PLAID - Not For Threes/Rest Proof Clockwork

07'01

Click on this cover and access the Warp Records web site

PLAID
Double Figure
(WARP74) Warp Records 2001
19 Tracks. 70mins00secs.
Buy this CD on line now

Have Plaid lost it, or are they still well above the rest? Have they released anything good at all since the split with Ken Downie? Reading at the comments posted on the Warp message board, these are matters that divide the electronic population. We have no intention to settle the argument, however, it is certain that things have considerably changed on the Plaid front since the early days, as Trainer reminded everyone last year. Ed Handley and Andy Turner have recoding under a handful of pseudonyms to concentrate on Plaid, for the time being at least, and they are easier about talking to the media. So, the question remains… Is Double Figure really worth it?
Double Figure, branded by the band, as a form of joke, is the last in the reverse trilogy started (closed?) with Not For Threes, and deals with the duality of the ear. Whatever the concept, this album remains the most accessible of the three. As much as Not For Threes was colourful and chaotic, and Restproof Clockwork was peaceful and dark, Double Figure is light-hearted and almost pop, with waves of melancholy crashing onto the rocks of happiness at regular intervals. It is quite ironic then that this album actually seems to take longer to get into than its predecessors. Double Figure reveals itself slowly, and requires a more interactive listening, as the tracks often works on many levels. Once again, Plaid have brought on board of bunch of collaborators, including Bennet and Mara, who already featured on the previous two albums. However, this time round, they appear very much more in the background than previously. Double Figure is a rounder, more homogenous record, as Ed and Andy present here a more mature, more focussed sound. Their melodies are more serene (Eyen, Zamami, Sincetta), and straightforward (Squance, New Family). But their constructions remain tightly held together, formed around eclectic beat patterns and sound sources.
As tricky as the music produced by Plaid gets, the duo manages more than ever to make it sound simple and pleasant with this new album. With tracks rarely going over the five minutes mark, and clear melodic lines, are almost the complete antithesis of bands such as Autechre, and have inspired as much artists and generated as much interest. Double Figure, if not their best work to date, remains captivating and genuinely creative.

TRACK LISTING

01	Eyen	11	Twin Home
02	Squance	12	Tak 2
03	Assault On Precinct Zero	13	Sincetta
04	Zamami	14	Tak 3
05	Seversum	15	Porn Coconut Co
06	Ooh Be Do	16	Tak 4
07	Light Rain	17	Ti Bom
08	Tak 1	18	Tak 5
09	New Family	19	Manyme
10	Zala

08'00

PLAID
Trainer
(WARP74) Warp Records 2000
26 Tracks. 146mins36secs.
Buy this CD on line now

Ed Handley and Andy Turner are Plaid. They’ve been making music together for over ten years, and, as two third of Black Dog Productions, released Bytes, in 1993. It would become one of the seminal electronic records of the nineties. In 1995, they regained their freedom, and kept on recording here and there under numerous monikers including Balil or Atypic. 1997 saw the release of their second album, Not For Threes, on Warp. And two years later, they brought out Rest Proof Clockwork, third sibling of the Plaid family.
It is now time to step back in time, and discover or rediscover these rare early tracks, including part of their first vinyl only album Mbuki Mvuki. From the hardcore of Uneasy Listening to the drill and bass of Angry Dolphin, there is like a theory of electronica evolution here. And it is not difficult to see why these guys are so influential to this day. But the real Plaid sound doesn’t really have anything to do with the aforementioned styles. Their electronica is a lot cleverer than that. Beats are intricate, melodies are simple and efficient, and samples are used with discretion… In a word, their music is more emotional than artificial. This compilation constitutes the missing link between late eighties dance music and today’s electronic inventions. Intrinsically part of the Warp family, Plaid have paved the way for musicians of today.

TRACK LISTING

TRAINER 1		TRAINER 2
01	Uneasy Listening	01	Fly Wings
02	Anything	02	Whirling Of Spirits
03	Slice Of Cheese	03	Choke And Fly
04	Link	04	Small Energies
05	Perplex	05	Jolly
06	Summit	06	Letter
07	Bouncing Cheeks	07	Soft Key
08	Yak	08	Reishi
09	Scoobs In Columbia	09	Uland
10	Chirpy	10	Tan Sau
11	Prig	11	Android
12	Eshish	12	Angry Dolphin
13	Blah
14	Norte Route

CLASSICS

PLAID
Not For Threes
(WARP54) Warp Records 1997
16 Tracks. 68mins57secs.
Buy this CD on line now

PLAID
Rest Proof Clockwork
(WARP63) Warp Records 1999
15 Tracks. 64mins46secs.
Buy this CD on line now

Plaid are two third of Black Dog, famous for the Bytes album a good few years ago. They since then carried on under the Plaid moniker, and released two albums for Warp, and collaborated with artists like Nicolette on Let No-one Live Rent Free in My Head, and Bjork. And these two ladies have graced them with collaborations on Not For Threes, Nicolette on Extork, and Bjork on Lilith.
These albums, although in the same vein, are quite different. Not For Threes is the more accessible of the two, and the funkier too. Although the music is very electronic, the violin or accordion you can hear on few tracks don't seem out of place. And the if the voices seem out of place on the first listen, it soon becomes evident that all that form a very "homogenic" production.
Rest Proof Clockwork still hold the trademark of Not For Threes, but the tracks are a lot darker, more intricate. This album requires your attention a lot more. The voices are gone, and it takes longer to see the light coming out these tracks.
Plaid have definitely a very recognisable sound and a personality and these two albums are of a very high quality indeed.
Not For Threes

Rest Proof Clockwork

TRACK LISTING - Not For Threes

01	Abla Eedio	09	Ladyburst
02	Kortisin	10	Rakimou
03	Headspin	11	Ol
04	Myopia	12	Seph
05	Lat	13	Lilith
06	Extork	14	Forever
07	Prague Radio	15	Getting
08	Fer	16	Milk

TRACK LISTING - Rest Proof Clockwork

01	Shackbu	09	Dang Spot
02	Ralome	10	Pino Pomo
03	Little People	11	Last Remembered Thing
04	3 Recurring	12	Lambs Eyes
05	Buddy	13	New Bass Hippo
06	Dead Sea	14	Churn Maiden
07	Gel Lab	15	Air Locked
08	Tearisci

ALSO CHECK

THE BLACK DOG BYTES Warp Records 1993 Buy it on line now	Object Orient Caz Carceres Ex Novum Phil (1) Focus Mel Phil (2) Olivine Phil (3) Clan (Mongol Nordes) Phil (4) Yamenn Phil (5) Fight The Hits Phil (6) Merck Phil (7) Jauqq 3/4 Heart
THE BLACK DOG TEMPLE OF TRANSPARENT BALLS GPR 1993	Cost I Cost II 4, 7, 8 The Actor And Audience Jupiler Kings Of Sparta Sharp Shooting On Saturn Mango Cycle In the Light of Grey The Crete That Crete Made
THE BLACK DOG SPANNERS Warp Records 1995 Buy it on line now	Raxmus Bolt 1 Barbola Work Bolt 2 Psycosyin Chase The Manhattan Bolt 3 Tahr Bolt 4 Further Harm Nommo Bolt 5 Pot Noddle Bolt 6 End Of Time Utopian Dream Bolt 7 Frisbee Skip Chesh
THE BLACK DOG PARALLEL GPR 1995	Parallel Squelch Erb Glossolalia Hub Vanttool Aural Wallpaper Rainbow Bridge Virtual HMMM... VIR2L

THE SURFER'S GUIDE TO PLAID

PLAID
Official Plaid web site, it will take over your PC. A bit slow to load, but worth the wait.

WARP RECORDS
Warp is certainly the most exiting label of the last ten years. Home of British electronica, it also hosts some very good pop-like stuff.

THE BLACK DOG
Plaid were once part of the Black Dog Productions. This fans site is very restricted, but you can get some more information about Ken Downie's latest adventures.