The Fireman | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Here’s a thread to discuss all three (so far) of The Fireman albums. I’m aware there is a discussion of Electric Arguments already, but having given all three a whirl on youtube in the last day or so I’d like to share some thoughts about this remarkable project. I’ve found things to like in all of them and that’s partly because I quite like experimental ambient stuff anyway. To say I’m impressed is an understatement, I’m fairly gobsmacked actually. I was a big fan of McCartney II and now I have three more albums to cheer on. I can’t believe I haven’t been listening to this stuff before.

Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest

Youth was given the job of interpreting existing McCartney material in an ambient techno framework. This dates it a little bit (its very Orb) but I like the way each track begins as an echo of the previous one until the middle of the album where large slabs of McCartney drop into the rhythm like icebergs into Pure Trance, and then the patterns run backwards until Sunrise Mix matches Transpiritual Stomp. Also, Youth really really likes backwards cymbals so be prepared to hear a lot of that. It’s perfect background material and shouldn’t be thought of as a normal album or you’ll either dance your feet off or wait forever for the vocals to say something else besides “the situation” in various cut-up ways. It’s a good example of why using restrictions (only samples from an album, using one particular techno rhythm) can yield interesting results. Favourites: all of it really, I keep finding new patterns in it.

Rushes

Hardcore ambience this time, but with McCartney actively involved rather than just setting the parameters. Like the previous album, there’s an overarching design, but instead the moods here are less obviously structured, choosing patterns based on their own sounds, and what gorgeous sounds and patterns they are. This makes it less accessible too, but again, ambience isn’t to be listened to like pop music. If there is a uniting thread in the album its the use of Moog sequences to link and offset the ambient collisions; there’s a motif of swirling arpeggios and stereo panning. The album begins with guitar arpeggiated swirls and ends the same way, backwards. Palo Verde takes the arpeggiations and builds on it, for a more downtempo dance feel. Auraveda is probably the most challenging piece, sounding like an Indian orchestra that’s been exploded, but here and there the Moog swirl winds in and out. But the impressive pieces are Fluid and its companion, Appletree Cinnabar Amber. Constructed of a repeating piano sample and a repeating guitar sample, they merge from one to the other surrounded by oceans and spoken word samples. Just gorgeous. After that, Bison sounds oddly like a conventional instrumental jam if you don’t look too closely at it. 7am brings back the swirls as it gently segues into Watercolour Rush. A much less obvious album, but damn impressive for its genre. Favourites: Fluid/Appletree Cinnabar Amber.

Electric Arguments

This is an album with actual songs, but not your average Paul songs either; perhaps the best description I have right now is that he threw away his rulebook and let Youth undermine whatever convention he wished. And slowly the songs give way into ambience, the vocals give way to instrumentals, but it’s a very enjoyable descent! I’m finding this album quite an adjustment to make, and haven’t made up my mind on quite a lot of it, because I’m still listening to the sounds themselves. Paul’s does things with his voice I’ve never heard before. There’s a sense of getting an experience across which is quite special. Favourites: can’t decide. Lovers In A Dream is swirling in my head right now, but Sun Is Shining and Dance ‘Til We’re High are both great open songs. Oh but Travelling Light is great too. Argh.

Needless to say I’m buying the lot of them. What about you?