ISAN - Clockwork Menagerie

09'02

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ISAN
Clockwork Menagerie
(MM026) Morr Music 2002
14 Tracks. 70mins08secs.

At the end of the nineties, two Scottish lads were finally getting the recognition they deserved with their first largely distributed album, Music Has The Right To Children. Boards Of Canada, as they are known, were on the verge of changing the face of electronica for good. Around the same time, at the other end of the country, Anthony Ryan and Robin Saville, aka Isan, standing for Integrated Services Analogue Network, were following a very similar path, releasing numerous 7” and EPs on almost as many labels, including Liquefaction Empire, Atomic Recordings, Wurlitzer Jukebox, Fragment Recordings, Earworm and Bad Jazz, and, eventually, a first album, Beatronics, on Tugboat. While the Scotts got widespread recognition across the board, the music of Isan, drawing on similar warm melodic elements, remained a rare delicacy, reserved to initiated listeners. After three more albums, released on Morr Music, Isan are finally collecting their rare releases, most of them no longer available, on one album.
Following last year’s Lucky Cats, Clockwork Menagerie compiles fourteen tracks released between 1996 and 1999. Assembled in no particular chronological order, this album presents some of the duo’s best moments. Relying on warm analogue sounds and simple melodies more than on complexity and total abstraction, Isan’s music present an interesting alternative to the likes of Autechre or Aphex Twin. This collection of early recordings denotes however slightly more complex structures than their more recent work, with a tendency to present a somewhat less polished sound. Clockwork Menagerie album is a sharp reminder of their journey so far. Yet it doesn’t undermine their more recent by all means. All throughout their career, the pair have demonstrated that abstraction can accommodate melodic forms and emotions without necessarily deflecting its own object. Their dexterity at manipulating sounds into organic musical forms has always been an intrinsic part of their manifestos, driving them to concentrate on a variety of aspects often overlooked by their contemporaries. From their early recordings, it became obvious that Isan were offering something unique. The association with Boards Of Canada seems almost unavoidable, although their music is in many ways entirely different. Their insistent use of analogue sounds combined with found sounds and external sonic sources places them at an equal level with the Scottish duo on the more conceptual branch of electronica, but the way they organise them against each other in atmospheric formations differs greatly. Their compositions express a generally more intangible obscurity, with melodies wrapping themselves in the heart of the sonic structures rather than the other way round. This gives their music a darker touch, with Autolung, Comb, Eeriel or, to a lesser extend, Remegio being perfect examples of this here.
Clockwork Menagerie provides a perfect opportunity to rediscover some of Isan’s most impressive moments, and establish a connection between their early work and their most recent releases. This is by all means a unique record in their discography, emphasizing the unique aspect of each of these recordings in the duo’s work. An utterly essential album.

TRACK LISTING

01	Autolung	08	Eusa's Head
02	Betty's Lament	09	Phoeb
03	Calf	10	Remegio
04	Comb	11	Rron
05	Cubillo	12	Schema
06	Damil 85	13	Titled, Not Tithed
07	Eeriel	14	Uim

ISAN DISCOGRAPHY

BEAUTRONICS Tugboat Records 1998 Buy it on line now _	Vosill Tint 1 - Barely Barley Paintchart Tint 2 - Rosy Apples Ampule Tint 3 - Clearly Caramel Bolselin Spinning Jennie Tint 4 - C'est Le Tempo Tint 5 - Glittery Disco Blue Skeek Tint 6 - Cheeky Cherry Tint 7 - Bloody Mary Sublimation Anklet _
SALAMANDER Morr Music 1999 _	Peg Prooger Clipper Salamander Lid Farmer Twentyfive Thirtyone Still Blue Happy Pet In A Car Snot Effekl Braille Foundry _
DIGITALIS Darla 1999 Buy it on line now _	Zip Left, Zip Right Falling 'Bean Sea M. Mouse Reno Dilly Quink Like Ink _
SALLE D'ISAN Morr Music 2001 _
LUCKY CAT Morr Music 2001 _	Cutlery Favours Table Of Deciduous Species Fueled Recently In The Sahara What This Button Did Anteaters Eat Ants Kittenplan A Read Again Cathart Caddis Scraph You Can Use Bamboo As A Ruler _
CLOCKWORK MENAGERIE Morr Music 2002	Autolung Betty's Lament Calf Comb Cubillo Damil 85 Eeriel Eusa's Head Phoeb Remegio Rron Schema Titled, Not Tithed Uim

THE SURFER'S GUIDE TO ISAN

ISAN
A rather basic, though very personal, web site, the Isan home offers a good insight on the band's world.

MORR MUSIC
Lovely little site from one of the most consistent record labels around