“The Darkess That You Fear” keeps with The Chemical Brothers’ penchant for concepts that shouldn’t work in practice but somehow do. Haunting vocals clash just enough as the elements framing them build up to a crescendo that rewards the listener with just enough familiarity. In the accompanying visual, images of dancers cut out from organic textures move to the music in stop-motion animation.

“The Darkness That You Fear” follows No Geography, the ninth studio-length album by The Chemical Brothers (real names Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons). It released in April 2019, nearly three years after the duo’s previous studio-length album, Born in the Echoes.

“‘The Darkness That You Fear’ is a hopeful piece of music,” said Rowlands in a statement. “When we found the combination of the different voices worked set to the flow of the music, it made us feel optimistic—like it was something we wanted to share.”

Stream or purchase “The Darkness That You Fear” across platforms here.

The mix showcases a selection of reverb delay-heavy dub music by the likes of King Tubby, Sir Horatio, Dub Syndicate and other artists. Dub purists ought to delight in the tracks chosen by The Chemical Brothers (real names Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons), but the duo’s experimental sensibility is woven throughout.

“The ‘in dub mix’ channels our love of dub music – where the foundation is drum and bass and the lead instrument is the mixing desk, where a delay feeding back on itself can be as exciting as a heartfelt lyric,” reads a description by Rowlands and Simons. “A lot of this music pushes the boundaries of what can be done with a multi track and an application of echo, EQ and phase. It’s a constant inspiration to us of what is possible in the studio and the myriad of ways you can find to interpret a song.”

Rowlands and Simons met in 1989 and released music under a handful of names before calling themselves The Chemical Brothers in 1995. While they helped popularize big beat with early albums like Exit Planet Dust and Dig Your Own Hole, they’ve remained true to their boundary-pushing sound in recent albums like Born in the Echoes and No Geography.

Each edition of Radio Chemical will “explore some of our musical passions,” according to Rowlands and Simons. They have yet to announce future episodes’ themes.

As the name suggests, the exhibition will highlight stage shows for the likes of The Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk. It will also touch on the work of Weirdcore for Aphex Twin and a virtual reconstruction of Jean Michel Jarre‘s studio. It will be soundtracked by none other than Laurent Garnier.

“Evoking the experience of being in a club, the exhibition will transport you through the people, art, design, technology and photography that have been capturing and shaping the electronic music landscape,” reads verbiage on the Design Museum website.

“Sound is only part of the story when it comes to this category of music,” said Exhibition Curator Gemma Curtin in a quote obtained by NME. “It has built communities on and offline, democratised music technology and provided a safe space for free expression.”

More information on Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers can be found on the Design Museum website.

The original version of “I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain” arrived courtesy of Buckley in 1967. The Chemical Brothers – A.K.A.Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons – had reimagined it as a still largely acoustic rock song roughly 20 years ago, enlisting Orton for the vocals.

“I imagine the track got put to one side, slotted into that book that I told myself I’d read someday & never did and the track got forgotten,” Orton tweeted. She went on to speculate that it must have been made shortly after Rowlands and Simons released their second studio album, Dig Your Own Hole.

Staying Power

The Chemical Brothers’ career arc ran parallel to the big beat movement of the ’90s, which saw producers fuse breakbeat with pop music to bring electronic music into the mainstream spotlight. Whereas acts like Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy have faced more difficulty in their efforts to remain relevant, Rowlands and Simons have arguably managed to keep putting out records that remain true to their original avant-garde sound while still exploring uncharted territory.

The Chemical Brothers’ Tim Buckley cover was not their only Beth Orton collaboration. Her vocals appeared on tracks that appeared on albums like Exit Planet Dust and Come with Us as well as the aforementioned Dig Your Own Hole. Their rendition of “I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain” marks the inaugural release on Lost Leaves, which is Orton’s newly launched record label.

“I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain” by The Chemical Brothers featuring Beth Orton came out on Lost Leaves June 1st. Download or stream it via Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, TIDAL and other platforms here.

Source: Mixmag