Until Here For Years isn’t like any previous Proem album, and from an artistic perspective, is an amazing reinvention from an artist who has already pulled it off a couple of times before.
[Newswire] If you have been a part of the IDM scene since the peak in the late 90s, you’re probably familiar with Proem. From a series of genre-bending glitchy, instrumental pop albums with sugar sweet melodies underlaid by absurdly abrasive Autechre-esque beats, to dark beatless ambience, and a number of different spaces in-between, Richard Bailey has applied his signature melodic sensibilities to an ever expanding catalog, now spanning some 20 years of works. Throughout that time, I’ve been a fan on and off, usually finding several gems on every album but not necessarily being swayed by a lot of the post-Negativ / Burn Plate No.1 works. However, fast forward to 2019 with Until Here For Years, and I find my expectations turned more or less upside down.
This would certainly be one of, if not the singularly most abrasive (in the best way possible) IDM albums to come from Proem. The album. in many ways, brings to mind the tactics of Somatic Responses and Brainwaltzera wandering through a bazaar filled with all the glitchy, funky, piercing tricks of the last 20 years of IDM music and selecting a handful for each track on the album. These soundscapes are deftly combined with Bailey’s unique melodies to create what’s essentially a Proem-led tour of IDM’s history. Not to detract at all from the originality of the work here, although it does call to mind various styles of the last two decades, it’s really more a matter of capturing the essence of the era and incorporating it into his now vast personal palette. Leaning far more on abrasive percussive arrangements and noisy abstractions, it’s not new territory for Proem, but it’s the first time these elements have unmistakably taken the wheel and put the melodies in the back seat.
In summary, this isn’t like any previous Proem album, and from an artistic perspective, is an amazing reinvention from an artist who has already pulled it off a couple of times before.
Until Here For Years is out n5MD April 19th on 180 gram burnt yellow vinyl, limited to 250 units worldwide, Digipak compact disc and ultra limited Minidisc. [Pre-order]
