Seen

International Observer

A 9 track album () — released October 1st 2001 on DIFFERENT DRUMMER

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It's been called the lushest, deepest, most caringly crafted dub-a-tronic exploration ever released. It's a cunning experiment in melodic instrumental dub that - without losing its edge - makes for the most gorgeously seductive, almost meditative listening experience. INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER's debut album, 'Seen', may just help to change the way we think about dub-derivatives as it establishes its own template miles apart from - yet still authentically rooted to - the original Jamaican art form. Perpetrators of the INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER experience are New Zealand-based expat UK keyboardist, songwriter and producer Tom Bailey, together with turntable selector and graphic arts whizz Rakai Karaitiana. Following the extraordinary success of his post-punk synth-pop group the Thompson Twins, production and writing work for the likes of Deborah Harry, and the ambient techno of his Babble project, Tom Bailey was lured to the exotic climes of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Having met young New Zealand Maori Rakai Karaitiana in England, the two began to explore their musical connections in Auckland, NZ. New Zealand culture has a long history of appreciation for reggae and dub, along with more recent blends like hip hop. This, along with NZ's balmy climes, created the perfect inspiration for Tom's exploration of the dub artform he had deeply loved since the seething post-punk infatuation of the music in the late 70s. Together with sparring partner Rakai, whose previous musical motivations centred on hip hop and the acquisition of a huge vinyl archive, Tom initiated INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER, a sound system that has quietly infiltrated various Auckland events over the past three years, creating a legendary reputation for marathon five-hour sets of exquisitely-crafted slo-mo dubscapes. Early this year, having amassed enough material for a boxed set, Tom and Rakai set about pruning the oevre down to an ideal INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER primer, called 'Seen'. While the group have attempted to keep the wraps on this absurdly tasty release, it was somewhat inevitable that previews were sneaked out of seclusion, resulting in extensive radio play worldwide and eager members of the press corps frothing at the mouth for IO morsels. Already amassing critical plaudits without having to get out of bed, INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER are now ready to offer the first official taste of their unique downunder dub for international delectation. 'Seen', by INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER, release date Sept 24th 2001 on Different Drummer. DIFCD / EP 19. Who are INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER? Tom Bailey. Born in Halifax, Yorkshire, Tom's first pianistic encounter occurred at the age of 2, and at college, he managed to wrestle some life out of clarinet, guitar and piano before going on to form the Thompson Twins in the seething post-punk climate of 1977. Earlier, he had been enamoured of both the experimentalists of contemporary music (from John Cage to Can) and the hugely criticised yet exciting fusions of early 70s progressive rock (from Family to Frank Zappa). Tom became an adept backroom boffin as he gained a mastery over tape-editing skills approached from an avant-garde perspective, and for a short period, Tom taught music at Sheffield Brook Comprehensive. The Thompson Twins were Tom's attempt to take a ragbag hybrid of experimental ideas and pop attitude to a commercially oriented audience, and after several years as an extended art-pop troupe, they slimmed down to the core techno-pop trio of Tom, Allanah Currie and Joe Leeway; this lineup stormed the world's charts with 80s classics like 'Hold Me Now' and 'Doctor Doctor'. As with any such commercial success, despite their relatively brief reign of chart-topping terror, the Thompson Twins are still the most visible part of Tom's varied and vibrant artistic odyssey. Tom's early interest in dub, however, is attested to by the inclusion of his contribution to works by Lee Perry, Grace Jones and Sly & Robbie, while his post-Thompson Twins work has included numerous production and composition credits (including Debbie Harry, Ben E King, and Foreigner!) The early 90s saw two albums by Tom and Allanah's ambient-techno group, Babble, and subsequently, from his homebase in New Zealand, Tom has produced two albums by Kiwi group Stellar* and worked on various film soundtracks as well as sound for video installations. Rakai Karaitiana. Growing up in an extended family in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, Rakai got into first-generation hiphop at intermediate school, which led to scratching and making mix tapes. He also sang in an AC/DC covers band (!) and formed a rap group, In Search Of Power. Rakai met Tom while living in South London in the mid-90s, where he became passionate about Jamaican music. Ra? is the sound system selector, and responsible for the multimedia aspect of INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER'S work; a product of his studies in digital media. Despite an age difference going on for 20 years, Tom and Rakai have forged a unique and spiffing good dub alliance in INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER. PRESS Pete Lawrence, DJ Magazine: '... deep, melodica-infused dub? (In reference to the track Now A Major Motion Picture, from the Kiwitronica album 'Sideways', which he writes is a highlight of the disc). 'Sideways' was released earlier this year on Different Drummer, DIFCD/EP 16. Gary Steel, Metro Magazine: 'Deliciously engaging, languorous, smoothly beautiful dub-engineered electronica... unobtrusively clever, tasty morsels of electronic debris add to its abiding flavourfulness... Stinky Jim, The Fix:: .......For International Observer it is their debut full-lengther having teased us with remixes, compilation cuts and a dazzling live experience. There are no surprises on 'Seen' but it isn't a hindrance, the melodies are so strong and bountiful, the production and arrangement so tight, that you'd have to be a half-deaf doofhead not to get into the Observer's submerged sound'. Graham Reid, Real Groove: D 'The long-awaited album is available now and you can hear the depth of that interest. It's in the grooves, and there's ample evidence without Bailey having to say that this really is something special. It is... This is dub-ambience of the finest kind. It comes complete with surface noise scratches, Indo-percussion, underplayed techno touches, Burning Spear's and Black Uhuru's leisurely loping rhythms, and weird disassociated voices peeping surreptitiously through the mix. Wonderful on all fronts. What separates International Observer from the pack? The sense of coherence and purpose, plus a melodic engagement and some duppy-scaring echoed bass nodding back to the earliest days of the Ras/dub tradition. When the Rastas say 'Seen', they mean it as in: 'Yep, I've witnessed that to be true.' International Observer. Seen then.''

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