Out of print
ERIC RANDOM No-Go
Eric Random is a British pioneer of post punk electronica. Born in 1961 Eric soon joined the Buzzcocks’ road crew. At the age of 17 he became a third of a group called The Tiller Boys, the other two being Pete Shelley and Francis Cookson. They played their live debut in 1978, supporting Joy Division at Manchester’s Factory club. For Pete Shelley The Buzzcocks were his main concern, so The Tiller Boys soon fell apart. Eric founded Free Agents with Cookson and soon met Richard Kirk and Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire. Thus, he got involved in the Sheffield scene as much as the Manchester one. Despite the two cities being only an hour’s drive apart, their respective music scenes were very different. Manchester was the number one spot for postpunk with band like Joy Division/New Order, The Smiths, James, Magazine or A Certain Ratio. Sheffield went a very different way. It is birthplace for groups like The Cabs, The Human League, Clock DVA, ABC or Heaven 17, all influential European acts of electronic music. Eric Random felt home in both scenes. His first solo efforts were recorded and produced at Cabaret Voltaire’s Western Works studio. A change in sound became obvious. Eric later merged his electro funk with ethnic influences. Playing with people like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sparked an interest in sufi music. He travelled extensively, regularly to India where he once even spent eleven months in a row. Random also fronted Nico’s band until her untimely death in 1988. They recorded and album together, Camera Obscura, produced by John Cale. Random then went on a long hiatus. In 2014 he made his comeback - since then three purely electronic albums have been released, the fourthnow being No-Go. On this new long player, Eric goes further into an electronic dance direction, leaving his ethnic influences further behind. Think Wrangler, think Kraftwerk and you get the idea. Full tracklist: 1. Synergy 2. Compulsion 3. Is The Sun Up 4. Dirt 5. Fundamental Phenomena 6. The Familiar 7. Sinuous Seduction 8. It's Come Again 9. No-Show 10. What Does It Feel Like 11. Acetylene Dream Pt II. Price: 18,-/copy incl. worldwide shipping.
Sein neuestes Werk No-Go lässt seine Wurzeln in der elektronischen Musik der Jahre um 1980 ebenso durchscheinen wie einen großen Erfahrungsschatz und ein vermutlich bis heute nie erlahmtes Interesse an elektronischer Musik – das Label nennt u.a. Wrangler als Vergleichsgröße. Mit ihren hypnotischen Loops und dem verfremdeten Gesang entfalten die elf Tracks eine hypnotische Wirkung und offenbaren immer wieder auch eine spielreische Seite was dem Umgang mit Tempo und bizarren Sounds angeht.
(African Paper, December 2020)
Kraftwerk comparisons are obvious and inevitable but relevant in the sonic palette of tracks like Fundamental Phenomena. (...) There is an undeniable quality to the production, and some strong tracks, and as dark synthpop to work to rather than idolise, this is worth a listen.
(Chain DLK, December 2020)
Theres no questioning Eric Randoms pedigree, having begun his musical career with The Tiller Boys with Pete Shelley and Francis Cookso before becoming part of the post-punk and experimental milieus of both Manchester and Sheffield, recording his first solo works at Cabaret Voltaires studio, and later fronting Nico’s band until her death in 1988. (...) No-Go is his fourth album since his return in 2014 following a lengthy time out. Pitched as a step further into an electronic dance direction, and inviting comparisons to Wrangler and Kraftwerk, No-Go is brimming with 80s stylisations, and all the 808 and Akai snare cracks and robotix vocals you could imagine are crammed into these eleven tracks. (...) In going back to his roots, Random has really hit the zone and delivered some old-school stompers in the process.
(Aural Aggravation, December 2020)
Son nouvel album No-Go est un retour aux sources, celles enracinées dans les eighties électroniques de Kraftwerk, New Order, Yello ou Human League, enveloppées de bifurcations bien contemporaines, faisant crisser les machines sur des pistes de danse aux revêtements patinés de sueur et de rythmiques martiales. Un aller simple vers un futur nourri de cette histoire qu il a en partie aider à bâtir. Très fortement recommandé.
(Silence And Sound, January 2021)
Jeszcze więcej tanecznej energii mają nagrania, które lokują się w formule oldskulowego techno. Choć w takich utworach, jak No-Show czy Acetylene Dream Part II nie ma etnicznych sampli, brzmią one jak klasyczne dokonania Richarda H. Kirka z początku lat 90., choćby pod szyldem Sandoz. Acidowe loopy i psychodeliczny klimat przywołują wspomnienie wczesnego rave’u w brytyjskim wydaniu (The Familiar czy Fundamental Phenomena).
(Nowa Muzyka, January 2021)
Eric Random ist seit Ende der Siebzigerjahre in England dafür mitverantwortlich, dass Electronica und Post-Punk so reizvoll wurden, wie sie bis heute sind. Mit seinem neusten Album No-Go schliesst der Künstler an diese Vergangenheit an und offeriert uns ein Album, das voller Zutaten und Methoden der damaligen Szene ist. Reduziertes Klangspektrum, Sprechgesang und eine kühle beweist zu Beginn gleich, dass die heutigen Produktionsmittel keinesfalls missachtet wurden.
(Art Noir, January 2021)
No-Go is the follow-up to 2019s upbeat and entirely electronic Wire Me Up and mixes techno influences with the melodious nature of prime electropop. (...) No-Go is a vital album from an artist whos been releasing records for over 40 years. That he has the verve to try something different this far into his career is a testament to Randoms endless imagination and gift for reinvention.
(Electronic Sound, February 2021)
Eric Random plays electronics; synthesizers and drum machines and, what is quite surprising, in a lot of the songs he sings, using a vocoder. His electronic songs are techno-inspired pop songs, tempo not always very fast, nor too slow, but it keeps up with pace all the time. This one continues, style-wise, the album I previously reviewed, but Random expands on the electronics further. The exotic influences are gone, and hes all about straightforward electronic rhythms and I like it even more. It is excellent music to work by. (...) This album that reminded me of Cabaret Voltaires later phase, a bit of Kraftwerk, Sandoz and Wrangler, with that techno bleep sound, packaged as eleven great pop tunes. On a rainy Thursday afternoon, in cold January, this is the best remedy for winter depression.
(Vital Weekly, February 2021)
Seitdem fröhnt er einer immer elektronisch werdender Musik, welche nun mit seinem 6. Album im komplett elektronisch erzeugtem Album No-Go seinen Höhepunkt findet.
Und hierauf sind 11 extrem starke elektronische Songs mit pumpenden Bässen, spannenden Programmings und zumeist sehr düsteren Soundlandschaften enthalten. Man hört dem Album die Vergangenheit des Musikers durchaus an - New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, frühe Human League und natürlich Kraftwerk sind herauszuhören. Aus diesen Klängen macht er jedoch mit modernen Sounderzeugern ein absolut modern klingendes elektronisches Dark-Wave Album mit hohen Dancefloorfaktor. Man freut sich über jeden Sound, der einen an die alten Meister erinnert und kann das Album wunderbar in einem Rutsch durchhören. Wichtig: Lautstärke Regler und Bassregler schön nach rechts drehen.
(Musik an sich, February 2021)
Sono rimasto nel vortice creato dal grande artista inglese: ho sentito i Kraftwerk, i Depeche Mode, i Public Image Limited e delle spruzzate di Bowie. Un album cosi divertente da uno dei padri del post punk elettronico non me lo sarei aspettato. E non si puo mica essere sempre depressi! Parliamo anche dei titoli: uno dei pochissimi album che gli ha azzeccato, almeno negli ultimi 5 anni. Voto 10 per avermi fatto divertire.
(Music Map, February 2021)
Met No-Go maakt Eric Random komaf met de industriële wereldmuziek en bevestigt hij zijn elektronica vooral met gelaagde, licht dansbare klanken. Die enerzijds wat als een teruggetrokken techno klinken en anderzijds kunnen wedijveren met bijvoorbeeld een modernistisch Kraftwerk. Bijdetijdse Electro die, nu we toch niet meer buiten mogen, zijn eigen verleden uitwist en enkel richting betere tijden verwijst. Biepjes en bliepjes voor de 21ste eeuw, gedoseerd volgens eigen recept met het vooruitzicht op een wereldbeeld dat nu even stil ligt.
(Dark Entries, March 2021)
Der Sound ist gekonnt minimal und anchronistisch gehalten, als ob er von Martin Hannes 1980 produziert worden wäre, ohne dabei an Catchyness zu verlieren. Random unterstreicht mit diesem Album seine Bedeutung als Pionier in Sachen Post-Punk-Electronica und löst dabei auch frühe Kraftwerk Einflüsse zu.
(Ox Magazin, March 2021)
Ziemlich straight aus den 80ern herübergebeamter Synthie-Pop.
(Trust, March 2021)
Theres much to savour in the taut construction and minimal precision of these tunes. I am not sure if dark wave is still a thing, but in any case this is too upbeat to fit that profile; the William Burroughs sample on one track could be taken as a nod back to the days when he would hob-nob with Richard H. Kirk.
(The Sound Projector, August 2021)
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