Black Dog Productions – Bytes

Warp finally reissues Bytes 10+ years too late. This was one of my most desired represses, and for me, it's too late.

30 years for a repress!

This original press is JUNK. It's notoriously poor. Buy the repress.

warp pressed some of the best electronic music ever! P.E.A.C.E

Best electronic album of all time. Thought so when I bought my bronze copy 30 years ago and have heard nothing in the intervening 30 years to touch it, so I was over the moon to stumble across it being re-released and instantly snapped up a new copy to replace my original which has had so much play over the years it sounds like it's been trawled by a dredger rather than a Stanton diamond.

Whoever decided to repress this, you will surely go to electronic heaven.

'Merck' is as beautiful as the first time I heard it: my favourite electronic track of all time. I could do without the Detroitian tangent in the middle, typical of Detroit stuff of that era e.g. Rhythim is Rhythim, but the first and third 'acts' touch me in a way that I can only explain by the Welsh word 'hiraeth' which roughly means experiencing a sense of missing something you've never experienced.

The other Balil track '3/4 heart' is also absolutely gorgeous and arguably attains perfection in of coherence and composition.

'Object Orient' kicks it all off with the latiny thing Plaid were doing back then, notably on the Scoobs in Corblimeya (sic) (Blakey's hypothetical On The Buses mix) release on GPR. If you can't pitch this up to +1.5 and play it out you shouldn't be playing out.

The only bad thing you could say is that this album was so mindblowing to us at the time that someone decided to coin the abomination that is 'IDM' (intelligent dance music). That term should have been made illegal and its use carry a suitable punishment. But the rave scene had gone badly wrong by '91 and '92 and while I've never heard of Ed and Andy complaining how dreadful it was, how dreadful the music was, this album does feel like the kind of thing you'd write as a sort of antidote, to save the future of music. And they did, bless em.

also posted on duststore
"Pressed on double 12" vinyl, this 2023 edition has been remastered and recut, giving the album a fresh vibrant sound and enhanced dynamics. "

Happy 30th birthday Bytes! Still my favourite electronic album after all these years and will surely stay that way till the end.

Released 30 years ago today!! Still a brilliant release! Peace!

Hands down still a fav in 2021. Thank the cosmos for labels like WARP early on taking on such quirky and odd electronica and offering it to us feeble listeners in America! This B12 and Autechres debut are STILL go to listens irregardless of the contorted looks I might get from friends the music is just as fresh as it was back in the day(ok a few drum loops are dated!).

Are the interlude tracks not on the CD version of Bytes?

sooooo much soul in this record. "Merck" is one of my all time favorite songs now :) They made some pretty incredible synths and gear back in the 90's huh? Glad these guys made this album.

Absolute masterpiece. An incredibly stimulating and rich listening experience from beginning to end, I'm continuously amazed by the sheer amount of ideas contained within this collection of tracks and interludes. The whole thing is perfectly paced and I can't help but laugh every time I get to 'Fight The Hits'. The artwork is also brilliant, especially the front cover which gives you the opportunity to look through the window and see a vista of another world, leaving the rest up to your imagination. Listening to this album evokes the same happy feelings as playing some of my favourite games did when growing up (the Wind Waker especially) and I'm really grateful for that.