Digitonal

Toytronic Records
September 2002

23 Things Fall Apart was written and recorded between our first appearance on Toytronic's seminal Neurokinetic compilation in 2000 and the summer of 2002.

Whilst it was far from a novel concept to find an intersection point between the world of classical minimalism and ambient electronica, rarely had artists working in the field made the classical elements so lyrical and expressive. The strings of Egyptian violinist Samy Bishai are at the forefront here, crudely recorded in Andy's Kentish Town bedroom on a knockoff SM58 and with the most rudimentary production facilities.

An extended version of Neurokinetic's Drencrom which mixes seamlessly into the similarly Steve Reich inspired Carcause set an early template for what would become known as 'neoclassical' music, whilst the melancholy beauty of Overline was perhaps the most overtly classical track that any independent electronica label had released in that period, the sampled 303 bass notes replacing a traditional organ ground bass being the only nod to the clubland chillout room roots of the project.

The album remains the most enduring of Digitonal's catalogue, even in it's crude production values, as a snapshot of a time where labels like Toytronic were bold enough to redefine their own genre preconceptions.