(July 2009) B12 have gotten some mixed press since their decision to leave the comfort of their London flats and return to the music scene. By 2007 IDM was a distant memory, with the acronym leaving a bad taste in the mouth of many but the music still having a real following. There have been claims that B12 have not managed to hold on to their past genius. This is a contentious issue. B12’s sound changed on their resurfacing, moving away from the hardware synthesizers of the 1990s to adopt software. Of late it seems like some of the criticism thrown B12’s way has stuck to the pair with the release of an expansive back catalogue across a number of double CD albums. This re-issuing campaign has brought music like Space Age and the Prelude compilation to digital format. The latest run in the series, Archives Volume 7, features some of the later B12 material, tracks that were brought to headphones just before, and after, the label receded into the shadows.
The first five tracks on this double CD are from the first release on the resurrected B12, Redcell’s Practopia. The record did see the light of technics back in 1996 but only came out on a limited run of promos before B12 decided to squirrel themselves away for the next 10 years. Five tracks of vintage B12 records sounds, deep Detroit influenced British techno. The Artificial Intelligence sound drops from headphones to create a wonderfully rich innerspace of IDM. “Seedoiz,” the only unreleased track to feature on the double album, first came to light in 1996 but holds onto that golden B12 sound and is as fresh today as it was when it first came out of the analogue machines of old.
The second CD moves into the realm of difficult to find Redcell and B12 tracks, with the “Infosphere” opening and having originally come from the super rare Eurowarp tape. The final installment in Archives Volume 7 starts as it means to go on, giving the listener lost B12 gems; from Redcell’s “Silicon Garden (Likemind Remix)” on the influential Likemind Records to B12’s take on the As One visaged Kirk De Giorgio track “Moon Over The Moab.” Classic techno is followed by classic techno. Laid back warmth is draped over the listener, analogue layer upon analogue layer. The double album finishes up with B12’s most recently composed piece across the Archives series. Originally released on the 5X5 compilation on Seed Records in 2006, “Back From The Edge” marked B12’s return to music.
The Arhives series maps B12’s impressive discography, from Rutter and Golding’s many musical personas to the works of Kirk DeGiorgio and Stasis. Archives Volume 7 ties the loose strings of the B12 discography nicely, bringing together all the last elements of a pioneering label to create an impressive back catalogue remake. Any qualms with some of B12’s new sound can only be silenced with this impressive release, one that give new live to past tracks and new listeners to the wonderful world of 90’s IDM (the acronym being the only bad thing about the sound.)
Archives Volume 7 is out now on B12. [Purchase / Listen
