Strawberry Hotel - new album out 25th Oct

[dubman]

Originally Posted by 34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j

do we know if that's the cover art? if so, very unusual for UW...but then again, so was Drift. and Barking for that matter.

I think it was Autechre that said it takes a new album for everyone to finally get used to and accept their last album for what it is.

It's getting funnier to me that this duo continually evolves faster than we're collectively ready for. Every new LP on the horizon conjures this comparison image of the Tomato-based typographic long jams from nearly 30(!) years ago, even though they've doggedly proven that their 'world is bigger than that. It's annoying as fuck when that next step doesn't jibe with us, but even when it does I have this uncertainty of "is this what it is now?" and I'm stuck between how artists move and what I waaaaant.

After this long, it seems like Rick has been working to bond past and present into one Grand Work that is :Underworld, and usually correcting/expanding our own terms of what that means. It takes some trust, a small example being: if we collectively hate the Drift sampler cover, it's more rewarding to think on why it was chosen instead of crossing our arms about it being lazy.

I don't think this situation is unique to Underworld. There's a perpetual (and necessary) disconnect between artists and audiences, in which we find our fandom through a successful blend of hype and marketing that keeps us attached to an idea, which immediately creates tension with how artists work. We make an ethos out of that idea, and it almost never aligns with where the work could go.

So what's with the uneasy legibility here? why so straightforward, cordoned off? White on neon? Let's think on what it could be, and see how it meshes with what we're hearing. It could just be a miss, but it's more fun this way.

[aphasein]

Originally Posted by dubman

I think it was Autechre that said it takes a new album for everyone to finally get used to and accept their last album for what it is.

It's getting funnier to me that this duo continually evolves faster than we're collectively ready for. Every new LP on the horizon conjures this comparison image of the Tomato-based typographic long jams from nearly 30(!) years ago, even though they've doggedly proven that their 'world is bigger than that. It's annoying as fuck when that next step doesn't jibe with us, but even when it does I have this uncertainty of "is this what it is now?" and I'm stuck between how artists move and what I waaaaant.

Yeah, that is definitely said about Autechre releases (both by them as mentioned, and by their fanbase explaining them). I've realized over the years that Autechre is my second favorite artists after Underworld (not that it matters, but for me they do both have a rich, deep catalog with a lot of breadth, openness on sharing stuff, and focus on graphic design tie-in).

And as shocking and jarring as each new release has been with Autechre, it's always felt very much them each time, even if the leap in music was a lot to process (plus the alien-ness/breaking-new-ground feeling on first listen is really looked forward to in a time-stopping way).

Underworld has always been more comfortable I guess, as I know and expect they can and will go anywhere musically and still retain all their elements and essential feel - it's more an excitement at what they'll do this time and having new variety. The new graphic design era can be jarring, but I'm a big fan of Tomato (like I am for The Designers Republic) and it's always felt like still them and an evolution each time.

Drift really pushed outside that feeling some, but the nature of the project helped it feel more casual/purposeful and the individual track covers felt more coherent, and I guess that partially prepared for the sampler cover to feel less leftfield (definitely bland and disappointing still, along with the final name).

Strawberry Hotel has been an interesting rollercoaster so far and still a lot to go. Mainly the tracks played out a year ahead of time and the design from their single drops all felt really classic and epic, like a later evolution of Mk2 type stuff. I think I was just thrown by the album cover and short track times, as it seemed to break that idea (we love our long UW tracks). The long gestation and lack of communication definitely added to it (and only in relation to how forthcoming/inclusive it has been in the past, not that it's required).

I will say this buildup with the album snippets has exceeded any expectations on the music and been wildly fun (it's been a lot more consistent and dance-based than expected for this many tracks, figured we veer off more). The album cover not being Tomato probably explains to me why it felt so leftfield (but so were the singles and they didn't for some reason). The music is what matters and it has been really exciting so far, can't wait to hear the full tracks. I'm also probably too invested in this as an outlet currently, but it is one of my favorite things and not sure how much more it will happen. Here's looking forward to the remaining two weeks!

[lemonjelly]

been contemplating the "do not shuffle" message. It got me wondering whether the tracks may be blended or sugue at all. I then started wondering if that impacted the track times we have discussed.
I could be looking for things I want to see,..

[saintrik]

Since the track lengths for the 4 already released tracks are the same as the album versions, my guess is that the album is not segued.

Perhaps the "do not shuffle" is more to encourage an uninterrupted listening experience, or that R&K feel like their final track order is critical to the album journey.

Will be interesting to see how the Japanese CD bonus track either works with that order, or against it.