Keef Baker The Widnes Years CATMD124

On his debut release with n5MD, The Widnes Years, Keef Baker blurs the edges of electronic corruption until all that is left are a few polished melodies that ever so subtly disperse themselves above a palette of sonic manipulations. The revealing sonic implosions are all internal and self-created. Reflecting the feelings of pretty objects being crushed out of malice, an aggressive scope of work is complimented by melodic remnants during the uplifting points on the album.

Shying away from current 'IDM' trends where process surpasses the tune, The Widnes Years has a lot more to do with friction than it does with fluidity. Gritty beats, rippling effects, and the particles of dust scattered above each melody collide into each other as if they were part of one entity, floating into a unified apocalyptic frenzy. [ learn more about Keef Baker]

groovesmag

While he apparently has around 15 years of musical experience behind him, The Widnes Years is the debut album from Keef Baker, the first Brit to join the ranks of the consistently first-rate n5MD imprint. Given the level of quality generally reached by his label mates, expectations for this release could be considered high, and Baker seems to be up to the task, as he comes through with an enjoyable and remarkably complex record. In the first two tracks lone, the listener's ears are treated to a perfectly constructed array of sounds that include bits of melodic IDM, moody ambience, post industrial drum 'n bass, and even some haunting choral vocal samples.

Each subsequent track is a similar melting pot of sounds, where playful melodies effortlessly collide with jagged beats and subtle atmospheres. There are a couple or points where the mixture teeters on the brink of chaos, and each element threatens to fall disastrously out of sync with the others, yet Baker somehow knows just when to rein things in and slow down in preparation for the next track. In fact, my only serious bone of contention with The Widnes Years is the gratuitous use of the hidden-track-after-several-minutes-of-silence gimmick, although my opinion of this may be clouded by the fact that I fell for the ruse and had the shit scared out of me by the blast of noise that opens the unlisted piece. But really, how can I stay mad at a record that features song titles like "Armed Snobbery" and "Betty Swollocks?" bastwood

Keef Baker has a somewhat unique sound. His material is an interesting blend of melodic IDM and harsher, drill'n'bass styled breakbeats. The most interesting thing is the almost perfect balance between these two elements - the frantic, gritty beats are never "bubbling under" or "waiting for their turn", but instead they complement the always-present analog synth washes and sinister chord progressions in a very natural-sounding way. There's no contrast between the two elements, even though initially it feels that there should be.

Scorn is one of the artists that has produced slightly similar-sounding tracks, but Keef Baker feels more playful and not as hell-bent on destroying the whole world with his slow, thudding crunches of sound. The Widnes Years juggles various styles with success, and it is an impressive debut from an artist who seems to have found some as of yet relatively untrodden paths from an area that didn't seem feasible to even exist in the first place. Not a revolution, just evolution. Great. black magazine

Wie bei GRIDLOCK selbst, geht es auf ihrem eigenen Label n5MD immer um die Spannung zwischen melodischer Feingliedrigkeit und noisiger Wucht. KEEF BAKER ist da keine Ausnahme. Komplex geschichtete Electronica und verzerrte Störschrapnelle aus Noise und massigen Beats verwirbeln zu einem melodisch-schroffen IDM-Nebel. Nur kommt bei BAKER ab und zu seine Vergangenheit als Bassist in einer Indieband durch. Seien es nun die mystischen Choräle, lässigen Rhythmen, Klavierfragmente oder die verträumt-warmen Melodien, irgendwie fühle ich mich in den Stimmungen an SLOWDIVE oder TORTOISE auf elektronisch erinnert. Klanglich ist das natürlich alles purer Post-Warp IDM, in der Phase als alles zerfetzt und romantisch zugleich wurde. Aber die organischen Einsprengsel machen bei ihm den kleinen Unterschied. Human touch sozusagen. Brummige Verzerrung und teilweise symphonischer Noise bauen löchrige Wall-of-Sound-Gebilde aus Postrock-Instrumentarium und elegischer Synthetik auf, bei denen die MUM-schen Melodien durchwinken. Kurz nur, denn so manchem Breakcore/Power Noise Gefitzel sind sie lästig und versuchen deshalb gern mal, die spielerische Unbeschwertheit wieder zu vertreiben. „The Widnes Years" ist ein dankenswert emotionales Album, was durch die breitwand-epischen Themen einiges an Eindruck hinterläßt. Man verliert sich gern in der ausladend organischen Elektronik, die eben gar nicht die technologischen Muskeln spielen läßt, sondern nur Mittel des Gefühltransports ist. Auf keinen Fall sollte man sich den Hidden Track entgehen lassen. Orchestraler Noise-Drone-Ambient mitten in die Magengrube. Spitze dieser Mix aus GRIDLOCK und THIRD EYE FOUNDATION. fakezine

another n5md release for observing is keef baker’s album release. the widnes years is breakcore and drill n bass release, but not classical one. it is quite eclectic with of course break/drum n bass rhythm. melodic backgrounds, mostly dark are floating behind the hard and rough rhythm. sometimes is becoming even hardcore and completely noisy and on moments it completely quiet. there are even calm melodic idm oriented tracks but only a few. than again gritty aggressive rhythm is appearing. if you have already heard previous n5md releases this album can be a bit hard, but conceptually and according to the sound it’s still into their orientation. despite it is strong and fast with angry rhythm it’s still combined with melodic backgrounds and dark bass lines instead of noisy parts. choral vocals are also appearing together with synth pads to strength the dark atmosphere. melody sometimes is getting distorted, rhythm going faster and faster, tracks going out of control… probably this release shows that n5md are moving into more abrasive electronic sound, rhythmic noise and break/idm combinations… sutemos

Keef Baker - the newest debutant of n5MD label - was born in Great Britain. He is making music for many years. He started his musical career in 1989 in the band called Kill Laura. Keef is punk from his nature and he remained the same till now. In the 2004 under the name of Sharp Injury he releases a noise single on Mechanoise Labs. For his debut album on one of the most famous American electronica labels - n5MD - he has chosen his real name - Keef Baker. I somehow feel that in the forthcoming years we will hear this name mentioned pretty often. I don't doubt that The Widnes Years will be a well rate album. But at first this album should be found by the people for whom it is made. It is not made for the present audience of n5MD (it took a while to form it though). Those who will listen to the album will understand what I am talking about: there was no album in the label like this one. But the albums of Keef Baker and Spark prove that n5MD team has a new direction of work so it is obvious that during a few months they will attract the fans of such electronic music. They will seduce artists from Planet-Mu, Rephlex or Schematic. It will be the time when Keef Baker will be acclaimed...

I am from the old generation of n5MD fans so...

The Widnes Years is a breakcore with totally melodic backgrounds or drumb&bass put into laptop synthetics. Here calm there tough. At some points Keef is close to angry hardcore and crazy noise. Some tracks are beautiful and melodic electronica but they are only details. Keef clearly concentrate his thoughts on the dark side of the album. His synthetic punk rock sounds really quality as all album of n5MD do. But as I have mentioned before his new album will surprise many fans of this label and it is all about liberality if they are going to like it. The fans of such style should not be surprised - Keef Baker does not offer anything new because this style exists for several years already. A strong, fast, angry and rough rhythm is combined not with some noise details but with fresh and melodic backgrounds. This is what may surprise you a bit and it definitely gives a big plus to the album.

Rating: 9 barcode

The Widnes Years is a breakcore with totally melodic backgrounds or drumb&bass put into laptop synthetics. Here calm there tough. At some points Keef is close to angry hardcore and crazy noise. Some tracks are beautiful and melodic electronica but they are only details. Keef clearly concentrate his thoughts on the dark side of the album. His synthetic punk rock sounds really quality as all album of n5MD do. But as I have mentioned before his new album will surprise many fans of this label and it is all about liberality if they are going to like it. The fans of such style should not be surprised - Keef Baker does not offer anything new because this style exists for several years already. A strong, fast, angry and rough rhythm is combined not with some noise details but with fresh and melodic backgrounds. This is what may surprise you a bit and it definitely gives a big plus to the album. The Widnes Years, Keef Baker’s debut on n5MD, starts beautifully with the impressive Bingo Hall Murders. Lots of melody, ideas and loops combine to produce a moody and temperemental mix, with highly polished production. On the following Castrovalva, sampled choral vocals float eerily over a low synth pad, until a monster beat shatters the calm. Like many of the somgs on The Widnes Years, the track spirals out of control, as the beats get grittier and the overall sound more aggressive and distorted.

Runt pays homage to the Warp label, with clever samples and sound processes mapping out ground for some enjoyably melodic keyboard work. The tracks here often lapse into film soundtrack mode, but most teeter perfectly on the precipice between atmospheric and constructive songwriting. Occasionally Baker needs to keep a tighter control on the reigns – too many ideas in one song, such as Armed Snobbery, tends to leave the listener a little bewildered. Yet Baker is literally bursting with ideas, Reckless Engineering Through Diamonds is another excellent track, as a wide variety of loops and breakbeats collide together atop a frenzy of electronics, but there is a great underlying melody throughout which slowly reveals itself before becoming the prominent part of the song.

The noisy Calmed Robbery makes for some well-placed filler before Ernie Unwise unravels its slow building, melodic charm. Despite some great moments of clarity, it is worth mentioning that a lot of The Widnes Years is also gritty, uncompromising and noisy electronic music, so be prepared for that angle. If you like that sort of thing then this is a must have album, but whatever way you look at it, The Widnes Years is a particularly commendable debut from Baker. opi8

A glance at the band links on Keef Baker's webpage will reveal the antecedents of his new record, The Widnes Years: Tarmvred, Gridlock and Somatic Responses. Like all of these, Baker mingles smooth electronic melodies with percussive rhythms and blasts of supersaturated static, pushing his cinematic instrumental music into the realms of Industrial Cacophony and Rhythmic Noise.

"Bingo Hall Murders," as an opening salvo, sets the mood for the record, shattering the placid synth melody of the introduction with an agressive and noisy breakbeat. The gold-tone melody tries to sneak back into the limelight but the breakbeat is waiting for it, nail-studded bat in hand. Baker's sound is the difference between film school lighting and the Ridley & Tony Scott style of supersaturating the film stock. Everything is a touch sharper, more distinct, more finely edged. "Castrovalva" revolves around a digitized chorus, a rack of binary voices which is smashed and bludgeoned by a steam-driven noise machine. Baker creates a pre-Industrial agrarian hymn that is torn apart by the belching black machinery of the next century. "Calmed Robbery" is reminiscent of the early tracks of Gridlock's Trace, flowing between glistening ambience and ferocious breakcore, while managing to push the limits of both ends of the spectrum.

Much of the allure of Baker's work on The Widnes Years is his flexibility. It's not all noisy strum und drang; tracks like "Runt" explore more gentle melodic possibilities, creating spaces as airy and ethereal as the percussive demolition in other tracks is abrasive. "Reckless Engineering Through Diamonds" is a barely restrained drum explosion, the piano melodies struggling to keep a stage full of enthusiastic drummers from banging everything they can get a stick on. The elements nearly get away from Baker, but he reels them back in for a pastoral fanfare before finally unleashing the percussion to raise the roof of the auditorium. "Ernie Unwise" evolves from a few tones, a wash of sound that falls like the curtained light of the Aurora Borealis, and the subtle static edge of the percussion is like the sparks flying off distant meteorites as they ping against the troposphere.

The Widnes Years represents a shift in the direction of n5md, an opening of their doors to more abrasive material. Keef Baker straddles the line between rhythmic noise and ambient electronica, offering material that will delight both camps while opening their ears to the permutational possibilities of the cross-breeding of styles. Highly recommended, especially if you've got an itch for something outside of your normal comfort zone. igloomag

Keef Baker grew up in Widnes (Cheshire, UK) where he began to write music in 1989 while signed to an indie band called Kill Laura. Shortly after that he spent time as a session touring bassist until the acquisition of a computer in 1997. This is where the Sharps Injury moniker revealed Keef's heavily drenched powernoise frequencies. Currently operating under his own name, Keef Baker explores another dimension as he offers a dissonant slant for n5MD in 2004.

On his debut release with n5MD, Keef Baker blurs the edges of electronic corruption until all that is left are a few polished melodies that ever so subtly disperse themselves above a palette of sonic manipulations. The vast implosions revealed on The Widnes Years are all internal and self-created. Reflecting the feelings of pretty objects being crushed out of malice, an aggressive scope of work is complimented by melodic remnants during the uplifting points on the album.

Imagine the friction between splinters of asphalt as they gradually begin to erupt through the surface; nothing but shards of scattered debris would be found. Likewise, The Widnes Years details all of these elements with precision -it's a varied and unafraid album representing a style that Keef Baker has quietly nurtured over the past year. Shying away from current 'IDM' trends where process surpasses the tune, The Widnes Years has a lot more to do with friction than it does with fluidity. Gritty beats, rippling effects, and the particles of dust scattered above each melody collide into each other as if they were part of one entity, floating into a unified apocalyptic frenzy.

Keef Baker is not one to neglect the sincerity of emotions within his tracks --crossing between the abrasively flowing sounds of Gridlock and Somatic Responses; it's easy to note that The Widnes Years treads through luminous post-industrial sectors. It's the soundtrack to your worst nightmare until the warmer melodies carry you into the horizon. It might be difficult to digest in words, but quite easy to envision while listening.

Systematically bridging the voids between chiseled electronic atmospheres, The Widnes Years brushes against transparent rhythms with one energetic punch, leaving nothing but an opaque view of a cold, mechanical world. exclaim!

Keef Baker likes µ-ziq, Alec Empire, and Aphex Twin, and it shows. If you like any of those artists, you’ll probably enjoy Baker’s mix of crunchy beats, high speeds and sad melodies. The beats are sliced and diced without disappearing into subdivisions, and the original melodies are completely synthesised. There are some very exciting tracks, like “Bingo Hall Murders,” “Betty Swollocks,” and “Ernie Unwise”, which all take the classic formula of melody and beats and play them against one another. All the tracks have a finished, complete feel to them; a lot of effort has gone into their construction. The blasts of drums and static are all precisely placed, even when they seem to come out of nowhere. If you feel you can handle a full 75 minutes of these sonic assaults and minor-key melodies, go for it. electronic music world

From the acclaimed label n5MD comes the debut of UK artist Keef Baker. Since n5MD has been the home of many of the world's best artists (think Spark, Proem, Quench, Tim Koch, Portland and many more), it is a known fact that Keef Baker is the new up- and coming star. From the moment the first sounds start, it is clear that n5MD have found yet another great artist.

The first track, Bingo Hall Murders, gives a good preview of what you can expect from the album. Beautiful laidback melodies, combined with frantic rhythms. Laidback, yet aggressive. Frantic and soothing. But above all: Beautiful. Keef Baker makes the different elements fit together as if it's always been this way.

One of my favorite tracks off this album is the second track Castrovalva, which features beautiful choirs with a great distorted downtempo rhythm. Definately a headnodder.

Another great track is Armed Snobbery, which has a slightly epic feel to it. Beautiful sounds and great banging rhythms combine. Again that great combination of dreamy melodies with harsh rhythms that is so typical for the music that Keef makes. However, Armed Snobbery evolves into a sort of housey track which speeds up and up and up until distorted rhythms take over. And then the track breaks down again and leaves you with beautiful melodies again.

Keef Baker shows with his debut album that IDM need not be boring. Though a big part of the IDM world got stuck in the same effects, software and sound, Keef Baker brings a refreshing sound to our ears. Beautiful melodies and harsh rhythms. A recommendation!

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