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Various: The Electronic Bible - Chapter 2 Single
Album Review
15-9-2005
SashaS

 

'The Electronic Bible': 3 tracks herald ‘Chapter 2’

Broadsheets get compacted, the content gets smaller and concentrated on fashion, food and consumption; where does it leave culture and arts in particular? Looking at the Pop (Noodle) world, whatever happened to imagination, innovation and [sonic] invention? Or, intimidation?

Things are going from bad to worse in the world where even bands like Coldplay manage to make three albums on one dodgy idea. That’s why we salute people like Large Number who have a split single with two other artists as a preview to the ‘The Electronic Bible Chapter 2’ - due later in the year.

This three-tracker is again curated by Ann Shenton, a dark-clad woman of electronica who used to be a member of Add N To (X) before being coaxed by the head of this label to form Large Number. She oversaw the original ‘The Electronic Bible’, an eclectic collection of electro-tunes that looked forward and shared her love for exciting, individual and a fair bit offbeat .

Large Number this time tackle ‘Shy English Hitler’ - in her own words “an electronic spoof of Peter Cook’s song in the film ‘Bedazzled’” - that kicks in with zest, sense of adventure and not a little dose of humour. Toy-like rhythms are combined with vocal by a bloke(?!) for a hypnotic, catchy and sweetly disturbing track. Ms Shenton reckons that Large Number possess a cheeky perverted dwarf humour that has endeared them to audiences ranging from Radio Three to New York's most avant-garde turntables.

X-Wife [electronic post punk Portuguese rockers] have newly recorded 'Hot Shot' for this compilation; it originally appeared on ‘Feeding The Machine’ album that won them tour spots with LCD Soundsystem. ‘Hot Shot’’s monochromatic slab of industrial noise features X-Wife's Joao snarling like chief Pixie, Frank Black, via being wired to roaring synths.

Hiem [prog-tronic outfit from Sheffield] contribute 'Crawlers'; this duo’s song is a curious mix of dance and ‘symphonic’ elements. 'Crawlers' stomps, punches the air haughtily and gets hormones stirred up. For All Seeing I member, Bozz, and his sidekick Nico - a collaborator with Pulp's Russell Senior in the lauded Vennini - manage to sound switched-on, tuned-in and spaced-out.

‘The Electronic Bible Chapter 2’ will feature twenty artists including Momus, Anat Ben-David and the Sheffield Stylophone Orchestra. ‘EB1’ featured contributions from Ladytron, Electronic Trailblazer and Cabaret Voltaire man, Richard Kirk, Jarvis Cocker and Large Number. ‘The Third Chapter’ is planned for 2006.

8/10

 


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