Tír Na HiFi

Jo Johnson - Weaving

Donato Dozzy - Plays Bee Mask..

Was actually dreading this triple vinyl set to tell the truth. I needn't have worried as it's a scorcher and as far from ambient as you can get. Reminds me of his Polygon Windows persona but with massive dollops of Funk. Unbelievable sonics with a depth to the sound that puts others in the shade.......Great fun too :) Oh and there's even a plaintiff piano piece at the close......What's next? A triple album of piano solos ;)

Still waiting for it to arrive (in CD format, obviously!) but I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it. Interestingly enough, I've just come back from London and it was advertised all over the place there, virtually every Tube stop had it.

Diapason wrote:Still waiting for it to arrive (in CD format, obviously!) but I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it. Interestingly enough, I've just come back from London and it was advertised all over the place there, virtually every Tube stop had it.

The only reason people might not enjoy it, especially long term fans like me, is the horrible fretless bass funk sound, which I detest :) BUT.......he makes it sound like a whole new invention as only he can.

Syro arrived yesterday after all, and I even managed to listen to it in its entirety. Simply put, I think it's brilliant. If anything, it's far more accessible than I was expecting (drukqs it ain't!) and while it's chock full of invention and ideas, it's a very enjoyable listen.

Diapason wrote:Syro arrived yesterday after all, and I even managed to listen to it in its entirety. Simply put, I think it's brilliant. If anything, it's far more accessible than I was expecting (drukqs it ain't!) and while it's chock full of invention and ideas, it's a very enjoyable listen.

Glad you're enjoying it! You're right, you can analyse it to death, but at the end of the day, it's just such a fantastically enjoyable listen :)

Boris Blank – Electrified (Blank Media)
Deluxe Box Set
15 September 2014

9/10

The Yello music man releases a limited edition box set. Louder Than War’s Paul Scott-Bates reviews.

If you’re sat wondering what contribution Boris Blank has made to modern music, then wonder no more. The man often known as ‘the other one’ to Deiter Meier in Yello has released a quite magnificent collection of fifty-eight unreleased tracks spanning almost forty years in a quite lavish package.

Three vinyl albums, one metal-reel cassette, a double cd, one dvd and a thirty-six page booklet will set you back around £80, but is it any good? Well, the simple answer is ‘Yes’.

There are no inclusions of singles here, no Oh Yeah or The Race (although there are some tracks which may have been those two as work in progress?), but what is here is a fascinating insight into the workings of Blanks mind.

Remember that Blank never intentionally learned an instrument or to read music, but his imagination allowed him to construct the mightiest of soundscapes. When he started out in 1977 the sampler had yet to be invented, yet Blank still sampled sounds by means of tape loops and almost created something which would be commonplace many decades later. A true trailblazer.

Amongst the incredible retrospective are several new tracks including the title track with its throbbing bassline and racing melody he even manages to sneak in an acceptable vocoder within the funky wah-wah hook.



There are huge elements of the eccentric side which has followed both Blank and Meier for many years. Cigarette Girl has whoops, and shouts and carnival drums, Future Past is a massive slab of techno house come euro-dance wonderfulness which steams along like roaring train out of the boring predictableness of modern day dross.

An influence to many a modern day artist, Blank has always been a music maverick and true original. Electrified clearly shows the massive contribution he has made to music over the decades, and with the evidence of some of the new material, shows that he hasn’t finished yet. Maybe the track She’s Got Balls reflects his own personal musical crusade?

cybot wrote:

Diapason wrote:Syro arrived yesterday after all, and I even managed to listen to it in its entirety. Simply put, I think it's brilliant. If anything, it's far more accessible than I was expecting (drukqs it ain't!) and while it's chock full of invention and ideas, it's a very enjoyable listen.

Glad you're enjoying it! You're right, you can analyse it to death, but at the end of the day, it's just such a fantastically enjoyable listen :)

I picked up a copy on CD this morning - the vinyl was just too expensive as I buying other stuff too. I only heard a bit in the crapoy jeep stereo so far but lovin' it!