i’m currently going track by track through a mix i recently did for a website called research and development - find out more here.

5. the books - ghost train digest

aleatoric.

i am a big fan of the books. since their first album i’ve been in awe of the way they combine reappropriated snippets of everyday conversation and radio plays with beautifully recorded and manipulated home strings, guitars, found sounds and percussion. books tracks are always meaningful but never heavy-handed - they are playful but in a very serious way. when i listen to lost and safe, it feels like i am listening to the full potential of music being realised - no half-measures, no weak moments, no bad ideas, no generic conventions. i suppose this is how i might characterise the feeling i sometimes have of hearing ‘perfect music’ - immediately familiar, yet at the same time unprecedented.

one of the cutest oddities in the books relatively small catalogue is their ep “music for a french elevator and other short format oddities”, released on mini-cd and available (i think) only through the books website:

It is a compendium on mini CD of four pieces created for the “1%” art and sound installation in the Ministry of Culture in Paris, France in 2004. The pieces were created to be played in the elevator of the Ministry, giving the release its title. Following the initial four tracks (those designed for the elevator) are “several ‘classic’ spoken word tracks” taken from The Books’ sample libraries. from wikipedia

i ordered the ep recently from the books website, as well as a few other things including a recently released dvd containing shorts that the books themselves have put together to accompany their tracks live. sometimes when i get a dvd, or an album, its so special to me that it sits on the shelf or on my desk for a long time before i find the ‘right time’ to listen to it or watch it. i’m not sure how long this dvd will be on the shelf for, but it might be some time.

MP3: The Books - Ghost Train Digest (in full)

MP3: The Books - Millions of Millions (also from ‘Music for a French Elevator’)

Video: The Books - Take Time (from ‘Playall’ DVD)

Video: The Books - Be Good To Them Always (live)