Ellen Allien & Apparat "Orchestra of Bubbles"

Insert two weeks of ilx0rs talking about how this is the greatest thing ever, a lapse of comments, the album release upon which a couple people stumble in, then a critical reappraisal where some people finally find it a month after release and some original posters mention they don't really listen to it that much anymore, really.

I would like to start this trend by saying this is pretty damn cool and will be convincing friends to get it.

Oh my.

Well then, another massive, undeniable, surprising WINNER!.

So fresh. Will attempt to babble coherently... shit, when I'm good & ready this time eh?

xpost - thank you!!!!

this is great! its nice and punchy and sproingy.

She really needs to stop mentioning her dad being a Tamil rebel, though. This can't be good for her career.

yes, good point, they are both women

It was because of "Insert two weeks of ilx0rs talking about how this is the greatest thing ever, a lapse of comments, the album release upon which a couple people stumble in, then a critical reappraisal where some people finally find it a month after release and some original posters mention they don't really listen to it that much anymore, really."

dude that's like every album ever.

This really isn't the dissapointment I was bracing myself for!!

This is fantastic! I think 'Way Out' might be Ellen's best vocal moment yet, and the double bass on 'Retina', wow!

I'm finding the vocals a bit odd, good, but odd. Just higher pitched than usual, different treatments & filters & stuff. I'm having trouble making out that first lyric though...

I'm gonna save other thoughts for a more er... considered post this time. Obviously I'm loving it to pieces, and it's a stellar achievment on both of their parts really.

So this is Ellen's pop album? The "clean" alternative to the "dirty" "Thrills"?

I wouldn't even attempt to put this on a chronology with Ellen's solo records really. It's certainly sunnier a lot of the time though.

Maybe it's not the greatest thing ever, but it's still very very good. First attempt at listening was all "yawn - boring! and the vocals don't work at all!" but it's grown a lot over the last couple of listens.

I guess this is my big blurb post :/

I think it lacks a consistent narrative, or theme of some kind (unless I haven't picked it up yet) compared with Allien, or Apparat's solo albums.

It's more like "Hey let's just jam & see what we can come up with yeah?" and as a load of songs messing about with, mixing up & confusing sounds, production & genres... it's really, really entertaining.

There is Indie/Electronic songwriting, Plaid-esque nostalgia, Breakdance-Electro-Trance, Dubstep influences(Philip OTM!), Border Community-esque cloudy prog-lushness, and TOTALLY shameles summer anthems next to quite dark IDM pieces... It's REALLY various indeed, definitely more than anything they've done before. In comparison to "Thrills" which I suspect some people found as much uptight, as 'cold' (neither of which I feel like I can totally get on board with as descriptions go) it's like a blowing off of creative steam & energies. And yes, it's inevitably quite unfocused, and unnattached to any one big, consistent set of ideas... but it's also very relaxed and sounds like a holiday for both of them. And there's PLENTY of really great music here. It's just presented in a really loose way. Which isn't nessacarily a bad thing. Higher concepts can get wearing too.

I'm not sure the vocals are perfect from either of them really, but I kind of like what that adds, a sort of home-brewed appeal that stops it (Ellen's songs) sliding out into complete commerciality. Although that could still happen one day (hope not!).

And I was faintly shocked at the first couple of tracks, how commercial, sunny & upfront some of this sounded, Ellen's melodies (I'm assuming it's more her input) are brazenly trancey at times here... but I like it. The whole thing smacks of a confidence & fearlessness which is exactly what I wanted from it, and have enjoyed about her previous work (Apparat's stuff falls more into well-excecuted twists on existing styles of IDM/Indie Electronica I think).

I like how she's hung on to plenty of the deep, smeary-edged, imprecise, yet strong, sound pallete she used on "Thrills" - electronic and acoustic. It sounds like she was really bored of 12 Megapixel digital precision and wanted to go paint in thick oils instead, and now she (and he too) are working out where they can meet on balancing the two extremes.

I was going to write some more about how she seems to have tremendous vision, in maybe a different way to the way geeky techno & electronic innovators work, it's very "big picture", very Björk frankly, but without particularly treading on her unique territory thankfully. But I keep thinking I'm just parroting or influenced by things Nabisco said in his PFM Berlinette review... And I'm hardly the first to comment as such.

I think "Jet" was where this totally, totally gelled as another reliably fab (if all-over-the-place!) Ellen Allien (and Apparat! I haven't discussed him enough maybe) record for me. I completely adore that track.

I also like how "Turbo Dreams" is exactly what everyone might have expected the whole collaboration to sound like... and then it completely switcheroos the whole idea. Funny :D

I still don't quite get the title though! Or perhaps there's nothing to get this time? Either way I like it, even if I have a gnawing feeling someone is going to explain this record far better than I can manage in about 3 months time :X

and it's still so texture-rich without ending up feeling small and obsessed over which is a massive failing of so many electronic records.

fin.

Count me in as one of the people who didn't really feel Thrills, but I'm hugely enjoying this one. Maybe it's the more melodic, softer edge or the greater intricacy of the beats that's doing it for me this time.

Way Out in particular is gorgeous. It's like electro-shoegaze!

Although my version doesn't have Retina and now I'm desperate to hear it.

Check your mail @ graffiti for a YSI of the track

I love the way the cello? double bass? (..such a musical illiterate) on "Retina" crashes straight in after the first two floatier tracks. It's heart-thumpingly dramatic.

There's going to be a bonus track on the final release too! Happy Happy.

'happy happy'?! as in...the tomas andersson track? wtf?

'leave me alone' - is that apparat singing?

i downloaded this and can't find it! hence, y'all are makin me sick!!

lol lex! ... no, I'm just happy :)

I still really need help on the lyrics of "Way Out". That bothers me quite a bit. I'd be bothered about the almost-bad (certainly different to what she's put down on tracks before, more of a stretch really) vocals on "Bubbles" too, except it seems to get lovlier every time I listen to it so far... (susan check yr email!)

ooooooo weeee! thx fandango!

Is it just me or does Metric really sound like a UK Dubstep track, a bit of a davinche / hyperdub influence maybe..

fandango - it didn't work. i tried to email you too, but... I'll just search my files more strenuously.

yes, that struck me about 'metric' as well - i certainly think that ellen's been listening to a lot of grime, or at least it's creeping into the bpitch sound quite subtly recently - and there's even a grime remix of modeselektor's 'silikon' on his new remix ep!

This is growing on me by the day, although I wish there was more lyrical content/narrative to it. And I can't get "Do Not Break" out of my head lately.

can't find it anywhere on the net, and everybody is away on soulseek, sad sad very sad day for me

Today, Retina is the greatest thing ever...

The whole thing smacks of a confidence & fearlessness which is exactly what I wanted from it, and have enjoyed about her previous work

Oh-TM!
Allien can really do no wrong these days

I'll be plunking down my 9.99 Euros at Kompakt the day this comes out. I love it almost as much as Berlinette.

Ellen is going to be in Houston in March, too! W00t!

if you want the record go here: http://opendir.blogspot.com/

scroll 3/4 of the page. enjoy. purchase on release. it's awesome.

thanks but the link is dead, i've got the albums,sounds so amazing to me, but i've got a problem with the end of "way out" who seems to be cut is it your problem too?

ok i've found a good version of the entire cd, for my part i find a lot of "thrills"influences in it, for my part it's a good summary of ellen allien carrier, that's only my point of view...

could you send it to me? please? i have an RAR file, but no idea how to open that.

download the winrar software it'll be easy you see;)

ok-thx

Ellen is teaming up with Matthew Dear for a Spectral 12" later this year...

this is quickly becoming my favorite electronic album of recent history. have listened and relistened for days now on headphones and it keeps getting better. amazing straight through and that's quite a feat for albums of this nature.

Really digging it a lot. I'm not too into Allien but Apparat is my IDM go to guy and this is just exceptionally lovely. No doubt this will whet my appetite until the next Apparat solo release.

unbelievable!

some of this has a real ode to retro equipment and object feel to me. like she went to an antique store, junk yard, and old Ma Bell lab, found old wheels, balls, toys and wrote odes to this shit with her new machines. i love Floating and Edison sooooo much.

she or Apparat.

somebody YSI this. the link is dead.

HOLY SHIT!

I'm not just playing, I swear. Vahid, i'm emailing you the link.

susan you r the bomb

its a pretty nice gift!