| Succour | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 March 1995 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 61:47 | |||
| Label | Warp | |||
| Producer | Seefeel | |||
| Seefeel chronology | ||||
| ||||
Succour is the second studio album by British band Seefeel. It was released on 20 March 1995 on Warp and did not receive a release in the United States.
After the release of Quique , Seefeel left Too Pure Records and signed to the more electronic music-oriented Warp, where they released the EP Starethrough and were included on Warp's compilation album Artificial Intelligence II in 1994. [3] [4] Seefeel followed these releases with Succour in 1995. [3] [5]
Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork contrasted Succour with the band's previous album Quique, noting that while Quique contained stylistic traits of shoegaze and ambient dub, Succour appeared to be more influenced by the likes of Aphex Twin. [1] Sherburne cited the drum programming on "Fracture" and "Vex" as coming "straight out of [Aphex Twin's] playbook", while also comparing the beatless tracks "Meol" and "Utreat" to his 1994 album Selected Ambient Works Volume II . [1]
Prior to the album's release, a single for the track "Fracture" was released on 26 September 1994. [6] Succour was released on 25 March 1995 by Warp. [5] It was released on compact disc, cassette and vinyl. [5] The album was met with a lukewarm response and was ultimately not released in the United States, factors which contributed to a temporary breakup of the band in 1996. [7] Mark Clifford focused on his side-project Disjecta while Peacock, Fletcher, and Seymour joined Mark Van Hoen for his group Scala. [7]
Succour (Redux) was released on 14 May 2021, containing 12 previously unreleased tracks including alternate versions of "Meol" and "Rupt". [8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Mojo | [2] |
| Select | 3/5 [10] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [11] |
AllMusic described Succour as "something of a disappointment" and noted that "the LP was a bit too skeletal for most rock critics or music fans". [7] A review by Glenn Swan for AllMusic opined that "there are a couple rough spots, as [Seefeel] were supposedly having band problems at the time." [9] Succour received a mixed review from Select , whose critic Gareth Grundy felt that while tracks like "Fracture", "Vex", "Meol" and "Succour" are "clearly the product of deeper research" and showcased a distinct musical identity, the band's "voice is not quite their own yet", opining that "awestruck poor relations of μ-Ziq and Aphex's junkyard clang – especially "Cut" – are uncomfortably prominent". [10]
Pitchfork praised Succour in 2017, placing it at number 30 on its list of "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". [1] In its accompanying write-up, critic Philip Sherburne declared it "a singular album that has no equivalent—a sound so elemental, it's no wonder the Designers Republic chose the cover they did." [1] In 2021, Uncut 's Piers Martin wrote that Seefeel's music, which he described as "a claustrophobic blend of dub, Cocteau Twins and new-world explorers Aphex Twin and Autechre", "made most sense on Succour". [11]
All tracks are written by Mark Clifford [12] except where otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meol" | 5:51 | |
| 2. | "Extract" | Clifford, Sarah Peacock | 7:28 |
| 3. | "When Face Was Face" | Clifford, Justin Fletcher, Peacock | 6:03 |
| 4. | "Fracture" | Clifford, Fletcher, Peacock, Daren Seymour | 5:52 |
| 5. | "Gatha" | 6:00 | |
| 6. | "Ruby-Ha" | Clifford, Peacock | 6:08 |
| 7. | "Rupt" | 6:29 | |
| 8. | "Vex" | 4:25 | |
| 9. | "Cut" | Clifford, Peacock | 5:40 |
| 10. | "Utreat" | 5:08 | |
| 11. | "Tempean" (The abbreviation for "Tempean" does not appear on the sleeve, only its track number) | 2:44 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "As One" | 4:45 |
| 13. | "As If" | 5:54 |
| 14. | "As Well" | 1:46 |
| 15. | "As Track" | 4:15 |
| 16. | "As Link" | 3:12 |
| 17. | "As Such" | 1:58 |
| 18. | "Meol 2" | 3:41 |
| 19. | "Rupt (Cut Mix)" | 5:36 |
| 20. | "Fractions 2" | 4:37 |
| 21. | "Meol 3" | 3:05 |
| 22. | "Monastic" | 6:33 |
| 23. | "Burned" | 4:28 |
Credits adapted from Succour compact disc sleeve. [12]
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints. The music often described with the term originally emerged in the early 1990s from the culture and sound palette of styles of electronic dance music such as acid house, ambient techno, Detroit techno and breakbeat; it has been regarded as better suited to home listening than dancing. Prominent artists in the style include Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, μ-Ziq, the Black Dog and the later duo Plaid, as well as earlier acts such as the Future Sound of London and Orbital.
Warp Records is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon. It is currently based in London.
...I Care Because You Do is the third studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 24 April 1995 through Warp Records and contains material recorded between 1990 and 1994. It marked James's return to a beat-driven sound following the mostly ambient album Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and combines abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait of James.
Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.
Richard D. James Album is the fourth studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 4 November 1996 through Warp Records. It was composed by James on his Macintosh computer, and took longer to complete than his previous albums. It features fast breakbeats and intricate drum programming which draw from jungle and drum and bass. James' drum loops are paired with lush string arrangements, and ambient melodies reminiscent of his earlier work, as well as modulated vocals from James.
Selected Ambient Works Volume II is the second studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 7 March 1994 through Warp Records. Its title follows James's debut Selected Ambient Works 85–92. Unlike that record, most of the tracks are purely ambient music, without the earlier volume's ambient techno beats. James said the music was inspired through lucid dreaming, and likened it to "standing in a power station on acid."
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Seefeel is a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford, Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher, and Sarah Peacock. Their work became known for fusing guitar-based shoegaze with the production techniques of ambient techno and electronica.
Pygmalion is the third studio album by English rock band Slowdive, released on 6 February 1995 by Creation Records. It was the group's final album before their disbandment in 1995 and later reformation in 2014, and their only album with Ian McCutcheon, who had replaced Simon Scott on drums.
Quique is the debut album by British music group Seefeel. It was released through Too Pure in October 1993. A predominantly instrumental record which utilises elements of both rock and electronic music, it blends styles including techno, dream pop, ambient, and dub. Guitarist Mark Clifford worked continually on tracks while other members either completed them or provided component ideas.
Richard David James, known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, record producer, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient and jungle. Journalists from publications including Mixmag, The New York Times, NME, Fact,Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential and important artists in contemporary electronic music.
(CH-VOX) is the third studio album by British music group Seefeel. The album was released in 1996 on friend Richard D. James's label Rephlex Records.
Selected Ambient Works 85–92 is the debut studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Richard D. James under the alias of Aphex Twin. It was released on 9 November 1992 through Apollo Records, a subsidiary of the Belgian label R&S Records. The album consists of ambient techno tracks that were recorded on cassette as early as 1985, when James was 13-14 years old. On release it received widespread acclaim and entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 6 on 26 December 1992.
Seefeel is the self-titled fourth studio album by the British band Seefeel, released 31 January 2011 on Warp. The album received generally favourable reviews.
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Hyperreal.org, also known as Hyperreal, was a rave culture website founded by Brian Behlendorf in 1994. It is based in San Francisco.
