Bleep

Available on vinyl for the first time since its 2006 release, this remastered edition lets us explore even deeper into the seismic power of one of Clark’s most highly revered albums. After his first two albums for Warp, Clark dropped his first name, going exclusively by his surname for his musical activities. Such a seemingly small change in presentation acted like an artistic re-debut, as his 3rd album, Body Riddle, completely blew all expectations of his capabilities out of the water.

With an intense range of sound design that nods overtly to elements of krautrock, post rock, and musique concrète, Body Riddle is a record for extremophiles, jumping from the heaviest beats that will force the breath out of your lungs to the sweetest susurrations of melodies. ‘Herr Barr’ throws you in the deep end instantly, splitting the earth with its maelstrom of angular drums contrasting against fairy-like celesta twinkles. This organic element is owed to the live drums Clark plays across the album, breathing life into the dense vortex of electronica and ephemeral structures found throughout.

‘Frau Wav’ dives further into the whirlpool with swung rhythms and floods of grand strings swerving through white rapids of sound. Later, ‘Herzog’ is a supercell storm of spiralling arpeggios, shattering stained glass, and synths forking like lightning bolts. Like many other tracks here, they remind of awesome and violent forces of nature; guitar scrapes through the sky like a bolide, drums channel avalanches and volcanic eruptions. The closing ‘The Autumnal Crush’ is a series of explosions, with the album’s sole human voice initiating a cathartic outpouring of emotional energy before the song drifts into the aether.

Body Riddle is not only a testament to Clark’s playful musical explorations, but is an emotional highlight in his career.