LEGO FEET
SKA001CD
SKA001CD
Skam 2011
04 Tracks. 73mins49secs

Amazon UK: CD US: CD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Over a year before their first appearance on Warp with a couple of tracks for the original Artificial Intelligence compilation, Rob Brown and Sean Booth had materialised, the time of an album, as Lego Feet. Infused with Detroit-style techno and futuristic hip-hop, this pre-Autechre output was the first, extremely limited, transmission from Manchester-based Skam, and has since been out of print and changing hands for small fortunes.

Twenty years on, this legendary album is finally getting a full CD release, with a second pressing of the vinyl due imminently. In its original form, the seventeen tracks of this album were presented with no title or information, although three appeared later on as part of the label’s Skampler compilation as Leaves On The Line, Northwest Water and Keyop. The actual pieces have been preserved for the CD version, they have been grouped into four parts, ranging in length from fifteen to twenty-one minutes.

This album is much more purely techno-infused that pretty much anything Autechre have produced since, but one can hear some hints of what the pair would produce for their debut album two years later scattered throughout. The major components which continue to fuel the pair’s sound to this day, techno and hip-hop, are heavily present here, but in much rawer form. At times, the similarity between these and early Black Dog is striking, but the pair’s experimental flair, although in its early stages of development, often pushes this album away from the dance floor into more subtle territories. Their soundscapes are minimal and elegant, but their beats often pack punches, as becomes apparent very early on and at regular intervals throughout, and if they are more straightforward than much of their later work, they are still complex affairs. Elsewhere, they become sparser and barely fill the gaps left in the sonic backdrop, or accelerate into hectic little structures which stumble over equally as frenzied electronic motifs.

The scope is quite vast here, from post acid squelches and smooth techno soundwaves to playful electro and bouts of hip-hop, all mixed up in various combinations to make the whole record work as a consistent piece. At times, Booth and Brown develop a particular theme for a while, taking the time to get into a particular groove and stick to it, yet at others, they jump from one idea to another without giving it a second thought, sometimes repeating the process in quick successions.

Although this album is very much of its era, the music has aged extremely well, and still sounds fresh and relevant today. While this may perhaps be in part due to the record’s lack of exposure over the years, it is nonetheless a strong testament of the pair’s visionary approach. Rob Brown and Sean Booth have moved on considerably since then, but this early document is undeniably extremely valuable as it lays the foundations of the work they would be producing for the next twenty years and counting.

4.7/5

Skam
Amazon UK: CD US: CD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD