Magnetophone
Encyclopedia
Magnétophone are an electronic
/ art-rock band originating from Birmingham
UK, composed of Matt Saunders (born 1972) and John Hanson (born 1973). Since their inception in the mid-1990s they have released two albums, I Guess Sometimes I Need to Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me and The Man Who Ate the Man
, plus numerous singles and EP
s and are currently signed to the revered art-house record label
4AD
. Magnétophone rose to international recognition out of a period of vibrant musical activity in the second city, which also spawned contemporaries Broadcast
.
-influenced live bands.
Saunders began experimenting with keyboards and computer soundchips (C64
SID chip in particular) around 1986, composing instrumental three voice music and sound effects. Inspired by rock'n'roll and the possibilities of audio 'art', in 1989 he took up his 'neighbour's neglected guitar' and began forming bands in the style of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin
, playing pubs and clubs around Birmingham city centre.
Hanson's first steps into music also began in the mid-1980s, and at the local community centre playing drums
in the basement, in drop-in style workshops. Later, he discovered acoustic guitar and his 'first love', the bass
, and went on to form bands also playing Led Zeppelin-esque tracks.
Despite the similarity of their respective bands their paths didn't cross until 1992 when they enrolled on an art course at Solihull College
. Here, they developed a friendship, sharing their enthusiasm for Spacemen 3
, Suicide
, Steve Reich
, Talk Talk
, Aphex Twin
, Woody Allen
, painting
, printmaking
and photography
. At this time, both their bands simultaneously began to disintegrate leading them to form their own forward-looking experimental outfit 'Rocket Science'.
'Rocket Science's' first gig was at The Jug of Ale in Moseley
, Birmingham. The duo played simple FM synthesis keyboards put through numerous guitar
effects pedals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar
and various tone generators and used a four-track recorder to play back a combination of processed found sounds, film dialogue, and distorted breakbeat
s. Their music at this early stage was instrumental and often repetitive, recalling the sounds of early techno
-ambient
albums by Aphex Twin
, and the lush washes and zen-cycling of Eno
. Performing music that required a certain level of calm and concentration on the part of the audience brought with it certain concerns:
"We were finding that the quieter tracks were getting talked over to the point where you'd feel like you may as well stop and get up and go to the bar with them. We found to get around this, we had to make our beats and sounds louder and fiercer, so it was harder to talk over."
Magnetophone's music was at odds with the Brit Pop 'indie
' guitar bands that predominated in the second city's venues; consequently, from 1998-1999 Saunders and Hanson organised and promoted their own night of 'alternative' music. These 'events' took place at a venue on the banks of the central canal at the heart of the city, and the pair named them 'We Brought Our Friends'. Soon the shows gathered momentum and reputation and became known as the only reliable live resource of local (and later national) experimental bands: "There was nowhere you could hear something other than Brit Pop or Metal
, so we put on our own shows and booked the bands we wanted to play with."
During this time, the duo sent out demos to record labels, and one in particular caught the attention of London label Earworm Records
. 'You Should Write Music' backed by 'Monitor Rocket Science' became the band's first 7" single, and prompted the change of name from Rocket Science to Magnétophone.
This first single was met with great enthusiasm by the press, and by fellow musicians, including Spacemen 3
's Sonic Boom who met the band at a 'We Brought Our Friends' show and later worked and performed with them. A series of other singles, 12"s, and compilations followed, and a long term relationship with Static Caravan Recordings began.
The records between 1998 and 2000 showed the basis of the Magnétophone sound to be rooted in the electronic
field, but it was also moving outside of it as its 'organic-ness' and obvious human intervention and performance appeared to be informed by guitar bands like My Bloody Valentine and MC5
, and it is this that separates them from other electronica
records of the same period and which caught the attention of 4AD's A&R
department. These records were still instrumental and took in elements of drum'n'bass, IDM
, ambient
-techno
and avant-garde
sound sculpting, and were tied together by strong, though sometimes hidden or intermittent melodies. The pieces were performed live and captured as whole performances, rather than being multi-tracked. John Peel
was an ardent supporter of the band's output at this time and they recorded two Peel sessions, one at the BBC
Maida Vale Studios, and one at the Irish Centre in a live performance in Birmingham in 2000.
In March 2000, the band completed their debut lp I Guess Sometimes I Need to Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me, which was subsequently released by 4AD (where they remain signed today) to great critical acclaim in some quarters, and bemused misunderstanding in others. The BBC used one of the tracks from this album, 'So Much As Hold My Hand', on their World Service as the theme music for links between programmes and news bulletins. Their work since this LP has included collaborations with Kim Deal
and Kelley Deal
, King Creosote
, James Yorkston
, The Mountain Goats
and Sonic Boom
. In 2004, Magnétophone's track 'Kel's Vintage Thought', co-written with The Breeders
' Kelley Deal
, was voted by listeners of BBC 6 Music
as the Rebel Playlist winner on the Steve Lamacq
show. Their second lp, The Man Who Ate The Man, was released in 2005 and was voted best avant-post rock lp of 2005 by Piccadilly Records. Shortly after its release, in late 2005, Magnétophone recorded a session for BBC Radio 1
's Blue Room show at the Maida Vale Studios, and for BBC Radio 1's Rob da Bank
show, both broadcast in November 2005.
In 2007, Magnétophone contributed to Birmingham UK/Italian artist-collaboration-compilation Binary Oppositions which was a coming together of visual and audio art produced by Birmingham based artists. Later that year New York art-house publication Visionaire
released an audio media package called Visionaire 53 which brought together many disparate artists in the producing of one minute only pieces of music. Magnétophone contributed to this release along with other artists including Yoko Ono
, U2
, Michael Stipe
, Pet Shop Boys
, Cindy Sherman
and it consisted of five records, 2 cds, a record player and dome container.
In 2008, Magnétophone contributed an instrumental track called 'The Old Silver In and Out' to an online tribute compilation to classical
and electronic
composer György Ligeti
, who scored music for Eyes Wide Shut
, 2001: A Space Odyssey
and The Shining
. The compilation included Mike Paradinas
's u-ziq and Moyokoyani & His Robot Orchestra and all the tracks were supplied as free downloads.
2008 also saw a new development from Magnétophone with Matt Saunders setting up a record label
called Test Conditions to release dubstep
and electronica
. His solo dubstep
productions are recorded under the alias of Veil and latterly The Assembled Minds.
, My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3
, to The Human League
, Talk Talk
, and Velvet Underground. However, one is not more apparent than the other and their music is more accurately a mixture of genres rather than bands: psychedelia, electronica
, folk
, synth pop, post-rock
, ambient
, pop
. Their sound is a meeting of the broken and organic and the beautiful and systematised, and the progression of their sound through their eleven year career, spans dysfunctional electronic instrumental pieces, to 'bewitching, mysterious' city-folk songs.
Magnétophone's melodies, whether sung or played on an instrument, are supported by dirty, scratchy synths, solid electro
and acoustic breaks, detuning guitars and sonic 'artefacts' that blink-in and out of the audio picture-frame seemingly at random. Tape hiss
, projector clicks, fireworks, fragments of human voices move around sometimes contrapuntal, sometimes monophonic
arrangements. The time signatures are generally 4/4 or 6/8.
The lyrics
of The Man Who Ate The Man are more poetic than rock'n'roll inspired, and concern city relationships (Benny's Insobriety and Without Word) or similar, but set against a rural backdrop (A Sad Ha Ha (Circled My Demise) and The Only Witching You'll be Doing). The themes explore control, loss, reverence, worth, relationship-pacts.
Much of Magnétophone's music from the early singles to the first LP
is notable for its 'challenging' nature (the pounding, broken, distorted beats
and unrecognisable bass
textures of 'I Hear Blonde Falcons' being a case-in-point), and it is clear that the band at this stage were often concerned with creating original audio 'objects' that have questionable worth outside of pure abstract appreciation; other tracks from this time more clearly reference rock'n'roll's more simple appeal, and the balancing of these two ethics across a record creates a unique and unsettling audio and emotional experience.
Throughout Magnétophone's recorded output, the listener will hear sonic experimentation in the form of mis-firing beats, sliding time frames, processed acoustic field recordings, minute background 'happenings' and synthesis manipulation and these are generally presented in 'alternative' song structures. However, their most recent LP 'The Man Who Ate The Man' exhibits the sonic exploration of their early work, whilst also employing traditional acoustic instruments including guitar
, drums
and melodica
, Anglo
-folk
vocal lines and song structures approaching the 'conventional'.
Whichever way a Magnétophone track is leaning in terms of its 'influence' or 'style', there is a tangible thread of intelligent and careful boundary-searching and maverick but conscientious sound construction through it; and always towards the end of creating a slightly uncomfortable environment for a proper song to play out in. Somehow, like Francis Bacon
's 'snail trail of human presence' being evident in a painting, Magnétophone's music quietly announces that they have attended there, whilst suggesting it was perhaps other people. (source: MySpace.com)
-weight vinyl
7", with a matching textured sleeve and a single white sticker, containing the band name and track titles. Their work with V23's design-icon Vaughan Oliver
and photographer/designer Chris Bigg has produced some unique sleeves, from the three-quarter cut-sleeved, double vinyl lp of 'I Guess Sometimes...', to the laser
cut aluminium turntable
pillar-disc that accompanied the CD version of the same LP
, to the high quality cardboard, gate-folding digipack of 'The Man Who Ate The Man' which contained eight small double-sided cards, printed with domestic interior images and cryptic phrases.
Singles, EPs, and various
Remixes of Magnétophone
Remixes by Magnétophone
DJ mixes of Magnétophone
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
/ art-rock band originating from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
UK, composed of Matt Saunders (born 1972) and John Hanson (born 1973). Since their inception in the mid-1990s they have released two albums, I Guess Sometimes I Need to Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me and The Man Who Ate the Man
The Man Who Ate the Man
The Man Who Ate the Man is an album by the electronic / art rock band Magnetophone. It was released in 2005 on 4AD Records. Equally inspired by pop, electronic pioneers like Morton Subotnick, contemporary electronic artists like Autechre, and Krautrock, Magnetophone have continued to evolve from...
, plus numerous singles and EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s and are currently signed to the revered art-house record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
4AD
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
. Magnétophone rose to international recognition out of a period of vibrant musical activity in the second city, which also spawned contemporaries Broadcast
Broadcast (band)
Broadcast are an electronic music band, founded in Birmingham, England. Original members were Trish Keenan , Roj Stevens , Tim Felton and James Cargill . Various drummers played with the band, including Keith York, Phil Jenkins, Jeremy Barnes, Steve Perkins, and Neil Bullock...
.
Biography
Matt Saunders and John Hanson formed Magnétophone in 1995 after they met at an art school on the outskirts of Birmingham in 1992. Their respective formative journeys toward their first gig together followed similar lines in that they both played in rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-influenced live bands.
Saunders began experimenting with keyboards and computer soundchips (C64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
SID chip in particular) around 1986, composing instrumental three voice music and sound effects. Inspired by rock'n'roll and the possibilities of audio 'art', in 1989 he took up his 'neighbour's neglected guitar' and began forming bands in the style of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, playing pubs and clubs around Birmingham city centre.
Hanson's first steps into music also began in the mid-1980s, and at the local community centre playing drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
in the basement, in drop-in style workshops. Later, he discovered acoustic guitar and his 'first love', the bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and went on to form bands also playing Led Zeppelin-esque tracks.
Despite the similarity of their respective bands their paths didn't cross until 1992 when they enrolled on an art course at Solihull College
Solihull College
Solihull College, formerly known as the 'Solihull College of Technology', is a further education college located in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, which is part of the West Midlands conurbation, in the United Kingdom...
. Here, they developed a friendship, sharing their enthusiasm for Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
, Suicide
Suicide (band)
Suicide is an American electronic protopunk musical duo, intermittently active since 1970 and composed of vocalist Alan Vega and Martin Rev on synthesizers and drum machines. They are an early synthesizer/vocal musical duo....
, Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
, Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
, Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. At this time, both their bands simultaneously began to disintegrate leading them to form their own forward-looking experimental outfit 'Rocket Science'.
'Rocket Science's' first gig was at The Jug of Ale in Moseley
Moseley
Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...
, Birmingham. The duo played simple FM synthesis keyboards put through numerous guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
effects pedals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and various tone generators and used a four-track recorder to play back a combination of processed found sounds, film dialogue, and distorted breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s. Their music at this early stage was instrumental and often repetitive, recalling the sounds of early techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
-ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
albums by Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
, and the lush washes and zen-cycling of Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
. Performing music that required a certain level of calm and concentration on the part of the audience brought with it certain concerns:
"We were finding that the quieter tracks were getting talked over to the point where you'd feel like you may as well stop and get up and go to the bar with them. We found to get around this, we had to make our beats and sounds louder and fiercer, so it was harder to talk over."
Magnetophone's music was at odds with the Brit Pop 'indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
' guitar bands that predominated in the second city's venues; consequently, from 1998-1999 Saunders and Hanson organised and promoted their own night of 'alternative' music. These 'events' took place at a venue on the banks of the central canal at the heart of the city, and the pair named them 'We Brought Our Friends'. Soon the shows gathered momentum and reputation and became known as the only reliable live resource of local (and later national) experimental bands: "There was nowhere you could hear something other than Brit Pop or Metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, so we put on our own shows and booked the bands we wanted to play with."
During this time, the duo sent out demos to record labels, and one in particular caught the attention of London label Earworm Records
Earworm Records
Earworm Records was a London-based independent record label, with its first release by the band Hood in 1997. Other bands to release music on the label include Yo La Tengo, Of Montreal, Stars of the Lid, Windy & Carl, Portal, The Besnard Lakes, Fridge, Damon & Naomi and Magnétophone....
. 'You Should Write Music' backed by 'Monitor Rocket Science' became the band's first 7" single, and prompted the change of name from Rocket Science to Magnétophone.
This first single was met with great enthusiasm by the press, and by fellow musicians, including Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
's Sonic Boom who met the band at a 'We Brought Our Friends' show and later worked and performed with them. A series of other singles, 12"s, and compilations followed, and a long term relationship with Static Caravan Recordings began.
The records between 1998 and 2000 showed the basis of the Magnétophone sound to be rooted in the electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
field, but it was also moving outside of it as its 'organic-ness' and obvious human intervention and performance appeared to be informed by guitar bands like My Bloody Valentine and MC5
MC5
The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
, and it is this that separates them from other electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
records of the same period and which caught the attention of 4AD's A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
department. These records were still instrumental and took in elements of drum'n'bass, IDM
Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
-techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
sound sculpting, and were tied together by strong, though sometimes hidden or intermittent melodies. The pieces were performed live and captured as whole performances, rather than being multi-tracked. John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
was an ardent supporter of the band's output at this time and they recorded two Peel sessions, one at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Maida Vale Studios, and one at the Irish Centre in a live performance in Birmingham in 2000.
In March 2000, the band completed their debut lp I Guess Sometimes I Need to Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me, which was subsequently released by 4AD (where they remain signed today) to great critical acclaim in some quarters, and bemused misunderstanding in others. The BBC used one of the tracks from this album, 'So Much As Hold My Hand', on their World Service as the theme music for links between programmes and news bulletins. Their work since this LP has included collaborations with Kim Deal
Kim Deal
Kimberley Ann Deal is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of the alternative rock band the Pixies and the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Breeders. Deal first joined the Pixies in January 1986 as the band's bassist, adopting the stage name Mrs...
and Kelley Deal
Kelley Deal
Kelley Deal is an American musician. The identical twin sister of Kim Deal, she is the lead guitarist of The Breeders, besides having a solo career.- Early days :...
, King Creosote
King Creosote
Kenny Anderson, known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest, Thrawn, released in 2011. Anderson is also a member of Scottish-Canadian band, The Burns Unit...
, James Yorkston
James Yorkston
-Music career:A native of Fife, James Yorkston was an integral early member of the Fence Collective whose reach across contemporary music continues to lengthen: King Creosote, The Aliens, KT Tunstall, The Beta Band...
, The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
and Sonic Boom
Peter Kember
Peter Kember is a British musician and producer, more usually known as Sonic Boom, and was a founding member of alternative rock band Spacemen 3....
. In 2004, Magnétophone's track 'Kel's Vintage Thought', co-written with The Breeders
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal , her twin sister Kelley Deal , Jose Medeles , Mando Lopez Todd the Fox...
' Kelley Deal
Kelley Deal
Kelley Deal is an American musician. The identical twin sister of Kim Deal, she is the lead guitarist of The Breeders, besides having a solo career.- Early days :...
, was voted by listeners of BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
as the Rebel Playlist winner on the Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
show. Their second lp, The Man Who Ate The Man, was released in 2005 and was voted best avant-post rock lp of 2005 by Piccadilly Records. Shortly after its release, in late 2005, Magnétophone recorded a session for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Blue Room show at the Maida Vale Studios, and for BBC Radio 1's Rob da Bank
Rob da Bank
Robert John Gorham, known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is a British disc jockey. He presents a Friday-night/Saturday-morning show, Rob da Bank, on BBC Radio 1 from 5am-7am, focused on promoting new left field music...
show, both broadcast in November 2005.
In 2007, Magnétophone contributed to Birmingham UK/Italian artist-collaboration-compilation Binary Oppositions which was a coming together of visual and audio art produced by Birmingham based artists. Later that year New York art-house publication Visionaire
Visionaire
Visionaire is an art and fashion publication that has come out in limited, numbered editions three times a year since spring 1991. Each issue has a specific format and theme around which prominent artists, designers, photographers, and others guests edit the publication...
released an audio media package called Visionaire 53 which brought together many disparate artists in the producing of one minute only pieces of music. Magnétophone contributed to this release along with other artists including Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
, Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
, Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director, best known for her conceptual portraits. Sherman currently lives and works in New York City. In 1995, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. She is represented by Sprüth Magers Berlin London in and Metro Pictures gallery in...
and it consisted of five records, 2 cds, a record player and dome container.
In 2008, Magnétophone contributed an instrumental track called 'The Old Silver In and Out' to an online tribute compilation to classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
composer György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
, who scored music for Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
, 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
and The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
. The compilation included Mike Paradinas
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas , who works primarily under the name μ-Ziq in addition to a large number of aliases, is a British musician in the field of electronic music.-History:...
's u-ziq and Moyokoyani & His Robot Orchestra and all the tracks were supplied as free downloads.
2008 also saw a new development from Magnétophone with Matt Saunders setting up a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
called Test Conditions to release dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
. His solo dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
productions are recorded under the alias of Veil and latterly The Assembled Minds.
The Magnétophone sound
Magnétophone's records reference a number of different influences from Silver Apples, SuicideSuicide (band)
Suicide is an American electronic protopunk musical duo, intermittently active since 1970 and composed of vocalist Alan Vega and Martin Rev on synthesizers and drum machines. They are an early synthesizer/vocal musical duo....
, My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
, to The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
, Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
, and Velvet Underground. However, one is not more apparent than the other and their music is more accurately a mixture of genres rather than bands: psychedelia, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, synth pop, post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Their sound is a meeting of the broken and organic and the beautiful and systematised, and the progression of their sound through their eleven year career, spans dysfunctional electronic instrumental pieces, to 'bewitching, mysterious' city-folk songs.
Magnétophone's melodies, whether sung or played on an instrument, are supported by dirty, scratchy synths, solid electro
Electro (music)
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...
and acoustic breaks, detuning guitars and sonic 'artefacts' that blink-in and out of the audio picture-frame seemingly at random. Tape hiss
Tape hiss
Tape hiss is the high frequency noise present on analogue magnetic tape recordings caused by the size of the magnetic particles used to make the tape. Effectively it is the noise floor of the recording medium. It can be reduced by the use of finer magnetic particles or by increasing the amount of...
, projector clicks, fireworks, fragments of human voices move around sometimes contrapuntal, sometimes monophonic
Monophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
arrangements. The time signatures are generally 4/4 or 6/8.
The lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
of The Man Who Ate The Man are more poetic than rock'n'roll inspired, and concern city relationships (Benny's Insobriety and Without Word) or similar, but set against a rural backdrop (A Sad Ha Ha (Circled My Demise) and The Only Witching You'll be Doing). The themes explore control, loss, reverence, worth, relationship-pacts.
Much of Magnétophone's music from the early singles to the first LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
is notable for its 'challenging' nature (the pounding, broken, distorted beats
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
and unrecognisable bass
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
textures of 'I Hear Blonde Falcons' being a case-in-point), and it is clear that the band at this stage were often concerned with creating original audio 'objects' that have questionable worth outside of pure abstract appreciation; other tracks from this time more clearly reference rock'n'roll's more simple appeal, and the balancing of these two ethics across a record creates a unique and unsettling audio and emotional experience.
Throughout Magnétophone's recorded output, the listener will hear sonic experimentation in the form of mis-firing beats, sliding time frames, processed acoustic field recordings, minute background 'happenings' and synthesis manipulation and these are generally presented in 'alternative' song structures. However, their most recent LP 'The Man Who Ate The Man' exhibits the sonic exploration of their early work, whilst also employing traditional acoustic instruments including guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and melodica
Melodica
The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
, Anglo
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...
-folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
vocal lines and song structures approaching the 'conventional'.
Whichever way a Magnétophone track is leaning in terms of its 'influence' or 'style', there is a tangible thread of intelligent and careful boundary-searching and maverick but conscientious sound construction through it; and always towards the end of creating a slightly uncomfortable environment for a proper song to play out in. Somehow, like Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
's 'snail trail of human presence' being evident in a painting, Magnétophone's music quietly announces that they have attended there, whilst suggesting it was perhaps other people. (source: MySpace.com)
Artwork
Magnétophone's albums, 7"s and 12"s are visually impressive objects. The band state, "we want our sleeves to be equally as exciting as the music they represent", and to this end, they have presented their music in a variety of quality art 'packages'. The very first single, 'You Should Write Music' consisted of a red audiophileAudiophile
An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
-weight vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
7", with a matching textured sleeve and a single white sticker, containing the band name and track titles. Their work with V23's design-icon Vaughan Oliver
Vaughan Oliver
Vaughan Oliver is a British graphic designer based in Epsom, South of London. Oliver is most noted for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23...
and photographer/designer Chris Bigg has produced some unique sleeves, from the three-quarter cut-sleeved, double vinyl lp of 'I Guess Sometimes...', to the laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
cut aluminium turntable
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
pillar-disc that accompanied the CD version of the same LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, to the high quality cardboard, gate-folding digipack of 'The Man Who Ate The Man' which contained eight small double-sided cards, printed with domestic interior images and cryptic phrases.
Discography
Albums- (2000) I Guess Sometimes I Need to Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me (4AD)
- (2005) The Man Who Ate the ManThe Man Who Ate the ManThe Man Who Ate the Man is an album by the electronic / art rock band Magnetophone. It was released in 2005 on 4AD Records. Equally inspired by pop, electronic pioneers like Morton Subotnick, contemporary electronic artists like Autechre, and Krautrock, Magnetophone have continued to evolve from...
(4AD) - (2006) Promo Phone 1 (Ensnare)
Singles, EPs, and various
- "You Should Write Music" (1998, 7" single, EarwormEarworm RecordsEarworm Records was a London-based independent record label, with its first release by the band Hood in 1997. Other bands to release music on the label include Yo La Tengo, Of Montreal, Stars of the Lid, Windy & Carl, Portal, The Besnard Lakes, Fridge, Damon & Naomi and Magnétophone....
) - "Air Methods" (1998, 7" single, Static Caravan)
- "Box Flow" (1999, 'Infrasonic Waves' compilation, 7", OchreOchreOchre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
) - "Lights in the Eye" (1999, 7" single, Active Suspension)
- "Temporary Lid" EP (1999, 12" EP, Static Caravan)
- "The Science Must Continue" (as Tape Recorder, 1999, 12" comp, Earworm)
- "Lubeecha" - Lathe Cut (2000, 7" single, Earworm)
- "Eve Transmission" (2000, 'Interface' compilation, CD, Spaceage Recordings)
- "Little Boy's Acorn" (2000, '4WD Motion' compilation, CD, 4AD)
- "Come on the 'Phone" EP (2000, 12" and CD EP, 4AD)
- "Relax, It's the End of Electronica" (2002, 7" single, Static Caravan)
- "I Hear Blonde Falcons" (2002, '10p 1 Play' compilation CD, Robots and Electronic Brains Magazine)
- "Kel's Vintage Thought" (2004, 12" EP, 4AD)
- "...And May Your Last Words Be a Chance to Make Things Better" (2005, 7" single, 4AD)
- "...And May Your Last Words Be a Chance to Make Things Better" (2006, CD compilation, Sunday Best)
- "Systems Thinking Business Modelling Consultant" (2006 compilation, Magazine/CD, EsopusEsopus (magazine)Esopus is a twice-yearly nonprofit arts and culture magazine founded in 2003 by Tod Lippy and published by the Esopus Foundation. Its primary objective is to give artists a noncommercial forum in which to publish their projects...
Magazine (Spring)) - "22 Calibre Family" (2006 compilation, 'A Mind Expansion Compilation', CD, Mind Expansion)
- "Much Less Than A Day" (2007, 'Binary Oppositions' CD compilation, Static Caravan)
- "Much Less Than A Day: Edit" (2008, 'VisionaireVisionaireVisionaire is an art and fashion publication that has come out in limited, numbered editions three times a year since spring 1991. Each issue has a specific format and theme around which prominent artists, designers, photographers, and others guests edit the publication...
53' 12" and CD compilation, VisionaireVisionaireVisionaire is an art and fashion publication that has come out in limited, numbered editions three times a year since spring 1991. Each issue has a specific format and theme around which prominent artists, designers, photographers, and others guests edit the publication...
) - "The Old Silver In and Out" (2008, 'György LigetiGyörgy LigetiGyörgy Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
Tribute', online compilation, Topher)
Remixes of Magnétophone
- "Kel's Vintage Thought - Outhud Remix" (2004, 4AD)
- "MNPLIE4AD - Lost in Edit by JM Lapham" (The EarliesThe EarliesThe Earlies are a band formed by Christian Madden and Giles Hatton from Lancashire, England, and Brandon Carr and John Mark Lapham from the United States...
) Remix (2005, 4AD) - "Benny's Trip - Sonic BoomPeter KemberPeter Kember is a British musician and producer, more usually known as Sonic Boom, and was a founding member of alternative rock band Spacemen 3....
Remix" (2006, 4AD)
Remixes by Magnétophone
- "Run From Safety" (2007 Octoberman - Run From Safety LP, White Whale)
- "Antiphon" (2004, Charles AtlasCharles AtlasCharles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano , was the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program that was best known for a landmark advertising campaign featuring Atlas's name and likeness; it has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all...
Remix compilation, Audraglint)
DJ mixes of Magnétophone
- "Kel's Vintage Thought - Outhud Remix" (2005 Glimmers - DJ Kicks, !K7)
Radio sessions
- BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
Session, Maida Vale Studio (2000) - BBC Radio 1 John Peel Session, Live in Birmingham (2000)
- XFMXfmXfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
John KennedyJohn Kennedy (DJ)John Kennedy, is a DJ who presents Xposure on XFM, between 10pm and 2am Monday-Thursdays. He is the only DJ to have been with XFM constantly since its inception and the show is the longest running of all of the specialist shows John Kennedy, is a DJ who presents Xposure on XFM, between 10pm and 2am...
Session, Live in London (2001) - BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
Mixing It Session, Live in London (2001) - BBC Radio 1 Rob da BankRob da BankRobert John Gorham, known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is a British disc jockey. He presents a Friday-night/Saturday-morning show, Rob da Bank, on BBC Radio 1 from 5am-7am, focused on promoting new left field music...
Session, Maida Vale Studio (2005) - BBC Radio 1 Blue Room Session, The EarliesThe EarliesThe Earlies are a band formed by Christian Madden and Giles Hatton from Lancashire, England, and Brandon Carr and John Mark Lapham from the United States...
' Studio / Echo Gate Studio (2005)
External links
- Magnetophone.co.uk - Magnetophone official website
- 4ad.com/magntophone - Magnetophone at 4AD
- staticcaravan.org - Static Caravan Recordings website