Dusted Down Various Artists Artificial Intelligence (Warp)
By Juno Daily on Nov 25 , 2022 at 6:28 PM .
Last edition: 28.11.2022 , 13:33 .
Three decades: The album that launched Smart Techno.
Various Artists - Artificial Intelligence (Warp Records)
Few albums, let alone compilations, change direction the way the Warp AI compilation did 30 years ago. Released in December 1992, at a time when techno was rapidly moving away from its Motor City roots and toward myriad louder, faster, and more intense forms, artificial intelligence introduced the idea of "listening to electronic music" that's just as right sounded . drunk daze. Tuesdays are the after-club hours on the couch, when the ecstatic experience slowly fades.
The album became ubiquitous over the years that followed: almost every student had a CD copy, sets by The Orb , and more dancefloor-oriented crossovers like Orbital , the (then) computer-aided cover art. Phil Wolstenholme's Futurists have become well known. and iconic. This marked the beginning of what NME Mixmaster reviewer Morris later dubbed "smart techno" (much to the chagrin of some producers, who resented the idea that their releases were goofy) and what Americans called "music of smart dance" or " IDM" called ". .
Regardless of the merits or demerits of such genre labels, or the stylistic trends of later eras , there is no doubt that the music on AI is magical and timeless, sounding just as visionary and futuristic as it does today. . That was in 1992. More importantly, the Afro-Futurist influence inherent in Detroit's techno and electronic records inspired many of its creators, more noticeably than on many of their later releases.
It's also a great mailing list. In addition to Dr. Alex Paterson provides a nod to his Tangerine Dream-esque "Loving You Live" (a medley drastically edited from Orb's "A Great Ever-Increasing Pulsating Brain Ruling from the Center of the Ultraworld") at the end of the LP. formerly ambient house, most of them eventually became mainstays for Warp ( Autechre , Richard D James and members of The Black Dog and Plaid contributed a mix of solo and community songs, like Musicology and IAO) or later foreign acquaintances. Country producers ( Speedy J and Richie Hawtin Up!).
Musically, the album's most innovative contribution to the evolution of "home listening techno" is a collection of songs with measured nods, chordal hip-hop grooves, textures and melodies drawn from futuristic Motor City lore. . This is Speedy J's single "De Orbit" which has become a favorite of "jungle techno" DJs when played at 45rpm instead of 33rpm (and thus just the right breakbeat provides energy). . Also available is Musicology's bubbly "Phone 529".
"Artificial Intelligence" also features a few forays into what's now considered ambient techno territory, including the slightly haunting take on the early morning dance floor in Polygon Window's "Dice Man" (a prequel to "Surfing," inspired by Richard D .James himself). ). covers the dreamscape. Inside'). The eponymous Sine Waves album) and Up!'s "Spiritual High," a little Detroit anthem full of unusually heavy keys, mind-bending electronics, and snappy acid lines, foreshadowed some of Richie Hawtin's later work as a plastic man . .
Whether or not that was Warp's intention, the innovations introduced in 1993 with AI and its memorable sequels fundamentally changed the debate about electronic music and techno in particular. Suddenly couchsurfing is as safe as dancing. From then to now we have never looked back.
matt annis
Reserve your copy of AI (Reissue) on December 9th by clicking here
