album // Konnecting
Mute's An Introduction To...
series kicks off in August 2011 with two compilation albums, one
from The Balanescu Quartet and one from the combined
works of Simon Leonard and David Baker,
whose work under three guises – I Start Counting,
Fortran 5 and Komputer –
stretches back to 1983. The Introducing series sees Mute Artists
licensing back tracks that are still effectively owned by Mute Records,
which remains a subsidiary of EMI. Future volumes in the series
will cover Anita Lane, Laibach,
Cabaret Voltaire, Fad Gadget and
hopefully many more artists that have made Mute's legacy so important
to the world of 'independent' music. The tracks themselves are chosen
by the artists themselves (though presumably not in Mr Gadget's
case).
Konnecting first fell into my sweaty mits
at Short Circuit at Camden's
Roundhouse in May 2011, and coincided neatly with Komputer's performance
on the night. That performance had a lot of similarities with Konnecting's
track listing, drawing upon the highlights from the three highly
distinct musical propositions Leonard and Baker have overseen. Probably
only for reasons of practicality that set was light on songs from
Fortran 5 (who never performed live), though a brilliant version
of the hypnotically chilling 'Heart On Line' (mixed by Vince
Clarke and with vocals by Jocelyn West
and Katharine Blake from Miranda Sex Garden),
included here, was performed. Konnecting also includes
one of the best Fortran 5 tracks, 'Persian Blues' with strange vocals
courtesy of Blancmange's Neil Arthur, as well as their cover of
Eric Clapton's 'Layla' featuring vocals by actor Derek Nimmo, as
well as their more obviously dancefloor-leaning tracks like 'Look
To The Future'.
If the Fortran 5 period had a slightly more euphoric,
club-friendly edge (excluding Avocado Suite, none of whose
tracks are included here), Leonard / Baker's work as I Start Counting
and their most recent (and most long-standing) work as Komputer
has much more of a pessimistic, deflated edge. 'Looking Down On
London' (one of the factors that drew me to work in London) or 'Like
A Bird' are both, in their icy way, restrained and deep, almost
having an electronically-generated folk whimsy attached to them.
Tracks from the I Start Counting period like 'Million Headed Monster'
and 'Empty Room' in contrast have a subtle negativity about them.
Konnecting is a great introduction to the
work of two quite remarkable musical minds, and I truly hope that
this compilation album brings their work to a whole new audience
of electronica music fans, or reminds people like me, who haven't
listened to their work for years, just how fantastic their body
of work is.
cd:
1. Letters To A Friend (7" Version) - I Start Counting
2. Million Headed Monster - I Start Counting
3. Heart On The Line (Vince Clarke Mix) - Fortran 5
4. Time To Dream - Fortran 5
5. Valentina (Single Version) - Komputer
6. Looking Down On London (Single Version) - Komputer
7. Love Baby (Carnivorous Marine Mammal With Short Limbs Mix (Edit))
- Fortran 5
8. Lose Him (Edit) - I Start Counting
9. Headphones And Ringtones - Komputer
10. Still Smiling (7" Version) - I Start Counting
11. Like A Bird - Komputer
12. Empty Room - I Start Counting
13. Look To The Future (Joey Negro's Future Reality Edit) - Fortran
5
14. Persian Blues - Fortran 5
15, Layla (Derek Sings Derek) - Fortran 5
Thanks to Jorge Punaro for clarifying the track
list above.
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