plaid What so you love about Plaid?

[Lianne]

What I love about Plaid is how their music is so playful and childlike and fun but deep and emotionally affecting at the same time. I love how it has complexity and irreverence in equal measure, but how that irreverence isn't the cynical, piss-taking sort but rather the sort a kid who is really occupied with something fun might display to the outside world. There's really cool counterpoint and unusual harmonies and melodies going on juxtaposed with some really wonderfully daft noises and silly synth sounds. But it almost always works. It's twee at times without being rubbish. Their music sounds so genuine, which is something I personally find is getting a bit rare to my ears.

 

'Spokes' is kind of an exception to this, as (barring a few tracks) it points towards a whole new darker world for Plaid. I still love it for, different reasons.

 

Come on with the new album, please! :)

 

What do you love about Plaid?

[chassis]

I was trying to work out what the title of the thread meant for like 5 minutes before I realised it was a typo.

 

Anyway, I like Plaid because (for the most part) their music is less about showing of programming skills and more about moods. You can have a track where theres not to much to the actual technicalities but the mood is unreal. I think its more apparent in their earlier stuff. Although that heaven's door sound track was very nice indeed.

 

Its the same reason people like Boards of Canada, the mood and the atmosphere. But I find plaid to have far more variance in their work. I could get bored of BOC pretty quickly, but Plaid have such a big library and it all sounds different. Yet still sounding like Plaid.

 

Plus they got to work with Ken, so they must be good. Lol.

[Guest sirch]

Plus they got to work with Ken, so they must be good. Lol.

 

tut. you had to go and spoil it didn't you! lol

 

(i take it you're joking, but still.)

[Guest sirch]

what i love about Plaid is, is hard to adequately put into words and do them proper justice. but, i have to say something! :)

basically, what i love about Plaid is pretty much everything they do is pleasing to my ear and my soul in some way.

a lot of their music is deceptively simple to people who haven't heard much by them before or on first listen,

but when you listen real close there's a lot going on underneath the "playfull, childlike" melodies that focus people at first.

there's almost always layers upon layers of lush sound going on underneath. then there's the beats. always interesting!

 

i'm gonna come back this.. but good thread, Lianne :)

 

chassis you suck. lol

[Gaylord Sweetwood]

Not sure why people seem to think that Plaid's Drum Programming isn't as intricate as others. I can think of many songs by Ed and Andy that would say otherwise.

[Guest sirch]

same here, Sweetwood. but don't worry 'bout it. the people who poo-poo Plaid clearly haven't heard everything by them, that's all.

they've done so much and it's all pretty different, varied stuff.

[Guest sirch]

Plus they got to work with Ken, so they must be good. Lol.

 

just coming back to this briefly, incase you weren't joking, chas.. :) i have to say, without Ed & Andy there'd be no 'Bytes' or 'Spanners'.

and if Downie was so good then everything he was involved in after the mid 90's would be just as good as those "classic" albums, if not better, than Bytes and Spanners. but it's not. Music for Adverts was massively lacking compared to Spanners. it was still a good album but it wasn't even half the album that Spanners had been, 2 years previously..

Downie's good at what he does, don't get me wrong. but nothing's (release wise) been as good as the Downie/Handley/Turner trio, since. and you can stick a million other different people in that band but it'll never be half as good, imo. they're all very fortunate and lucky to have worked with each other at that time i think. it was a truely magical collaboration which resulted in some of the best electronic music ever, imo.

 

I can't wait for Scintilli... :)

[Guest Beefuncle]

Me and chassis went to see them in Dublin with one of our friends who was going on for weeks about seeing them.

 

He couldn't wait and we didn't really know how much Plaid he'd listened to but we assumed he was fairly well versed because of how excited he was.

 

Didn't see him all night and afterwards I asked him what he thought and he said,

 

"that was shit, they didn't play anything from Tekkonkinkreet",

:facepalm:

 

sometimes there aren't enough face palms in the world, the gig was amazing.

 

That's what I love about Plaid, inducing instant hate for one of my best friends because he didn't appreciate them as much as we did. There are very few artist's who could do that for me.

[chassis]

Plus they got to work with Ken, so they must be good. Lol.

 

just coming back to this briefly, incase you weren't joking, chas.. :) i have to say, without Ed & Andy there'd be no 'Bytes' or 'Spanners'.

and if Downie was so good then everything he was involved in after the mid 90's would be just as good as those "classic" albums, if not better, than Bytes and Spanners. but it's not. Music for Adverts was massively lacking compared to Spanners. it was still a good album but it wasn't even half the album that Spanners had been, 2 years previously..

Downie's good at what he does, don't get me wrong. but nothing's (release wise) been as good as the Downie/Handley/Turner trio, since. and you can stick a million other different people in that band but it'll never be half as good, imo. they're all very fortunate and lucky to have worked with each other at that time i think. it was a truely magical collaboration which resulted in some of the best electronic music ever, imo.

 

I can't wait for Scintilli... :)

 

 

Lol, trolled you good Sirch. But, can you say Plaid have released an album that matches the standard of Bytes or Spanners? I dont think there is one.

 

I really like Music for adverts and short films. And what about Unsavory products? That album fucking kills.

 

Anyway the point is, I was trolling you and I love Plaid.

[Guest sirch]

Lol, trolled you good Sirch. But, can you say Plaid have released an album that matches the standard of Bytes or Spanners? I dont think there is one.

 

i kinda had the feeling that's what you were doing.. i did try hard not to rise to it, but, y'know... it's almost impossible for me not to say anything! lol..

 

anyway, i can say in my honest opinion i feel that Plaid got better and better and better as time went by. Not for Three's is fucking Epic! and just as good as, if not better, than Bytes and Spanners. Rest Proof was completely different, less serious, more playful and colourful, but still bloody brilliant though. Double Figure is kind of a mixture of some of the darker mood of NF3's and the simplicity, quirkiness and playfullness of Rest Proof... then there's P-Brane! and i don't even need to say anything about that! everyone knows it's some of their best work. also i really love the 'Undoneson EP'.. so yeah, i can quite easily say they've matched the standard of Bytes and Spanners. and then some! and i didn't even mention Spokes or Greedy Baby... or Tekkon Kinkreet or Heaven's Door (til now).

 

I really like Music for adverts and short films. And what about Unsavory products? That album fucking kills.

 

Unsavoury Products is the last thing i really liked by tBd, tbh. everything else since then has been 'meh', imo. and that track you've linked to and posted the other day is from that live gig (y'know, that tape on discogs). you say "Ken's still got it", but it's like 14 years old mate! lol. the 90's were good for tBd. the naughties, not so good, imo. but that's just me. some people have completely the opposite point of view/opinion (the people with no good taste, lol) ;)

 

anyway, STFU up about frikkin Black Dog now.. you can go to their own forum if you wanna sniff their butts, you trollop! :)

[chassis]

Lol, trolled you good Sirch. But, can you say Plaid have released an album that matches the standard of Bytes or Spanners? I dont think there is one.

 

i kinda had the feeling that's what you were doing.. i did try hard not to rise to it, but, y'know... it's almost impossible for me not to say anything! lol..

 

anyway, i can say in my honest opinion i feel that Plaid got better and better and better as time went by. Not for Three's is fucking Epic! and just as good as, if not better, than Bytes and Spanners. Rest Proof was completely different, less serious, more playful and colourful, but still bloody brilliant though. Double Figure is kind of a mixture of some of the darker mood of NF3's and the simplicity, quirkiness and playfullness of Rest Proof... then there's P-Brane! and i don't even need to say anything about that! everyone knows it's some of their best work. also i really love the 'Undoneson EP'.. so yeah, i can quite easily say they've matched the standard of Bytes and Spanners. and then some! and i didn't even mention Spokes or Greedy Baby... or Tekkon Kinkreet or Heaven's Door (til now).

 

I really like Music for adverts and short films. And what about Unsavory products? That album fucking kills.

 

Unsavoury Products is the last thing i really liked by tBd, tbh. everything else since then has been 'meh', imo. and that track you've linked to and posted the other day is from that live gig (y'know, that tape on discogs). you say "Ken's still got it", but it's like 14 years old mate! lol. the 90's were good for tBd. the naughties, not so good, imo. but that's just me. some people have completely the opposite point of view/opinion (the people with no good taste, lol) ;)

 

anyway, STFU up about frikkin Black Dog now.. you can go to their own forum if you wanna sniff their butts, you trollop! :)

 

Thats a live version of a track on Music for Adverts and Short films.

 

I actually prefer Plaids earlier stuff, I find it far more raw than their latest stuff. Mind you they still put out great records. Im excited for Scintilli too, very much so.

[Guest sirch]

Thats a live version of a track on Music for Adverts and Short films.

 

I actually prefer Plaids earlier stuff, I find it far more raw than their latest stuff. Mind you they still put out great records. Im excited for Scintilli too, very much so.

 

yeah, i was always thought it was.. just a live jam with that sample thrown in... but i like the vocal samples more. "noises, noises", and "that black dog sound". sounds like Ed speaking i reckon.

 

man, gotta miss the days of proper live jamming, rather than just pressing play and letting a laptop/abelton do all the work!

[Guest mafted]

I don't know about love, but I do like the way it looks against the desolate gray and whiteness of winter sometimes.

[vamos scorcho]

I like them because they completely stray off the line from the sort of work that other artists were doing at the time.

 

i think they're incredibly important for bringing to light the possibilities of melody and harmony within the realm of sequencing and electronic music.

their music says, "you don't have to restrict your harmonies and melody to any preset rules - just because it's a synthesizer and a sequencer/piano roll doesn't mean you shouldn't use counterpoint and theory"

 

i think their inventions are a gigantic inspiration for many electronic musicians who want to try to take it to the next level.

 

their sound is so colorful and yet it also has an edge in a way.

 

so yeah, that's it.

 

i also like when they maintain the hip hop feel, on a track like "fly wings" from trainer. great track!!!!!!

 

 

 

also i think part of their concept is taking a bit of focus off the programming/timbre and placing it on the actual rhythms and notes themselves.

[subtract]

Plaid have to be one of the most underrated set of producers ever, they make the most complex yet beautiful music I've ever heard and when you take into consideration the pure amount of work they have produced it amazes me they can still create music that makes me speechless and makes me drift away. Even now listening to the Strata3 video and seeing them live a few months back they still managed to grab hold of you and mess with your emotions but then in the same set blow your mind with really hard beats.

[Guest bigs]

what!? so you love about plaid?

[Caretstik]

I just think they have an incredible grasp of melody which seems to outshine pretty much everyone else in the electronic/I*M/whatever-you-want-to-call-it field of music. Plus I agree with the idea of the simplicity about their music at times, or their subtlety. Plaid seem to have a talent for making emotional music without labouring at it or battering the listener over the head with overblown technical wankery.

[Guest sirch]

with the simplicity thing, it's obviously on purpose. it's like the whole 'Dial P' thing, and the triolgy in reverse... they've decided to go backwards, in some respects, which is very interesting. a lot of their early work is very complex. i remember them saying before about how they thought NF3's was a bit too complex than it needed to be, and how they laboured over it for ages. so i suppose they wanted to just make more, not simple music, but make the process of it much more simple and laid back and natural... ? some bands start off making music that is more simple than the stuff they end up making, because they don't know as much in the beginning and as they learn new things and techniques their music becomes more complex. but Plaid have done this in reverse. which is both funny and brilliant. i like how they can throw together a tune with a simple beat and a catchy melody and bouncy bassline, but then they thicken everything up underneath that mainframe and the reverbs get bigger and bigger as the track goes on. like i said before, a lot of their stuff is deceptively simple i think. meaning it sounds simple but in actual fact it's really not so simple at all. and then every now and again they'll drop a real 'IDM-ey' (lol) swirly, beat-fest of a track that's a lot morrre complex and hard and which makes you literally go, "oh fuck! where's that come from!?". :)

 

and another thing, they can do it all ; hip hop, electro, breaks, techno, house, IDM, glitch, ambient, soundtracks.. 5.1 mixing ! and they do it all in their own beautiful, quirky style. i also love that their music always sounds so warm and real.. and not forced at all. it's like the farthest thing from all that dull mechanical, cold IDM electronica you get so much of made in abundance by certain peoples up North. Plaids' music is just so much richer and more colourful, and human.

[chassis]

Sirch seem to take offence to the simplicity thing.

 

Its not that their music is simple, its just they dont get hung up on hi tech wankery. Like you can shite on all day about the complexity of a beat but if it doesnt sound good its not worth a shite.

 

Plaid make music that sounds good, regardless of the technique.

[Guest sirch]

Sirch seem to take offence to the simplicity thing.

 

 

no, not at all. if it seems like that to you.. well.. *shrug* i'm not offended at all. why would i be?

i'm just giving my point of view and opinion.

lay of the drink for a bit chas and you might see things a bit more clearly. :)

[Guest sirch]

1 of the things what so i love about Plaid is that they're not complete cunts lol.. and i like the size of Andys' head and how it looks like it's just been stuck on his shoulders lol

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXdO1gps3n8

[chassis]

1 of the things what so i love about Plaid is that they're not complete cunts lol.. and i like the size of Andys' head and how it looks like it's just been stuck on his shoulders lol

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXdO1gps3n8

Haha "technical problems as usual".

 

Ye they seemed liked quite nice lads. Only spoke with them very briefly, more kinda like "Great set lads". They seemed to appreciate it though

 

This is good, dunno where its from. Or what date. Ends just as it gets interesting :angry:

[Guest sirch]

 

This is good, dunno where its from. Or what date. Ends just as it gets interesting :angry:

 

2008. and they cut it there 'cos Andy comes in shouting and swearing and mocking Ken and Martin. Lol ;)

[Guest ruiagnelo]

Aaw Plaid, where to start?

 

actually, i think i can resume this pretty quickly: how hard is to conciliate and harmonize technical sophistication and smart musical structuration with the desire of getting the simplest music, the most pure melodies?

it is very hard, at least to conceive such an idea.

 

but these men, besides being able to do it, are virtually the best.

 

 

i have been listening to Plaid/early TBD for 5 or 6 years now, and i still feel impressed when one of their songs is flowing through my ears and mind. i can hear a complex composition, i can hear advanced technical processes, but i can also hear the most impressive creativity, sometimes almost child-like, balance, and melody, which is the only thing that completely satisfies my musical needs.

 

 

if one day my ears start refusing Plaid, then there is something wrong with me.

because nothing is wrong with their music.

[Guest sirch]

well said, ruiagnelo.. i love European people, especially Spanish and Portugese people. u have a lot of passion and you're always honest and forthright. this is something that is dying/dead in the western world because most people are too scared to say what they think about anything, really. especially in England. - Fuck England! :)