B12 - Electro-Soma

moire, Dec 09, 2004

This is widely considered an "IDM" album, but it doesnt really represent anything paradigm-shifting. If you do your homework, you can tell that its basically just acid house and/or early techno mixed with the futuristic atmospherics of electro. More proof that "IDM" is pretty much a bullshit term for people who dont know electronic music history. Yes, it was probably designed for home listening, but so was a lot of electronic music made before it.

People probably just call this IDM because it was released in Warps AI Series, which happened to feature a small handful of artists who went on to do more experimental work. But come on - these tracks are full of house/techno rhythms and Roland drumkit sounds. Handclaps everywhere! Cant get much less experimental than that.

That said, this is a very nice and well-produced release. Its a nice mix of styles and a lot of craft went into these tracks. Great if you want that dreamy, futuristic, techy house sound that the Brits were doing in the early 90s. My overall point is that listeners should rethink the whole premise of "IDM."

Was the above review useful to you? Yes  No  (report)