Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2011
UK dance duo Plaid were one of the sharpest acts to emerge out of the 1990s Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) movement—and as their entrancing new Scintilli shows, they still are. Metropolis caught up with Andy Turner, who with Ed Handley forms one-half of Plaid, ahead of a Japan tour that matches them with leftfield electronica chanteuse Coppé and ambient techno composer Aoki Takamasa.
What does Scintilli mean to you and why did you choose it as the album title?
It is the sparkling feeling that music can sometimes give. We chose it because we enjoy that feeling.
Tell us how Scintilli is an evolution from previous albums.
Virtual synthesis has become really usable and opens up many possibilities. We’ve taken some of that on board. All the vocals featured are synthesized. We think it’s our most digital album to date but also the most natural sounding.
Tell us about the creation of a favorite track from the album.
“35 Summers” was one of the earliest pieces written originally with Moog patches. We made the tempo ebb and flow using tempo curves throughout so there would be no static pulse. It was too grand in this form though so we built some lighter metallic sounds, which we hope displays a kind of hesitant wonder.
How have your working methods changed with the progress of music technology?
We have become almost entirely computer based. Newer machines are pretty dependable and that really affects the way you can use them to write and preform. There’s a lot less cable around too.
How has the relationship between the two of you developed over the years?
We get on pretty well but occasionally bicker like an old couple, which in a sense we are. People relate by shared experience and since we’ve spent a lot of time together over the last 25 years we’ve had a few now.
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Tell us about your involvement with Japan.
We’ve been visiting for many years now to perform and in 2006 we were lucky enough to be picked to write the score for one of the best animated movies to be made in the country over the last few years, Tekkonkinkreet. The director Michael Arias went on to make the romantic, Heaven’s Door. The experience of working on both these movies had a big influence on our writing style and was an introduction to Japanese culture.
Can music be both intelligent and booty shaking? Tell us about the tension between art and entertainment in your work.
Absolutely, the effect of the music shakes the booty, but a lot of thought can go into creating this effect. Some music can definitely announce its intelligence too loudly though. This can be alienating and rarely moves the butt at all. It just tightens it.
What do you miss most from the early days of dance music when Plaid started 20 years ago?
It was all new to us then and now only bits of it are. Electronic dance music was pretty new to everyone. On the downside this has led to an obsession for advancement and newness within electronic music. There’s less focus on the writing and more on the presentation. There’s room for both really.
What can we look forward to in your set at WWW?
Booty shaking electronica!
WWW, Dec 3 (listing).
