Monday 3 September 2012

Nick Edwards - Plekzationz (Editions Mego)


I shouldn't say a good word about Nick Edwards 'cause according to his bulletin board I'm not 'Ekofriendly' - so I'm going to delete this and this - that'll teach him!

And I'm not going to say a good word about Plekzationz... although, whilst waiting for the next modern work of genius in the field of electronic music to come along (don't hold your breath) this will do. I know you know that the notion of genius is outmoded even though sometimes you drop the word when referencing a contemporary record, you can't help yourself; it's an echo of a bygone era when geniuses like Picasso or Charlie Parker roamed the earth. You could go back further in time but the 50s is far enough, don't you think? It's hard enough recalling last week and what, exactly, you downloaded way back then.

Post-everything no creator escapes influence and even the anxiety thereof, so we're not surprised that Nick Edwards is at work in the Bristol equivalent of Lee Perry's Black Ark whilst channelling Throbbing Gristle and ------------ -------- -------- (add preferred Kraut/NewWave Electro Punk bands). The signal's always running in red when Nick's at work, and it shows, thankfully. For all the after-tweaking that may take place it still feels as if he's making it up as he goes along. It's all very psyche-Delia Derbyshire, as if the BBC  Radiophonic Workshop was born in '68 and played the Isle Of Wight festival just after Miles (the memory lingers on as your ears are battered by another brew concocted by electronic witches).

The oil (?) painting artwork posits Edwards as an electro-classicist (unintentionally, I'm sure), bespectacled punk offspring of Genius electro maverick boffins like Stockhausen and Ussachevsky (though more like Russolo-with-synths at times) - bring the noise! The contrariness of a portrait of the artist in old-fashioned paint (!) strikes out for new territory in artwork for electronic music, and that's very pleasing.

Degraded rhythms, drum machines of self-destruct, frayed tapes, tortured souls trapped in analogue hell, screaming for release...imagine what you will listening to this, just don't tell Edwards I said a good word about him.

2 comments:

  1. I actually done the artwork.. the *old fashioned* style , was deliberate, as most industrial dubstep pioneers seem to have a thing about B&W images.

    Nick is way ahead of his contempories.. and you have to remember that he uses, analogue equipment, guitar pedals 4 track tape machines etc.. and mostly records live.. in the studio.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Respect to you, Eddie. The day Nick starts adhering to Dubstep conventions, he's finished!

      Delete

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