Brian Eno & Karl Hyde - Someday World (May 2014)

I love this record. I haven't heard of any friction between Karl and Rick. They've been in a band together for 30+ years so I figured they just wanted to do different things.

Aw, the video was taken down already. I didn't think it would stay up long.

What was it?

Their performance of "Daddy's Car" from yesterday on Later With Jools Holland.

Looks like someone else has put it up -- catch it quick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc1x6_K9MmE

Quick reaction:

1. Brian Beardo!
2. The Talking Heads influence is obvious but a welcome return – tho I would note that he has learned a lot more about actual African music in the three decades since.
3. The rehearsals I saw online for this really highlight how much Eno is back into "jamming" as a way of generating songs, melodies and grooves.
4. I totally love how through the magic of technology, Eno has removed the need for him to play any notes and has now reduced his entire musical contribution to gestures, mixing and singing.

apparently a lot of this was made from song fragments that were sent from Eno to Hyde, some of which may have been as many as 40 years old (!) - which may explain the presence of Andy McKay...perhaps he didn't record anything new for this

I don't think this'll appeal much to UW fans. The melodies very clearly seem like Eno's. There were definitely bits that made be think of Side 1 on Before and After Science. I agree that there are some more shrill bits but all nine songs seemed pretty strong to me. In fact it's probably Eno's best song-based album since his big four (not that there have been a whole lot of them). That's after two listens though.

The melodies very clearly seem like Eno's.

oh OK I should listen to this, that's a big plus for me

I didn't enjoy that Later performance at all.

The fistpump at the end of the Later performance was what really sealed it as being tremendously not-good for me

e melodies very clearly seem like Eno's. There were definitely bits that made be think of Side 1 on /Before and After Science/. I agree that there are some more shrill bits but all nine songs seemed pretty strong to me. In fact it's probably Eno's best song-based album since his big four (not that there have been a whole lot of them). That's after two listens though.

I've turned from being wholly unimpressed with this on first listen to having it on repeated play. It could've been just getting beyond my aversion to those awful digital horns on the opening track. Moving past that, it's a solid album.

Second album! In a month!

http://www.enohyde.com/

ENO • HYDE
HIGH LIFE
WARP255

01. Return (09.00)
02. DBF (04.14)
03. Time To Waste It (08.19)
04. Lilac (09.24)
05. Moulded Life (04.55)
06. Cells & Bells (07.41)

Artwork: Brian Eno
Design: Nick Robertson

CD (WARPCD255)
July 1, 2014
CD in digipack with 16 page booklet

Digital (WARPCDD255)
July 1, 2014
Includes “Slow Down, Sit Down & Breathe”

LP (WARPLP255)
August 26, 2014
2LP in gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves and download code

A. 1 Return (9:00)
A. 2 Slow Down, Sit Down & Breathe (3:07)
B.1 Lilac (9:24)
B.2 Moulded Life (4:55)
C. 1 DBF (4:14)
C. 2 Time To Waste It (8:19)
D.1 On A Grey Day (5:43)
D.2.Cells And Bells (7:41)

wow!

awesome news. though I don't think Someday World is a great album I do find myself wanting to hear it a lot. outside of "Mother of a Dog" I like every song here.

I get back to this surprisingly often.

Feeling a strong connection to Zooropa somehow, given the overall atmosphere and some odd/outdated seeming production choices, some sounds even seem to be lifted directly from it ('Strip it down' from 2:19 onwards).
Much seems see-what-sticks/improvised in a very good and focused way, good to honestly great parts sparkling on every song, the second half of 'Witness', the la-Düsseldorfesque end of 'When I built this world' (otherwise weak spot of the album imo), the harmonies throughout, even the horns on 'Satellites' aren't as off-putting as they should be in theory.
And finally 'To us all' contains a level of soothingness akin to 'The big ship' and even in this form is remarkably beautiful.
Stuff might get corny on occasion, but only as an effect of taking risks, willingness to dare.

All in all oddly loveable album, would be interesting to hear the songs with the sound palette of, say, Before and after science.
Also psyched for the follow-up, wishing for polyrhythmic unorder.

'High Life' stream:

http://pitchfork.com/advance/479-high-life/

Listened to it this afternoon (hat tip to Ned) while I screamed at ad clients to die in a fire. LOVED it, especially "DBF."

Oddly enough "DBF" is short for "Die Business Fuckfaces." (The 'Die' is German.)

Listened to it this night while zoning out editing stuff in Lightroom, perfectly suited due to its stronger emphasis on repetitive patterns.

yeah I like High Life more than someday world. Although I liked Someday World more when I listened to it this week than I did when it came out.

Can't wait to hear this new one. I've been coming back to Someday World a lot, as mentioned upthread it really is oddly lovable. The bouncier bits on here like "Who Rings the Bell" or "Daddy's Car" are excellent and I dig the way it's produced - I agree that there are weak spots but there are also a lot of bits that sound exactly like what I'd hope an Eno/Hyde collaboration might sound like. I can see a lot of people coming around to this album after getting past A) the horns in track 1 and B) the realization that it's more lightweight than most of us hoped.

high life got bnm! not that that means anything but turns out it's really good!

(i really enjoyed someday world too)

I was a little shocked by that until I saw it was Mark Richardson, as he's one of the few dudes over there who would even accept the possibility that something like this could be great

Ryan said it was the best thing Eno had done in years.

I prefer HL to SW.

so do I, by a fair margin. it sounds more like an Eno album, for one thing.

SFJ kills SW in the New Yorker but had fabulous things to say about HL.

the sfj eno profile is generally really enjoyable even though i want to nitpick it to death

As I wait for HL to make its way to Spotify...

"Witness," from Someday World, is a real corker. It has some of those great Eno ensemble vocal harmonies he's fashioned on U2 and James albums over the years. On this, there's a bit where the vocals resolve themselves at about 4:07 which coming after all that motorik feels like a particularly awesome release.

Listening to this and enjoying it but good grief there is no excuse for resorting to plasticky synth-brass at
all.

Eno's good at that sort of thing though.

Who Rings the Bell is also great on this.

High Life is soooo good.

yeah I finally heard it and its definitely very good, reminds me a lot of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts; the part where Hyde/Eno's vocals come in 2/3rds through "Time To Waste It" is so killer. I still like Someday World a lot but this is a real treasure, maybe even an AOTY candidate

I've been listening to High Life nearly every day now, I know I'm prone to hyperbole but this has got to be Eno's best since Before and After Science right? "Lilac" has such a killer groove to it, "Time it to Waste it" sounds totally alien, "DHF" is nuts, every single track outside of "On a Grey Day" (which is a bonus anyway) is great.

Just occured to me that theres sort of a parallel between these two albums and the two that Eno did with David Byrne; High Life being sort of like My Life in the Bush of Ghosts - listening to them back to back, I found HL more enjoyable overall - fills in the blanks a lot better

yeah high life is killer, a nice surprise. have to check out someday world i guess!

Just heard High Life, this shit slaps
Moulded Life is fuckin great

"Witness" came up on shuffle and absolutely leveled me. The long, long bridge is a bit offputting - very much sounds like Hyde trying to fill in a giant blank - but when the vocal melody comes back it's got to be one of the best moments on any of Eno's vocal albums. "Did you ever take a ride along the road taken all your life, only to find it didn't go to the place you thought it would arrive?" - such a beautiful line. Also just found out there are bonus tracks which are sounding very good right now.

As a lifetime fan of Eno and a longtime fan of Underworld I can't believe I waited until today to give this album the attention it deserves. What a wonder it is.

Someday World or High Life?

Someday World. For some inexplicable reason SW left no immediate impression on me, but High Life did. But listening back to SW, I'm shocked at my lack of a reaction, because it's great.

Both are great! Think I prefer someday world too - initially thought that was the well received one, bought it and loved it immediately

Indeed this is premier cru. For once it is not an ambient snoozefest. In my perception eno - whose 70s music i cherish - hasn't done anything awesome since on land. This grooves! SW I mean.

on land = ambient snoozefest

No way. On Land is full of weird sounds. Totally mesmerizing.

/kidding

ymmv but i have spent many hours entrance by "thursday afternoon". there is a lot going on there.

so apparently Hyde scored a play with Matthew Herbert called Fatherland (lol), here's a track from the soundtrack which is (apparently) out already?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO3mFk4RBQU

pretty cool, full of found sound and what not, if it sounds like Edgeland I'm in

surprised to find out that fred gibson, who co-produced these records, has since become a very successful producer in uk pop and rap and nigerian afrobeats as well (he's produced for mr. eazi and burna boy)