Old Dogs, New Tricks

Before we begin, let’s rewind with a brief but relevant history lesson. Ed Handley and Andy Turner aka Plaid were once two thirds of Black Dog, probably the most influential techno act to ever come out of the UK. While Handley and Turner have been working and releasing music as Plaid since the mid ’90s, the legacy of their previous incarnation is still more relevant than ever. While the first Plaid album, Not For Threes was a mournful affair and its 1999 successor, Rest Proof Clockwork a strangely pop oriented collection, their latest album, Double Figure pays homage to the melodic and melancholic quirkiness central to Black Dog’s recognizable sound.

“It’s not particularly avant garde or experimental, in fact it’s fairly traditional,” Ed agrees, adding that “I think if we were to do something radically different then we would upset a number of people. Double Figure got good reviews, which is better than people being really negative. Sometimes an extreme reaction is good, but it’s not why we make music.”

Like the gentle electronic sounds on Double Figure, Ed is relaxed and softly spoken, and listening to his unhurried almost vague answers is not entirely dissimilar to the languid, non linear manner which Plaid’s music unfolds. Without sounding arrogant or big headed, Ed and Andy know that they can keep exploring their chosen path, altering and tweaking their microscopically honed sound, safe in the knowledge that the Plaid audience will support their every move. Surely they feel isolated, cut off from the rest of the dance world?

“We share a sound with a small group of producers who are doing the same thing, melodic electronic music,” comes Ed’s hushed reply. “I don’t think we’re out on our own; both DeFocus and Toytronic, release very melodic material. We all bow down to the Detroit masters too,” he continues. “Even the material we make nowadays is still influenced by that style of music and of course Black Dog. In fact, much of Double Figure has an old skool feel.

“Those Detroit producers are on the same level as Kraftwerk; it doesn’t really matter if they’re not making music anymore because they had such a huge influence on everything, not just the Warp stuff, but all shades of techno and drum’n’bass as well as house and garage. They shouldn’t be forgotten.”

So, while they could be accused of re-living old glories, Plaid keep on doing what they’re best at. Ed rather astutely notes that there’s no point in them trying to make dance floor music because so many other producers have already perfected this art, nor do they have any fixed plans to release a single.

“Someone has made a video for one of the tracks from Double Figure, without us asking and it would almost be worth putting it out for that reason alone. If we were to go that far we’d get someone to remix it, and as we’ve never had remixes before we’d ask Herbert and Funkstorung to do it; they’re both very distinctive producers.”

In the meantime, Plaid will keep on working away quietly, painstakingly putting together their fragile, pensive electronic grooves. Despite this modus operandi, Ed promises that their fourth as yet unnamed album will see Plaid venture into relatively unknown and untested waters.

“Our music isn’t planned out but the next LP will be somewhat different,” he admits. “At the same time, it’s impossible for us to do something totally new without it sounding artificial or contrived. It would be a massive departure for us to do something conceptual; we’d start questioning the sincerity of our moves.”

Double Figure is out now on Warp