The psychotic programming of his previous work is still in abundance, if a little more refined, but there is also something a bit more humanistic now, a dimension of emotive response, evidenced for example by sections of sweeping organic sounds, slightly ethereal in nature, or haunting piano refrains and beautiful melodic snatches over moody harmonic beds.
This album has been out for a little while now, since late October 2013 to be specific, but for one reason or another, I’ve only just got my hands on it. Most people who are in the know about these things may well already be familiar with this monumental slab of sonic destruction from the French producer, but regardless of that something still needs to be said.
Do you remember when breakcore was new and exciting? When producers like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Venetian Snares and the like were doing things to snippets of sound that defied expectations and redefined what music could be? They took the then current rave culture staples, born of repeating danceable refrains aimed at pilled-up boppers, out of the main dance floor via the chill out room, screwed it up into a little ball then tossed it in the air only to smash it way beyond the confines of the park fence with a baseball bat. Once the flood gates had burst, all hell broke loose, beats got more and more schizophrenic, chopping between meters and tempo’s with no regard for anything. Programming got more intense and microscopic and sometime after that it all went a bit too introspective and self referential for me. Never mind pop, breakcore began to eat itself. Aphex twin retired, Squarepusher left this planet and ended up on some crazy ultra neo-jazz world with sonic undergrowth that was impenetrable to most, and that ultimate anarchic sonic deviant Kid 606 put out melody heavy chilled out twinkly electronica. We moved on and as time went by we slowly got over it and picked up the pieces of our lives and carried on, trying to avoid the memory of our once beloved bleeps, squeals and distorted micro drum rolls with pitched snares and the occasional tape stop effect. But you know all this, and like me you strive to forget.
But this producer brings hope back to where once there was none. Ruby My Dear manages to strip back the genre of breakcore to its essence. That excitement that so captured our imaginations in the 90s, the energy, the sheer joy of flinging sound around with wild abandon is strong in this one. His previous releases have all been really good solid modern breakcore, but Form brings a slightly more mature and human element to the tracks. The psychotic programming of his previous work is still in abundance, if a little more refined, but there is also something a bit more humanistic now, a dimension of emotive response, evidenced for example by sections of sweeping organic sounds, slightly ethereal in nature, or haunting piano refrains and beautiful melodic snatches over moody harmonic beds. The track “Spleen” is a great example of all of this, a decidedly film noire soundtrack feel, all atmosphere and darkness that drops into a frantic drum and bass trip, but still retaining the initial haunting quality of the intro. Mind you, it does veer off into some fairly insane territory, but then, what do you expect?
The album is exactly that: an album! The tracks lead into one another weaving a tentative thread of narrative over the 50 or so minutes of its duration. An epic journey through sonic landscapes that hark back to a golden age, but also are contemporary and more importantly relevant.
A really cracking release on Ad Noiseam, a label known for harboring some of the more interesting and intellectually resonant artists of recent times. This one from Ruby My Dear has a slightly seminal feel to it. Maybe it just hits exactly the right nostalgic buttons for me personally, but I think it’s clever without being too beard strokey, and works on a deeper human level too. Very highly recommended!
Form is available on Ad Noiseam.
