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 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.
5/5
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