bubbles = POP

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I am very pleased to see from the last post that Ms Ellen Allien of Berlin and her album are getting so much love on Poptimists! I think she deserves a post of her own. Specifically:

1) what is everyone's favourite song or sound?
2) what are the two songs which weren't on the promo like?
3) everyone who hasn't got Orchestra Of Bubbles or heard any music by Ms Allien yet, I fully recommend her to everyone on Poptimists - I can't think of anyone who'll be disappointed by her music
4) how absolutely amazingly gorgeous is she, as well?
5) we can maybe give Apparat some credit at this point as it is his album as well, and his own stuff is good, though not as good as Ellen's
6) we can also talk about how great Ellen's record label Bpitch Control (this year's Boogybytes mixes by Kiki and Sascha Funke are totally recommended) is in general, and any bobbins pertaining to women-in-electronic-music you feel like mentioning
6) BERLIN

To further the cause of 3),
ELLEN ALLIEN & APPARAT
Orchestra Of Bubbles (Bpitch Control)

He's the co-owner of Shitkatapult. She's the Bpitch Control matriarch. He's made his name by melting down glitchy post-IDM experiments and gorgeous, swooning microhouse, with the resultant genius best expressed on 2004's Silizium EP. She's delivered a series of increasingly forward-thinking solo albums, culminating in last year's incredible Thrills, which have placed her at the forefront of the most thrilling scene on the planet right now. Together, Ellen Allien and Sascha Ring, aka Apparat, are a power couple able to draw on resources and power and ludicrous amounts of creative talent to push things forward yet another step; if 21st Century electronic music ever published its equivalent of a Forbes list, you bet your ass they'd both be found in its higher echelons. They've crossed paths before - Ring contributed beats towards Allien's 2003 album Berlinette, a time during which they also dated - but Orchestra Of Bubbles is their first official collaboration. It's momentous.

This album is propelled by vast amounts of open-ended creative tension: Allien and Ring took turns in adding layers to each track, rather like solving a puzzle or possibly playing chess, with no idea where they'd end up. Some tracks are more obviously aligned with one over the other: 'Edison', with its filament-thin twangs of sound, is very much Ring's baby, while 'Turbo Dreams' carries on where Thrills left off, Allien's trademark ARP synths peaking and peaking and peaking over a no-nonsense 4/4 pulse. But though every song pulls first towards one pole and then the other, there's no awkwardness: microscopic whisper-subtle details are seamlessly integrated into the overwhelming dancefloor imperative. 'Jet', for example; it begins fuzzy, clicky and cosy like Sunday morning, but at some point you never quite notice takes off, unravelling its glitchy knots and tangles and blossoming into aureolae of James Holden-style minimalist bliss. 'Way Out', too: four astounding, brazenly anthemic minutes during which Allien essays her most spectacular vocal performance to date, replacing her usual Sprechgesang with full-blooded, light-headed house diva belting. And then 'Retina', chamber music for a chamber of horrors: psychotic stabs of cello coming at one ear and then the other, much closer than you think, and underpinned by a demented rhythm which, flitting between time signatures at random, can't decide whether it's a broken beat or a sped-up amphetamine heartbeat.

It's not just each other's sounds that Allien and Ring are opening themselves up to; indeed, the defining characteristic thus far setting Bpitch Control apart from other labels producing the cream of dance music in 2006 has been versatility and variety rather than refinement of a distinct aesthetic. Most revelatory on Orchestra Of Bubbles is 'Metric', which reveals a certain fascination on the part of Allien and Ring for the still-thrilling, still-evolving sonic palette of grime. It's already been hinted at on Allien's label - the latest Modeselektor EP features a mysterious anonymous grime remix of 'Silikon' - and with its knife-sharp Hitchcock strings and sub-woofer bass, 'Metric' slots neatly alongside the work of London producers such as DaVinche and Wonder, and virtually begs for Riko or No Lay to set down some verses over the top.

The fearlessness of it all is beautiful: Allien and Ring seize new ideas and run with them, bending them to suit their purposes and always ready to swerve off in unknown directions if the mood takes them. Take a ride with these amazing people.

Comments

[zenith.livejournal.com]

2) This is 'Rotary' and 'Sleepless', yes? Fantastic! Seriously, they're two of my favourite tracks on it, especially 'Sleepless', which is a bit of a BANGER.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Aargh! I could kill whoever leaked it so early, they're the reason Ellen and Apparat decided to add stuff on. Maybe I will ask Marit at Bpitch for a finished copy seeing as I actually reviewed it without leaking it.

[celentari.livejournal.com]

Ar, you write for Plan B? I love that magazine.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Good to hear! There is a new issue out sometime this week I think, I have written about Girls Aloud and Alex Smoke in it.

[celentari.livejournal.com]

Wicked, will look out for it. They were giving away copies of the one with the Neil Gaiman interview in it at some Shoreditch cool-fest last week.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

On the say-so of steviespitfire who has been repping for this masterpiece since January I checked out an Apparat thing and it was really good too! But I also like Ms Allien's other work: but I wouldn't underestimate the meeting of minds. I don't know the names of the tracks, but this is the one record which escaped my ipod cull in the name of hip-hop, since one of the last tracks sounds to me like a classic electro-era hip-hop cut (with added clicks and fuzz), and I sort of fantasised about this record being a coded history of modern music (the next track sounded like it was channeling vintage Richie Hawtin).

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think the meeting-of-minds thing is really apposite and that was the angle of my review - it's not so much the exact midpoint of their aesthetics as the two approaches wrapping around each other and intertwining in this amazingly intimate way (which is why I thought the fact that they'd dated was kind of relevant even though Marit was like "do not mention it! they respect each other for their MUSIC!!!").

I guess 'Metric' would be the hip-hoppy one - it basically sounds like the dubsteppier end of grime.

[byebyepride.livejournal.com]

intimate is a great word for this record. Also 'boshin'

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Intimate + Boshin' = Techno Heaven

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The very first time I listened to this album, I felt the bass noise on "Under" coming up through the floor and it sent me MENTAL. I also love the hitting-a-pipe-on-the-sink noise on "Sleepless". And of course "Way Out" is just blissful shimmery pop.

Also, the vinyl version has extra long intros on the first two tracks! More Ellen! Yay!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Oh god more Ellen that my poxy little promo did not give me! Aargh.

The "ah! ah! ah!" vocals at the end of 'Floating Points' are amazing too - like Ellen is being given tiny post-coital electric shocks.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

And the way the opening bits of cello on "Retina" are good enough that you don't immediately skip back to the beginning of "Way Out" again...

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Oh god that cello is incredible, and the beat on 'Retina' is RIDUCULOUS.

'Do Not Break'! The cut-up voice! Makes me do rave hands!

[zenith.livejournal.com]

Yes, I love 'Do Not Break' because the cut-up voice reminds of 'Sehnsucht', which is the first Ellen Allien I ever heard...

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

She played 'Sehnsucht' at The End t'other week, it was incredible. I find it amazing that she's getting better and better since Berlinette given how that album blew me away.

[juror8.livejournal.com]

lol electro

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Have you heard it yet? You should. Did you check out Thrills like I told you to last year?

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

I love this album but I haven't really bothered to check what most of the tracks are called, with the exception of Way Out and Turbo Dreams. It's definitely vying with Booka Shade as my album of the year so far.

[kill-yr-idols.livejournal.com]

um I have no idea why, but nothing she's done has in any way stuck to my skull - just faint ZZZZWORTHYALBUMDANCEFORINDIEKIDSZZZZZZZ hissings &c&c&c (or "Gold Chains, wtf?!?"), fading into anonymity. gimme Ada & Areal, or M.I.A. & Sub Static, or something.

(fave bpitch track = Sascha Funke's "Baby, I'm Electric")

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Hmm I can see why that might apply to Berlinette but the last two I've felt have been a conscious move away from that - Thrills especially was so serious in its dancefloor intent that I think it would have been quite difficult to get for most children of the indie. Ada is AMAZING though - people should def. talk about her singles more! I liked Blondie but 'I Love Asphalt' and 'Arriba Amoeba' blow my mind. I've not heard much by the Sub Static MIA - must rectify this, any singles particularly worthy of note?

(isn't that Bpitch single called 'We Electric' or something, and by Sylvie Marks? it's on the first Camping compilation I believe...)

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Berlinette i still like a lot - more than the last album, tho i should re-listen to that also. I don't think Ada has any real edge over Allien either - both hit the same dizzy heights on occasion, and not just on the dancefloor (Allien's 'Wish' is great as is Ada's heartachey 'Cool My Fire').

[steviespitfire.livejournal.com]

I was mentioned on this thread. I will lurk no longer.

This album is still fucking brilliant and I still talk about it to everyone I meet. I was boring folk about it at a party at 7, in the am, on Monday. Just talking about NOISES on it! For god's sake! Haha. I did burn ONE copy, but Apparat made me feel bad :(

Lex, you should get a non-promo copy, Sleepless is one of the highlights, mate.

Also: to tie up Ada and the brief mention of Alex Smoke, have you heard the Ada remix on the Never Want to See You Again 12"? Aye, it's a nice little match of the two: dark and slow AND swoony still. In fact, get the 12 cos the floor mix on the A side is fabby too, though I like his Vakant stuff so far more...maybe...thread derail...

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It's a staple of 7-in-the-am afterparties round my way - it's boshin' enough to work on the dancefloor but it's so bubblebath-like as well, it eases comedowns greatly. Half a year of listening to it and it's not wearing off in the slightest!

The Ada rmx of NWTSYA is awesome yes - that's one of the highlights of the Smoke album for me as well (though 'Prima Materia', WOW). I dunno which version of Smoke I prefer: I think my favourite tracks by him are still off Incommunicado, but Paradolia is the better album, and then there are his 12"s which are completely different in many ways. He's really nice, too.

[steviespitfire.livejournal.com]

Current fave: Edison, which is a slow burner, indeed.

Best noise: about 3.20-4.00 in Floating Points (which has that U2 guitar-y noise like on Come off Thrills!) when the little snare pulse thing POPS in, with this walking bassline, thens there's this tinkling that repeats, all around, then the ah-ah-ahs, get crumpled then the bassline comes back in and its rippling and twisting and drunk.

I'm maybe sick of Do Not Break, the scratching is good but!

No love for Leave Me Alone either hurts: the strings are better than Retina.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I only like 'Leave Me Alone' when I'm in the right mood - Apparat's vox are a little twee. But the strings are gorgeous yes!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I downloaded a track last night but was far too drunk to remember anything about it other than a vague feeling of positivity.