplp1082cd/ tplp1082dl"We're hated... and the reason we're hated is that we're 'pretentious' enough to try for something"Ian Crause, quoted in Melody Maker, March 5, 1994“The whole is much greater than the sum of it’s parts… one of the most creative uses of sampling I’ve ever heard. It sounds like the future. I’m still figuring out just how cool they are.”Ben Goldwasser, MGMT quoted in Q Magazine, January 2011Almost entirely out on their own, out of step with the times, Disco Inferno were widely ignored and underappreciated during their (pre-internet) existence. Remaining largely unknown beyond a small but slowly expanding cult of devotees, they were probably the most ambitious and isolated band of the '90s. Over the three-year span (1992-95) that this compilation covers, they were also quite simply, jaw-droppingly great - a virtually peerless group mining a steady stream of uncompromising, pioneering recordings. One of the first wave of 'post-rock' acts (and perhaps it’s ultimate example), they combined avant-garde aesthetics with a basis in solid pop hooks, credibly depicting suburban alienation and national decay through embittered, intelligent lyrics.Whilst it's now almost second nature for a band to incorporate digital technology into their armoury, you'd struggle to find anyone who went anything like as far as DI. In 1992, they took the quantum leap from their modest beginnings to totally rewire themselves and become the most radical, forward-thinking guitar band on the planet, with a revolutionary sample-based approach that was simply years ahead of the curve. Whilst numerous acts were making use of the sampler and MIDI technology, no other band integrated it so thoroughly into the process. DI didn't simply tack on a dance beat or spice things up with the addition of a few novel sonics or quirky quotations. The technology was hard-wired into the very heart of their music. Veering between the deeply challenging and the downright catchy, they continually attempted to push themselves forwards, resulting in two unrivalled albums and a dazzling collection of EPs that consistently redefined the boundaries.Track-listed chronologically, this compilation gathers together for the first time all five long-out-of-print EPs which were originally released between 1992–95*, a period bookended by their radical rebooted re-emergence in Autumn 1992 and their depressingly premature demise in Spring 1995. Whilst these tracks were never originally conceived to fit together as a coherent whole, the compilation nevertheless functions perfectly as a sequential overview of the band’s development and the sheer breadth of ideas they explored. Even when comprising just two tracks, these releases were clearly construed as EPs, rather than singles in the established, album-marketing sense. Only one of them ('It's A Kid's World') was actually taken from an album. Regularly clocking in at between six and eight minutes long, each track received equal billing. There were no below-par b-sides, no dead weight. The release of each EP (on both CD and 12" vinyl) set down a fresh marker, became the latest in a series of stepping stones leading further out in creative investigation of a set of different angles / approaches. As though functioning as the experimental R&D for the two albums, they didn't just raise the bar for themselves, but consistently rewrote the ground-rules. They never dwelt on a formula, but continuously strove to push forwards exploring new possibilities.Regardless of the injustices of history, DI were without doubt a trailblazing, unique, utterly important band. With huge ambition and integrity, they rejected the easy routes and rewards. Setting themselves directly against the stylistic regression and rabble-rousing bluster dominating Britpop and grunge, against the bland facelessness of so much of the dance / electronic scene, DI ought to have been widely championed as an antidote, a vital blast of nonconformist bravery and brilliance. In reality they received very little coverage. Buried away for way too long, their recorded legacy continues to offer revelations to the open-eared and actively inquisitive. Whilst it may have been their curse to have been overlooked throughout and long past their short existence, the chances of some overdue recognition rescuing them from the limbo of obscurity have nonetheless recently risen. In 2004, One Little Indian reissued both Rough Trade albums, targeting in particular the US market, where 'Technicolour' had never previously been released ('Go Pop' had been licensed to US indie Bar-None back in 1994, but inevitably achieved minimal sales), and where the band had never toured. The notoriously low-marking Pitchfork site's 9.3/10 review of the 'Go Pop' reissue resulted in a swell of activity across internet message boards, and appears to have left a continued wake of interest. Certainly more popular now than they were during their creative peak, you might detect either direct influence or certain similarities in the likes of The Third Eye Foundation, Hood, Epic45, Piano Magic, Deerhunter (particularly offshoot projects, Lotus Plaza and Atlas Sound), Matmos, Animal Collective, Black Dice, The Avalanches, The Books, Battles, and No Age. But no-one has really come close to replicating their awesome output and utterly singular aesthetic. Whilst digital music technology has evolved dramatically, becoming smaller, faster, cheaper, and consequently far more widespread, Disco Inferno's inspired approach and consequent sound seems unlikely to ever be reproduced without seriously compromising its futurist spirit. Littered as pop history is with unsung heroes and buried brilliance, few bands are so deserving of such recovery as Disco Inferno.*The original Eps were: Summer's Last Sound (Cheree, 1992)/ A Rock To Cling To (Rough Trade, 1993)/ The Last Dance (Rough Trade, 1993)/ Second Language (Rough Trade, 1994)/ It's a Kid's World (Rough Trade, 1994)
"We're hated... and the reason we're hated is that we're 'pretentious' enough to try for something"Ian Crause, quoted in Melody Maker, March 5, 1994
“The whole is much greater than the sum of it’s parts… one of the most creative uses of sampling I’ve ever heard. It sounds like the future. I’m still figuring out just how cool they are.”Ben Goldwasser, MGMT quoted in Q Magazine, January 2011
Almost entirely out on their own, out of step with the times, Disco Inferno were widely ignored and underappreciated during their (pre-internet) existence. Remaining largely unknown beyond a small but slowly expanding cult of devotees, they were probably the most ambitious and isolated band of the '90s. Over the three-year span (1992-95) that this compilation covers, they were also quite simply, jaw-droppingly great - a virtually peerless group mining a steady stream of uncompromising, pioneering recordings. One of the first wave of 'post-rock' acts (and perhaps it’s ultimate example), they combined avant-garde aesthetics with a basis in solid pop hooks, credibly depicting suburban alienation and national decay through embittered, intelligent lyrics.
Whilst it's now almost second nature for a band to incorporate digital technology into their armoury, you'd struggle to find anyone who went anything like as far as DI. In 1992, they took the quantum leap from their modest beginnings to totally rewire themselves and become the most radical, forward-thinking guitar band on the planet, with a revolutionary sample-based approach that was simply years ahead of the curve. Whilst numerous acts were making use of the sampler and MIDI technology, no other band integrated it so thoroughly into the process. DI didn't simply tack on a dance beat or spice things up with the addition of a few novel sonics or quirky quotations. The technology was hard-wired into the very heart of their music. Veering between the deeply challenging and the downright catchy, they continually attempted to push themselves forwards, resulting in two unrivalled albums and a dazzling collection of EPs that consistently redefined the boundaries.
Track-listed chronologically, this compilation gathers together for the first time all five long-out-of-print EPs which were originally released between 1992–95*, a period bookended by their radical rebooted re-emergence in Autumn 1992 and their depressingly premature demise in Spring 1995. Whilst these tracks were never originally conceived to fit together as a coherent whole, the compilation nevertheless functions perfectly as a sequential overview of the band’s development and the sheer breadth of ideas they explored. Even when comprising just two tracks, these releases were clearly construed as EPs, rather than singles in the established, album-marketing sense. Only one of them ('It's A Kid's World') was actually taken from an album. Regularly clocking in at between six and eight minutes long, each track received equal billing. There were no below-par b-sides, no dead weight. The release of each EP (on both CD and 12" vinyl) set down a fresh marker, became the latest in a series of stepping stones leading further out in creative investigation of a set of different angles / approaches. As though functioning as the experimental R&D for the two albums, they didn't just raise the bar for themselves, but consistently rewrote the ground-rules. They never dwelt on a formula, but continuously strove to push forwards exploring new possibilities.
Regardless of the injustices of history, DI were without doubt a trailblazing, unique, utterly important band. With huge ambition and integrity, they rejected the easy routes and rewards. Setting themselves directly against the stylistic regression and rabble-rousing bluster dominating Britpop and grunge, against the bland facelessness of so much of the dance / electronic scene, DI ought to have been widely championed as an antidote, a vital blast of nonconformist bravery and brilliance. In reality they received very little coverage. Buried away for way too long, their recorded legacy continues to offer revelations to the open-eared and actively inquisitive. Whilst it may have been their curse to have been overlooked throughout and long past their short existence, the chances of some overdue recognition rescuing them from the limbo of obscurity have nonetheless recently risen. In 2004, One Little Indian reissued both Rough Trade albums, targeting in particular the US market, where 'Technicolour' had never previously been released ('Go Pop' had been licensed to US indie Bar-None back in 1994, but inevitably achieved minimal sales), and where the band had never toured. The notoriously low-marking Pitchfork site's 9.3/10 review of the 'Go Pop' reissue resulted in a swell of activity across internet message boards, and appears to have left a continued wake of interest. Certainly more popular now than they were during their creative peak, you might detect either direct influence or certain similarities in the likes of The Third Eye Foundation, Hood, Epic45, Piano Magic, Deerhunter (particularly offshoot projects, Lotus Plaza and Atlas Sound), Matmos, Animal Collective, Black Dice, The Avalanches, The Books, Battles, and No Age. But no-one has really come close to replicating their awesome output and utterly singular aesthetic. Whilst digital music technology has evolved dramatically, becoming smaller, faster, cheaper, and consequently far more widespread, Disco Inferno's inspired approach and consequent sound seems unlikely to ever be reproduced without seriously compromising its futurist spirit. Littered as pop history is with unsung heroes and buried brilliance, few bands are so deserving of such recovery as Disco Inferno.
*The original Eps were: Summer's Last Sound (Cheree, 1992)/ A Rock To Cling To (Rough Trade, 1993)/ The Last Dance (Rough Trade, 1993)/ Second Language (Rough Trade, 1994)/ It's a Kid's World (Rough Trade, 1994)
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 July 2011 16:38 (1 year ago) Permalink