#9294 (Collected Works 1992 – 1994) (Sampler)

Chronique

In the early '90s, after industrial music pioneers Cabaret Voltaire had embraced the acid house movement, and co-founder Richard H. Kirk released some of the Warp label's defining early singles as one half of the bleep-techno duo Sweet Exorcist, he started a solo project called Sandoz. The initial work produced under this alias was similar to material CV had been producing at the time, which was hypnotic, sample-driven techno -- a far cry from the noisy electro-punk they were known for during their Rough Trade days back in the late '70s and early '80s. However, the Sandoz material was more lush, ambient-leaning, and globally conscious, thoroughly exploring the dub and African influences that had been present in Kirk's solo recordings (particularly 1986's Ugly Spirit) and some of his work with CV. Sandoz debuted with a few EPs on Kirk's own Intone label before signing with Touch in 1993 and issuing the full-length Digital Lifeforms. Brighter and less chaotic than CV, and far more fleshed-out than the minimalist "clonk" tracks by Sweet Exorcist, the album combined complex melodies with light samples of tribal drumming and chanting. The tracks were also heavily influenced by the sci-fi themes of early Detroit techno and the warm, melodic chords of early Chicago house, with traces of American funk and soul seeping through. The album was sort of a more earthy variation of the "intelligent techno" sound of artists like Biosphere and B12, and it went over well with fans of Warp's Artificial Intelligence releases. Dark Continent (initially a 1993 EP, later expanded to a full-length CD in 1996) and the 1994 album Intensely Radioactive continued in this direction, gradually increasing the tribal influences. This box set contains all three albums, including the double-CD "Redux" edition of Digital Lifeforms issued in 2004, and adds a further disc of alternate mixes and rarities called Run the Voodoo Down. Later on, Sandoz would go full-on dub for a pair of albums that also received a significant amount of critical praise, but this box is an extensive collection of the project's most groundbreaking period.
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