As announced on last week Sundaze, I'm posting what has become the rather rare works of The Higher Intelligence Agency (Bobby Bird) a musician/dj that burst on the scene with 2 well recieved albums , subsequently released a number of co authored works and then kinda disappeared from the scene in 2001.
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The Higher Intelligence Agency was formed around the Oscillate Sound System, a collective of music producers and promoters with an affinity for those downtempo techno sounds of the early 90s. The Birmingham-based Higher Intelligence Agency is composed of DJ/musician Bobby Bird and occasional collaborator Dave Wheels. Musically, they pitch their creative tent somewhere between the ambient and experimental techno camps, with breakbeat, electro-style rhythms and a song-oriented melodic and harmonic base informing the bulk of their most recent work. The group formed in 1992 as a live experiment performing at Bird's Oscillate parties (which played early host to such acts as Autechre, Orbital, Mixmaster Morris, and Scanner), and has since grown into a full-on creative force, releasing a pair of albums and as many EPs. Although perhaps not as prodigious as many of their peers, HIA's focus is on quality rather than quantity, and their released material is uniformly well-produced and meticulously crafted. In addition to constant touring and the ongoing Oscillate schedule, HIA have also performed commissioned work for museums and festivals. While still bent on working together, Bird has largely taken over HIA's reigns while Wheels pursues a solo project, and has completed remixes for Freeform and Obconic. Collaborations in 1996 with Frankfurt's Deep Space Network and Geir Jenssen of Biosphere also produced an album apiece, the former (Deep Space Network Meets Higher Intelligence Agency) on DSN's Source label and the latter (Polar Sequences) on Beyond. Another collaborational series, S.H.A.D.O. with Pete Namlook, began in 1997 and resumed two years later.
The fruitful collaboration of Bobby Bird and Pete Namlook generated a creative music of innovative beats and melodic soundscapes. Through combining different styles including Elektro, Ambient-EnvironMental, late Romantic and Trance the style of Elektronik Fusion Music is formend. The unique sound-assemblage let arise a futuristic world on its own. Take a glance on the inspiring music of these two extraordinary artists.
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A collaboration between Biosphere's Geir Jennsen and Bobby Bird of Higher Intelligence Agency, commissioned by the Norwegian government for live performance at the 1995 It's a live performance in Oktober 1995 on a mountain in Troms�, Norway (Jenssen's hometown), in the Artic region. In summertime, the sun shines night and day, in winter time, the darkness creeps in and seems eternaly, until the dawn of next year's summer kisses the horizon again. Samples of the machinery of the local cable lift, snow, moving crusts of ice, and more were used. The result is as mesmerising as Biosphere landmark album "Substrata". The last track "Meltwater" is as hypnotic as it is astonishing. Pieces of ice seem to float in icy water and produce hollow cracking sounds as the crusts scrape along side each others edges. Literaly moving and mesmerising and a true work of art. Sparse beats occasionally bubble up, but the focus is definitely on the icy edge of Arctic life.
Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere - Polar Sequences (flac 289mb)
01 Cimmerian Shaft 13:16
02 Snapshot Survey 8:22
03 White Lightning 10:12
04 Countdown To Darkness 6:21
05 Corona 9:56
06 Meltwater 9:19
Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere - Polar Sequences (ogg 128mb)
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The first several seconds of the album sound like a rather friendly overhead recording in a comfortable spacecraft. The journey begins. It feels like a rather welcoming dip into unfamiliar terrain, with only the slightest trim of a neccessary edginess. Once you feel you may be drifting a bit, (as in, the craft is now on auto pilot, where is the crew and will the journey gain any sense of direction?)- this is when S.H.A.D.O. picks up the pace. With an ever so delicate and depthful beat (Space Interceptors). From here on out, the construction of S.H.A.D.O.s rather unusual matrix of beats intensifies.becoming a virtual collection of efficient and rather high spirited, deep souled hymns.
The cover image, of a large, nearly aquatically submerged window, with a distant view of Earth, is beautiful as well. An appreciable image, to introduce a much appreciated collaboration of two of electronicas most interesting influences (HIA and Pete Namlook), bringing to us sounds which perhaps only sound otherworldly.
Higher Intelligence Agency & Pete Namlook ? S.H.A.D.O (flac 309mb)
01 Intruder Detector 11:04
02 Secret Location 9:51
03 Space Interceptors 13:51
04 Skydiver 20:53
05 Maintaining Scan For UFO's 9:42
The Higher Intelligence Agency - Freefloater (152mb)
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Higher Intelligence Agency & Pete Namlook ? S.H.A.D.O 2 (flac 297mb)
01 Countless 16:26
02 Inner Sense 12:14
03 Begend 15:42
04 UFO Detection System (Approach - Intercept - Verify) 10:31
Higher Intelligence Agency & Pete Namlook ? S.H.A.D.O 2 (ogg 129mb)
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Polar Sequences and Birmingham Frequencies are two parts of a same project.The second part of this project was put together by Bird and Jenssen, using a similar approach, this time set in Bobby Bird?s native Birmingham. The chosen venue was on the twelfth floor of the Rotunda, situated in the heart of the city. The one off event also featured videos and digital images, as well as a caf� and one of the best views over Birmingham.
The music created for the two events is very similar in form, the two artists creating a slow moving, chilled soundtrack. But where Polar Sequences feels very natural, using sounds of snow and melting ice, the only human interaction being the cable car, Birmingham Frequencies is definitely more urban. Voices of children playing in a park or a pelican crossing alarm are amongst the sounds used as the basis for the creation.
These two records are complementary, and Jenssen and Bird both bring their own creativity and technology to a very interesting project. Absolutely unmissable.
Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere ? Birmingham Frequencies (flac 229mb)
01 Cannon Hill 7:01
02 Gas Street Basin 6:29
03 Narrowboat 6:21
04 The Rotunda 6:07
05 Augusta Road 8:07
06 Daddylonglegs 2:51
07 Midpoint 11:23
Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere ? Birmingham Frequencies (ogg 111mb)
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Source: http://rho-xs.blogspot.com/2012/02/sundaze-1208.html
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