Damek.

Back in the latter part of the 20th century, something was happening in science fiction. Dystopian worlds like those found in Blade Runner, Neuromancer and the “Max Headroom” television series were romanticized. These were places in which you wouldn’t want to live, and yet at the same time they were dark worlds of mystery and wonder. The cyborgs, AIs and virtual realities that inhabit them are fascinating, and although you may not want to eke out your living down in their gutters, these vast urban frontiers are the ultimate vacation spots. Who wouldn’t want to soar over their evolved digitopolis landscapes in great swoops and arcs?

Settings like these blossomed in video games, comic books and cartoons, and were happily lapped up by the children of the 1970s and 1980s. These children grew up to create the sci-fi techno music of the 1980s and 1990s. And I haven’t heard anyone capture these moods and themes better than B12.

B12 are two guys from England, Michael Golding & Steve Rutter, who started releasing their thoughtful techno music on their own eponymous label in 1991. They let loose a string of EPs under different names (Musicology, 2001, Redcell, Cmetric), bits and pieces of which were later selected for release, along with new material, on their first proper album on Warp Records in 1993, Electro-Soma. This was part of Warp’s “Artificial Intelligence” series of albums, which was capped off on both ends by two compilations which also featured tracks by B12.

Listening to their music brings back flashes of Saturday-morning cartoons that never were, choose-your-own-adventure sci-fi books guiltily chosen on family trips to the library, a forgotten sci-fi adventure game played on my friend’s computer in high school, hours spent exploring Doom levels with another friend late at night, and dreams of silver video games and gritty cyber novels that should have been.

I don’t know why.

But it’s intentional, of course; from the detriot techno that would have influenced them, to their own music and others who have come after them, science fiction themes have played an important part. As for B12, you can tell right away from the track titles, release titles, release artwork, etc. Check out the artwork for Interim Outerim, pictured above, which looks straight out of a 1970s pulp sci-fi book. Even better, the artwork from the Electro-Soma album, pictured here, featuring a clean, digital look, with an inset image of a cyborg done by a comic book artist, and a dystopic city view inside the cover.

These are the themes and ideas that should be kept in mind when thinking about Warp’s A.I. series. The artwork for half the series, including the bookend compilations, was heavy on computer graphics and sci-fi themes. Although the genre tag “Intelligent Dance Music” came out of this at the end, what went in at the beginning was listening music by and for geeks, heavy on themes of virtual reality and unknown, tech-laden futures.

But lest ye not forget the drug and club culture which also surrounded the rave and techno music of the time, the covers for the Artificial Intelligence compilations should remind you. They were CG art, but the first depicts someone sitting in a lounge chair, in bliss to the music as they puff out rings of dubious smoke, and the second gets right to it, showing some mystery plants whose flowers are themselves puffing out rings of smoke. And finally, although I do not know if they were aware of this or intended it, B12 is itself “a popular substance for use in diluting (or cutting) methamphetamine,” which is definitely a rave drug.

Anyway, that aside, after their first album on Warp, B12 did a few more releases on their own label, some of which was collected with other new material for their second album on Warp in 1996, Time Tourist (also, of course, featuring great sci-fi artwork). After that they seem to have just stopped making music altogether. They did release a short, 3-track EP on Warp in 1998, cryptically titled “3EP.” But that’s it. They did what they did better than anyone, and when they felt they were done, they just dropped off the face of the planet. I can’t find out anything more about them. If anything, however, I respect them more for that. I wish them the best wherever they are, and give my thanks for the timeless music they gave me while they were into that.

And, in the hopes that they still see some small royalties once in a while from the distribution of their music, I urge those who haven’t heard it before to go check out their albums on Warp. Maybe you’ll find some old techno fantasies of your own given a breath of new life. To that end, I want to share here a few of my favorite B12 tracks that don’t appear on their albums (click links to download AAC audio, or just play them in the media player down below):

First up is “Active Emotion” released in 1992 under the alias Redcell on an eponymous EP. This is a driving track, with atmospheric synths providing a background landscape for the twee, bouncy melodies to dance around.

Next, “Ancient Egypt” from their 1993 label sampler, Prelude Part 1. There never was a Part 2. This is a slower piece that, despite the strong percussion, is quite relaxing and does actually evoke ancient times. The release as a whole consisted of a few exclusive tracks like this interspersed with short sections and intros from other tracks on the B12 label, as well as a few snippets from some sort of interview, perhaps meant to demonstrate how simultaneously laid-back and forward-thinking the artists were.

Third is “Echo TRX 314” from their 1994 Cmetric EP. A ponderous, more esoteric track than usual, it features some mysterious dialog samples from THX 1138.

Finally, here’s “Practopia,” a Redcell track from 1995, released on the second of two joint EPs with the label ART (Applied Rhythmic Technology). These projects featured one side of the record by one label, and the other side by the other label.

There are two thoughts to take away from all of this. The first is the loving enthusiasm of a fan who wishes that B12 were still around making their beautiful brand of simple techno. I found this expressed best by this comment from the label’s page at Discogs.com:

B12 to me was the essence of DEEP!!! These 2 fellows, some say, spawned IDM (for lack of a better word) music and their records will go down in history for being some of the most legendary timeless music of the modern music age.

I have to say I share this person’s awe at the depth and emotion with which B12 infused their music. At the same time, it’s important to notice how simple this music really is. All the tracks use a lot of the same sounds and ideas, usually in the same key, as well. Another Discogs.com user noted this in their comment on Electro-Soma:

…it doesn’t really represent anything paradigm-shifting. If you do your homework, you can tell that it’s basically just acid house and/or early techno mixed with the futuristic atmospherics of electro. More proof that “IDM” is pretty much a bullshit term for people who don’t know electronic music history. Yes, it was probably designed for home listening, but so was a lot of electronic music made before it.

People probably just call this IDM because it was released in Warp’s AI Series, which happened to feature a small handful of artists who went on to do more experimental work. But come on - these tracks are full of house/techno rhythms and Roland drumkit sounds. Handclaps everywhere! Can’t get much less experimental than that.

That said, this is a very nice and well-produced release. It’s a nice mix of styles and a lot of craft went into these tracks. Great if you want that dreamy, futuristic, techy house sound that the Brits were doing in the early 90’s.

So. Simple, but well-crafted, timeless, and perhaps the finest examples of their class. This makes Electro-Soma (you want the US domestic TVT/Wax Trax CD since it has all the tracks from the differing UK Warp CD and LP versions) and Time Tourist excellent albums to add to your music collection, especially if you enjoy electronic music. As another Discogs.com user said of Time Tourist, “You don’t have to go into space, just listen to this album. Ultimate Sci-fi music.”