deVising, he is introducing us to the laptop experimentalism of Christian Fennesz. the downbeat techno of Matthew Dear and hip hop of Dabrye. Where. say. Kraftwerk were a great romantic novel, then. FOLir Tet is a let century love poem. lDPl
IRMIN SCHMIDT
When Irmin Schmidt appeared on Top of the Pops in 1976. he looked the type who. in such paranoid times. shOuId've been detained at airports. Lank—haired. mirror shaded. and in full possession of all the other aCCOutrements of post-‘68. barricade- manning intellectual fervour. he was every inch the revolutionary. dissenter. conspirator and martyr.
Instead. WlIIl the single ‘I Want More'. the classically trained keyboardist who'd studied under Stockhausen had become. With his cronies in the free-associating centrifugal pulse that was the band Can. a real life avant- disco one-hit-wonder. It went top ten. Number something or other with a bullet. Bang.
A Quarter of a century later. 'I Want More' is the drivetime lifestyle chOice for the eponymous Wild child heroine of lynne Ramsay's existential road mowe. Morvem Ca/lar. It's the first thing yOu hear in the picture. VJIlOOSIlIllg into the nervous System when the girl goes cruising along whatever passes for the
24 THE LIST 1.13779 Apr 200/.
autobahn in pure pleasure- seeking Oban.
By this time. Schmidt had already released his opera of Men/yn Peake's fantasy epic. Gormenghast. and was forging a new conspiraCy WliIl Kumo. aka SCOuse electronocist Jonno Podmore. Now the pair play a DJ set of their own back catalogue. smuggled into a brand new clubland context that looks now as if Can were just waiting for it to be invented and have the volume pumped up all over them. iNCi
PEANUT BUTTER WOLF
Most hip hop ‘playa/ are fuds. In it for limos. Cristal and
bitches: a triumph of style over
content. Not Peanut Butter Wolf. The San Jose-born DJ. producer and musician is at the very cuttingest of cutting edges in the hip hop world and the label he set up in 1996. Stones Throvjx Records. is responsible for some of the most innovative and exciting music around. Chris Manak (for Peanut Butter Wolf is nei has spent the last eight years discovering and producing some wonderful talents {ll‘fI both his own work and his label's have been heavily influential in changing the sOund of the mainstream hip hop world. When he's not running a label. producing ai‘d collaborating. Manak likes to do a turn behind the decks where his life long passion for un(—)arthing music of every conceivable genre from the corners of the vzxorld really comes into its own. iDJi
TRIPTYCH FILMS
One of the highlights of the compact but diverse film programme is Breath Control. Joey Garlands cracking documentary examining the insane hip hop art of human beatboxing. Featuring legends of the mental skill like Doug IA Fresh and Bi/ Markie as well
Peanut Butter Wolf
THE ARCHIVIST MADLIB
You want cool? Meet Madlib. workaholic DJ/remixer/artist and keeper of the faith — beat excavator extraordinaire. His dad was a northern soul legend, his uncle is a jazz trumpeter. of renown. and fans of his own work include the Beastie Boys. D‘Angelo and DJ Shadow. The man truly fuses hip with hop. He has made epic excursions into the Blue Note and Trojan vaults. both deeply respectful yet playful pilfering from two of the finest record labels ever to push the plastic. (‘Ever', in this instance, is not a euphemism for ‘this week‘.) Certainly both rosters possess dizzying depths and ample obscurities to go with the hits-you-know and the stuff-you-don‘t-even-though-you-do. And when Madlib spits and polishes it is
merely to conjure the jinnee.
So what else? Well, he's done an album of Stevie Wonder material that I just have to hear. Then there's the story that when David Axelrod found out who he was (son of soul singer Otis Jackson Snr) the producer came close to tears and hugged him like a grizzly. Too good to be true? Well. don't take my word for it. Here's a bulletin board message from some random fanboy on the interweb: ‘I can't believe there are so many strangers to this dude . . . this guy is one of the most slept on cats ever. His work ethic is ideal. I really envy how he just can crank stuff out so fast and still maintain such a consistency. Yeah, he studies a million different cats, I study him . . . he's an excellent teacher . . .
And humble.’ Cool. (RE)
as nev.’ kids Ike Hall/e: and Scratch. it proinis as to be an absolute boot. I isewheie Rolling Stones' forniei manager and genera (laffie Allfll(}‘.'.' l oog ()idham wr be presenting his rare Stones rocktii‘rentary Char/re is; [)ar/ing. cataloguing the band's Spinal lap estitie adventures on a 1965) tom of Ireland: '.'./."=le there is also a debut UK scree'iiitg for Sun Ra's ' llIi',’ odyssey S,'>.’i;:e is the /’/ace and a f;(ll‘(}(3l‘ll‘§j of a DVI) documer‘taty al><:.i‘. (,‘iermai‘ so'i'c fiti‘tcases (Lari.
vDJl
FRANZ FERDINAND
‘V‘Je want to IYT'tKU intisic that girls can dance to.' they said. He, knew. eve." then. that some woeful indie chicks believe the I)amascan 'oad lives only up He fretboard of a cute guy in a band. Unlike even. other chancel With a l)llll(:l‘. of needy Xeioxed fliers fo' ‘a n ght l'm putt 'ig on Ii". SIea/y 's' and a fevered twinke in his eye. however. I ian/
I eiziiriatid =.'.'e"<:-r"t :lesi>e"atc-. IIKE‘, sav.’ .is about tcw“. calcan Illil' eye a'. ggs " at.
"‘a'zne" ~::‘ kei a/y paces l><,-<I.'<><:"is. ~.'.'a'(:-h::t.s(‘:s. Stereo. l"i::-\. teased as ti‘ a first date i'I)£i.".E$ ::T’ Pleasu'e'. that ::l‘a"ned '.'.’II‘. a ‘resh face. a sei‘se e" htii‘ioui a'iti seek-:2 ‘.'.’|.".". lg skiiis ()l‘ he :lavce‘lcrx. Hat I). the tame tl‘e‘, decided to 'lake Me On? agai'i could see they i‘a<: a roving eye. tie: the}, were already sieepi‘g wit". tl‘e
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stars now. on television shows {ll‘(I maga/ine covers - this one included — all across the land. Now they're coming home again. we wonder if the songs they sing still sound the same? We know they've used il‘tlll‘ on everyone else — but we had them first. and we know they'll never forget .t.
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Triptych runs from Wed 27 Apr-Mon 2 May. See rock & pop, film and club listings for details of events that fall into this issue and Book Now on page 55 for other live music events next issue. For a A. chance to win tickets to see Super Furry Animals, see Offers, page 11.
Profiles written by Neil Cooper, Rodger Evans, Doug Johnstone, David Pollock, Johnathan Robertson and Mark Robertson