NOT since Martyn Bennett rewrote the rulebook on his groundbreaking Grit album have fragments from Scotland’s archives been used so imaginatively and intelligently in electronic music. But this isn’t folk music by any definition. This is Ragman Rolls, which is the closing track on Glasgow trio Machines In Heaven’s new album called Phenomenology.
The way that MiH – Greg Hurst, Davey Gwynne and Connor Reid – fit ambient clouds of synths then skippy beats around samples from ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax’s Gaelic field recordings from the 1950s, brings an organic human dimension to the straighter edges of their music. It’s a nice way to round off a truly excellent album that shifts easily from psychedelic dreamscapes to dancefloor magnetism.
“We’ve been more experimental but inclusive with our approach for Phenomenology,” explains Gwynne. “Where bordersbreakdown [MiH’s debut album from 2014] was essentially written by one person, with writing input/production/effects from another, we chose to all have direct input and control over the songs. We’ve also taken a darker, more electronic direction, but are keen to still keep the guitars.”
But not, notably, in any sort of Scottish indie-jangle sense.
“We’ve a lot of time for the jangly guitar stuff but we’d be lying to ourselves if we said that a lot of those kinds of bands haven’t become a bit of a pastiche of each other,” Gwynne argues.
“It’s all about evolution, really. More and more things are becoming possible with new tech and innovative thinking. We believe that no matter what music you’re playing, as an artist you owe it to yourself to at least look into operating a Digital Audio Workstation, maybe introducing some digital production and effects techniques.
“Basically, electronic music affects music as a whole in the same way that video games affect art as a whole.”
And it all makes for an exciting live environment, with room for experimentation and improvisation.
“Playing the Phenomenology stuff has been brilliant so far, with a lot of positive vibe and feedback,” Gwynne notes. “Because a lot of the songs are quite danceable, we gyrate all over the place. Sometimes mistakes are made, but it’s all part of the fun. Energy trumps tightness every time, especially if you’re in the front row.”
lPhenomenology is released tomorrow on Hot Gem Tunes. Machines In Heaven play Bloc+, Glasgow, at 11pm on Sunday as part of the closing party of the Restless Natives festival.
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