Nuclear Beef

Bleeping Bassline Techno Audio Beef Today. Jamie Lidell seeks safety in numbers and scares the bejeezus out of dancefloors everywhere.

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'Habits Live Short' by Jamie Lidell from the 1998 12" Vinyl Safety In Numbers EP on Sativae Records

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The cuechamp just posted a pair of Jamie Lidell tracks, which reminded me I've been meaning to post this. I picked up my second copy of this record a few months back at Spice Records in Shibuya, Tokyo.

I've been a fan of Jamie Lidell and the whole Edinburgh posse for a good long time now. I remember very clearly the first Subhead record I heard, Subhead #7. It contained an ambient track which sounded almost exactly the same when played backwards. It also contained some very weird sounding techno, which immediately stimulated my curiousity. I started checking out similar music by Cristian Vogel, Si Begg, Neil Landstrumm.. and Jamie Lidell.

I remember the very first time I heard a Jamie Lidell mix. It was his remix of Cristian Vogel's (Don't) Take More, on Tresor 12". The original track is somewhat subdued, with a vocal softly singing "Don't... Take... More!" Lidell's mix, on the other hand, is madness of the highest order.

Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take MOOOOREEE

'Habits Live Short' is equally representative of the Jamie Lidell sound. While his records (with Cristian Vogel) as Super Collider show that he can be a bit more smooth robot, I've always preferred this kind of pounding, whirring destruction. I've played this at a variety of parties and it always destroys the soundsystem. The spooky, somewhat malevolent beat builds for a solid minute and a half before the bassline shows up to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

As far as I am concerned, this is what experimental techno is all about.

(This record, like most techno records that sound this good, was mastered by Nilz at the Exchange. Respect. In other news, I'd like to say that Nuclear Beef endorses new MP3 blog aggregator The Hype Machine. While some certainly have legitimate gripes with the site's current design, the ability to listen to music before deciding to download it is huge. I've tried it out and have already found a number of blogs I would never have clicked through based on an extract a-la the mp3blogs aggregator. I still believe that there is a market for many more aggregators, in particular there is a singular lack of an aggregator with editor-like quality control. But I applaud Anthony at the Hype Machine for taking a bold step, and for going out-of-pocket with the streaming part of things. Now if only he can clear up a variety of common misconceptions people have about his site!)