Amon Tobin – Journeyman
Had problems playing this track during my show on Sunday so I thought I’d share it here. I’ve been a big fan of Amon Tobin from all the way back in the 1990s when he seemed to fall fairly securely into the Drum’n’bass camp. As he’s progressed as a musician and an artist, labels have been more and more difficult to apply to Tobin’s music. Isam, his 9th full length recording, connects sonically & aesthetically with 2007’s Foley Room, where instead of building his music from breaks and samples of other people’s records, Tobin uses organic field recordings to construct his samples and what he describes as “sound sculptures.” Tobin’s work isn’t the easiest thing in the world to listen to, but it’s visionary, both sonically and in terms of how he’s going to perform music from this album and his catalog.
Isam is as much a piece of performance art as it is a piece of music, here’s a short film that details the conception of this project and the work that was necessary to create a truly unique experience for Tobin’s music and for those who will see him live during this tour.
An additional treat, Amon Tobin has shared the whole album on Soundcloud.com with running commentary about the process of putting together this fascinating album:
‘ISAM’ – Full album with track-by-track commentary from Amon Tobin by Amon Tobin