Icarus release Fake Fish Distribution album via Not Applicable Records on 6th February 2012
From their sampler based deconstructions of drum and bass in the 90s to the continuing generative and improvised software based genre smashing that has characterised their more recent releases, Icarus have always carved their own distinctive, eclectic path through the world of electronic music, an approach that has seen them release a plethora of records on labels as diverse as The Leaf Label, Output Recordings, Temporary Residence and Domino.
It is also an approach that has seen both Ollie and Sam independently pursue musical interests in both academic research and with other musicians and ensembles to great acclaim; in particular through the collective Not Applicable, influences that continue to inform the dizzying and unique progression that is their collective alter ego.
Icarus' forthcoming album, Fake Fish Distribution (FFD), their 9th in all, uses generative and parametric techniques to create a musical work that is a reflection of contemporary interpersonal musical interaction.
FFD was composed using normal electronic music production tools and uses the normal medium of music distribution -- the media file download -- but comes in the form of a vast array of structured variations on the album's musical content, feeding unique versions to each individual listener to create a personalised listening experience.
Available as a limited edition of 1000 copies, where each version is different from the next, FFD reinvigorates our understanding of what it means to own a 'copy' of something in an age where the contents of our music collections are not even distinct objects, but the exact same bits that belong elsewhere to others. In the same way we collect numbered vinyl FFD recreates that old fashioned sense of ownership of a unique object and offers a new possibility not found with network-distributed music.
The music of FFD naturally reflects the processes that created it, which of themselves a natural progression of Icarus' style; weaving chaos and chance into an awkward narrative of stuttering, stopping-starting spontaneity that all the while resembles 'real' music in its coherence and its engagement of the listener, who may perceive either that something has gone wrong in the strangest of ways, or that a door has been opened into an unfamiliar alternative future.
Stream Fake Fish Distribution - version 500 sampler:
Project Credits
Music - Ollie Bown and Sam Britton
Mastering - Will Worsley
Artwork - Harrison Graphic Design
Icarus gratefully thank the following for their support of the project: The PRS Foundation (UK), STEIM (Netherlands), Ableton (Germany), The University of Sydney (Australia).
Icarus have remixed some of the biggest names in contemporary electronica, their remix of Fourtet's "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth" was released by Domino on Fourtet's EP of the same name.
They've toured extensively throughout the world, in 2009 they toured Europe, billed with luminaries such as Tim Exile, Furt, Hudson Mohawke and Isan.
Their early album I Tweet The Bird Electric was released by legendary experimental/electronica label Leaf Records and met with ecstatic praise. The Wire magazine included it in their top 10 electronic albums of 2004.
Icarus are appearing live @ Cafe Oto, Dalston, London on 15th February 2012. Supporting Matthew Bourne for Eat Your Own Ears.
"Deliciously and maddeningly unclassifiable" - The Wire
"I Tweet The Birdy Electric opens the door on a beguiling and original soundworld, at times frenetic, at times mournful, but fascinatingly detailed and frequently a lot of fun." - BBC Album Reviews
"Sam Britton and Ollie Bown create uncompromising experimental improvised music that manages to be at once evocative and captivating, and Sylt only serves to strongly reinforce their vision." - The Milk Factory
Photo credit: Steve McInerny
Fake Fish Distribution will be on sale via not-applicable.org on 6th February.
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