How you got into and what you love about UW (split thread)
 

I still like Barking. I agree that it doesn't really have that "Underworld" sound to it but it's still pretty damn good, despite being something of a missed opportunity. I am a bit bitter that they never released an "un-remixed" version as so many of the tunes were excellent in their original form - are we ever gonna see a studio version of "You Do Scribble" w/ vocals? Or ALAF/Silver Boots? Or "Diamond Jigsaw" with that "Jump" synth and massive chord change? Or do we just have to piece it together from low-quality rips?


OWB on the other hand...man that one just keeps getting better with age doesn't it? I remember being pretty nonplussed with it on its release date but it's really held up remarkably well. It's one of the best sounding albums I own.

[Mod note: split from Drift Ep 2 predictions thread]

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

I have two hearts for OWB. there's a clarity and refinement that i can appreciate, but that same refinement is what makes it sound tepid and estranged. as a statement on its own it's worth exploring, and when compared to AHDO it had definitely achieved a more distilled level of that sound, but the raw energy is gone. I talked earlier about how a band's sound can have an essential vitality that feels like a blueprint for the future; the strange places it could grow from and the life that gives its listener. I always think of the Pearl's Girl EP when I think about this. That it pursued and executed this convalescent polish out of these many branches was a kind of death i didn't quite register at the time, and was finally nailed into my head with Barking and the collabs with High Contrast. They had "arrived", and it didn't work for me at all.
of course i tried to be optimistic about it all. you can't repeat the past and it wasn't a bad album, and there were definite threads from the past to weave together here. but aging it finally laid out what it really meant to me, and i don't revisit it very often.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

The only album that doesn’t contain one of my favorite Underworld songs ever is actually Barbara. The rest of them have at least one.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

Yeah, it's a difficult album to compare to their earlier works (particularly the '90s ones), because it feels like a different beast altogether. For me it's effectively their 'ambient' album, based more around moods, melodies and textures than energy and beats. On that front it's a total winner, and that's probably why I like it most, being more into downtempo stuff than dance music. It's probably in my top 10 albums of all time.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

Great discussion and analyses. I wonder...is your favorite UW era that in which you became a fan? If so, how do you categorize what came before and after?

As example, I came in around Beacoup Fish, and admit it's still my favorite album. Exploring their back catalog, I think I preferred STITI to Dubno at first, back then. Moving forward, I preferred AHDO to OWB over Barking ( though River Run was amazing). Given the long break, BBWFASF feels like a reset.

Anyway, my point is we may like/dislike aspects of all their releases, but we probably judge them all against a favorite era.

Thankfully, like RiverRun, Drift seems to be totally breaking the mold, few ties to what was.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

I got into them with NUXX, so it was that, Pearl's Girl and the b-sides which made me a fan. Can't remember whether I bought STITI before or after Beaucoup Fish. Bizarrely, STITI never clicked with me until I got the remastered box. I always found it hugely underwhelming after the opening two tracks.
OWB and Dubno are my two favourites, and Barking my least favourite, but I'd struggle to pick between the others, quality-wise. They all have their strengths and there's not much in it for me.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

Beacoup was my first one too. I got it because of an Amazon review on the Lo-Fidelity Allstars album - "sounds like they are trying and failing to do what Underworld did on Beacoup Fish". And I loved that Lo-Fis CD, so I figured BF would be good


For me the big one was Everything, Everything. I had actually never heard "Juanita", "Pearls Girl", or "Rez/Cowgirl" before that. I remember buying that at the age of 16 and cruising around town in my shitbox Ford and just having the time of my life. I thought it was the best CD ever made. I went back and grabbed the other albums - dubnobass became my favorite, it just hit me in all the right ways (something about being a hybrid of electronica/New Wave/prog ?), STITI I also loved though I agree there's sort of a step between the first two tracks and the rest (Pearls Girl aside)


So yeah - I was one of those who was disappointed with a lot of their duo stuff as it came out, but when I go back and relisten I'm kinda floored by AHDO and OWB (particularly the latter). Like yeah, it's not quite as banging but the overall sound design is excellent. There's something really pleasant about them. Every time I hear OWB I feel like it must be their best effort (next to dubnobass perhaps, though that's mostly nostalgia talking). BBWFASF is probably 3rd then. I dunno. It's all great!

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

something about Beaucoup Fish will always be a fave because that was my intro (listening to push upstairs and bruce lee on loop at the Tower listening station because who... who has a 12 minute song wtf) but it is a very silly album.

I nabbed up the others and loaaaathed STITI. it was so boring, I was so bored, it was "difficult for no reason". a year later I'm 15, walking through the rainy woods, and I "got it". still my favorite album of theirs or anyone else's.

but man, EE... that brought so much together for me.

thanks for going along with my thread hijack guys

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

I got a few double pearl girl and born slippy CD singles from the record company and I started pluggin them during my holiday in Crete Greece. I jumped around like a maniac to make people understand this music.

Ahdo I first listened while biking in Amsterdam with a xtc pill. Hot weather and chill time. First summer in my first home after my parents. These make memories mixed with music. Feel it again typing this.

Wish for drift series is more of these memories please!

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

back when I used to play a ton of online poker I used to listen to "Push Upstairs" on loop. "push it, push it, owwww"...hell yeah baby

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

First track I heard was Nuxx in Trainspotting, after which I collected everything I could find on CD, which around that time was;

-Dubnobasswithmyheadman
-Second Toughest in the Infants
-Pearls Girl EP
-Dirty Epic/Cowgirl EP
-Dark & Long (both versions)
-Born Slippy NUXX single
-Born Slippy single (original)

So basically I had what's arguably the band's strongest material all ready and waiting for me at or just after around the time I discovered them. The first album I got to wait for was Beaucoup Fish, and I still remember hearing Push Upstairs on the radio and going holy shit is this the new Underworld song? That's how a lot of us heard that new stuff even existed back then. I happened to be in San Francisco at the time so I ran to Amoeba Records, found really expensive imports of the Push singles and Beaucoup Fish. I didn't have a CD player in my car so I went to a friend's house to dub a tape (I would leave the room so I couldn't hear it), then drove back to Los Angeles blasting Beaucoup Fish. I remember the first time I heard the Jumbo bassline. Chills.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

First track i heard was NUXX in 1996/97 and loved it. Played it on repeat for the entire weekend.

Next i heard Cowgirl on MTV's AMP (late-night electronica show) and waited excitedly to find out the band name at the end of the video. When I learned it was Underworld I thought, that's it ,time to find some of their albums.

I headed to a music store in the mall armed with the knowledge that I needed to hear Cowgirl again. Except I forgot the name of the song. So I found both Dubno and STiTI at the store and could only afford one. Dubno had a sticker over the tracklisting (Tomato's artwork didn't help much there either) and Second Toughest had a tracked called "Confusion the Waitress" - which triggered my memory: "i think the track was about a girl. this must be it!" Bought it and listened over and over. Being drawn to Juanita and Rowla instantly but realizing the track I wanted to hear wasn't on this album. No big worries though as STiTI was quickly becoming my new favorite.

The next month, I caught a release show (also on MTV) that said "Underworld's new one 'Pearls' Girl" is out today. Rushed back out to the store thinking "This must be it!" And was surprised and confused to learn that it was only an EP - but what an amazing EP it was.

Finally I remembered Dubno existed and was able to get my second listen to Cowgirl - a full 2 months after hearing it for the first time.

Ever since that binge period, ive been massively hooked on UW.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

I remember some story about Karl not being sold on Jumbo to the point where it nearly was left off the album. That still seems crazy to me, it's such an obviously great track, there's a certain magic to it that most bands are lucky to capture even once.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

I love to read all these UW origin stories! The abridged version of mine:

First Exposure via compilation CDs (1996- 1999)- MTV Amp, Plastic, Urbal Beats, GrooveRadio, etc

First UW album purchased: (2002): "Everything, Everything"; i recognized the songs, and also needed a pick-me-up after a disastrous improv comedy audition. Came home depressed, mood lifted all night with listens. Who were these guys? Need to learn more!

First Studio album purchased - "Beaucoup Fish". I liked the singles, and a fan recommended it as best in their fledgling catalog. Yes, six hour car-rides with "Jumbo" bass, etc. I get into that back catalog, and have fond memories of sundown with "dubno", cranking the poorly mixed volume on "STITI" at midnight...

2002 - join dirty forums, download all free stuff, fan remixes, create remixes, and abuse grad lab's ethernet allowance connecting to RTSR FTP site to get past/latest shows.

2002 - first LP release anticipated as a "Fan" released..."ansum", er AHDO. Subject it to family and friends. Scour ebay for import singles. Find inspiration in "footwear Repairs" VHS (as does artist father!).

2003-2006: All those radio shows, and RiverRun!

2007 - finally see UW in NY at Central Park!

2010 - is "Good Day Today" by UW? Nope. But i enjoyed the speculation, and the eventual remix.

Every release and project from ~2002 to present, i've been here for, enjoyed the debate, and while some tracks i like more or less, i've never been disappointed. Yeah, that early period of discovery and compulsive searching is probably my favorite period, but thanks to Rick, Karl, the Darrens, and you... it's been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I'm glad it's still going, the band is still inspiring.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

One of my favourite things about getting into Underworld was something totally of its time - looking at the sleeves in record shops and being really taken in by the weird artwork and wondering what they sounded like. Every Saturday I'd go down to my local indie and looking through the racks, spending loads of time leafing through the booklets of FSOL, Underworld, Orbital, Manics and Mike Oldfield albums, looking at the titles, wondering how they reflected the music. And then deciding not to save my money to buy one, but spending it on some shit CD single instead haha. But it built up a real sense of mystery and excitement around the albums that you don't get now.

And then going into a city and looking at the singles section and finding import versions of Pearl's Girl (with tracks not on mine!) and Dirty Epic/Cowgirl and them sticking in my mind wondering what they were like. Fun times.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

totally this. having no idea what their catalog consisted of and digging thru "U" categories hoping to find random singles.

this was how i found the Dirty/Cowgirl single as well as the Pearl's Girl with Karp Dreams on it. Best feeling. Long before eBay made it too easy.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

Exactly this! I bought every album or CD which contained something of their unknown catalogue. Internet made it way too easy. I start sounding like my grandfather...

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

I loved those digging through the crates at Tower Records. Probably my favorite find from those days was Orbital's Diversions EP which had the Underworld remix of Lush; that was a score on two counts!

But, before you say it's too easy now, getting Barbara in 24bit/96KHz with Twenty Three Blue required a bit of jumping through hoops... good luck getting ahold of the Riverrun WAVs... and I dunno about you but I'm still missing a sizable portion of the Live Here Now recordings on CD. Plenty of challenges left for the collector. :)

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

that feeling of discovery was the one i loved. i lived in or around NYC at the time, so i had my share of underground music shops to pop into for my typical beeline to the electronic section for a quick Underworld search.

I actually found and purchased the Skycraper single on vinyl, even though i had no way to play it. I then gave it to my friend in exchange for MP3 rips of Jamscraper and Telegraph. I knew those tracks existed but had never heard them. Back then, this was the only way I could think to finally get the chance.

Re: Drift Ep. 2...wishes and predictions
 

It's not quite the same though: you can get Barbara with Twenty Three Blue on CD very easily, and most people aren't going to spot the difference with a 24/96 - hell, we're talking about buying CDs in the '90s, which weren't even that quality; the Live Here Now ones are admittedly something that's a challenge for the collector, but it still doesn't come close to stumbling across records you might not even have known existed, and buying them wondering what they sound like.

It's definitely a first world problem of course, but for me, the internet has definitely changed my attitude towards getting music for the worse. The mystery is gone. I like mystery a lot.

Re: How you got into and what you love about UW (split thread)
 

was just thinking..."man I've been on these boards a long ass time...I have no memory whatsoever of making this thread"

Re: How you got into and what you love about UW (split thread)
 

I got into Underworld in '96 when I watched NUXX on MTV. I already listened to stuff like the Prodigy, but this was something special – also the music video.;)
That year I went to the UK for the UEFA Euro 1996 and bought the cd single in HMV.

Back home, I remember going to central Copenhagen by train on several occasions with the sole purpose of looking for cds, cassettes and vinyl. In one of the second hand music shops, I was lucky to find a copy of STITI on vinyl. But mostly I would find older stuff like Underneath the Radar and other titles from the mk1 era. Also, some shops didn’t have an ‘electronic’ or ‘techno’ section, so you’d have to go through both ‘Rock’ and ‘Pop’ music.
I bought Dubno and (the Danish) Dark & Long cd on April Records. The latter was easy to find here of course.:p

Also got the Kiteless video from the Underworld mail order that existed back then.

But yeah, discovering new stuff was exciting. I remember the excitement when I found some true rarities on the net. The Juanita promo cd single was among the first. Must have spent thousand of hours searching for stuff.
The webshops were a good source. eBay did it easier, but also way more expensive to be a collector.
Also remember the excitement of opening the package the mail man had delivered. It was better than Christmas.:)

Anyway, those are great memories.

And I guess that’s why I’d always buy a physical release instead of a digital if there’s a choice. Surely the music is the same, but the build-up to listening, and excitement isn't the same.