From Here We Go Sublime
Encyclopedia
From Here We Go Sublime is the highly acclaimed debut album from Axel Willner under his alias as The Field
. Produced by Willner, it was released on Kompakt
in March 2007 (April 2007 in the United States
, and May 2007 on Octave Lab in Japan
). The musical style of From Here We Go Sublime has been described as minimal techno
with strong influences from trance
as well as shoegaze music.
, the Four Tops, The Flamingos
and Lionel Richie
.
label which is known more for its German
techno, the album's sound has been described as "less techno than it is trance". Jess Harvell of Pitchfork Media
also noted the style's similarity due to an "anthemic bigness to Willner's little sounds, a certain shameless bombastic quality to the way he deploys his loops and builds his arpeggio" and the "elementary drum tracks, often just a deflated machine thump flecked with hi-hat hiss".
The themes of the music on From Here We Go Sublime has been noted for its "unabashed emotionalism" with songs suggesting "bliss", "melancholy" and "loss". From Here We Go Sublimes song titles have been described as vague, and with no intelligible lyrics with the sampled vocals which have been edited and chopped up. Willner isn't a fan of lyrics and chose to use the vocals as an instrument instead of a voice, as "it gives (the music) a special feeling."
and vinyl record by Kompakt records. The album failed to chart in the United States, but was released to great critical acclaim from various publications, and was the best-received album of 2007 on the music critic aggregators
site Metacritic
. Willner was surprised by the positive reception of the album, stating that "Since it is a bit different than (most) other techno, I thought that people wouldn’t like it." It was named the 29th best album of the decade by Resident Advisor
.
The Field (musician)
Axel Willner, better known by the stage name The Field, is a techno artist based in Stockholm, Sweden.-Background:In 2005, Willner submitted a demo tape the German indie label Kompakt and was subsequently signed. He released his first 12", a demo mixtape of Annie's "Heartbeat" in 2005 as well as a...
. Produced by Willner, it was released on Kompakt
Kompakt
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...
in March 2007 (April 2007 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and May 2007 on Octave Lab in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
). The musical style of From Here We Go Sublime has been described as minimal techno
Minimal techno
Minimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...
with strong influences from trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
as well as shoegaze music.
Production
The album mostly consists of tracks recorded between 2004 and 2006. There are some tracks recorded before this period, including one recorded under another alias. The album includes many sample manipulations of material by artists including Kate BushKate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, the Four Tops, The Flamingos
The Flamingos
The Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You".-Early quintet:...
and Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
.
Style and themes
Despite From Here We Go Sublime being released on the KompaktKompakt
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...
label which is known more for its German
Music of Germany
Forms of German-language music include Neue Deutsche Welle , Krautrock, Hamburger Schule, Volksmusik, Classical, German hip hop, trance, Schlager, Neue Deutsche Härte and diverse varieties of folk music, such as Waltz and Medieval metal....
techno, the album's sound has been described as "less techno than it is trance". Jess Harvell of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
also noted the style's similarity due to an "anthemic bigness to Willner's little sounds, a certain shameless bombastic quality to the way he deploys his loops and builds his arpeggio" and the "elementary drum tracks, often just a deflated machine thump flecked with hi-hat hiss".
The themes of the music on From Here We Go Sublime has been noted for its "unabashed emotionalism" with songs suggesting "bliss", "melancholy" and "loss". From Here We Go Sublimes song titles have been described as vague, and with no intelligible lyrics with the sampled vocals which have been edited and chopped up. Willner isn't a fan of lyrics and chose to use the vocals as an instrument instead of a voice, as "it gives (the music) a special feeling."
Release and reception
From Here We Go Sublime was released on compact discCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and vinyl record by Kompakt records. The album failed to chart in the United States, but was released to great critical acclaim from various publications, and was the best-received album of 2007 on the music critic aggregators
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
site Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Willner was surprised by the positive reception of the album, stating that "Since it is a bit different than (most) other techno, I thought that people wouldn’t like it." It was named the 29th best album of the decade by Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor is an online electronic music magazine dedicated to the global dance music scene. The website won a People's Voice award in the 12th Annual Webby Awards in 2008.-Site History:...
.
Track listing
All songs by Axel Willner- "Over the Ice" – 6:56
- "A Paw in My Face" – 5:24
- "Good Things End" – 6:08
- "The Little Heart Beats So Fast" – 5:25
- "Everday" – 6:59
- "Silent" – 7:35
- "The Deal" – 10:03
- "Sun & Ice" – 6:34
- "Mobilia" – 6:28
- "From Here We Go Sublime" – 4:09