[releases] afe064lcd
the impossible flower: anthophobia

Track List:

1.  Flip Flop  4:49

2.  Super Wonder Boy  4:38

3.  My Tide  4:04

4.  Washed and Beached  6:40

5.  Pete's Breakfast  5:43

6.  Sea Sun  4:23

7.  Electro Mummykins  5:30

8.  0 is the Magic Number  6:00

9.  Girl on Mount Florida  7:37

Description:

"Anthophobia" was supposed to be released one year earlier along with "Roots and Fruits" to showcase the other side of The Impossible Flower. Unfortunately we had to pospone this release until... now!

In the meantime, The Impossible Flower has gained more and more a cult status due to a collection of previously self-released material that was compiled and published by Benbecula Records in their monthly Mineral Series.

Just like "Roots & Fruits", all the tracks that appear on "Anthophobia" were recorded some time ago, when The Impossible Flower was still a solo project by Andrew David Daly.

Clocking in at about 50 minutes, "Anthophobia" (...an abnormal and persistent fear or flowers...) consists of nine great carefully produced IDM tracks that compete with themselves to conquer the listeners' favour. A very difficult match since all of them stand out one way or the other...

"Flip Flop" opens the dances with a robotized voice that discloses beautiful synth melodies laid upon a straight beat and bassline, an almost quiet number to begin with...

"Super Wonder Boy" features what seem to be reversed lines of a bowed instrument (...one of the many links to "Roots and Fruits" scattered all over the album...) which soon get submerged by intricate rhythms and computer-generated synth bubbles and arpeggios.

"My Tide" starts with a treated piano and emerging controlled melodic feedback. Sampled jazz-rock drums, a dubby bassline and beautiful descriptive pads are added along the way. The track fuses with the time-stretched intro of "Washed and Beached", an almost obsessive number that introduces some of the drill solutions that will be fully exposed later on other tracks.

"Pete's Breakfast" and "Sea Sun" offer more stretched sampledelia and breakbeats, mysterious background voices and strained atmopheres.

We're sure none of you won't help falling in love with the fast and bulbous "Electro Mummykins", a superb example of drilling technology applied to an outstanding composition. This is the perfect 21st Century IDM tune for excellence and The Impossible Flower should be preserved in History as a man of merit even if he'd only created this track.

"0 is the Magic Number" has the difficult task to follow such perfection. It excellently accomplishes its duty with more drilled and distorted beats and breakbeats that support a melodic heart built on fluted dioramas.

"Girl on Mount Florida" closes the album with its slow 4/4 rhythm, a modulated evolving half-acid bassline and high-pitched micromelodies intercoursing delay made of the ghosts of a thousand carillons.

"Anthophobia" comes with a beautiful artwork designed by our friend Jing Zhang and is one of the most anticipated - and delayed - Afe releases. After listening to it, you won't help but agree with us that it was really worth the wait.


Reviews:

"Anthophobia" is one of those releases that is very likely to slip under the radar, and undeservedly so. In nine tracks spanning a bit over 50 minutes, Andrew Daley presents a collection of nine masterful tracks, each of which can be loosely described as a playful and optimistic hybrid of IDM and breakcore/drill'n'bass. From the melodic opening of "Flip Flop" to the simple rhythms and bells of "The Girl On Mount Florida," through the excellent and manic "Electro Mummykins" (a track easily comparable to some of Squarepusher's album "Hello Everything") and more downtempo tracks like "My Tide," Andrew Daley takes the listener on a hectic, but nevertheless very enjoyable and, on occasion, relaxing aural journey..."
Connexion Bizarre [more]

"Sarebbe sciocco negare che tracce come "Super Wonder Boi", "Pete's Breakfast", "Sea Sound", "0 is the Magic Number" o "Washed and Beached" non conoscano la complicazione per quanto riguarda i beats, ma sarebbe altrettanto sciocco far finta che (soprattutto) l'ultima non si ricordi di più per i suoni à la Boards Of Canada. Con questo si intende che Andrew, in pratica, non rinuncia a momenti più cerebrali, laddove - ad esempio - il progetto Bola si è di recente spostato su lidi più semplici e sereni, però forse vince – proprio come l'ultimo Darrel Fitton - quando lascia libere quelle melodie che gli amanti di Autechre, Aphex Twin e dei già menzionati fratelli Sandison non tarderanno a riconoscere e apprezzare (ascoltare "Flip Flop", "Electro Mummykins" o "Girl On Mount Florida"). "Anthophobia" è dunque un disco che spontaneamente si colloca in ambito IDM e che non è qui a spostare certi confini, ma la sua qualità è indiscutibile."
Audiodrome [more]

"..."Anthophobia" is an enjoyable - if not that original - mix of IDM, Drill'n'Bass and electro sound tracking. Throughout the album's nine tracks and fifty minutes running time, you can hear traces of The Aphex Twin at his more quirky, dayglow and low grade, Bola-like beats, hits and cinematic tone, Brothomstates beat traces and quirky edge, along with elements of an host of other IDM artists, with Daly also adding in some nice atmospheric emotional stained piano elements. And though Daly is hardly doing anything new here, he breeds every track with great flare, passion and sonic conviction, making enjoyable and effective IDM that goes from being playful and dayglow to atmospheric and edgy..."
Musique Machine [more]