Looking for a two member experimental band from the UK. Going slightly m

February 18, 2017 3:03 PM

Looking for a two member experimental band from the UK. Going slightly mad. Details inside.

Here is what I remember:

- Two members, both men
- Manchester? Scottish?
- Found them via Mark Fell?
- One word name - I might be wrong about this
- Soundscapes. High concept albums, tracks often 20 minutes long
- No vocals. Melodic, highly experimental, atmospheric sounds
- The Quietus, somehow? Perhaps the Quietus wrote about them?
- The OST of "Arrival" (2016) strongly reminded me of this band
- Rarely release albums, rarely perform live
- Somewhat obscure, highly regarded

posted by beshtya to Media & Arts (29 answers total)

Orbital?
posted by billiebee at 3:05 PM on February 18, 2017

Autechre? Boards of Canada? Plaid?
posted by scodger at 3:13 PM on February 18, 2017

That's Boards of Canada.
posted by scruss at 3:19 PM on February 18, 2017

if "tracks often 20 minutes long" is accurate, I'm not sure that's a fit for any of the groups mentioned. They may have the odd one that's 12+ minutes long, but its hardly "often" 20+ unless you're counting live sets as one track or some rubbishness.
posted by juv3nal at 4:16 PM on February 18, 2017

Coil?
posted by infinitewindow at 4:40 PM on February 18, 2017

Not sure at all, but would the work of Mount Vernon Labs lead you down the right path?
posted by kariebookish at 4:43 PM on February 18, 2017

The Orb?
posted by heathrowga at 4:53 PM on February 18, 2017

I normally hate to do this (since I myself just posted a "don't answer the question if it doesn't fit the parameters" MeTa) so flag away if this is off base, but I often conflate Boards of Canada (two dudes, Scottish, rarely perform live) with Gas (one word name, obscure and highly regarded, 20-minute tracks) - any chance you have done the same?
posted by capricorn at 5:08 PM on February 18, 2017

There are a bunch of 12+ minute tracks in Gas' Milles Plateaux output but not a single 20+ one as far as I can tell. Also it's an individual dude rather than a duo and he's not from the UK.
posted by juv3nal at 5:13 PM on February 18, 2017

Any beats in this music?

Listening to a few Arrival tracks, what about the orchestral stuff therein?

Regardless: Biosphere, even though one guy and Norwegian. However, he has also collaborated with Bobby Bird of The Higher Intelligence Agency, who is from Birmingham. Not quite Scotland, though closer to Manchester, but that's all I got right now.
posted by rhizome at 5:21 PM on February 18, 2017

Fuck Buttons?
posted by drunkonthemoon at 5:32 PM on February 18, 2017

Future Sounds of London is 2 guys and started as a Manchester-Glasgow project.
posted by mannequito at 6:23 PM on February 18, 2017

What timeframe?
posted by fshgrl at 8:21 PM on February 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

B12?
posted by fullerine at 9:28 PM on February 18, 2017

Response by poster: Nah it's none of these.

Timeframe: I think they released something around 2000? And I read that they had annouced a surprise, rare live performance sometime in 2016 (which is when I read about them).

They've made only about 2-3 albums if I'm not wrong...

Starts with an O? or W? Might be totally off there too
posted by beshtya at 11:14 PM on February 18, 2017

How obscure?
Darkroom
posted by bongo_x at 11:21 PM on February 18, 2017

Woob?
Global Communication?
posted by peanut butter milkshake at 12:31 AM on February 19, 2017

.O.rang?
posted by ZipRibbons at 3:27 AM on February 19, 2017

Worriedaboutsatan?
posted by Sonny Jim at 6:05 AM on February 19, 2017

"And I read that they had annouced a surprise, rare live performance sometime in 2016 (which is when I read about them)."

Well, every major UK "soundscapes" duo but the KLF has already been mentioned, so I guess I may as well do so now. Your comment reminded me of this:

http://www.metafilter.com/164374/Is-the-KLF-back-for-2017
posted by tenderly at 6:24 AM on February 19, 2017

This might be a stretch (in terms of timing and melody) but a bunch of your characteristics line up with the duo Emptyset, based in Bristol. Here's the most recent Quietus interview with them.
posted by Stevia Agave at 10:51 AM on February 19, 2017

Not UK at all, but Oval?
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:46 PM on February 19, 2017

I'm going to jump in and suggest Cabaret Voltaire. Some of their stuff can be long, they have a lot of different sounds, and they did a concert back in 2014 that was the first for them in 20 years. Of course they released this one song that comes in at a whopping 50+ minutes.
posted by lester at 8:04 PM on February 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

Well, this is tough. When you speak about the OST for The Arrival, do you mean the Max Richter track ("The Swimmer") that bookends the movie, which is the only memorable music?
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:22 PM on February 19, 2017

The rest of the soundtrack is not unmemorable. Here's Song Exploder Episode 89 with composer Jóhann Jóhannsson looking at “Heptapod B” from the ‘Arrival’ score, which is probably the kind of thing the OP is looking for.
posted by Lexica at 8:29 PM on February 19, 2017

That sure sounds like The Avalanches to me.
posted by msali at 9:33 PM on February 19, 2017

A bit of a long shot, but O Yuki Conjugate, perhaps?
posted by Transmissions From Vrillon at 10:10 AM on February 20, 2017

Is it snd? Sheffield-based, two members (one of whom was actually Mark Fell himself), released a bunch of stuff on Mille Plateaux around the turn of the century...
posted by the north sea at 1:40 PM on March 3, 2017

Response by poster: I can't believe this, but it's none of the above.

Perhaps I should amend the Arrival reference; more than the OST, the sound design, the atmosphere, the score reminded me of this band.
posted by beshtya at 11:25 AM on March 11, 2017