Analord

Since Analord 10 just hit the Australian shores and 8 also popped up I’ll give a definite overview of the series. As an EP, 9 takes the cake: 4 unique acid tracks as only AFX could have made them, no retro, fast paced hyper-active stuff. 11 contains perhaps the most ingenious work in the series, with two synth-laden monsters and some IDM dwelling.

Other stand-out tracks in the series were Photonacid on 2, very melancholic synth-pop / house crossover, and Reuniun2 on 5, with a strange combination of piano-like sounds, synths and acid lines over a nervous beat. The EP’s as a whole did not measure op to 9 an 11 though, 2 being too melancholic and too monotonuous and 5 lacking serious progress in the tracks. 8 is also a lovely part, more ambient but not as heavy as most of the others, however for me it lacked substance.

The rest of the EP’s did not measure up in my opinion, most of them containing either replacable “analord” style tracks or directionless fiddling, with each of them containing several hardly interesting tracks. 10 Would make a nice clock though.

Final rundown of the series: checked all except 8 and 10. standouts were 9 & 11, both featured several great tracks that give a different unique sound, 9 being very acidic and 11 very dark and filled with synths. Other standouts are 2 and 5, both of which rely on 1 great track; 2 being slow and a bit sad, 5 being faster and a tad nervous. 3 and 7 relied heavily on one track as well, but those don’t really stand out either. 1, 4 and 6 sounded altogether very inconsistent and lacked memorable tracks.

Update: Checked 6 & 7as well. 6: A-side is more retro-ish with clear hints of SAW in it, a bit melancholic for my tase and lacking originality. B-side contains one shorter slower track and a electro-ish piece of weirdness that lacked any direction or substance.Not my cup of tea. 7 Sounded superfluous, like the others, with more pronounced beats and different styles for the tracks, but very forgettable.

It’s about time for me to shine my light on the Analord series so far. I must admit I didn’t check all the Analords yet. Checked 1 and 2 right when they came out, but was a bit disappointed. 1 seemed to lack consistency and was a bit experimental for the sake of it IMHO. 2 was slower and pretty good, but too melancholic for me. And a bit too slow for use on the dancefloor. Checked 4 and 5 later, and maybe 6 as well, 5 being the highlight until then, although a bit unusable for me. That was until I checked 9 and 11…

Today I bought 9 and 11 straight away, pure genius! 11 A is a great and epic piece of dramatic moody IDM. The B1 sounds similar, but shorter and less brooding, also great. B2 and B3 are slower and less emotionbal, apathic almost, which creates a nice contrast.

However the absolute gem is 9: 4 tracks of absolute acid madness. No retro shite here, never heard any acid like it. A1 is a nerve wrecking fast-paced stormer building up to a more emotional state, to turn to a more fragile state towards the end. A2 and B1 sound alike, almost as if they were remixes of eachother. A bit slower, but very empathic, each one of them with their own twist in atmosphere. B2 is on the other hand a lot dryer, with lots of effects. Unlike the others more functional than emotional.

These two records have definitely renewed my faith in the whole Analord series, time to check out the ones I missed. For now the conclusion is simple, 9 is the one to get if no other. I’ll definitely make good use of this one soon!