BJ Nilsen: The Invisible City (Touch) - CD

In a time-honoured tradition that seems to be required of all Touch artists; field recordings and naturally sourced sounds form the foundational basics here. Giving the entire album a generative, almost evolving narrative.

Along with the serene Wozencroft artwork, this might give the impression that it’s ambient and background-friendly, but this is certainly not the case. If anything the constant tense mood could almost threaten to overwhelm the work as a whole. Even toppling over into bursts of waveform violence....sonically this is no easy ride.

Obviously being a saddo sub-bass spotter, the low-end rumble of ‘Scientia’ proved instantly appealing. But it’s the incredibly elegiac fade of the concluding title track that is the most affecting. This may sound slightly out of place as London is gripped by a Mediterranean glow but I can’t think of a better sonic accompaniment when the weather turns on us.

Audion: Suckfish (Spectral Sound) - CD released October 2005

Whilst I’ve been a minority fan of his new song writing direction, I always found most of Matthew Dear’s dance output too throwaway and trashy - and with track titles like ‘Titty Fuck’ and ‘Just Fucking’ its easy to see why.

But I guess that’s probably the point: these are tracks that are ruthlessly engineered for the dancefloor. Precision targeted analogue tweaks and kick-drum drops that work in the club, but feel rather silly on home / headphone listening. Having said that, I did manage to sit through repeat listens of this long player from 2005 without considering self-harm.

Amusingly the tracks that desperately want your attention are the ones that I skipped. Music strictly designed for the body.

Curtis Roads: Point Line Cloud (Apshodel) - CD / DVD released March 2005

Prior to his performance at Autechre’s memorable ATP festival in 2003, I’d never come across the works of this massively influential American composer. Responsible for pioneering the use of granular synthesis in the digital domain. This was his first and only commercially available release.

If, like me, you’re a bit thick and don’t quite understand the process and intent behind these works. Then you can safely ignore the academic excess and just focus on the bewildering and frankly alien sounds on offer. Fractional rhythms, tonal melodies and frequency variation pretty much run riot across the thirteen tracks.

‘Sculptor’ and ‘Tenth Vortex’ are the ones that really stand out. Where the spatial shift from intimate close-to-the-ear patterns to an echo-drenched expanse is noticeable. Its also the tracks where a significant amount of bass is employed.

The accompanying DVD is on the whole disappointing, just a series of analogue video sketches that seems to go against the very electronic nature of the music. For anyone remotely interested in computer music, this is pretty essential.

The relationship between these tracks is totally arbitrary, namely, these were records that I'd recently managed to sell on eBay. Giving them one last hurrah before they are jettisoned out of Fail Towers forever. Space is at a premium here so its been a regular task to get records that I don't actually play much out of my dwelling. Despite the oddball reasoning for selection, I reckon it worked quite well, despite one or two horrific clashes....Enjoy!

You can get the tracklisting here.

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Gez Varley: Bayou Paradis (Force Inc) - CD released May 2001

Always had a soft spot for this album. Released by the less-famous non-Bjork producing half from the massively influential LFO. This came out on the sorely-missed Force Inc. label way back in 2001 and still sounds fresh today. It’s eight variations on an effective template: shimmering dub techno that evokes a balearic vibe. First heard this during the Sonar Festival of the same year and for me is indelibly linked to the events of that summer. Focus on ‘Les Soliel’, ‘Les Cartes’ and ‘Soul Gate’.

Pixel: Display (Raster Noton) - CD released October 2003

Beautifully packaged release from the masters of accessible minimalism, Raster Noton. Out of all the releases that came out as part of the Raster Post series, this was the one that got listened to the least (the stunning SND aka Blir album won out that time). Rumble-strength sub-bass, micro-melodies and mid-tempo excursions make for pretty laid-back listening. Certainly not as tense as Carsten Nicolai’s output, but neither is it poppy as Frank Bretschneider’s material.