Clicks & Cuts 2

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 17, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Efa Imports
• ASIN: B00005ASUY
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,679 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #100 in Music > Dance & DJ > Techno > Minimal Techno

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 hours of music ... I can't complain, July 17, 2001

By 

Matthew D. Mercer (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clicks & Cuts 2 (Audio CD)

Mille Plateaux has been somewhat criticized for releasing this 3-disc sequel to the highly lauded "clicks_+_cuts" compilation from 2000. This I believe stems from a feeling of betrayal; whereas the first clicks_+_cuts set immersed itself in the glitchy electronic undercurrent of the moment, effectively capturing the experimental zeitgeist of that period in a rapidly changing time, the second volume combines that aesthetic with a much more conventional, almost dancefloor-friendly sound. However, I feel that this is satisfying the same genuine curiosity that permeated the first set; after all, like it or not, this is where the label (and a significant amount of its roster) have been heading for some time now. The better question to ask is whether Mille Plateaux was somewhat misguiding its listeners the first time around, giving listeners completely abstract tracks from usually more conventional artists like Kid 606?

My personal answer to these questions is: I don't care. Because this 3-disc set is more than worth the price I paid for it. Not only does it fulfill the experimentalist in me but it also delivers several tracks in the glitched-up tech-house vein, which are equally sucessful in my opinion. How anyone could put on Kit Clayton's contribution and not wear a big smile (even if you're embarrassed about it) is beyond me. I think it's somewhat of breakthrough that someone managed to combine the severe sounds of the early clicks_+_cuts releases with a sense of humor.

Those looking for extreme experimentalism in the minimalist genre might be better off heading the way of the Ritornell label (a sister label to Mille Plateaux) and its "Maschinelle Stratageme" compilation as an introduction. Those interested in where this new phenomena is currently headed, however, are likely to appreciate the variety and sheer quantity of material to hear on this very affordable set.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 cds! What a spanking good deal!, November 17, 2001

By 

"donkeye" (all up in your face) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clicks & Cuts 2 (Audio CD)

The cover and insert art is fantastic. This is really well designed package. Mille Plateaux have really outdone themselves with this 3cd bugger. Quite amazing, really.

Musically, it all depends on what you look for in a comp. Do you like crazy variety, no two songs the same? Well, then this would not be your comp. But, if you are like me, and you like an album that holds together, stays consisent, but moves through a series of minor, subtle changes, then this is it. This is the comp for you. The music is spanking amazing.

This is why I've always hated rock comps. Because you get all these different singers, these different lame guitar sounds, and cheasy drum effects and whatever else. With certain IDM comps, you get variety without the damaging idiocy of bad production sound and overly portentous singers.

Keep it realistic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Music of the Future, October 21, 2002

By 

Mons "Mons" (Norrpan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clicks & Cuts 2 (Audio CD)

In two hundred years' time, at the World Annual Music Convention (2202), a bearded old man will take the stage to announce that a crucial missing link in the Movement in Techno has finally been found in a dusty cave near Baden Baden.
"There is absolut ely no doubt in my mind," he will say, " that this is the CD we have been looking for. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is where it all started. A collection of northern European (and two american) electronica artists who one day saw the light, threw away thei r Roland drum machines and used the noises generated by the static, faulty equipment to create a minimal, understated offshoot of techno. And they saw that it was good."
The old man will then put Disc 3 on and the audience will sit back and listen with rapt attention to the i ntriguing sounds issuing from the speakers. Pan Sonic's Arvio and Twerk's Inorganic Clarity starts with a what seems like random rattling and whining noises but a rhythmic pattern soon emerges with elegant synth pa ds adding a spatial dimension. Taylor Dupree's track, Clir, sounds like a leaking tap onboard the Starship Enterprise while Kit Clayton's contribution, Marital Problem sounds like the 'Merengue' setting on a Bontempi organ played by your downstairs neig hbour. The audience soon n otice that all the tracks have certain things in common: the music has a tactile quality as though the composers have made a conscious decision to work with texture rather than melody, all the tracks are instrumental, it is quiet music which relies on the inventive juxtaposition of frequencies rather than volume for its impact, none of these tracks will make the Top 40 but will most likely be used as intro music for TV or radio programmes, it is more ambient than techno, and is not the ideal gift for a 13 year-old girl who loves Boyzone ...One wag in the audience suggests that it sounds like Autechre after someone's told them to turn the noise down.
"But what about Brian Eno, sir?
"Brian Eno," he will reply coldly, "belonged to the Postanalogue Period."
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