Neil Landstrumm

[holotropik]

why do you people have to compare something that can't be compared just like that?

Actually I'm probably like a dog with a bone here, but I'm going to answer your question.

The approach Landstrumm or other like minded producers take to production or live performance is the very thing that keeps a jaded scene fresh. I've been listening to and buying techno for a long time and I'm at a point where I need more meat in the sandwich than ever before to keep me interested. Techno on its own does not do that, and unfortunately listening to a narrow or bland range of music in one set in a club does not appeal to me at all. Getting into techno via rave was the route many people including myself took, whether people always acknowledge it or not... it was rave culture that often hooked them in - and it's ultimately rave culture that keeps the scene truly exciting, be it a warehouse party somewhere, an outdoor rave, a sweaty club, or any other place where people have lost it to the music (or maybe something else) and are getting totally absorbed. Landstrumm is one of the very few that can carry off the feel of rave in a modern context, and it's combining the familiar with the totally weird or unknown that makes it a winner; and actually makes people dance or "throw shapes" like they used to at the beginning. Mills can play "Sonic Destroyer" and it'll feel like a trip down memory lane for a few minutes, Hawtin might drop on oldie too towards the end of a set and true enough it'll probably get the biggest reaction of the night but the likes of Hawtin, Mills or whoever are invariably slaves to a genre that peaked a long time ago and that's why in many ways we're got to a stage where "stripped down" and "minimal" are where it's meant to be at. It's purism to the extreme and as a result we've been left with in my opinion, a lot of poor, balls-less music that masquerades as avant garde (and might kind of be in some ways), but lacking the energy or drive of yesteryear. By the way, I still respect Mills and Hawtin a lot but I think it's their own very individual approaches to pushing the music forward that have ironically created a monster or two that ran out of control; I include the current wave of "minimal" as being one of those monsters. I know some may disagree with me here, but despite the early inventiveness of nu-minimal I think it's rapidly going down the drain.

For me personally I feel the likes of Landstrumm's set had so many ingredients that just are not in other people's sets or music - It has rave elements, it has experimental beats, crazy sounds, supreme bass. It can pass itself off as techno, it can pass itself off as a hybrid of old skool, all in all it's amazing party music. For some people I spoke to the other day they were literally like "Wow, I've never heard anything quite like that", and showing genuine excitement. THAT's what it's truly about. Also consider that he was playing live and displaying how live is best performed, i.e. with machines and the room for error. For that reason people will anticipate his next performance when they see his name on a poster, although if they see "live" after someone else's name they'll know not to expect any more that a laptop and one controller to get the party moving - which lets face it, is not very exciting to watch at all. "Live PA" or "Live" in brackets after a name used to mean something but now it doesn't carry quite the same weight. People used to be bowled over by Orbital or guys that had equipment (like a band would). This is VERY important to create a positive and credible image for this music, something which is has slid a lot over the last number of years, and really needs to return.

So in a nutshell - I think Landstrumm's approach stands for experimentalism, diversity and FUN - paying no heed to purism and effortlessly combining old skool/nu-skool music and techniques, whilst always sounding proper underground. Some of you may disagree with what I've said, but all I know is that I rarely dance and for an hour and a half the other night I was stuck to the floor going absolutely mad! Felt as good as it did as when I first heard or danced to rave music, something that I haven't felt in a long time.

I so totally agree with that...

[daviec]

I love Landstrumms stuff. Really pushing things forward. I nearly had him at our night in Glasgow lat elast year, but it fell through. I think I'll need to look back into that one :techno:

[BastardoElectrico]

Any of ye guys have that old release of Landstumms on Peacefrog? Its called "inhabit the machines" or something like that...
Classic stuff anyway puts in mind of Jamie Liddels safety by numbers and the like, screaming analog techno :cheese:

[RDR]

I like Neil Landstruum.. Really nice fella. Great music,a true professional.

Praline Horse is still one of my fav tracks.

[crime]

Any of ye guys have that old release of Landstumms on Peacefrog? Its called "inhabit the machines" or something like that...
Classic stuff anyway puts in mind of Jamie Liddels safety by numbers and the like, screaming analog techno :cheese:

there were 3 e.p.s and an album (Neil's debut LP):

Index Man
Mcap
Inhabit the machines
Brown by august LP

fusion of raw chicago jack with sheffield bleep.. Index Man and Mcap were repressed on scandinavia a couple of years ago, the other two are impossible to get hold of now.. BUT the recent stuff is very different to these early works, I mean, that was 10 years ago now..
there's quite an interesting photo archive from the past 10 years on Neil's site, check it: http://www.scandinavianyc.com/nickedidea.html

[BastardoElectrico]

[quote="crime"]

Any of ye guys have that old release of Landstumms on Peacefrog? Its called "inhabit the machines" or something like that...
Classic stuff anyway puts in mind of Jamie Liddels safety by numbers and the like, screaming analog techno :cheese:

there were 3 e.p.s and an album (Neil's debut LP):

Index Man
Mcap
Inhabit the machines
Brown by august LP

fusion of raw chicago jack with sheffield bleep.. Index Man and Mcap were repressed on scandinavia a couple of years ago, the other two are impossible to get hold of now.. BUT the recent stuff is very different to these early works, I mean, that was 10 years ago now..

Yeah have Index Man and Mcap, but have been looking for Inhabit the Machines for years since it was nicked off me at a party,
i know its quite different from his new stuff but still have a soft spot for his old records. Never heard the Brown by August Lp, is it along the same lines as Bedrooms and Cities

[crime]

Yeah have Index Man and Mcap, but have been looking for Inhabit the Machines for years since it was nicked off me at a party,
i know its quite different from his new stuff but still have a soft spot for his old records. Never heard the Brown by August Lp, is it along the same lines as Bedrooms and Cities

as i said before, every album was a progression into a new sound for neil, brown by august was basically along the same lines as the first 3 e.p.s for peacefrog to quote neil: "the landstrumm wee woo sound"... bedrooms and cities is out there on it's own, the only "death garage" record in existance, predating grime by almost 10 years.. good luck finding inhabit the machines, I've seen it go for silly money on e-bay... check Landstrumm's book of fame if you want the chronological lowdown on the whole brighton/edinburgh techno axis of the mid 90's http://www.scandinavianyc.com/fame1.html

[djshiva]

wow...i didn't know these were so damn rare. i have both "brown by august" and "inhabit the machines".

sometimes it pays to live in a midwest city where only a few other people dig through the techno bins...