That Beautiful Feeling
My stint with the Brothers started sometime back in 1994, 1995 when a friend of mine who came back from visiting his relatives in France, brought a copy of a big-beat / electronica mixtape. In between the likes of Fluke, The Prodigy, Orbital there was the Dust Brothers (as they were called back then), and an early version of a track of what was to become the acclaimed “Song To The Siren”. I think I played that tape to death (eventually managed to make a copy of it), and then the inevitable happened: 1995, in a now long-defunct obscure music store in my hometown (Bella Musica), I stumbled upon an album: The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust. Times like these can only be relived through apocryphal anecdotes, as people nowadays haven’t really known nor experienced the pleasure of diving through piles of cassettes, listening to vinyl or CD samples and unearth hidden gems. OK, CD’s maybe, and the vinyl revival is on the rise but anyway, as always, I digress.
Suffice to say I’ve been wowed ever since I laid my hands onto that tape (which I still have, btw), and so started my loyalty with the electronic music Brotherhood. Throughout the years - and counting nine albums (ten now!), they provided some of the most amazing and creative pieces of electronic music. At times ambient and contemplative (Asleep From Day, Where Do I Begin), at times head banging techno/acid-driven, their largely instrumental psychedelic music has always brought me a feeling of escapism.
And now they’re back, picking up where 2019’s album (No Geography) left off, with a reaffirmation of their biggest strength: never caring much for mass-produced crap, yet delivering house and techno tunes that at times have a large appeal. There are at least a couple of tunes on the new album that my brain has clung onto and there are chances it may stay that way for a long time: Goodbye and Skipping Like A Stone (feat. Beck). The rest is driven by their signature drums featured in “It Began in Afrika” or the pervasive funkiness from Lost in the K-Hole or other evocative tunes.
As a 90’s nostalgic I cannot help myself listening to their new album with a large smile on my face, headphones on, deeply seated in and as cheesy as it may sound, it sure ‘Feels Like I Am Dreaming’. (PS: when they played this bomb of a massive psychedelic tune at London’s The Field back in 2022 the crowd went berserk, as yours truly can attest). There is a beautiful feeling enjoying such music with a large, happy and engaging crowd, but just like every such experience, it often feels like it lasts only for a second. And that is also my only quibble with the new album. Nevertheless, the memories linger on.
The Chemical Brothers - That Beautiful Feeling (their 10th album launched today, available on Apple Music)