OCRB: Sankt Otten

Apparently, I buy too many records

My wife Helen, like every other woman i've ever lived with, believes that I buy too many records.

Which, as every record-buying man knows, is a ridiculous belief.

I will concede, however, that I do indeed buy a lot of records and that I don't afford them the same amount of listens and attention that I did 20 or 30 years ago.

To this end, I have decided to blog about the records that I buy, in order to help my appreciation of them - and perhaps to show Helen that I don't buy that many records after all.

Because i'm crap with deadlines the blog posts will be sporadic and probably be about a month or 2 behind but that's just the way i am! The posts will not necessarily be actual reviews (most likely comments, at best) and will generally be pretty damn short due to the reasons outlined above. As a writer in a previous existence i have decided not to worry about writing as art in the pieces but, instead, to attempt to convey feeling over semantic (and often grammatic) perfection.

And 'OCRB'? It stands for 'Obsessive Compulsive Record Buying' - a little known mental health affliction that is potentially damaging to the bank account but ultimately life-affirming. It is sad.......but a nice form of sad.

Friday, 21 October 2011

Sankt Otten: Gottes Synthesizer (Denovali)

Denovali are a brilliant label - they take real pride and care to press their records beautifully and come up with such mindblowingly gorgeous vinyl colour combinations that you almost forget to play the bloody things, such is the wonderment as you gaze upon the objects of extreme desire. Granted, there are many records that are better viewed than heard - even the plain black variety, but Sankt Otten have come up with everything i love about music in 2011 on this amazing album. Synths have ruled my life this year, and i see no end in sight for the delight that they bring to my life. The glacial beauty that an analog synth adds to music is clean, pure and emotionally expressive far more than a box of wires and knobs should be. But then why should a stringed, or brass, instrument be any more 'real' than a synth? Are they not all just conduits to express emotion through? I remember the musicians union trying to ban synths in the late '70s under the impression that they needed no technical ability to produce music from, i have very vivid memories of hairy blokes with 'keep music live' stickers on their guitar cases sneering at the synth brigade. "Fuck 'em" - i thought then, and "Fuck 'em" i still think whenever somebody tries the old arguments.

And they still do, trust me.

As an example of how a synth needs the same technical ability as, say, a violin; put me in a room with a Korg and Stradivarius for an hour and then get me to play something. I guarantee that both will sound like shit.

Case proven.

Sankt Otten? Oh it's fucking beautiful, and you are doing your children a disservice by not having it in the house, but i can't really be arsed to go into all that now. Not after i've had a little rant.

Tuesday, 8 March 2011

Majeure/Sankt Otten: Split LP (Denovali)

Majeure (A.E Peterra, Steve Moore's partner in Zombi) has a problem. This problem is called 'The Dresden Codex' and it is the 14 minute first track from 'Timespan', his debut (and only) album. The Dresden Codex is so amazingly epic and so epically amazing that anything else he does struggles to stand next to it. The first 2 tracks on his side barely enter your consciousness, they are so slight and unimposing; but the 3rd track 'Aleph Institute' is mighty and really exciting - taking on his familiar Vangelis/KlausSchulze referencing sci-fi disco music and overlaying it with some horror movie tribal powerhouse drumming of the like that made his album so exciting. It has a hypnotic effect second to none. Sankt Otten have no such weight of expectation from me and so excelled at being compellingly atmospheric that they astonished me when their equally powerful drumming came into earshot - here was me expecting a pretty little bit of electro ambience and they go and and drum all over it, running roughshod over my hastily assembled preconceptions. A beautiful heavyweight gatefold sleeve makes this album even more recommendable.