Benbecula Records
Scotland, est. 1999
Electronica, ambient, electro, folk, post-rock ... blah
VIP Code: BRIANELLIS
12 MONTH SUBSCRIPTION
Sign up to receive all CD releases and Minerals Series CDs for a whole year!!
Look here!!
COMING SOON
Receive all these titles for less than half price!
Ochre
"Death of an Aura"
Jack Marchment
"Corydon and Manjrekar"
MINERALS SERIES
Read all about it
 |
Operator "OS1.1" Benbecula Records, 2004 (ben011 / ben011cd) Lewis Lachlan MacColl hails from Edinburgh and has been making music in various bands for the last four years. Two years ago he helped produce local electro-punk band, The Magnificents' debut ep. He moved on to concentrate on solo work and a circulated demo spawned the classic "Optic Peril" on the Alba Absurdia compilation. Now almost a year in the waiting, his debut ep is to be unleashed to the world. Operator is one of the few electronic acts whereby the live performance has to be witnessed to truly appreciate the recorded material. Operator gigs extensively in Edinburgh and in 2004 supported Beans from Warp. Operator releases an EP on Scandinavia Records in 2005. “ … combines the most eclectic and contemporary aspects of new electronic music and manages to be both muso and funky at the same time.” (John Kelly, Daily Record, 20/2/4) |
 |
Operator also played for the Benbecula Showcase at Triptych 2003.
Afterwards his live shows brought more good press. “There’s no easy way to entertain a room full of people when you’re just one man twiddling a few pots on stage, but … it’s nice to hear he’s also pretty damn talented, with the obligatory Aphex Twin fuzz and rumble and the odd arch Fischerspooner moment neatly balanced by some basic, funky house breaks.” 4/5 (David Pollock, The List, October 2003). His live work was quickly recognised by those at the BBC where he has received regular airplay and was invited to perform a session on Vic Galloway's Air Show in February 2004. The EP illustrates Operator's skill for diversity and depth of sound. The opening track "Streetlight", ushers warm swathes of electronic mist into the dub/house beats of closed circle. The soporific tones give way to a more Spartan metallurgy of "Tisch". "Dad Boggon" takes over and increases the bass with some fat beats and neat arpeggiated work. The pace is slowed again for the last two experimental and sometimes deeply disturbing compositions. |
 |
Reviews "Taking the usual structure of beat and sample based experimental music to different places ... recommended" Dan Shirai, Pitchadjust "OS1.1 is a v cool operating system, I want it on this pc now. v(ery) recommended" Tesselate "The Operator EP is versatile, from the Detroit influenced opening tracks onto the finishing experimentations. If you like an interpretation of the Detroit way of doing things and don’t mind some experimentation, you should investigate." Electronic Desert ”… moments of true individuality” The List "A must for all fans of the label" Smallfish Supporting Beans (Warp), Edinburgh, 17 Feb 2004 Edinburgh's own Lewis MaColl who plays and records under the name Operator, combines the most eclectic and contemporary aspects of new electronic music and manages to be both muso and funky at the same time. Almost hidden behind his equipment, MacColl builds his set into a fluid house break then lets it crumble into fuzzy, popping analogue noise before repeating the trick again. Brooklyn rapper Beans has a sharp rhythm to his quick fire rhymes, which has people dancing along even when the music has been switched off. John Kelly, Daily Record, 20 February 2004 Dfrnt Drum @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Thu 2 Oct 2003 "There's no easy way to entertain a room full of people when you're just one man twiddling a few pots on stage, but Lewis MacColl - AKA Operator - manages it by taking Route One and hitting us with some great music. Of Course, the fact that he's in what appears to be an Obi-Wan Kenobi outfit made of old pyjamas and a pair of novelty glasses also helps. He's part of the Benbecula Records stable, and the fact that Operator deals in eccentric electronica shouldn't come as a surprise. But it's nice to hear he's also pretty damn talented, with the obligatory Aphex Twin fuzz and rumble and the odd arch Fischerspooner moment neatly balanced by some basic, funky house breaks." David Pollock, The List, October 2003 Bannermans, Edinburgh, 2003 "Despite the Saltire attached to his keyboard, Mr Operator may be flying under a flag of musical convenience. Sailing between the uncharted territory where Scots meets Germanic, his music certainly has the sound of the Rhur to it. A one-man band, it's one of these "is it live?" scenarios where the man dips below his keyboard setup occasionally to trigger off another set of pulsating beats and sequences and adjusts them mid-song. What IS live for sure are the vocals, however, though heavily processed and disguised dy vocoder - kind of like Air, a musical Auld Alliance - but more often than not from the more industrial areas of Dusseldorf, Kraftwerk his influences. A closing cover of some Ibiza dance anthem or other shows a decidedly non-Teutonic sense of humour." Stuart McHugh, Is this Music?, Issue 7, October 2003 Airplay BBC Radio 1 -Vic Galloway 01 09/02/2004 live session for bbc radio scotland "air" show |
 |
track listing 01 streetlight constellation 02 closed circle 03 tisch 04 das boggon 05 for a whale 06 i want to go to host All tracks written and composed by Lewis Lachlan MacColl Vinyl Mastering by Console 7, Edinburgh |
OUT NOW
Chris Dooks
"The Aesthetic Animals Album"
Acumen
"Acumen"
talkingmakesnosense
"The Winter Drones"
Cheer
"Static Traps"
RECEIVE UPDATES
Read the Newsletter Archive to catch up!
