Ilovesherbert

Herbert - Our Love (Has Got Me Movin')

I have been a fan of Matthew Herbert's music since I was involved in college radio and first heard his bizarre yet brilliant second (or is it his third?) album released as 'Herbert', Bodily Functions. That record, released in 2001, is a definite marker in time, as each of his albums have been, because Herbert's music has been constantly evolving throughout his prolific career. (It is worth noting here that he has put out work as 'Herbert, as Matthew Herbert, as Doctor Rockit, as Wishmountain, as Radio Boy, and as The Matthew Herbert Big Band, and done remixes of other artists using all of those pseudonyms - calling him "prolific" is a bit of an understatement.)

K7 is now giving us a look into the wayback machine, by re-issuing the Herbert classic 100lbs, ostensibly his first album, which collected Herbert's first releases under that name, EPs Part One, Part Two, and Part Three, all from the mid-90s. Mister Herbert himself admits that the music on 100lbs is "naive and playful" - it doesn't sound much like the Herbert of today, or even that of his second album, Around The House - but he says the work does hold up to the vision he had in mind, which was to offer a different take on the house and techno sounds that were being made by other producers at the time.

Honestly, even though this doesn't sound like other Herbert material, it is excellent - the songs "100lbs", "Thinking of You" and "Take Me Back" are all standouts of tech-house and wouldn't sound out of place in a DJ set today, despite being a decade old. In addition to the full album re-release, K7 includes a bonus disc of material, all culled from about the same late-90s to early-00s time period - songs that appeared on singles and compilations mostly, as well as some unreleased tracks, all of which are now extremely hard to find otherwise.

The 100lbs reissue comes out next week, so you can pre-order it from our friends at Insound or visit your local music merchant on Tuesday to pick up your copy then. You can also check out the K7 website for streaming tracks from the album and more information, or check out the 100lbs ecard here.

Enjoy!

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PS: Speaking of DJ-sets, this is just a reminder that I'll be dropping some bombs on Friday at Lit for Dirty Down - the party is free, and I'll be playing with Max Pask, so you can bet it will be a rager!
AND my friends party is rocking tonight: We Are Your Friends at Fontana's, with guest DJs Jacques Renault and James F!@#$%^ Friedman, and they've got a live performance by Moshi Moshi madmen Best Fwends - hiyooo!