BT - This Binary Universe is the first since Ima to have a "consistent emotional through line."

TranZfusion sat down with BT recently to discuss his latest album and all the audiophile geekery that went into making it.

On comparing This Binary Universe to his previous work:

“I think This Binary Universe really is its own thing now. It’s not…mine. I like the idea of sitting down and listening to a record where it has a consistent emotional through-line. This is the first record since Ima that has that. It’s very diverse and it expands, but it has an emotional through-line.”

On creating music:

“I talk to kids at speaking engagements and they’re always like ‘Oh, what keyboard should I get?’ and ‘what audio interface?’ and so on…I’m always like ‘First, go and study Jazz or Classical before you pick up a copy of Reason,’ that’s a good start."

“Go to fucking Target and pick up a nine-dollar keyboard. Get a soldering iron and wires and just go tear it up. That’s how you’re gonna find a new music vocabulary. It’s not from the pre-packaged commercial things.”

Read the entire interview here.

Trainspotting: BT & Sasha - The Real World Sessions

Label: Real World
Production Dates: July 27th, 1998 - August 1st, 1998

1. Cry To The World (12:02)
2. The Warrior Song (10:01)
3. Dakane (19:47)
   

The Real World Sessions (sometimes referred to as ReVerb) are the product of an unfinished album project Sasha and BT collaborated on in 1998 for Peter Gabriel's Real World label. An old press biography from Sasha described the recording sessions:

"Always one to share what comes his way, Sasha invited long time friend and collaborator BT to take part in what he called “one of the most amazing musical experiences in my life.” He is referring to his experience out at Peter Gabriel's Real World studio in 1998 where Sasha explains in a mixer article, “we were in there for a week and were just going to do one track (during Real World's annual recording week where artists from all over the world are invited to Bath to record at the famous studios). There were so many talented musicians around and the vibe down there was incredible. People were walking in, hitting things, strumming things, and slapping their goats! There were mad African people everywhere. We ended up recording five tracks and finishing four."

A very limited promotional CDR containing three of the tracks was distributed by BT's management company, 3AM. It is rumored that BT did some additional production work on the masters and at one point he was apparently just waiting for Sasha to find time for them to further collaborate. On August 8th, 2001, three years after the session's conclusion, Sasha said the following regarding the album in an interview with Clubbing Magazine:

You have also worked with BT (Brian Transeau) in Peter Gabriel's Real World studio on some tracks?

Sasha: That was some 3 years ago. What happened is that I would finish the Real World album after I had done my own album. We did some great stuff down there. One day I would love to go back and work with Peter and BT, we had such a good time there. Until I have my own album out, my debut album, I can't think on doing anything else, incl. remixes, the last one I did was Chemical Brothers "Out Of Control", I don't want to waste any time. Unfortunately I open my big mouth and started talking about it years ago, before I had the knowledge on how to do an album. I had up till then done a lot of remixes with a big team of people. But I had never written tracks on my own. I thought it would come together in a year, but it has taken about five. Once I have done it the next record will only take me 6 months, it is just this first one that is taking a long time on coming together.

Plans to finish the album were apparently shelved after BT's studio was burgled in late December 2001. BT's copy of the Real World Sessions (along with large portions of his 4th album) is rumored to have been completely lost. It is unknown whether Sasha or Peter Gabriel possess their own copies of the sessions. Sasha is now rumored to have no interest in returning to the tracks as he feels they're now too dated. Copies of the the CDR appear sporadically on eBay and on several occasions have been removed from auction at BT's request.

"The Warrior Song" was included on a promotional release of the movie soundtrack Go. The track didn't end up on the official release, but as rumors go, copies of the promo were uploaded illegally by a Korean online MP3 store--similar in fashion to the way we see Russian music sites illegally offering cheap MP3 versions of albums today--and then subsequently shared on peer-2-peer programs.

Thanks to Electric Sky Church Music for the info/image on this release.

Please note that the content of this post is based on speculative evidence at best. The author does not condone piracy.

Review: BT - This Binary Universe

Label: DTS Entertainment [69286-01140-2-9]
Release Date: August 29th, 2006
Rating: 10/10

Although electronic music fans may still be bitter over 2003's pop-excursion "Emotional Technology", they'd be advised to lay that bitterness aside and give This Binary Universe a listen. BT has succeeded in melding the genres of electronica, classical and jazz into one and in the process creating some of the most emotional and infectious music you'll ever hear. This isn't just BT in soundtrack mode. These seven cuts are labours of love created by a genius of electronic music programming. "Dynamic Symmetry" in particular is simply stunning in it's subtle melody and effortlessly complex rhythms. BT has returned to form and delivered another astonishing work of art. Quite possibley my album of the year.