Glasgow based producer Alex Smoke has spoken about his love affair with the album format.
Almost since its inception, dance music has struggled to come to terms with the album format. By its very nature, the dance scene is better documented in a flood of 12 inch vinyl, rather than a monolithic album release.
However some artists have taken the expanded nature of the album in their stride. Glasgow based producer Alex Smoke, for example, is closely tied to the album format after a series of experimental releases.
At times bordering on classical, the producer would seem constrained on 12 inch. Speaking to Fabric, Alex Smoke explained that he never doubted that an LP was the correct medium for his music.
“I really never considered any other way” he insisted. “I don’t just want to have to write functional music for dancefloors as 90% of the appeal of writing for me is simply to make music for the sake of it. With an album you can stretch yourself in different directions and that is ultimately much more satisfying.”
Probed on the possible ‘death of the album’ the producer seemed to predict its longevity. “I think it’s unlikely to happen completely as the idea of a suite of music that goes together is a very old concept, from even before the days of recorded sound.”
“I personally like to hear a single artist’s take on a variety of styles, and I’m sure many artists will continue to make them for the same reasons.”
Returning with his latest album ‘Lux’ the Glasgow beatsmith merges dancefloor friendly techno and a near classical approach. “With any album I never have an overriding idea, it’s more just a meeting of current influences and processes. With Lux, I was listening to an ever-wider range of music and in a climate where there are fewer genre expectations” he said.
“On top of which I had a lot of new ideas about sound creation, so all these things came together. The album took so long to come out that now it is already out of step with my ideas, which is frustrating.”
Click HERE to read the entire article!
