Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
Toby Frith Monday, June 20, 2011 at 08:30PM At the heart of Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) and Joel Ford’s project (formerly known as Games but renamed due to legal constraints) is an unashamed love for the vintage synthesizer and a specific period of pop music, say around 1984 - 1986, often thought of as something of a black hole of taste by fashionistas. Think air-brushed album covers, cerise suit jackets, a penchant for electronic drums and keytars.
“Channel Pressure” is a loose concept album based on a child’s Wizard of Oz meets Tron-like immersion in a digitsed version of the music industry. Get past this somewhat feather-light facade and you have an opportunity for two musicians to get to grips with some of their favourite music - and boy, does it show. There’s a lot to love here, even if much of it is a great deal in debt to the previously mentioned masters. Some of the recording was completed at Jan Hammer’s studio for maximum vibe-soaking effect. However, with Scott Herren (aka Prefuse73) brought in for some post-production help, the album isn’t entirely caught up in the past.
Although I’m loathe to compare Ford and Lopatin to a certain successful French duo, there is a similarity in both acts’ undiminished love for pop music - dredging up old influences in an unashamed manner and utilising their sonic power to great effect. It’s all done with a real sense of bravura as well, that with each listen adds another layer of charm.
The title track and opener sets the scene, digitised slap bass and subtle vocoders taking you right back to 1985. “Emergency Room” continues in the same vein, angular synths and shredded keytar shrouding a wonderful pop chorus. This is maximal electronic music, coming at you in great slabs of sound, the tension coming in its wake with relative silence. “Too much MIDI” demonstrates this in almost deafening waves of squealing electronics contrasted against a sleek funk sound. Unusually, there’s also something akin to an R & B ballad in “Break Inside” - and to their credit, they pull it off with nonchalant skill.
There are anthems too. Lots of them. “The Voices” is more akin to an electronic version of Simon & Garfunkel than anything else, whilst closer “World of Regret” merges Jarre-era “Zoolook” with an extraordinary dollop of stadium pop. It’s an album brimming with pop nous and innocence - a powerful paradox of nostalgia and knowledge that grabs the 3 minute mantle and rushes off down the street safe in the knowledge that it won’t be relinquishing its grasp yet. Far from being content to navigate the outer borders of popular music, Ford and Lopatin have made a concerted dash for its galactic centre. “Channel Pressure” is a bold, invigorating record that reminds you what electronic equipment is capable of.
Toby Frith
Reader Comments (1)
if that youtube clip is indicative of their output i got 1 word: wack.