west norwood cassette library – process part 269
The Process
I’ve downloaded a number of fine mixtapes from the Modyfier site over the years but when Rayna invited me to contribute to the series, I wanted to avoid turning in just another WNCL podcast and, instead, expand on a project of skits I was in the process of working on.
I had already randomly selected a dozen or so albums that I had compressed into blips of sound, sent them to my friend Nick Edwards (aka Ekoplekz) for a preliminary review and received the essential feedback that I didn’t want to hear but knew to be true – the project needed some structure!
The mechanics of the process were simple enough. Select an album from every year, sample the whole thing, splice out the phrases, hits, pops and squeaks of interest and meticulously re-structure them in the running order of the album.
Over the course of the next 2 years, I moved flat, had endless nightmares with builders and started a record label. Between times, I spent long nights listening to endless micro-samples until I had covered 5 decades of popular music.
Endorsements
“…sort of Plunderphonic but with John Oswald’s sneer replaced by affection and amusement/amazement.”
Simon Reynolds, Blissblog
‘Bob Bhamra’s plunderphonic masterpiece joyfully collapses 5 decades of sonic culture into 25 minutes of abstract bliss. And vitally, the brilliance of the concept is never allowed to dominate the joy of the sound- this is a hyper-fragmented, gorgeously warped love letter to pop music.’
Jonny Mugwump, Exotic Pylon, Resonance FM
“In this age of the super information highway, the problem is no longer how to access information, it is how to absorb it. The Instant Digest offers the perfect solution: sonic information compressed into short, sharp efficient byte-size chunks. After all, download culture has already removed 75% of extraneous audio information from our musical experience, so why not go the whole hog and reduce the actual duration too? Cut out all the boring bits, just give us the salient points, please. Instant Digest reduces the musical experience to the condition of Blipvert: just be careful it doesn’t make your head explode…”
Nick Edwards (aka Ekoplekz aka Gutterbreakz)
west norwood cassette library – process part 269 (no. 1 astronaut – instant digest) by modyfier
VOLUME 1: 1960-1969
1960 JOE MEEK . I Hear A New World
1961 ORNETTE COLEMAN . Free Jazz
1962 BOOKER T & THE MG’s . Green Onions
1963 THE BEACH BOYS . Surfer Girl
1964 BOB DYLAN . Another Side Of…
1965 RAY CHARLES . Country & Western Meets Rhythm & Blues
1966 THE BEATLES . Revolver
1967 THE MONKEES . Headquarters
1968 THE KINKS . Are The Village Green Preservation Society
1969 CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND . Trout Mask Replica
VOLUME 2: 1970-1979
1970 DAVID AXELROD . Earth Rot
1971 SLY & THE FAMILY STONE . There’s A Riot Going On
1972 LYN COLLINS . Think (About It)
1973 INCREDIBLE BONGO BAND . Bongo Rock
1974 ELVIS PRESLEY . Having Fun On Stage
1975 KRAFTWERK . Radio-Activity
1976 BRASS CONSTRUCTION . Brass Construction II
1977 DEREK & CLIVE . Come Again
1978 MARVIN GAYE . Hear, My Dear
1979 THE SPECIALS . Specials
VOLUME 3: 1980-1989
1980 THE JAM . Sound Affects
1981 THE HUMAN LEAGUE . Dare
1982 MICHAEL JACKSON . Thriller
1983 MADONNA . Madonna
1984 RUN DMC . Run DMC
1985 CABARET VOLTAIRE . The Covenant, The Sword and The Arm of The Lord
1986 THE FALL . Bend Sinister
1987 THE JAMS . What The Fuck Is Going On?
1988 TODD TERRY . To The Batmobile, Let’s Go!
1989 DE LA SOUL . 3 Feet High and Rising
VOLUME 4: 1990-1999
1990 PUBLIC ENEMY . Fear Of A Black Planet
1991 YOUNG DISCIPLES . Road To Freedom
1992 ULTRAMARINE . Every Man And Woman Is A Star
1993 RADIOHEAD . Pablo Honey
1994 PORTISHEAD . Dummy
1995 ALANIS MORRISETTE . Jagged Little Pill
1996 GHOSTFACE KILLAH . Ironman
1997 RONI SIZE / REPRAZENT . New Forms
1998 BOARDS OF CANADA . Music Has A Right To Children
1999 BECK . Midnight Vultures
05_VOLUME 5: 2000-2009
2000 BROADCAST . The Noise Made By People
2001 DAFT PUNK . Discovery
2002 THE LIBERTINES_Up The Bracket
2003 DIZZEE RASCAL . Boy In Da Corner
2004 DANGERMOUSE . The Grey Album
2005 ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS . I Am A Bird Now
2006 THE ARCTIC MONKEYS . Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
2007 AMY WINEHOUSE . Back To Black
2008 CHRISTIAN PROMMER . Drum Lesson Vol 1
2009 SILKIE . City Limits Vol 1
5 comments on “west norwood cassette library – process part 269”
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Modyfier
modyfier 
What an incedible achievement. Such a magnificently crafted work.
This is great
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