Browse by Artist: HERBERT

Artist:	HERBERT
Title:	Bodily Functions
Label:	STUD!O K7 (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	K7 097CD

"Matthew Herbert, 29, Englishman, resident in London -- pianist or keyboard player by trade. At the beginning of the '90s, he became addicted to the unlimited possibilities of the sampler. Since 1995, under various pseudonyms, including Wishmountain, Radioboy, Doctor Rockit, and of course, Herbert, he has released the most exciting electro-acoustic music of the present day. Matthew's father, a BBC sound technician, 'always surrounded himself with melodious technology'. At the age of four, Matthew took up the violin and piano, at seven he sang in the choir (we are reminded of the relationship of Anglican Church music to US gospel) and played in orchestras and at 13 was a keyboard player in bands. At school, he had the good fortune to have a music teacher who considered Reich, Xenakis and jazz standards to be the equal of Beethoven. While at school, he began to experiment with what is in (not only) his opinion the most significant instrument of all time: the sampler. It therefore happened that a classically trained musician made his first significant appearance (January 95) not at the piano or playing a violin, but using a sampler, microphones and a bag of chips. The rule that Matthew Herbert's art unwaveringly follows is, 'The use of sounds that exist already is not allowed' -- a significant reason why he will never drown in an ocean of processed, synthetic, reciprocally sampled and therefore similarly sounding music. The formerly differentiated factors in Herbert's music are growing together and have been given their most mature expression so far in Bodily Functions. This disc, made from 'new' sounds as always, is pure beauty: a loving homage to 40s standards, a transcendental amalgamation of folk, jazz and house, in whose body of sound piano, strings, acoustic bass and processed ambient noises accumulate to form an unpretentious grandeur, crowned by Dani Siciliano's ethereally present voice"

Artist:	HERBERT
Title:	Leave Me Now
Label:	STUD!O K7 (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$7.50
Catalog #:	K7 097CDEP

"'Leave Me Now', featuring the vocals of Dani Siciliano, is the first single to be released from the forthcoming album Bodily Functions, the long-awaited follow-up to 1998's Around The House. The track sees Herbert 's trademark exploration of house music superbly complemented by brand new mixes from Recloose (Planet E) and Richard Devine (Schematic/Warp) on a single that is sure to increase Herbert 's worldwide audience dramatically." CD version has an extra Richard Devine edit of his mix, found on the 12" version.

Artist:	HERBERT
Title:	Suddenly
Label:	STUD!O K7 (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.00
Catalog #:	K7 102EP

"The second release from the Bodily Functions album. The track numbers among the highlights of a tremendous album and once more features Dani Siciliano on vocals. Along with the original of 'Suddenly', there are also two very inspired interpretations by 2 producer friends. There's a funk-filled off-the-wall interpretation of 'Back to the Start' by France's Mr Oizo, while Japanese producer Nobukazu Takemura delivers a rare remix: a fantastic rework of 'Addiction'. As a bonus track, the 12" also features a great Herbert re-dub of the title piece."

Artist:	HERBERT
Title:	Around The House
Label:	STUD!O K7 (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	K7 105CD

"1998's predecessor to the highly acclaimed Bodily Functions, Around The House subtly spins domestic found sounds into voluptuously textured house grooves. The album's title is its modus operandi: whether it's a dishwasher, a toaster, or a toothbrush, the devices and machines commonly found in the house are endless sources of sound. Matthew Herbert caught such whirrs, pops, clicks, and whistles on tape, fed them to his sampler, added the heavenly voice of singer Dani Siciliano, and produced a modern masterpiece. Herbert is a true lover of house music- and that's what you can hear on Around The House. Not only about the acoustic geography of the home, the album explores the limits of house music in general. For Herbert, the music's strict rhythmic format is a challenge. Though it's defined by its predilection for the kick drum and hi-hat, there's a certain feeling in that steady rhythmic structure that makes house music house music. Herbert takes these elements and turns them upside down, and you can feel his groove right from the start. Couple Herbert's warm and twisted take on house with the infatuating vocals of Dani Siciliano and you have one of the most remarkable house music albums ever. Call it deep, dubby or whatever you like ö Herbert's Around The House is (literally) house music and you cannot find anything else like it."

Artist:	HERBERT
Title:	Addiction
Label:	STUD!O K7 (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.00
Catalog #:	K7 131EP

"His compositions have attracted some of dance music's most inventive producers to rework, remix, and reinvent his songs for the all new Addiction EP featuring remixes of the Bodily Functions tracks 'Addiction', 'Suddenly', and 'The Last Beat'; this EP also features the previously unreleased 'I'll Do It'. Anchored by Herbert's remake of 'Addiction' with the legendary Perry Farrell (of Jane's Addiction fame) as guest-vocalist, the EP also includes mixes by longtime collaborator Phil Parnell and Japanese keyboard wiz Emerson Kitamura."

Artist:	HERBERT
Title:	Scale
Label:	STUD!O K7 (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	K7 202CD

"With his new album Scale, restless musical innovator Matthew Herbert has produced his most accessible and mellifluous song collection to date. In just a decade as a recording artist, Herbert has become Britain's most inventive and prolific electronic composer, producing and remixing artists as diverse as Björk, REM, John Cale, Roisin Murphy, Yoko Ono and Serge Gainsbourg. On the surface at least, Scale is Herbert's smoothest and sweetest album so far. The overall tone is bright and opulent, the prevailing musical chatter a sophisticated conversation between luxuriant jazz, sumptuous disco and sensual house rhythms. In this grand ballroom of sound, silken ballads jostle for floorspace with syncopated, club-friendly tracks, while elsewhere, Herbert's deep roots in experimental electronica and musique concrete come to the fore. But Scale is much more than enjoyable. It is a sumptuous banquet of soulful pop made with integrity, intelligence and invention. Proof that, even in troubled times, the best music can be both playful and political, serious and sublime. It is all just a question of scale."

Artist:	HERBERT
Title:	Harmonise/The Movers and the Shakers
Label:	STUD!O K7 (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$9.00
Catalog #:	K7 202EP

"'The Movers And The Shakers' is graced with slinky vocals by chanteuse Dani Siciliano, Herbert's partner and frequent collaborator, alongside guest singer Neil Thomas. The single also contains two further versions that divide music from voice, one a graceful a capella reading, the other a lush and bustling instrumental. 'Harmonise' is a pert and perky blast of attention grabbing jazzy electronica. Siciliano again provides silken vocals on both the original and a capella versions. With this single Herbert offers syncopation, sophistication and subversion in one seductively rich package."

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