View Full Version : Album Club - Week 67: 13.11.2012 - Eat Static 'Abduction' (1993)
Beechwoods
13-11-2012, 20:04
Album Club - Week 67: 13.11.2012 - Eat Static 'Abduction' (1993)
http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/00102038748.jpg
spotify:album:6mH0iKvBRCW7leznkzIiPs
Probably the finest Techno album ever?
Eat Static started out as an Ozric Tentacles 'side project' featuring Merv Pepler and Joie Hinton. Pepler played drums in the Ozrics, Hinton, keyboards. As Pepler put it in Sound on Sound (via Wikipedia): "There we were in Ozrics doing all this technically impressive, weird music with mad timings, and getting really involved with it, and this experiment that became Eat Static was a good excuse to ignore all that, get the synths out, and be as stupid as we could!"
I first came across Eat Static in around 1991, when I saw them 'supporting' Ozric Tentacles at The Forum in Kentish Town. The Ozrics played an impressive set until around 11.30pm, and then Eat Static came on and did their thing for a few hours, what I would describe as a unique collision of Techno, Trance and Ambient, with a very clear musicality missing from most other 'similar' music. I missed the last tube and walked home the 8 miles to Peckham, and still have the (glow in the dark) t-shirt.
Eat Static ceased being a side-project to the Ozrics in 1994, and are still going today, gigging and releasing records, testament to the fact that they aren't like 'any other' techno outfit.
What I like about Eat Static is that their music has a progressive element, tracks have proper structure and evolve through a start, beginning, end. Others within the 'trance' world have done likewise, most of them subsequently, but none in my experience have the addictive staying power that Eat Static do.
Eat Static grew from the free-party scene, their music wasn't designed in a studio, but performed live. This to a large degree accounts for their long-term success, and they were extremely influential in the development of the early 90's underground live party scene, via clubs like Club Dog.
The 'Goa Trance' or 'Psytrance' genres wouldn't exist, and certainly wouldn't sound the same without Eat Static, in my opinion, they were hugely influential on electronic bands that followed them.
This album is their 'proper' debut, on Planet Dog, from 1993. They had self-released a cassette-only album (an original copy which I own - woop!) in the previous year (subsequently re-released on CD) called 'Prepare Your Spirit' which was very much rooted in the late 80's 'rave' sound, but 'Abduction' was when they matured and redefined what Techno was about.
I know that many are dismissive of this kind of music, but I urge you all to listen with an open mind.
This is one of those albums that needs to be listened to all the way through, but if you want a quick way in, check 'Prana', 'Gulf Breeze' and 'Kalika'...
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Enjoy.
Now this one looks like a challenge :eyebrows: I have heard of Ozric Tentacles, but this is new to me. Sure isn't going to be like Laura Nyro ;)
I'm looking forward to this Nick.
Eat Static! OMG! what is going to come out of the speakers :uhho:
Beechwoods
13-11-2012, 21:04
:lol: The name is from a line in the Star Trek movie 'Wrath of Khan', as sampled on one of their earlier tracks (released on the 'Prepare Your Spirit' tape), the first one by them I heard (it was included on a 4 track Ozrics gig tape comp):
N_WFO9avouw
Maybe I should save this for headphones, don't want to damage me harbies http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w63/greatgig/woofer.gif
I have no idea what to expect from this but thanks for challenge I let you know my thoughts latter I think this will be interesting
Beechwoods
13-11-2012, 21:09
Maybe I should save this for headphones, don't want to damage me harbies http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w63/greatgig/woofer.gif
It sounds great on headphones!
It sounds even greater on speakers with diarrhoea inducing bass though.
Well I'm in there like swimwear with a 10. Like yourself I saw these supporting ozrics back in 91 or 92 and went out and bought the album which got played to bits. Agree this was hugely influential and marked a big change in the electronic music of the era although I didn't follow the genre into psy trance or Goa stuff preferring the deeper darker Detroit influenced stuff.
I was never that big on mind altering substances but my first experience of this band also coincided with a bit of a psychedelic adventure and I'll never forget it, in a good way.
I also went to a few of the legendary mega dog club nights where these guys did DJ sets, they were good fun too. Nice choice Nick. I'll blast this at the weekend for my Mrs, she was a bit of a techno hippy in her day and also had this CD in her collection before it got robbed when her student digs were burgled. She was more concerned that they nicked her stash at the time:lol:
Beechwoods
14-11-2012, 08:13
Bring it on Rich! I never got to go to any of the Club Dog events, despite living in London from 91-93, 93 was my final year as a student so I didn't get to go out as much :lol:
Glad this has bought back some happy memories. I've seen Eat Static a few times since and they are still an excellent live band. The album 'B World' catches them live in 1997/98, and they have an MP3 release of their 'homecoming' gig at Frome in 1994 on their website: http://www.eatstatic.co.uk/download-shop -- both are excellent and well worth getting.
Very interesting Nick, not sure what my poor harbies made of it, as they normally have honey voiced vocalists flowing through them! But I played it right through (almost, skipped a couple at the half way point) and even got up to jig about at one point :lol:
Having said that though, its not something I listen to anymore, but when I lived abroad and had a small house near the beach I used to blast out techno at parties and would have loved this, in fact I would have bought it back then. But that was over 10 years ago and my tastes have changed somewhat. I still enjoyed it though, but wouldn't buy it. I really liked the eastern flavour to the vocals, which gave it an ethereal edge and I think the title track was my favourite of them all.
Now the tricky part, as I seem to approach scoring on Album Club very differently to everyone else. On a purely personal level probably only 3/10, but I'm listening to its musical merit, composition and objectively what I think it deserves as a body of work, so I'm going to give it 8/10. If I had heard this when I was 40, it would easily have got 10/10.
As an aside, did anyone else experience a loud click between tracks on Spotify?
Very interesting Nick, not sure what my poor harbies made of it, as they normally have honey voiced vocalists flowing through them! But I played it right through (almost, skipped a couple at the half way point) and even got up to jig about at one point :lol:
Having said that though, its not something I listen to anymore, but when I lived abroad and had a small house near the beach I used to blast out techno at parties and would have loved this, in fact I would have bought it back then. But that was over 10 years ago and my tastes have changed somewhat. I still enjoyed it though, but wouldn't buy it. I really liked the eastern flavour to the vocals, which gave it an ethereal edge and I think the title track was my favourite of them all.
Now the tricky part, as I seem to approach scoring on Album Club very differently to everyone else. On a purely personal level probably only 3/10, but I'm listening to its musical merit, composition and objectively what I think it deserves as a body of work, so I'm going to give it 8/10. If I had heard this when I was 40, it would easily have got 10/10.
As an aside, did anyone else experience a loud click between tracks on Spotify?
Yes, that spotify click was awful... Thought it was my spotify app playing up. Clearly not
Beechwoods
15-11-2012, 21:25
Very interesting Nick, not sure what my poor harbies made of it, as they normally have honey voiced vocalists flowing through them! But I played it right through (almost, skipped a couple at the half way point) and even got up to jig about at one point :lol:
Having said that though, its not something I listen to anymore, but when I lived abroad and had a small house near the beach I used to blast out techno at parties and would have loved this, in fact I would have bought it back then. But that was over 10 years ago and my tastes have changed somewhat. I still enjoyed it though, but wouldn't buy it. I really liked the eastern flavour to the vocals, which gave it an ethereal edge and I think the title track was my favourite of them all.
Now the tricky part, as I seem to approach scoring on Album Club very differently to everyone else. On a purely personal level probably only 3/10, but I'm listening to its musical merit, composition and objectively what I think it deserves as a body of work, so I'm going to give it 8/10. If I had heard this when I was 40, it would easily have got 10/10.
As an aside, did anyone else experience a loud click between tracks on Spotify?
Thanks for giving it a proper go, Tim. It's a great example of it's genre, but not to everyone's taste, I accept.
The clicks on Spotify are annoying. It's not the only album that does it. Their rips are somewhat variable...
It's a great example of it's genre
Definitely agree with that.
Well I'm a bit late to the party this week due to work being a bit mad but I'm having a catch up on admin day and this is on the top of the pile. William's sat on my knee as I type this and track one is almost ended and he certainly seems to like it! :)
More later.
Well I'm a bit late to the party this week due to being a bit mad but I'm having a catch up on admin day and this is on the top of the pile. William's sat on my knee as I type this and track one is almost ended and he certainly seems to like it! :)
More later.
That's very honest of you Alex :lol:
Its only since I've joined Hi-Fi forums that I've expanded my tastes of music and Elecronica/Dance/Ambience is something new that I enjoy. Of what I have listened to , this and Mark's choice the other week Raison D'etre - Prospectus l are to me opposite extremes. Again from what I have listened to, The Orb, Thievery Corporation, Moby,Younger Brother and a few others are between the aforementioned.
So what I'm getting to is Mark's was too slow and this I found too fast, the voodoo drumming tired me out :wheniwasaboy:.
But I gave it 7/10 because after a few sherbets it might :rave:
I struggled with it and I try and explain why I guess I like more creative beats, so for example the drummers I enjoy include Bil Bruford Michael Shrive and Neil Pert. So having the same rythem is something I find hard to listen too
I like the idea of music that can take us on journey and perhaps experience different levels of Trance in the mystical sense, but I would need something that builds up insensity for me to connect to this way
I like being introduced to different genres. There would be a time and a place where I could get into this a little more, but sober, with my system in my room isn't really it. By the way, that Spotify click is pretty annoying. I've given it my best shot but only 4/10 I'm afraid.
Sorry Nick, in my madness I never voted before. 8 from me.
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