Black Secret Technology: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
| studio = Machine Room Studio, England |
| studio = Machine Room Studio, England |
||
| genre = |
| genre = |
||
* [[Jungle music|Jungle]]<ref name="Guardian"/><ref name=" |
* [[Jungle music|Jungle]]<ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="Fact-list"/> |
||
* [[drum and bass]]<ref name="Pitchfork"/> |
* [[drum and bass]]<ref name="Pitchfork"/> |
||
* [[ambient jungle]]<ref>{{cite book |
* [[ambient jungle]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Reynolds|publisher=[[Routledge]]|date=2013|isbn=0-415-92373-5|page=427}}</ref> |
||
| length = 77:57 |
| length = 77:57 |
||
| label = [[Juice Box Records|Juice Box]]<ref name="Guardian"/> |
| label = [[Juice Box Records|Juice Box]]<ref name="Guardian"/> |
||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
==Background and release== |
==Background and release== |
||
Following Gerald's pioneering work in [[acid house]] in the late 1980s, ''Black Secret Technology'' showcased his movement into [[jungle music|jungle]] and [[breakbeat]] production.<ref name="Guardian"/> The album's liner notes, written by Gerald, reference the music of ancient [[African tribes|African tribal cultures]] as inspiration: "methods of rhythm helped early man to get in touch with the universe and his small part in it [...] I believe that these trance-like rhythms reflect my frustration to know the truth about my ancestors who talked with drums."<ref name=" |
Following Gerald's pioneering work in [[acid house]] in the late 1980s, ''Black Secret Technology'' showcased his movement into [[jungle music|jungle]] and [[breakbeat]] production.<ref name="Guardian"/> The album's liner notes, written by Gerald, reference the music of ancient [[African tribes|African tribal cultures]] as inspiration: "methods of rhythm helped early man to get in touch with the universe and his small part in it [...] I believe that these trance-like rhythms reflect my frustration to know the truth about my ancestors who talked with drums."<ref name="Quietus"/> |
||
In 1996, the album was repressed on CD and LP formats with new cover artwork and the bonus track "Hekkle and Koch" placed as the album's opener. In 2008, a remastered edition of the album was released, this time with the original 1995 cover art and the removal of both "Hekkle and Koch" and the unlisted hidden track "Touch Me". The album's famously "murky" mastering was improved slightly, according to critics.<ref name=" |
In 1996, the album was repressed on CD and LP formats with new cover artwork and the bonus track "Hekkle and Koch" placed as the album's opener. In 2008, a remastered edition of the album was released, this time with the original 1995 cover art and the removal of both "Hekkle and Koch" and the unlisted hidden track "Touch Me". The album's famously "murky" mastering was improved slightly, according to critics.<ref name="Fact-list">{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2012/09/03/the-100-best-albums-of-the-1990s-100-81/|title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s|website=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]|date=3 September 2012|access-date=27 May 2017|last1=Sande|first1=Kiran|last2=Lea|first2=Tom|last3=Morpurgo|first3=Joseph|last4=Finlayson|first4=Angus|last5=Beatnick|first5=Mr.|last6=Purdom|first6=Tim|last7=Jahdi|first7=Robin|last8=Gunn|first8=Tam}}</ref><ref name="Pitchfork"/> |
||
==Reception== |
==Reception== |
||
| Line 61: | Line 61: | ||
}} |
}} |
||
Since its release, ''Black Secret Technology'' has received widespread acclaim and has been described as a "candidate for |
Since its release, ''Black Secret Technology'' has received widespread acclaim and has been described as a "candidate for 'best jungle album ever.'"<ref name="Pitchfork"/> In a 1995 review, [[Andrew Smith (author)|Andy Smith]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' proclaimed that Gerald was "among the first of his peers to corral [the genre] on to a satisfying album" as he had previously done with acid house, calling it "enthralling."<ref name="Guardian"/> ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]'' placed the album on their list of the top 50 albums of 1995 at number 16.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Top 50 Albums of the Year|magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]]|issue=67|date=January 1996|pages=78–79}}</ref> Discussing the 1997 reissue, Ian Harrison of ''Select'' stated that "there're few records in this fast-moving genre that could sound as good as this does now," adding that "the album will one day have him listed among [[Sun Ra]]/[[Lee "Scratch" Perry|Lee Perry]]/[[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]] cosmic clubhouse of interstellar visionaries."<ref name="Select"/> In 1999, Tom Ewing of ''[[Freaky Trigger]]'' described it as the "best jungle album ever," stating that Gerald "latched onto a more turbulent tradition, the jazz-funk-electronica of ''[[Pangaea (album)|Pangaea]]''-era [[Miles Davis]] or ''[[Sextant (album)|Sextant]]''-era [[Herbie Hancock]], and the music he made boiled like theirs."<ref name="Freaky">{{cite web|url=https://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/1999/12/6-a-guy-called-gerald-finleys-rainbow|title=6. A Guy Called Gerald – 'Finley's Rainbow'|website=[[Freaky Trigger]]|date=13 December 1999|access-date=7 January 2017|last=Ewing|first=Tom}}</ref> He ranked "Finley's Rainbow" as the sixth best single of the 1990s.<ref name="Freaky"/> |
||
In 2010, ''[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]'' magazine ranked |
In 2010, ''[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]'' magazine ranked ''Black Secret Technology'' the fourth best album of the 1990s, calling it "gloriously knotted, soulful and uniquely psychedelic;"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2010/04/05/fact-mix-138-a-guy-called-gerald/|title=FACT mix 138: A Guy Called Gerald|website=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]|date=5 April 2010|access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref> ''Fact'' critic [[Mark Fisher]] wrote that the album "succeeded in simultaneously being of its moment and transcending it," praising in particular "the way that Gerald transforms the jungle sound into a kind of dreamy OtherWorld music [...]: humid, tropical, full of strange bird cries, seething with nonhuman sentience."<ref name="Fact-list"/> Tim Finney of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' wrote that "there is simply no other single-artist jungle album that pushes consciousness-altering beat programming as far, as fearlessly, as it is pushed here."<ref name="Pitchfork"/> Lee Arizuno of ''[[The Quietus]]'' called it "one of the best dance albums ever made," adding that "what stands is psychedelic rhythm with a purpose: to reconnect in the midst of a formless and hectic present, to present a human glow in the midst of a harsh environment."<ref name="Quietus">{{cite web|url=https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/a-guy-called-gerald/|title=A Guy Called Gerald – Black Secret Technology Reissue|website=[[The Quietus]]|date=17 September 2008|access-date=25 February 2018|last=Arizuno|first=Lee}}</ref> |
||
==Track listing== |
==Track listing== |
||
Latest revision as of 18:05, 20 July 2024
| Black Secret Technology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 1995 | |||
| Studio | Machine Room Studio, England | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 77:57 | |||
| Label | Juice Box[1] | |||
| Producer | Gerald Simpson | |||
| A Guy Called Gerald chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Black Secret Technology | ||||
| ||||
Black Secret Technology is the fourth album by UK electronic producer A Guy Called Gerald, released in February 1995 to widespread critical acclaim. It has since been described as the best jungle album of all time by publications such as Fact, Pitchfork and Freaky Trigger.
Background and release
[edit]Following Gerald's pioneering work in acid house in the late 1980s, Black Secret Technology showcased his movement into jungle and breakbeat production.[1] The album's liner notes, written by Gerald, reference the music of ancient African tribal cultures as inspiration: "methods of rhythm helped early man to get in touch with the universe and his small part in it [...] I believe that these trance-like rhythms reflect my frustration to know the truth about my ancestors who talked with drums."[5]
In 1996, the album was repressed on CD and LP formats with new cover artwork and the bonus track "Hekkle and Koch" placed as the album's opener. In 2008, a remastered edition of the album was released, this time with the original 1995 cover art and the removal of both "Hekkle and Koch" and the unlisted hidden track "Touch Me". The album's famously "murky" mastering was improved slightly, according to critics.[2][3]
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [6] |
| Cokemachineglow | 94%[7] |
| The Guardian | [1] |
| NME | 8/10[8] |
| Pitchfork | 8.7/10[3] |
| Q |  [9] |
| Record Collector | [10] |
| Select | 4/5[11] |
| Vox | 8/10[12] |
| XLR8R | 9.5/10[13] |
Since its release, Black Secret Technology has received widespread acclaim and has been described as a "candidate for 'best jungle album ever.'"[3] In a 1995 review, Andy Smith of The Guardian proclaimed that Gerald was "among the first of his peers to corral [the genre] on to a satisfying album" as he had previously done with acid house, calling it "enthralling."[1] Select placed the album on their list of the top 50 albums of 1995 at number 16.[14] Discussing the 1997 reissue, Ian Harrison of Select stated that "there're few records in this fast-moving genre that could sound as good as this does now," adding that "the album will one day have him listed among Sun Ra/Lee Perry/George Clinton cosmic clubhouse of interstellar visionaries."[11] In 1999, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger described it as the "best jungle album ever," stating that Gerald "latched onto a more turbulent tradition, the jazz-funk-electronica of Pangaea-era Miles Davis or Sextant-era Herbie Hancock, and the music he made boiled like theirs."[15] He ranked "Finley's Rainbow" as the sixth best single of the 1990s.[15]
In 2010, Fact magazine ranked Black Secret Technology the fourth best album of the 1990s, calling it "gloriously knotted, soulful and uniquely psychedelic;"[16] Fact critic Mark Fisher wrote that the album "succeeded in simultaneously being of its moment and transcending it," praising in particular "the way that Gerald transforms the jungle sound into a kind of dreamy OtherWorld music [...]: humid, tropical, full of strange bird cries, seething with nonhuman sentience."[2] Tim Finney of Pitchfork wrote that "there is simply no other single-artist jungle album that pushes consciousness-altering beat programming as far, as fearlessly, as it is pushed here."[3] Lee Arizuno of The Quietus called it "one of the best dance albums ever made," adding that "what stands is psychedelic rhythm with a purpose: to reconnect in the midst of a formless and hectic present, to present a human glow in the midst of a harsh environment."[5]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "So Many Dreams" | 6:45 |
| 2. | "Alita's Dream" | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Finley's Rainbow" (Slow Motion mix) | 5:30 |
| 4. | "The Nile" | 4:14 |
| 5. | "Energy" (extended mix) | 6:12 |
| 6. | "Silent Cry" | 5:42 |
| 7. | "Dreaming of You" | 6:12 |
| 8. | "Survival" | 5:44 |
| 9. | "Cybergen" | 4:32 |
| 10. | "The Reno" | 5:18 |
| 11. | "Cyberjazz" | 4:52 |
| 12. | "Voodoo Rage" | 6:02 |
| 13. | "Life Unfolds His Mystery" | 5:21 |
| 14. | "End of the Tunnel" (hidden track on CD only, not included on 2008 reissue) | 6:33 |
| Total length: | 77:57 | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Smith, Andy (17 March 1995). "A Guy Called Gerald: Black Secret Technology (Juice Box)". The Guardian. "Friday" section, p. 12. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ^ a b c Sande, Kiran; Lea, Tom; Morpurgo, Joseph; Finlayson, Angus; Beatnick, Mr.; Purdom, Tim; Jahdi, Robin; Gunn, Tam (3 September 2012). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s". Fact. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Finney, Tim (13 January 2009). "A Guy Called Gerald: Black Secret Technology". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (2013). Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture. Routledge. p. 427. ISBN 0-415-92373-5.
- ^ a b Arizuno, Lee (17 September 2008). "A Guy Called Gerald – Black Secret Technology Reissue". The Quietus. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ Cooper, Sean. "Black Secret Technology – A Guy Called Gerald". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ Abravanel, David (17 October 2008). "A Guy Called Gerald: Black Secret Technology". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ Lewis, Angela (11 March 1995). "Triumph Gerald". NME. p. 53. Archived from the original on 12 October 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ Davies, Paul (March 1995). "A Guy Called Gerald: Black Secret Technology". Q. No. 102.
- ^ Needs, Kris (December 2008). "Black Secret Technology | A Guy Called Gerald". Record Collector. No. 356. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ a b Harrison, Ian (February 1997). "A Guy Called Gerald: Black Secret Technology". Select. No. 80. p. 91.
- ^ Pattenden, Mike (March 1995). "Concrete Jungle". Vox. No. 54. p. 86.
- ^ Lopez, Luciana (17 October 2008). "A Guy Called Gerald: Black Secret Technology". XLR8R. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ "Top 50 Albums of the Year". Select. No. 67. January 1996. pp. 78–79.
- ^ a b Ewing, Tom (13 December 1999). "6. A Guy Called Gerald – 'Finley's Rainbow'". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "FACT mix 138: A Guy Called Gerald". Fact. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
External links
[edit]- Black Secret Technology at Discogs (list of releases)
