A Guy Called Gerald Proto Acid (The Berlin Sessions) out now

Post by **markus** » 15 Aug 2006 14:55

From boomkat.com:

A GUY CALLED GERALD - Proto Acid - The Berlin Sessions

Gerald is back! Drenching Detroit-styled techno in sparkling electroid acid killers, this set was recorded in one session using two laptops and a DJ mixer at Gerald’s Diehold Studio on February 11th, 2006. With one exception (“Auto Rebuild,” the third track, is a remake of 808 State’s “Automannik”), the album’s 24 raw, club-oriented tracks are all new and were created over the last year in Berlin. The collection departs from the style of his last full-length, ‘To All Things What They Need’, in many ways, the most obvious being the absence of singing. Asked why he decided to make Proto Acid wholly instrumental, Simpson doesn’t mince words. “On my last two albums, I felt pressured to include vocals,” he replies. “Nowadays, I feel singers should be put on a bale of hay with a piece of straw hanging out of their mouths while playing acoustic guitar—keeping it real, if you know what I mean. I want to make music for clubs and sometimes you just have to get down and dirty into the machines and, to take it there, you can’t hold anyone’s hand. Some things just don’t need a vocal". Asked to describe the album’s sound, Simpson says, “To me it’s proto acid; it’s how I feel house/techno music would have sounded if the whole rave thing hadn’t happened in England. When I was younger, I would go to soul and funk clubs and you could easily mix a techno/house track into your set without spoiling the environment. Could you imagine playing a techno track at an r’n’b club today? Things have splintered and fragmented and floated so far apart that funk seems to have dropped through the cracks. I’m one of those preserved creatures that basically loves to use genres as a palette. So when I say proto acid I’m saying this stuff has direct lineage to Chicago and Detroit in the mid-to-late 80s.” “For me, acid was all about the tweaking of synths and riding a groove, you know what I mean? Like, before the masses thought the Transistor Bass machine was a special tool for doing acid house music, I was already bored with it and had moved on to tweaking envelopes on other Roland machinery, so I never really possessed that value for the 303 like everybody else did. I feel like I followed my own path and was inspired by what was going on in Detroit and Chicago but always did my own thing. To me, the new album is acid and acid’s a part of everything I do.” At this stage in his career, one might assume that Simpson has covered every base imaginable, but apparently that’s not so. Referring to the new release, he says, “It’s the culmination of a dream I’ve had since I started making music, and that’s to take the studio into the club; this album is snapshot of those possibilities.”

Out on CD & LP through Laboratory Instinct.

'Steve' · Post by **'Steve'** » 16 Aug 2006 20:02

haven't got it yet...any good?

Post by **markus** » 18 Aug 2006 16:09

Note that Auto Rebuild only features on the CD.

Post by **nickking** » 18 Aug 2006 18:21

I really like it (well, I would, wouldn't I?

), and DMC Update have given it 5/5 stars, and this month's DJ Magazine has given it 4.5/5 stars, which gives you an idea.

I'll attempt to scan in the DJ Magazine article at some point this weekend - they're much better at reviewing it than me!

'Steve' · Post by **'Steve'** » 18 Aug 2006 19:49

It looks like a return to form to Gerald. His last album has some good tunes (First Try and Pump are absolutely immense, 808 State have some catching up to do!), but only half of it was killer.

What tunes should I look forward to hearing? (there are loads.) I've heard Auto Rebuild, I liked that a lot.

Anybody know when the CD/vinyl reissues are coming out? I must have Hot Lemonade.

NathanGear · Post by **NathanGear** » 20 Aug 2006 02:20

'Steve' wrote:Anybody know when the CD/vinyl reissues are coming out? I must have Hot Lemonade.

Excellent question! Beatport.com has had the mp3s up for awhile now. Sort of expected the cd release to quickly follow suit, but here it is August and nothing. What would be killer is if they did a 2 cd set: Hot Lemonade on disc 1 and the Voodoo Ray EP as a second bonus disc.

The new album sounds nice; going to have to pick it up. I must say I was not a fan of "Essence" or "To All Things What They Need".

Post by **nickking** » 20 Aug 2006 03:10

'Steve' wrote:Anybody know when the CD/vinyl reissues are coming out? I must have Hot Lemonade.

Damn good question - delays are due to time taken to remaster - priority is "Anything Can Happen (Bailey Remix)" which was aired about a month ago on Radio 1's 1Xtra station - I think they're pretty busy promoting "Proto Acid" at the moment, and then the reissues will follow after that...

As soon as I have something more concrete, I'll let you know!

Oh, btw, here's the review from DJ Magazine:

"Acid legend is seduced by Berlin.

The title of this album of studio-mixed new material by A Guy Called Gerald is misleading: while he made his name during acid house, this album is more influenced by Detroit techno and Berlin minimalism than Roland-torturing. Opening salvos 'The Strip' and 'Auto Rebuild' feature arcing acid lines, but the focus quickly shifts to splurging Berlin-style rhythms and wiry percussion - 'Droid' and 'Nasty' - and the jacking groove and tight claps of 'The Stink'. Gerald even touches on the metallic otherworld of Drexciyan electro - 'Monday' - and outros with the atmospheric, Derrick May-esque 'Sweet You'. If you expected him to bang the box, you may be disappointed, but as a collection of pristine electronic music, 'Proto Acid' is unparalleled.

Richard Brophy
Mint track: 'Monday'
****½"