Benbecula Records
Scotland, est. 1999
Electronica, ambient, electro, folk, post-rock ... blah
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Various "Alba Absurdia" (ALBA001) 2002 CD Album Release Date: 09 September 2002 Track Listing 01 ehlmsie rocon - villduprovaden 02 joni - yearned ways 03 reverbaphon - kupka 04 operator - optic peril 05 pulse patrol - moon unit 06 christ - kanderel 07 brian lavelle - the cross with a blue centre 08 ck dexter haven - dis[locate] 09 nimrod 33 - barbed bed 10 dissolved - splicer 11 bovine life - svanejeger 12 kasbah - you be you and i'll be me 13 neck doppler - motorbike man 14 frog pocket - roald dahl 15 kema keur - capital 16 think tank - the shadow legion 17 the wee djs - the same 18 david liddell - ffffrakkkk 19 fog - undersound 20 zudo - between * the listing on the CD artwork has some errors |
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The alba absurdia compilation is quickly becoming legendary as a
seminal work - a collective of scottish (sort of) aritsts and music
that captures a moment in time when the local electronic and avant
garde movement was in its infancy but already showing the signs of
greatness. the curators (who to this day remain a mystery) tapped into
the local psyche and recognised the fact that many individuals were
following a common path, unaware of each other's similar aspirations
and journey into sound. much like the quest of those in "close
encounters", they slowly but surely realised that they had common
goal. that moment was frozen in time and benbecula records are proud
to be able to offer the few remaining copies still in existence, from
the self-titled label "alba absurdia". |
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The sheer
range of styles and quantity has secured the compilation's popularity
as well as the musical content within, with each and every track being
totally exclusive to the release. Followers of benbecula will no doubt be very familiar with the likes of christ. who submits a highly original taster for his "metamorphic" album with the track "kandarel". Other benbecula luminaries include reverbaphon, operator and frog pocket, with some other their best music to date. Joni who has figured regularly on the benbecula live show and of course featured on the "music" compilations, includes a surprising yet elusive melody, expertly crafted in his analogue broom cupboard. mixed in with benbecula crew are some of the other highly acclaimed scottish (sort of) artists who have gone on to greater things. Ehlmsie rocon appears courtesy of diskono records who have been the mainstay of alternative art and anti-pop culture in scotland since the mid 90s and his position at the start of the compilation is recognition of their great acheivements. The penultimate track is from fog(bin) who took part in diskono's physical remix project. Kema keur and pulse patrol are ex-pats located down south who have since formed the excellent adaadat label and events in london, and come up with some exquisite electronica for alba. Brian lavelle has been experimenting with sound for over a decade and originally started the popular mp3 website "techNOH". brian has sinced moved on and his new website ulfr.org concentrates on his solo and collaborative works. ck dexter haven meddles with subsonics on the track "dis[locate]" which was submitted around the time of her classic self produced ep "ck1". ck has gone to record work for 8bitrecs (sub project of High Point Low Life) and is a regular live act in the central belt appearing with the likes of giant tank and nationally has supported si-cut.db, bit tonic, v/vm, gescom, sand and kid 606. Figuring highly on the alba compilation is submissions from artists originally part of a loosely connected collective from dundee featuring nimrod 33, david liddell, reverbaphon and box. nimrod 33 has been a dj at the successful edinburgh club "uti" for some years under the alter-ego "tormod mor", and has only recently began recording again - watch this space. |
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Bovine life
aka chris dooks from edinburgh of course went on to record an album
for the bip-hop label in france and is a regular collaborator with
sound experimentation projects such as the opsound pool. he also
released excellent albums for lost vessel and ISIS Arts in 2002. other
edinburgh tracks come from electro-purists think tank who released an
ep on the infamous pull records in the late 90s, and the wee djs who
of course have recorded works for the SCSI imprint and gasoline
records. Neck doppler appears courtesy of consume records which has probably been the most inventive and entertaining cdr based label in scotland with a string of releases over the last four years. choosing the eventual track "motorbike man" was particularly difficult from the batch originally offered due to wide ranging styles but high quality throughout. alba reckons that the chosen track pretty much captures neck doppler's taste for the insane with a definite thread of good humour. neck doppler has also recorded for mouthmoth records, home to frog pocket. Last but by no means least is the closing creep bent mumblings of zudo who took a break from his techno stomping to produce this melancholy but fitting end to over 70 minutes of classic scottish electronica. |
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Reviews |
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Towards the end the music heads off into more robust electro territory, with
standout tracks being the detroit-esque 'the shadow legion' by think tank, a
dark and nicely punctuated dancefloor filler. the compilation's twentieth
track ends on a gothic note, as zudo closes with a teutonic frightener which
i wouldn't play late at night (though it's right down my neighbour's street-
he plays this kind of terrifying stuff for pleasure). still, like the rest
of this collection, the track has balls, and isn't afraid to use them." 9/10, Elizabeth Wells, Absorb |
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