V/Vm
HelpAphexTwin 4.0
CD, V/Vm Test
Everyone
who is slightly interested in progressive music has stumbled over Aphex
Twin. Everyone who is heavily interested in electronic music has stumbled
over V/Vm. There is an analogue project in almost every genre and subgenre,
who are deadly serious in persiflaging and ionising the biggest “stars”
of their scenes. They do have an important function within any scene –
they remember listeners that their beloved choice of music is still a
product, that everything is questionable and that there is always an
underground of small and unknown musicians, whose work might be even more
interesting than that of the big names. I remember Wat Tyler in the
Punkgenre, who took a beating on Madonna, when she released her sex-book,
but also on Portishead and Prodigy. They were funny also, which is more than
just a tool to get attention, but a very old trick in critizing. And
criticism is important in any scene. In the electronic-genre, with its
anonymity, constant flux of projects and names, it is somewhat harder to
find a target for this kind of objectification. Except for Aphex Twin, who
might be called the superstar of weird electronica and thereby is the
obvious choice. Contrary to most other electronic artists he puts his face
on his records, uses clandestiny and mystery as a tool to enhance his image
and made his name a brand. It is easy to call him a sell-out or even a
traitor to the scene – whatever that scene is. Interesting, the parallels
between the electronic scene and the punk-scene are getting more and more.
V/Vm
are great electronic artists and progressors in their own right. They have
released an almost unbelievable amount of various CDs, LPs, 12”es and
7”es on various labels including their own V/Vm Test Records. Their
musical work spans through almost every kind of weird electronica there is:
from Power electronics to Plunderphonics to harsh and noisy breakbeats to
pop’n’disco-cut-ups. “HelpAphexTwin 4.0” offers all that and more in
20 tracks that vary as much in style as in quality – which is of course
only natural. Even listening to them without the references to Aphex Twin in
mind is a great experience. Some tracks will wreck your nerves, while others
will make you laugh. You’ll have a hard time understanding some of them,
while others are just plain electro-punk-fun. Of course, the cutups and
distortions of “Money Money Money” and “If I were a rich men” (right
from Anatevka) make a lot more sense (and fun) with the connotation.
