2010-02-25T13:42:00.001Z

Have just realised that due to the recent upheaval at Subba Cultcha with the unveiling of their new site, that none of the above links to my articles on Subba worked. I have fixed as many as I can, and when the Subba site is fully up and running I'll fix the rest...

Nathan Fake - Hard Islands

2009-07-23T11:09:00.000+01:00

As the name may have suggested, Nathan Fake’s first album, Drowning in a Sea of Love veered off from his previous harder-edged and brilliant techno releases such as the Watlington Street EP and Outhouse, and revealed an altogether softer side of the East Anglian. It was a beautiful album which washed over you and gave the impression of being smothered slowly by a great pair of downy bosoms. Three years on and nasty Nathan is back. Hard Islands, while not a complete return to the delinquency of his youth, for some of the fuzziness and beauty of Drowning remains, has definitely turned yet another corner and is a six-track whirlwind of an album. Fulfilling the ethos of the Border Community family from whence he came, Hard Islands both bridges the chasm that exists between dance floor and bedroom, and defies with all its might any attempt at being pinned down and labelled.

The album is so Border Community, in fact, that it could almost be a poster child for the label, such is the sheer variety of sounds that have been packed into these half dozen tracks. The influence of his label mates is evident, appearing suddenly in the midst of everything as if they had meandered into the studio mid-production, twiddled some knobs and went on their merry way. ‘Castle Rising’ starts off soft and quiet before developing into a driving techno track, with a bass line reminiscent of Petter’s 'Some Polyphony', and over the eight or so minutes becomes more frantic and abstract. ‘Narrier’ feels like it has been touched by the almost godlike hand of James Holden, a filthy techno offering that drifts into the haunting and otherworldly synths seen in '10101'. Indeed, the album’s influences go further afield than the comfort zone of the Border Community, with clear inspiration from Boards of Canada and quite noticeably from within the Warp community, in particular the Clark of Turning Dragon. While it never quite reaches the depths of industrial depravity that Turning Dragon displayed, the haunting and hard-as-stone driving complete with the crazed glitchy and temp jumping assault on your senses are prevalent, particularly in ‘Fentiger’ and ‘Castle Rising’. Indeed, in track two, ‘Basic Mountain’, you are taken on a journey from the safe cosiness of Drowning steadily into the realms of techno, spazzing out before again rising up into something truly beautiful and then, like a cassette player running out of battery, your mind begins to melt. The sheer variety of what is on display here means that there is a certain lack of cohesion and stability. It jumps around, constantly surprising and the only breather we are offered is the one and a half minute ‘Curlew’.

While I’ve found Hard Islands a thoroughly enjoyable listen, there are things about it that still nag at me. There just doesn’t seem to be anything organic about it and it lacks fluidity. This evidently is a result of the fact that this album has been evolving over some time and many sets, and thus has accumulated layers and layers of the editing tricks that have thrilled all who attend Fake’s electric live performances. Nevertheless, despite the brilliance of the tracks on show here - in particular ‘Castle Rising’ and ‘The Turtle’ where an electro bass line raises its filthy head - it just does not satisfy as an album. Whereas Drowning organically grew from beginning to end and was an aural experience in its entirety, I find that in Hard Islands Nathan Fake is almost trying too hard to achieve too many things. The effort he puts in to avoiding being labelled almost verges on pretention, and there seems to be a lack of individuality pervading the album. While each track definitely has Fake’s mark on them, I feel that he relies too heavily on his influences. It is hard to describe disappointment in something that I have found so enjoyable, however it proves the level of stock that myself and others have placed in him. Altogether, Hard Islands is short and disjointed but is still a good album in its own right. However, after three years of eager anticipation it fails to stand up to the sheer weight of the collective expectation that has been thrust on Fake’s young shoulders. Good, but could do better.

2009-07-17T16:34:00.000+01:00

A Big 'Hello!!' to the no doubt legions of readers that will be gracing this site with their presence over the coming days, weeks, months and years! Forgive the basic layout, for this is my first foray into the world of web design (and I use that in the loosest sense of the word). As I get more work (fingers crossed) I'll be posting links to anything that is published on the right hand of this page, and for those reviews that I've done that haven't made it on to the world wide web I'll be posting them into this section until I figure out how to archive them or something.

If you like or dislike anything that I've written please let me know, for I welcome adulation and ridicule with equal enthusiasm. If you want anything copy writing, album or gig reviews or basically anything written please let me know and I'll see if I can be of service.

Alex Baker's Musical Musings...

Nathan Fake - Hard Islands