Love when that industrial pulse kicks off Velodrome. Probably the track on the album with the strongest Cabaret Voltaire feels. I think those early 80s industrial artists were probably just as important as folks like Eno, TD, and Kraftwerk at ushering in the age of ambient techno. Even early Skinny Puppy albums (Bites in particular) are basically blueprints for this kind beat-led ambient style.
I often think that a lot of Electronic, Ambient etc does not age well. Not all of it but a good chunk. Will listen to this though hoping to be proven wrong.
Kinda love how records like this, 76:14, Amber all sound. It’s very much of their time, but the switch to digital production has lost some of the fuzzy warmth of that era IMO. If I had to choose one year of electronic music to keep, it would be 1994.
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I disagree. I love how stuff like Autechre and Aphex sound after two decades, and the same for the Eno style ambient. Not that you’re wrong, but that wee snapshot of “old” ambient is really interesting, especially when you consider the tape stretching and processing needed to make sounds like it back in those days.
I agree. Some older stuff is truly timeless but so much of it sounds horrible now. People like Tim Hecker, SOTL and Aphex still sound amazing. I guess it’s the same for any genre but always strikes me more with Electronic etc.
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I’d agree with this post actually.
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I think production values shifted so much more quickly for electronic music than other genres, probably mainly due to nature of the technology?
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I’m not familiar with Proem, but I’ve just added them to the spreadsheet to check out, along with Arovane, so thanks for the recommendation. Things are a bit nuts at the moment with imminent new arrival, end of year work, practice merger, academic deadlines and trying to squeeze in band practices, so I’m well behind on anything else!
I don’t really have that much depth of knowledge with these listening club genres, so always recommendations based on what I already like and favourites of others who know more about it than me are gratefully received.
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I guess it’s because a guitar plugged into a tube amp and mic’d up generally sounds the same today as it did 50 years ago whereas the technology moves on so fast in electronic music that to the physical capabilities, dynamics and sound quality etc as well as the increased affordability of good quality software/hardware makes the differences more stark.
I personally quite like the feel of the older stuff, even when (or maybe in part because) it hasn’t aged particularly well. As with any other genre, the quality of the writing is important to the longevity, but I like a sense of time and place in music and so it feels like part of the charm. Without trying to sound pretentious, I like music to ‘transport’ me somewhere and so I think albums like Incunabula, Dubnobass…, Second Toughest In The Infants have really dated in terms of production and sample choices, but they’re also a great portal into another era.
I also like the rough edges that the limitations in technology produce and how you can almost hear the joins. Limitations are as important in defining a sound as abilities, and can lead music into more interesting places than if you can play or record anything you want. Sometimes modern electronic can feel a little over-produced to me as these rough edges have all been smoothed out and it somehow loses its resonance?
Man, I really failed in making this post not pretentious…
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I’m running a bit behind. Stupid work/life.
I really like the Black to Comm album. Such lovely tones - an impressive array of instrumentation/samples and textures coalescing beautifully. Forst is just lovely, like a slowly filling bath of luscious noise. I’m gonna be coming back to this a lot I think.
I enjoyed the bonus episode of @escutcheon’s podcast - a couple of those track selections have made me want to go back and reconsider records I more or less dismissed. And the @Twinkletoes track at the end fit in with that company really rather well - gonna snag that off bandcamp later.
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Response to the album has been really lovely. Currently dusting off a bunch of tracks which were inspired by Susumu Yokota’s brand of ambience so expect more soon!
I’ve fallen a bit behind with this. Just listened to The Flashbulb and really liked it, even if it is a bit too long and the first track is rubbish. Going to try and catch up over the weekend, looking forward to the stuff @Twinkletoes has uploaded too 
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Slightly concerned that my pick has killed this thread. Do give RHK a listen if you haven’t…
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Everyone should listen to this. It’s incredible.
Kirk has that Aphex Twin quality for me where his work is instantly recognisable even across a wide array of genres.
On this album, to your intro, I really love the way he integrates ‘world music’ elements. I mean, I love the more over-the-top use of ‘world music’ (Deep Forest, Enigma, Shpongle) but this is exceptional in how natural it feels alongside his industrial-tinged ambient techno.
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I’ve really been meaning to get round to this. Tonight’s the night I think!
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Huzzah!
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I’ve only listened to it once but I thought it was great and will certainly be giving it a few more spins. Busted a few moves during Freezone 
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Ok. So I am also three months late as well and just getting around to this thread here in the states. Nevertheless, dove into all the aforementioned albums this weekend and all I can say is great stuff. Brambles being the highlight so far for me.
Great selection this week with Virtual State by Kirk. I remember listening to this album in the late 90’s and re-visiting it now still sounds timeless. Highlight being “Come” for me, think I listened to it three times in a row dancing around my living room before moving onto remaining tracks.
Best thread on the DiS boards, keep up the good work folks!
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Realise I need a picker for this week. Who have I missed?
Happy to pick, though I haven’t been that active in the thread over the past few weeks due to being really busy IRL, so if someone who’s been contributing a bit more wants to do it that’s cool with me.
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