Cinema, avant-garde music, reading, philosophy, science and arts are my life. I work from home, and ...
Cinema, avant-garde music, reading, philosophy, science and arts are my life. I work from home, and I enjoy life in general. I was educated in Southern France but then moved back to England. I'm 1/2 French 1/2 British. Check out my Ebay auctions.
Member since:10.08.2006
Reviews:54
Members who trust:26
In 2001, Chris Clark released Clarence Park, a challenging I.D.M album that took the electronica movement by surprise. He would give birth to charismatic and soft piano pieces, light-hearted jubilative works and a very smart introduction to his trademark use of clichéd genres.
In 2003, he would release a 6-track EP called Ceramics is the Bomb (Warp Records). This would be a turning point. He would expand his technique and deviate from the dance-like signatures. Tracks like The Gavel and Slow Spines would introduce technoid and hip-hop variations. His sound would grow deeper, more technical and mature.
The same year, his full blown version of C.I.T.B would hit the stores. Empty the Bones of You is Chris Clark's best effort. I do not think he will be able to topple this with his upcoming 2006 release.
Back in 2001, Chris was compared with Richard D. James due to the idiocy of the musical press. While
both artists may bear resemblances, they display a complete different electronica agenda. This should seem obvious.
E.T.B.O.Y is composed of 14 tracks and has a running time of 49 minutes approx. The design, by the Designers Republic, is the continuity from C.I.T.B, the picture being illustrated in full this time.
Indigo Optimus is an incredible opening track. Grotto-like vibrations paint a beautiful backdrop and body to the piece (very Autechre-esque), plucked cords punctuate here and there, huge beats fall into hip-hop loops and catchy claps resonate throughout. However, Chris Clark's sense of style is unique; the sterile vanity of classic big-beat hip-hop seems far away and the lush adornment of the genre is what sticks out.
Holiday as Brutality is very much the same. It isn't as distinct as the opening track through. Here, massive concrete thuds submerge the elegant Clark-esque melody. It does however create a very upbeat mood instead of a hardcore one.
Empty the Bones of You is a superb track. It is comparable with Mira Calix, especially her Skimskitta album (Warp Records, 2003). Sticks, paperclip-like and natural sounds tumble down minimal rhythmical ladders. In the backgroud, a ghostly hum of longing intensity. It is a very special track. Early Moss launches itself into the same kind of atmosphere, with soft beat patterns and dusty drones. These 2 tracks are among the best.
Tyre is a charming piano ballad, one again a trademark Chris Clark moment. You can hear cars and activity in the background, suggesting a personal track about a specific place. Once again, pure nostalgia, as in Clarence Park (2001). Tyran is a beauty. Speaker-wobbling beats, jingling triangle-type sounds, spacious soundwaves... and that's just the first minute and a half, before a fizzy firework detonation gives way to a suspended drone lament... then, big washes of muted hip-hop and engaging basslines. Wow. It is the best track.
Wolf could almost be seperated into 3 different parts: a mellow piano sequence sweeps in, fades into hip-hop-ish fashion and then dissapears into silence, before a lonely Autechre-like lament finishes things off. Beautiful track. Slow Spines is an extended version of the 2nd track on Ceramics is the Bomb.
Umbilical Hut contains a gamelan-like sound that fits in between a side-stick ballad and muted instrumentation. Farewell sounds like a jackhammer dancing on a pile of broken bricks; or more specifically, the background of some tacky pop music thrown into a cement-mixer. In then morphs into a huge colourful and emotional drone. The Sun too Slow is a soft digital sweep. Another beautiful moment from Chris Clark.
Gavel and Gob Coitus are big fat hip-hop distortions, with sliced segments of chopped rap bashing into odd positions. Betty, the last track, is a bent-out-of-shape flurry of humming drones, going from absolutely majestic to fear-provoking. It is a merging of different emotions, all fitting but contradicting, just like a human being. It is Clark's most evocative track.
Chris Clark is a genius. He proves it by giving birth to this oeuvre d'art. If you like Mira Calix, Aphex Twin's latter albums and Autechre, then you will love this piece of work.
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(Written by myself - no violation, no lifting, no breach of copyright)
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