by RAF KATIGBAK

"I think humour's overlooked in music too often these days," says Andy Turner. "It's all a little too serious sometimes." Turner is talking about the current state of the IDM scene, a music movement whose very acronym (intelligent dance music) is a point of contention for Turner due to its presupposition of musical elitism. Of course if anybody's qualified to talk about IDM, it's Turner who, alongside Plaid partner Ed Handley, helped start the whole IDM thing back in the early '90s as two-thirds of Black Dog Productions. With Spokes, their fifth Plaid album on Warp, the duo continue to rock the rhythmic flair and playful melodic sensibility that set them apart from their more intellectually driven peers.

Mirror: It always surprises me when I find your records in the experimental section of a record store. For some reason it just doesn't feel right there.

Andy Turner: We would never describe ourselves as an experimental band. We write electronic music and a few years ago, that was considered experimental, but if you listen to our music, the compositions are fairly traditional in format.

M: While other guys you started out with, like Aphex or Autechre, kept pushing the limits of tempo and rhythm, you guys held your ground with the same playful melodic style.

AT: It's not important to us really that we have to do something new. I think that's a real problem with electronic music at the moment. The press always asks us, "What's new about this album?" Well, they're all new songs, what more do you want? It's not like if the Rolling Stones put out an album, people say, "Hey, you're still playing guitars and drums? Haven't you heard about drum & bass?" With rock 'n' roll and jazz, there isn't this sort of pressure for a new angle every time. Eventually people are gonna run out of new angles.

M: When do you think we got caught up in the whole newness thing?

AT: When electronic music first came out on a large scale, it was very fresh so I think people got caught up in that, especially the media. But being fresh wasn't why it was good, it was good because it sounded good and I think people have lost sight of that.

With Luke Vibert, Chris Clark and N.E.D. at SAT
on Sunday, Nov. 9, 8:30pm, $20

>> Music Listings