The Black Dog

[Guest Etch]

I just listened to their Sonar 2008 set that someone uploaded here ages ago, its fantastic. I want someone to reccomend a couple of releases to buy. Im looking for stuff to put in a few DJ sets I have coming up.

 

Help me feel me touch me etc.

[Guest ~ism]

basically tBd's output falls into 3 categories (for me and most i daresay):

 

the downie, handley, turner period

the downie period

the downie, martin and richard dust period (current)

 

early stuff on GPR (general production records) is great for the most part - genre defining stuff from c.1989 onwards with Virtual and Parallel, etc. Some of the output was under the Balil name, often essentially just Ed and Andy (later to leave the project and record as Plaid of course) or just Ken. Got some old stuff on Kirk Degiorgio's ART label which is worth a sniff. Temple of Transparent Balls on GPR is a good start for the old stuff, especially Cost II which still sounds fresh after nigh on 17 or 18yrs.

Then there's the Warp stuff - effectively Bytes and Spanners. No introduction required for those - if you haven't heard, go buy em. Can pick em up on 12" fairly easily on eBay if you keep eyes peeled.

 

Then Ed and Andy fucked off on their own course and Ken put a lot of (questionable imo) stuff on various labels and with various collaborators. Music for Adverts - meh... tBd and Black Sifichi on Hydrogen Dukebox - pass... and such like. Not worth digging into until you've explored the rest of back cat in my op.

 

Then there's the 'current' lineup - driven and fronted more by Sheffield's Martin and Richard Dust of Dust Science label. Have reinfused the project with new relevance - bit of gritty northern tech about their output now. First manifested itself in the 2005 album Silenced. I picked it up after reading an interview with Bruno (milkfactory) and liked it - bit patchy if listened to in bits but sit down and give it a start to finish and it worked marvelously. broody and almost conceptual proto techno. Couple of singles off it with remixes... and then that was it. Then Glasgow label Soma had the sense to sign them and things kicked off - with a load of rereleases of classic early period back catalogue (Book of Dogma - Transparent Balls - etc) followed by a 2nd album with current lineup - Radio Scarecrow. Grab it. Some cracking tracks on it, especially Riphead.

 

Released their 3rd album earlier this year - Further Vexations - which is more good stuff, possibly best of the 3 'dust' albums. Currently digesting it on limited 12" - and still getting with it, but love what im hearing.

 

For DJing - i'd grab the latter 2 albums plus get hold of Book of Dogma part one and two on Soma. Will give u plenty to work with before raking through the rest of the material.

 

Oh, while we're on the subject - grab the Black Dog's SMASHIN remix of Rubens - Breaking Into Smile on Herb Recordings (bitten by the black dog mix). Find it on itunes or boomkat or ebay. There's a good Kirk Degorgio mix of the track on the same 12"... first time both tBd and Degiorgio have appeared on same record since ART 1 I believe, but might be wrong.

 

That Rubens mob.... now they were a talented pair.. whatever happened to them anyway? Such a waste of talent.

 

;)

[Guest Etch]

Thanks fellas. Very thorough Mr Ism, much appreciated, you clearly know your stuff.

 

*heads to bleep*