They are all themes explored in Francis Ford Coppola's movie The Conversation from 1974. The troubled main character Harry Caul, portrayed by Gene Hackman, is an audio surveillance expert capable of bugging any conversation between a group of people. For a price, of course. Not to give away too much of the plot, especially for those who haven't seen the movie and plan on doing so, let's just say that one seemingly small and irrational piece of conversation will change the lives of Harry and the people involved.
Let's skip forward in time, twenty-three years to be exact. It's 1997, and this is where The Bug, at this time a co-op between Kevin Martin and Andre Gurov, better known as DJ Vadim, comes in. When you combine these highly productive musicians with the additional help of Dave Cochrane on bass, Simon Hopkins on guitar and Alex Buess on bass clarinet, you get Tapping the Conversation.
This dub-hop rendition of the movie is truely a dive into the deep end. Cochrane's basslines combined with Vadim's beats are the foundation on which the audials and visuals of the movie are reinterpreted on. While the sparse beats advance rather slowly, the textures are constantly moving with K-Mart squeezing tones from his synthesizers, some distorted guitars or the laid-back howls of the bass clarinet.
Although there is a heavy emphasis in the booklet that "absolutely no sonic or visual samples" are taken from the movie, watching the film in advance will help you enjoy the album to the fullest, as the track names are tied to scenes appearing in the movie.
Luckily for us The Bug goes beyond just reheating the suspense and feeling of the original motion picture. Instead, presenting us with their modern take on the menacing and paranoid vibe, this is infectiously catchy cinema for the mind. Enjoy!
"The issues of privacy and individuality, and issues of spying and listening, are as relevant now as they've ever been."
Download part 1
Download part 2
(95+32MB/320CBR)
Ah... the days before The Bug went all brutal ragga and sweet dub. I bet a lot of people thought this was somebody else.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really nice dark and deep album with plenty of deep bass. My copy of this went walkabout via the same friend of the Ice album.
I just chucked up 'Total Station' by Mick Harris and Eraldo Bernocchio last night which is kind of similar in sound and genre.
Tapping The Conversation is a long forgotten classic especially now considering KM's current direction from 2001-onwards...
Tapping the Conversation is a classic record and way too underrated. I was really drawn to the dark and unsettling moods on the disc.
ReplyDeleteSadly, quoting Kevin himself, this is the way he feels about it: "Although that's in the name of The Bug, I don't really see it as the same entity I've now devised. The first release that was really me trying to find my own way was the Lowrider 12" for Fat Cat". [from here]
And on other news, your comment made me dig out Total station after a long time. Much better than I remembered!
And a final commercial break for tonight, I recommend Eraldo Bernocchi/Blackfilm - Along the corridors. A few sample tracks are up on YouTube, have a listen!