Our man with the electronica expertise, Paul Berrington is back with us in the studio.
Tonight we have some tracks from a relatively underground figure, Matthew Herbert, who's worked with the likes of Björk, REM, John Cale, Roisin Murphy, Yoko Ono and Serge Gainsbourg.
Photo: Helen Woods [CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)]
The 46 year-old UK born and bred producer is also a classically trained pianist, but first turned heads in the mid 90s with a sampler and a bag of crisps.
Wishmountain - Radio (Evolution /1996)
An early release on Global Communication's Evolution label - before launching his own labels Phono, Antiphon and Accidental, 'Radio' seems almost formulaic now, but when released it came ahead of the minimal techno wave of the early 00s. A weird and ultimately visionary record.
Herbert - I Hadn't Known (I Only Heard) (Phonography/1998)
We've skipped a number of truly fantastic tracks to get this point, but to give some context, by the time this was released - Herbert had pretty much scripted his own narrative, and each single released during this period was simply put - "a buy on sight."
Moloko - Sing It Back (Herbert's Tasteful Dub) (Echo/1998)
A master stroke. Moloko's light catchy pop song takes on another dimension with Herbert's remix. Clicks and hisses and cut up vocals create a profound undeniably dancey but melancholic masterpiece. Herbert's method lent to some great remixes, but this is still the pick, and arguably one of the best ever.
Herbert - Leave Me Now (Studio !K7/2001)
Taken from the absolutely wonderful Bodily Functions LP, this sublime, catchy piece of soulful house music will remain timeless. Still minimalist in structure, it shows a producer completely in touch with his method.
