Eno / Hyde - High Life

[purlieu]

From enohyde.com...

'High Life' the second album from Brian Eno and Karl Hyde, is out 30th June

 

Hear new song 'DBF' below

 

From Warp...

 

The experiment drew inspiration from the repetitive minimalism of composers like Steve Reich and Phillip Glass, and from the polyrhythmic music of Fela Kuti and funk, as well as continuing the work that Eno and Hyde have done separately.

 

"When 'Someday World' was finished I felt like we were still on a roll and I wasn't ready to stop working and get into 'promotional mode' for that record. So I suggested we immediately start on another album, a different one, where we extended some of the ideas we'd started, and attempted some of the ideas we hadn't."

Brian Eno

 

"I wanted to work with a stripped down set of equipment... For this album I was very keen for Brian to live process my guitar playing so that we would be effecting one another’s performance, bouncing off each other, inspiring new combinations of polyrhythms."

Karl Hyde

[fumi]

Eno, that sounds absolutely terrible. Please stop releasing material until you have something worthwhile.

Beginning to wonder where the inspiration that created those great old albums has gone.

[fumi]

Maybe time for an additional card in the Oblique Strategies Series:

 

"Don't add your name to any old shit."

[Guest Jimmy McMessageboard]

I quite liked it.

[Goiter Sanchez]

From enohyde.com...

'High Life' the second album from Brian Eno and Karl Hyde, is out 30th June

 

Hear new song 'DBF' below

 

 

Whoa this is pretty cool!! WAY better than anything I've heard off of 'Someday World'!

[Rubin Farr]

Warp needs to stop tossing Eno's salad.

[GraveGlitcher]

Lol, Agreed

[encym]

Pre-listen:

 

http://pitchfork.com/advance/479-high-life/

[Staadrengen]

Boy ; this is boring . sounds like some outtakes and leftovers form the first album ( which was one hell of a bore too)

[zero]

this is pretty bad...most tracks consist of a throwaway guitar riff looped with a few effects thrown in from time to time mixed with awful indecipherable vocals

 

I thought the last one had a decent pop vibe and in comparison seems miles above this

 

as mentioned these sound like outtakes and studio fuckabouts from the 1st album sessions

[ascdi]

I like it.

[Staadrengen]

I like it.

yes . i can see that :-)

[fumi]

I'm forty-five years of age now. I've been buying Brian Eno since the late 1970's - have everything ever commercially released, solo, collabs, library music, archive stuff from his defunct websites in the late 90s.

 

This is the first time in almost thirty years that I've not purchased something from him.

 

Absolutely terrible. Utterly unworthy of his name. I know he's getting on a bit now and probably feels the need to get it all out there but the quality has simply hit rock bottom. Small Craft was the last time he created something special.

 

Once upon a time, it was all special.

 

Seriously, take a listen to his vast and magnificent back catalogue and then compare it to this current mess.

 

Personally, I think he needs to take a break and refocus.

[fumi]

waaaaaaah

 

No I'm serious.

 

Don't waste your time with this record. Just watch this 45 minute video made towards the end of the 1980s instead. You'd never think it was the same composer responsible for the Karl Hyde Collabs.

 

[fumi]

As an aside, the music from around the 27:30 point has never been released in any form whatsoever. It's only ever appearance is in this broadcast.

[fumi]

you're being such a hipster about this dude

 

Well, firstly I've no idea what a hipster is. And secondly, if that's your only contribution, then why bother posting?

[ascdi]

I disagree. I think the first Eno * Hyde album is very clearly an Eno record—it's got that vague world-beat sound in places, or interesting percussion ideas at least, it has songs that tread the line between tracky and songy (as in, some are pop songs that are catchy, some are grooves, some split the difference or change in the middle) and it's got the modern Eno sound of democratized digital music production—that sorta trashy anything-goes sound of Kaoss Pad noodling, spontaneous Logic whateverness, and stuff.

 

It's not super precious or worked-over, it's free and easygoing and a number of the songs are very catchy and/or beautiful. What's not to like?

 

I think it slots in nicely with current Eno-related things—all the ideas he's had about the human relationship with singing, with what lyrics should do, and how music arises out of unexpected circumstances, etc. It's all there really.

 

I guess without knowing more about what you dislike about the record we can't talk any more clearly about.

 

So anyway, THIS record is the more experimental of the two and it feels to me like it was put together and released with this in mind. It is even LESS painstakingly "worked-over" than the previous one. But what does that mean, really? I think the fact that this album is jammy is quite interesting, and also slots in nicely with Eno-related ideas. Plus, there are some killer grooves on this record.

 

Granted, a few of the tracks on this one seem to me, intellectually anyway, to be more throwaway sorta tracks. Maybe there's one weird vocal trick or a little loop on a skeleton of a song, and the song is 6 or 7 minutes. I definitely was slightly disappointed at first in this respect—that there wasn't as much surface content to engage with on 'High Life'. But even the tracks I thought initially I didn't like, still pass by in enjoyment as I'm listening to them. Maybe there's something a little less surfaced there that I'm picking up on and enjoying? I dunno, more investigation needed.

 

So whatever. Personally, I think these two records are undeniably interesting listening, and that is the true measure of Eno things, in my opinion. Besides, aren't you being a little hyperbolic here? Would you truly pick 'The Drop' or 'Another Day On Earth' over 'High Life'?

[poblequadrat]

imo this track isn't bad at all, much better than tomorrow's world where the only good thing was beautiful midi trumpets

i'd advise eno to look for david byrne and half a dozen funk musicians if he's going to do funk though

 

nice post Ascdi. i didn't know about Eno's current aesthetic...

[fumi]

I disagree. I think the first Eno * Hyde album is very clearly an Eno record—it's got that vague world-beat sound in places, or interesting percussion ideas at least, it has songs that tread the line between tracky and songy (as in, some are pop songs that are catchy, some are grooves, some split the difference or change in the middle) and it's got the modern Eno sound of democratized digital music production—that sorta trashy anything-goes sound of Kaoss Pad noodling, spontaneous Logic whateverness, and stuff.

 

It's not super precious or worked-over, it's free and easygoing and a number of the songs are very catchy and/or beautiful. What's not to like?

 

I think it slots in nicely with current Eno-related things—all the ideas he's had about the human relationship with singing, with what lyrics should do, and how music arises out of unexpected circumstances, etc. It's all there really.

 

I guess without knowing more about what you dislike about the record we can't talk any more clearly about.

 

So anyway, THIS record is the more experimental of the two and it feels to me like it was put together and released with this in mind. It is even LESS painstakingly "worked-over" than the previous one. But what does that mean, really? I think the fact that this album is jammy is quite interesting, and also slots in nicely with Eno-related ideas. Plus, there are some killer grooves on this record.

 

Granted, a few of the tracks on this one seem to me, intellectually anyway, to be more throwaway sorta tracks. Maybe there's one weird vocal trick or a little loop on a skeleton of a song, and the song is 6 or 7 minutes. I definitely was slightly disappointed at first in this respect—that there wasn't as much surface content to engage with on 'High Life'. But even the tracks I thought initially I didn't like, still pass by in enjoyment as I'm listening to them. Maybe there's something a little less surfaced there that I'm picking up on and enjoying? I dunno, more investigation needed.

 

So whatever. Personally, I think these two records are undeniably interesting listening, and that is the true measure of Eno things, in my opinion. Besides, aren't you being a little hyperbolic here? Would you truly pick 'The Drop' or 'Another Day On Earth' over 'High Life'?

 

My comments are only in regard to this latest effort - the 'Someday World' album was, well, disappointing but not a disaster.

 

Yes, I would place either 'The Drop' or 'Another Day On Earth' far above this release. The only weak album from that period is the Jah Wobble collaboration, in my opinion.

[fumi]

I think my main issue with Eno in the last decade is that the man, his ideas and philosophies have become more interesting than the music itself. I remember a few years ago watching countless videos, lectures in galleries and museums around the world and reading articles about 77 Million Paintings, where he basically went off on all these religious tangents and reflections on society. When in fact all he had really created was a very big screensaver running on a dozen Mac Pros.

 

He's a very eloquent and intellectual speaker but I've found his last few albums really disappointing. Less talk - just let the work speak for itself.

 

Enough ranting from me. Sorry everyone.

[KovalainenFanBoy]

I think my main issue with Eno in the last decade is that the man, his ideas and philosophies have become more interesting than the music itself. I remember a few years ago watching countless videos, lectures in galleries and museums around the world and reading articles about 77 Million Paintings, where he basically went off on all these religious tangents and reflections on society. When in fact all he had really created was a very big screensaver running on a dozen Mac Pros.

 

He's a very eloquent and intellectual speaker but I've found his last few albums really disappointing. Less talk - just let the work speak for itself.

 

Enough ranting from me. Sorry everyone.

 

This happens to me a lot - specially with ambient, noise, "extreme" music. When it all sounds kinda the same, the one who knows how to sell it gets the money.

[ascdi]

I think my main issue with Eno in the last decade is that the man, his ideas and philosophies have become more interesting than the music itself. I remember a few years ago watching countless videos, lectures in galleries and museums around the world and reading articles about 77 Million Paintings, where he basically went off on all these religious tangents and reflections on society. When in fact all he had really created was a very big screensaver running on a dozen Mac Pros.

 

He's a very eloquent and intellectual speaker but I've found his last few albums really disappointing. Less talk - just let the work speak for itself.

 

Enough ranting from me. Sorry everyone.

 

Well I mean, I think you make interesting points. I'm not saying to stop talking about it. I think this kind of thing is interesting to discuss.

[fumi]

 

I think my main issue with Eno in the last decade is that the man, his ideas and philosophies have become more interesting than the music itself. I remember a few years ago watching countless videos, lectures in galleries and museums around the world and reading articles about 77 Million Paintings, where he basically went off on all these religious tangents and reflections on society. When in fact all he had really created was a very big screensaver running on a dozen Mac Pros.

 

He's a very eloquent and intellectual speaker but I've found his last few albums really disappointing. Less talk - just let the work speak for itself.

 

Enough ranting from me. Sorry everyone.

 

Well I mean, I think you make interesting points. I'm not saying to stop talking about it. I think this kind of thing is interesting to discuss.

 

 

Yeah, me too.

[psn]

it's got the modern Eno sound of democratized digital music production—that sorta trashy anything-goes sound of Kaoss Pad noodling, spontaneous Logic whateverness, and stuff.

 

One of the first things I noticed when listening to the first album was the seemingly nonchalant use of synth horns, etc, and you formulate this idea pretty well!

 

I like the first album pretty well, haven't heard the second one yet.

[fumi]

In some respects, Brian Eno is, these days, beginning to remind me of David Sylvian. Once upon a time, he crafted beautiful pop albums and fine collaborations but halfway through the last decade (beginning with 'Blemish'), it all changed. Now his stuff is pretentious nonsense with music that is frankly almost unlistenable (at least to me). Now it's become all about detailing the thought processes involved, the limited edition packaging etc.

 

His last major album a few years ago, 'Manafon' had an accompanying DVD with some deluxe editions. After about ten minutes of watching, I was thinking to myself "I've absolutely no idea what you are rambling on about, and maybe you don't either really."

 

As artists, I still greatly admire people like Brian Eno & David Sylvian because they are pushing what they see as boundaries - unfortunately most of the time, the results are (to be polite) a very mixed bag.