Alucidnation: Profile

1: An anthem is born

The conclusion to the Big Chill’s epoch-forming week in Naxos last September was a highly emotional affair. The small crowd - ‘dancing under the stars pissed as loons’ as Daniel Newman of DJ magazine would later put it - just wouldn’t let Jedi Master Tom Middleton go to bed.

But of course all good things must come to an end, and Tom gracefully brought the assorted revellers back down to earth with the gentlest of touches. And then, just as he made it clear that the best party of 2000 was genuinely about to end, he sprung a real dubplate surprise - a haunting, blissed-out vocal track that touched a vital nerve in everyone present. Telling a simple story of unrequited love, the song paid tribute to a core truth embedded deep in the hearts of all dedicated Big Chillers: ‘If you don’t express your feelings, how is anyone supposed to know?’ It was one of those moments of musical bliss that occasioned a rash of communal smiles, hugs and tears. A Big Chill anthem was born.

That track was Alucidnation’s ‘I’m not bad’, which is at long last now getting the release it deserves - on the Big Chill’s own label, naturally. Whether you are a dedicated chiller or not, rest assured that this track is going to get inside your head this summer and, from there, work its way down into your heart. The time for the wider world to meet Alucidnation has come.

2: Step forward, Bruce Bickerton

Bruce Bickerton is the one-man powerhouse behind Alucidnation, responsible for all the act’s music, photography, design and website. A soft-spoken, naturally chilled fellow with a good deal of the Yorkshireman about him, Bruce is precisely the kind of person who makes the Big Chill what it is. Underneath his laid-back demeanour is a veritable wealth of talent, imagination and humour - and a passionate devotion to music. His love of music can be traced right back to an early childhood steeped in piano lessons, his dad’s rock ‘n’ roll, and a deep appreciation of ELO that persists to this day.

These qualities shine through Alucidnation’s debut EP. Recorded, edited and mixed entirely at home, it is music that is clearly rooted in a very personal vision and experience of the world. And with its washes of breaking waves, Roland Juno chords, and deep bass rhythms, there could be no better introduction to that world than ‘Beautiful house’. While its title could be taken as a tribute to the deep house music to which Bruce is so devoted, it is simultaneously a loving evocation of his feelings for his grandmother’s house in West Wales. ‘A spiritual sort of place,’ Bruce describes it, ‘where we spent some really beautiful summers near the sea.’ Luxuriate in this long track’s atmospherics and you can imagine it for yourself.

Indeed, some of Bruce’s most chilled music is imbued with the memory of summer - but we’re talking British summertime rather than Ibiza or Sydney. ‘Summer 97’ (originally titled ‘The Wet Summer of 97’ when it was voted ‘electronica song of the week’ by MP3.com) captures the mellow late summer mood that can be so special to the British Isles. It’s a reflective mood - this is a melancholy, cinematic track that opens in a thick downpour of rain - that is nonetheless wholly life-affirming. Its long, lazy pace effortlessly conjures up those summer moments when life on earth seems a blessing, whatever the weather. It is sure to find a natural home in the hearts of the Big Chill’s Enchanted Gardeners.

3: Simple things

What is so charming about the music of Alucidnation is its domestic Englishness and simplicity. While so much of electronic music has been fuelled by a love affair with futuristic, abstract and sampled beats and pieces, Bruce’s soundscapes are rooted in more simple things - the title, incidentally, of Zero 7’s debut album, another set of higher chillage already guaranteed a place in the Big Chill pantheon. It’s no surprise to learn that Bruce is a fan of Radio 2 and its ‘Sing Something Simple’ show.

It’s a philosophy that informs all of his work. Many of his tracks are recorded live in one long take, to be subsequently edited down if necessary. ‘I’m not bad’ is a beautifully crafted song with an off-kilter harmony worthy of Robert Wyatt (and some of Jilted John’s wry humour thrown in for good measure), but it was for the most part improvised on the spot. ‘A mate of mine came round one night,’ Bruce recalls, ‘and told me all about this girl he had the hots for. The song is a live take from that very night with no overdubs except the harmonies.’ It’s why you can hear a telephone ringing as the song closes - ‘someone rang me up just as I was finishing it, and I left it in. I like to make music with nothing added, nothing taken away.’

It is this straightforward, holistic approach that makes Alucidnation’s sound so refreshing. ‘Music to drive to’ is just that - ten minutes of unfurling, overlapping rhythms that, Bruce found one weekend, formed the perfect accompaniment to a trip up the M1. This says it all - it’s not epic music for cruising the Californian freeways or a brooding tune for exploring the darker reaches of Detroit at night. It’s just simple, uplifting music for an easy drive; much of the pleasure it delivers lies in its small details and honest feel. And let’s face it, a lot of electronica just doesn’t have that kind of human warmth to it.

This kind of attitude - unpretentious, human, and wryly self-effacing - is also at the heart of what the Big Chill does. Thus the synergy between artist and label is perfect; both prefer to let their work speak for itself. Bruce describes himself as one who stands ‘on the periphery of things…it’s a good place to be.’

There’s a chance, however, that with the release of this EP - and an LP titled ‘Aural Architecture’ later in the year - Bruce may find himself somewhere a little more centre stage (certainly he will be performing at a number of Big Chill events in 2001). Not that he is especially bothered either way: ‘As far as I’m concerned, I sit at home and make music. If something good comes of it, great, but if not, I’ll do it nonetheless. Music is just something I do anyway. It’s my passion.’

Amen to that. Earth needs more people like him.

Alucidnation's ep01

Alucidnation's website

Written: 22nd Mar, 02
Read: 2404 times

Alucidnation: Profile

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