Underworld and [Phase] Drift Together

What an amazing endeavor…

Drift is a weekly series from Underworld where they collaborate with visual artists and fellow musicians, creating new music, tweaking old sample sets and constructs left stranded on the console. all culminating in an album due in October. I’ve been highlighting some of these weekly updates on their Youtube channel. “Border Country” is so very good and it is a musical collaboration with [Phase], a producer, engineer and visual artist.

The evolving build to 5:48, like I said, amazing.

Underworld’s Drift

I have been a fan of Underworld since Chip slid an import single to me fresh out of the Thursday arrivals box at Technophoilia. It was quite a while ago. Beaucoup Fish is still among my favorite records and if you haven’t invested time with it, by all means.

Travelling in a space that can be abrasive, elegant, haunting or aggressive, the longevity of the band that was born out of a one-hit-wonder (“Doot Doot”, Freur) is impressive. The music created by Karl Hyde and Rick Smith is varied yet identifiable. The latest project is entitled Drift. They have been collaborating with people in unique spaces and the most realized track to be born out of the Drift project to date is “Appleshine”. The song features Georgia and Lewis from Black Country, New Road on violin and flute with visuals by Simon Taylor. I recommend headphones and isolation.

Never Hurts to Jam the Men

We haven’t heard from the Men since 2016, but news broke today of a new album headed our way in 2018. The immediate thing you’ll notice is how the band sounds absolutely nothing like the group that gave us Leave Home or Open Your Heart, and honestly, that’s for the best; it’s great to hear a sound you love, but even better for art when you push yourself into something entirely new. There’s still that element of darkness in the pulsing synth lines that serves the spirit of the band to listeners, yet artistic elements elevate the tune such as the sax squawking. The group’s new LP, Drift, drops on March 2nd via Sacred Bones Records.