The dark destroyers: my interview with Black Sites

In the latest edition of Electronic Sound magazine, I interview Black Sites, a bold techno collaboration between Hamburg musicians Helena Hauff and F#X.

Their album R4 has variously been described as aggressive, rough, and enough to make a hamster spill its lapsang souchong. That last one was probably me: I have an overactive imagination.

The album stomps an enjoyable line between musicality and malice, between immediacy and sheer immolation. As Hauff says in the feature, "having fun can be dirty".

You'll find my feature in issue 128 of Electronic Sound magazine. Faithless are the cover stars, and there's stuff about Smokebelch II, the Telepathic Fish parties, and Chilean DJ Valesuchi, whose tunes I have, coincidentally, been pumping out this afternoon.

In my 128th monthly column, I vomit on about the Wall of Sound production technique. I mention carp, jumping down holes and beef dip.

Below, you can listen to Black Sites' bit-shredded Pacman orgy 707. Love a rusty hi-hat, me.

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Happy birthday to me and definitely not to Jesus

It's my birthday today, so I should make some kind of public address. Like wot the Queen did, except she speeched herself on Jesus's birthday and not on her own birthday. Did Jesus ever make a speech on the Queen's birthday? No, he did not. Selfish.

I'm 52 years old today. That makes me the same age as the B-52's, or twice as old as Aphex Twin's remix compilation 26 Mixes for Cash. Or four times as old as Blur's album 13. That's how ages work, right?

I can't get much of a music connection about being born in 1973. Gary Glitter was number one when I was born, something I would rather forget. I'm very close in age to the Adolescence actor Stephen Graham, and he appeared in a Deadmau5 video once. But very close is not close enough.

The only music-related thing of significance that happened on my actual birthdate was the release of Lynyrd Skynyrd's long-awaited debut album. Problem is, I know absolutely nothing about that band. I wouldn't know Larry Lynyrd or Susan Skynyrd if they slapped me in the face with a trout.

So on this least remarkable of birthdays, I suppose I should be grateful for the fact that I'm still going  And so is this website. I started this blog when I was in my early 30s. Blogger somehow hasn't disappeared into the same crypt that buried LiveJournal, MySpace or any number of obsolete web services with a scant regard for word spacing.

Wait. I've just thought of one. Energy 52. I dedicate my new age to Energy 52, the trance project produced by Cosmic Baby. I'm going to don my flip flops, slather myself in sun cream, and get sand in my crack to the sound of Café del Mar.

Happy Mar-day.

Further Fats: Because / a melon / only slightly: birthday thoughts (2012)

Further Fats: 50 (2023)

8/08: The most Roland day of the year

I got me some Roland-themed artwork.

Jim'll Paint It is a Microsoft Paint artist from Bristol, a city also famous for Massive Attack, Portishead and stool charts.

He mashes up stuff for our entertainment, usually based on prompts from the public. Wallace and Gromit as Mad Max characters? Keir Starmer as Austin Powers? Radiohead's The Bends, but it's Kryten from Red Dwarf and the album title is 'Smeghead'? Jim will indeed Microsoft Paint it.

The print I got was called Roland, at it features Roland from Grange Hill brandishing three Roland synthesisers: a TB-303, a TR-808 and an SH-101. Oh and he's flanked by Roland Rat because of course he is.

By the way, I've been revamping my home decor. Ten years ago, I was running my first ever Edinburgh Fringe run, so to mark the anniversary I designed an enneaptych of colourised artworks from that show. And yes, I googled 'what is a triptych but nine'. It looks pretty striking - see below.

A nice addition to the Roland-ness is that my Roland print was delivered – not intentionally, I suppose – on 8th August, or 8/08, which is the most Roland TR-808 of days. I now regret not opening the package to a soundtrack of 808 State. While eating After Eights. 808 of them.

In 2012, I had a Twitter conversation with Roland Rat, or Sir Roland Rat as he stylises himself on social media. Since Twitter got Xed out, I can no longer see the conversation, so I can't share it here. Just imagine me and the rambunctious rodent hanging out, both of us nibbling cheese and spreading plague. He'd appreciate the Rolandosity of my Roland art, I'm sure.

Further Fats: Kraftwerk Badger Spaceship: an Edinburgh free fringe show (2015)

Further Fats: In praise of 808 State's Gorgeous (which is gorgeous) (2020)