Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

I forget, was iLoud the one with the early OwB review too?

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Scribble is nothing like NUXX. How could anyone even make that comparisson?

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Maybe because that's the most that the majority of people know from them?

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Ok, google translate sucks and I'm sick at home with a cold, so what better project for the day than to translate that review. Here's the first bit.. Enjoy.

I'm not sure everything said is entirely accurate, but I translated it as-is, so don't blame me for inaccuracies in what they say.. blame me for poor translation :)

----

On 1st June, Underworld opened a public Japanese twitter. Things are really heating up as we head towards the new album, "Barking". With the ban on reviews lifted, iLOUD's chief editors Hirada and Tanigami attended a listening party, and we bring you their review in the form of a conversation.

[Name readings randomly chosen. Names are abbreviated in the conversation so I'll call them H and T]

H: First up, the most surprising thing for me was that tracks 7 and 9 are more like "songs".
T: Yeah. Most of the tracks have singing from Karl. On that point, you could say that the whole thing has a "new wave"-ish feel to it.
H: Up till now the only times we've had singing from Karl like this was the so called "Mk 1" (before Daren Emmerson joined).. since then we haven't seen it.
T: Well, there's been singing on the albums, but it would only be like 1-2 tracks per album. Another big thing on this album was that out of 9 tracks, 8 have an external producer joining in.
H: This also surprised me. The feel of the tracks varies with the producers' "colour", which makes it overflow with variety, and before you know it you've listened to the whole album!
T: That said, all the producers are from the club scene, so it makes the dance flavour of the album that much deeper.
H: Yeah. To put it simply, Barking is singing you can dance to.. an Underworld album unlike those before. So, let's take a look at it track-by-track.


01. Bird 1

H: A tech house tune with producer Dubfire.
T: Unlike the Deep Dish days, Dubfire's become quite a tech/minimal person recently. He's also friends with Richie Hawtin.
H: Maybe because of that this track has a really light feel, and I'm really into Karl's vocals. The harmonies are also lovely. At its high point, there's some slightly trancy synth brass also coming out.
T: It's got a slightly exciting feeling of "ooh, this is a little bit different to Underworld up till now".

02. Always Loved A Film
H: Mark Knight and D.Ramirez from Toolroom Records join in. Tech house that gradually gets going.

T: Karl's vocals are perfectly added.. the guitar and piano and strings are all there.. it's "pop" in a good way. It's got some catchy elements, so probably one of the killer tunes from Barking.
H: It's likely to do well at Big Box [Name of a club in Tokyo], so it's sure to be a hit from the dance floors.


03. Scribble
H: Already public.. the drum&bass collaboration with High Contrast from the Hospital label.
T: When I first heard it, I was a little surprised. But going back to it, Underworld have been doing great break beats from way back. Born Slippy was also an original "upper" style of break-beat track. Scribble's a really happy feeling track, I just want to listen to it over and over.
H: This track has been around in its original form for quite a while, and was played quite a bit live, but I think this takes that original and completes it in a kind of pop way.

04. Hamburg Hotel
H: A collaboration track with Dub-step producers Appleblim and Al Tourettes.
T: This has a bit of processed vocals included, but they're installed very basically [?? not really sure what he's saying here..]. It's a track that feels like a continuation of the last album, Oblivion With Bells.
H: I love the "gamelan" sort of minimal sequenced sound. Karl also loves Skull Disco etc.

05. Grace

H: Dubfire was also in on this one.
T: Although, it's not a really techno feel, sorta dark..
H: An 8 minute ride with a new-wave tone. The vocals are like a previous Brian Ferry.

06. Between Stars
H: A tech house collaboration with Mark Knight and D.Ramirez. It's already made its debut live.
T: Without being too earnest, it comes on bit-by-bit. It's a hands-up floor-killer [not a typo, but floor killer really doesn't translate well as-is.. maybe think floor-filler]. Like "Always Loved A Film" and "Scribble", it's sure really to get going live.
H: The strings are also great.

07. Diamond Jigsaw
H: Collaboration with Paul Van Dyk.. this is a surprising track.
T: This really was a surprise. Although for anyone who's followed underworld since the 90s, maybe not such a surprise. They've had contact with Sven Vath before, but not PVD. That said, it's not the typical "German Trance". It's got some rocking guitar in there.
H: In recent years PVD's been doing trance with pop/rock vocals, and group vocal tunes, so it's kinda at that end of things. The arpeggio at the peak is quite trancy though..


08. Moon In Water
H: A collaboration with High Contrast, but this is not drum and bass.
T: Sort of disco-like taste to the groove in the way this track is made.
H: The female voice with poetry is through the whole track. Within the album it's quite a different feel.


09. Louisiana
H: This is not a collaboration, it's pure Underworld piano-ballad sorta track.
T: It's a bit like a Robert Wyatt sort of track. Actually there was a track from right at the beginning of the Mk2 era called Minneapolis. It's almost like a continuation of that.
H: Anyway, it makes a great closing to the album.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Thank you so much for that! Getting very interested now

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

I wonder if they ditched the computer vocals in Moon in Water for Juanita.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

that's odd they mention 'minneapolis' as a piano ballad, it's along the same lines as spikee and bigmouth. perhaps they meant mother earth, or tongue?

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

I bet it's more likely they've confused Vicki for Juanita.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Louisiana is the song they titled Jumping the Cran on the lemonworld broadcast. Sounds nothing at all like Minneapolis.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Exciting, but honestly, don't trust anything the google translator says :)

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

HOW DO YOU KNOW>?

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

ah, the re-translation makes it seem like they were referring to BS Original, and not NUXX. THAT comparisson I can see.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

We shall hear.

Writing about music is....well, you know.

I don't care much for what some person i've never met thinks of the new record. I'll make my own impression. In the meantime, eager anticipation.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

What leads you to say this?

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

A source who has the album identified it.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

hmmm... I feel the same feeling when OWB was not released: 99% of the board has it, but not me. :(

I always disliked the side conversations/gossip and certain facades of this board. :confused:

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

I dont have it and only know one person who does have it, and he's not sharing (and rightly so). I'm as in the dark as to what it sounds like. When and if it leaks you'll find a copy im sure. If they dont announce the special euro editions soon im gonna have to pre-order the japanese version.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

I don't have it and I haven't heard it but the one line of lyrics I was told was on it matches Jumping the Cran.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Yer, Japanese Edition looking positive until something gets announced, till then I'll d/l the leak and then upload a better quality copy.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

No idea, but I ordered it anyway, can always cancel/re-order a different flavour when more info is available.

Hope I don't get stung for duty again this time, cost more than the friggin' CD last time.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

so, to summarise feeling;

dear underworld. please don't forget The Rest Of The World Outside Of Your Native Japan and force fans to jump through expensive hoops for stuff. again. it only makes the shady download option look more attractive.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

I'm gonna say that bonus CD is full of rough versions of tracks? ALAF version 2 etc...

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Don't we all hope so.
Studio YDS please!!

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Yeah, perhaps cd2 will be filled with amazing new fresh cuts of material that we have never heard before..... like Bampoo :rolleyes:

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Except for the extra track, the japanese versions were the same as the RotW. Hardly justifies the shady download option. Though I'm sure many fans downloaded the Japanese version of the album just to get the extra track having already bought the CD/DVD. Not sure what the Barking Box will be though, or if thats Japan-only. What irks me is that Loads of Birds is still a japan-only track, and that the JAL to Tokyo EP is also still Japan-only. Even the Bruce Lee (Buffalo Daughter remix) is still Japan-only and that was released over 10 years ago.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Found this by searching for the Cat No, roughly translated...

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=PCD...&start=10&sa=N

Another translation has the contents of the DVD as different.

So looks like a remix CD, 36 page booklet and DVD possibly with different content to the other edition.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Appleblim colab should be interesting

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

japanese version=DO WANT

let's see where it pops out. sadly, everytime i want to purchase a japanese u/w album here, the price raises to 100dollars! 40bucks is still payeable in any sense, but i'm afraid its price will rise on ebay...

if someone can point me to a reliable presale...

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

paying 100 dollars is not a big deal if you really want something
to never get it delivered is much worse
I´m still waiting for two live recordings from "Live Here Now" that I ordered 2008

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

When it comes to purchasing Japanese albums, it's useful to know that Japan has some weird price controls whereby for the first 2 years of an album's life, the price is fixed, so it's doesn't matter where you buy it from; the price is going to be the same everywhere.

The only differentiation (especially for overseas purchases) is shipping costs and customer service.

So, with that said, several of us (myself included) have had very good experiences over the years ordering from hmv.co.jp. I've found their shipping costs to be reasonable, their shipping speed fast, and their site easy to navigate in English.

Amazon.co.jp is another reputable option, of course.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

my issue isn't how easy it is or isn't to get stuff from hmv.jp - it's that we have to do it in the first place.

bang on all they like about about romford and essex - i live 2 miles from fucking essex, yet have to wait and pay extra for exclusive stuff to come from tokyo?

i'm hoping this won't prove to be the case and that uw do give a toss about fans beyond japan. but on past behaviour...

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

i'm with ian on this one

music should be shared and available to all, not just to japanese fans who ONLY buy stuff if it contains exclusive stuff...

the rest of the world copes ok buying cd's without exclusive tracks what makes japan so special that the standard release is NOT good enough for them... its not a slight on the japanese, just the system thats been created that demands bands make content especially for them... its not uw's fault either really, but in this digital age - its not so hard to make things available to all - then no one is MORE special than anyone else

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

i also share the same opinion as the two posters above. i love buying records and i've already bought expensive special editions from other bands. with OwB i really wanted the japanese edition, but the price (U$100) was way beyond the real list price, specially if it was just for some extra content. no big boxes, posters, books, vinyl and cd records or whatever else special editions have. just a couple cds in a regular box. i really liked how athens came packaged and the print, and how easy it was to get. it's kind of unfair, specially for fans who live far from countries that will get a official release. most of us rely on the international catalogs from our local record stores.

or ebay.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

I think you guys are barking (ahem) up the wrong tree. UW didn't invent the Japanese bonus track. Again, that's an artifact of the artificial album price controls in Japan. Because those price controls tend to make the album releases in Japan higher even than imports from another region (say, the US), the Japanese labels/distributors often insist on some type of exclusive bonus in order to try to keep people from buying cheaper imports.

You can read more about this phenomenon in the Debbie Gibson FAQ :D

So you'll just have to accept that Japanese bonus tracks exist. That aside, regarding the editions (Regular/Deluxe/Limited), we don't know yet whether or not all the different editions will be available worldwide, so it's a bit premature to get panties bunched over that, eh?

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

don't think you've made a strong enough argument for that

oh, absolutey!

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

AFAIK ian doesnt wear any panties.

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

you promised that would be our secret :eek::(

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Yes totally agree - it's difficult to write about music and to me it's always the way it makes you feel that gets me.....the review was interesting to read but it doesn't tell me what it really sounds like......and while I'm at it - how can you compare Scribble to Born Slippy!!!

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

Maybe it was mentioned before and I missed it, but according to trafficjpn, the Japanese bonus track is Simple Peal, and the Deluxe Edition DVD contents are:

1. Bird 1 - Directed by Dylan Kendle
2. Always Loved A Film - Directed by Graham Wood
3. Scribble - Directed by Toby Vogel
4. Hamburg Hotel - Directed by Dylan Kendle
5. Grace - Directed by Jason Kedgley
6. Between Stars - Directed by Michael Horsham
7. Diamond Jigsaw - Directed by Simon Taylor & Hudson-Powell
8. Moon In Water - Directed by Timothy Bricknell
9. Louisiana - Directed by Toby Vogel & Danielle Short


Danielle's directing now? Look forward to it :)

- Matthew

Re: New Underworld album - Barking (Sept. 13, Sept 2 Japan)
 

So it's the same conception like CB's Further DVD with visuals for each track.