Butter (Hudson Mohawke album)

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Butter
Studio album by
Hudson Mohawke
Released26 October 2009 (2009-10-26)
Genre
Length51:05
LabelWarp
ProducerHudson Mohawke
Hudson Mohawke chronology
Polyfolk Dance
(2009) 		Butter
(2009) 		Satin Panthers
(2011)
Hudson Mohawke studio album chronology
Butter
(2009) 		Lantern
(2015)
Singles from Butter
  1. "Star Crackout"
    Released: 2008
  2. "Joy Fantastic"
    Released: 2009

Butter is the debut studio album by Hudson Mohawke, the alias of Scottish musician Ross Birchard.[4] It was released on Warp Records on 26 October 2009,[5] to positive reviews from critics.[6]

Background[edit]

In 2009, Hudson Mohawke signed to Warp Records, despite a very limited track record of official releases; in fact, the bulk of his releases were unofficial tracks and DJ mixes circulated on the Internet, as well as his 2006 Hudson's Heeters mixtape.[7] Butter is his debut album and second release on Warp following the 2008 Polyfolk Dance EP.[8] The album’s artwork was designed by Birchard’s friend Tom Scholefield (a.k.a. Konx-Om-Pax), with both working from a folder of influences they wanted to incorporate,[9] including "the '80s t-shirts Ross and Dom [Flannigan] liked with wolves and bad airbrush animal art."[10] The album features collaborations with Dâm-Funk, Nadsroic, and Olivier Daysoul, the latter an American singer who contributes to two tracks.[11]

Birchard described his recording setup as "very simple," explaining "I’m more interested in the equipment being usable and immediate, rather than spending loads of time tweaking things."[10] Most of the album was made in the audio program FruityLoops using free plug-ins.[10] Mohawke also used hardware such as an Ensoniq VFX and Roland W30 "for lots of vintage dancey sounds" as well as a Korg M50, and sampled his own MIDI programming.[11] He premiered the material at LA's Low End Theory, where it was received positively,[11] although some feedback from the more purist hip-hop DJs was less positive.[10]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
BBC Musicfavorable[13]
Clash7/10[14]
Drowned in Sound8/10[5]
The Guardian[15]
NME7/10[16]
Pitchfork6.7/10[17]
PopMatters8/10[4]
Q[6]
Resident Advisor3.5/5[8]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Butter received an average score of 80, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]

AllMusic called it "A fearless scrap heap mutation that incorporates icebox IDM crunch, DayGlo synthesizer funk and, most notably, late-'80s/early-'90s R&B flourishes."[12] AJ Ramirez of PopMatters gave the album 8 stars out of 10, commenting that "While Butter's fascination with chaotic beats and sonic experimentalism fit right into the Warp aesthetic, the album is remarkably accessible, liable to inspire head-bobbing motions of approval."[4] The Guardian wrote that "listening to Butter can feel like eavesdropping on the future," adding that "It's like eating candyfloss and helium on a speeding rollercoaster: exhilarating and discombobulating in equal measure."[15]

In retrospect, DJ Jake Jenkins called the album "one of the most iconic releases in the LET / beat-scene paradigm. There is a peculiar technicolour to the album that was unlike the other instrumental hip-hop coming out of LA at the time."[10] Birchard stated that within five or six years of release, he began hearing about the influence of the album on other artists, but "what I was doing was just doing shit for fun basically and wearing the influences of it on my sleeve, and it wasn’t done with the intention of anything else [...] If I was going to do it all over again, I would do it exactly the same."[10] In 2020, Clash named it among the 20 best Scottish albums of the 21st century.[18]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Shower Melody"1:21
2."Gluetooth"3:47
3."Joy Fantastic" (featuring Olivier Daysoul)3:59
4."3.30"1:35
5."Trykk"2:13
6."Fruit Touch"3:57
7."ZOo00OOm"2:42
8."Acoustic Lady"2:07
9."Rising 5"3:12
10."Twistclip Loop"1:23
11."Just Decided" (featuring Olivier Daysoul)3:50
12."No One Could Ever"2:19
13."Velvet Peel"2:16
14."Tell Me What You Want from Me" (featuring Dâm-Funk)2:58
15."Fuse"3:10
16."Star Crackout"4:55
17."Allhot" (featuring Nadsroic)2:43
18."Black n Red"2:44

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from liner notes.[19]

  • Hudson Mohawke – production, writing
  • Olivier Daysoul – vocals, writing (tracks 3, 11)
  • Dâm-Funk – vocals, writing (track 14)
  • Nadsroic – vocals, writing (track 14)
  • Naweed – mastering
  • Sun Rab – effects
  • Wednesday Nite – mbira (track 9)
  • Sir Anthony Chopkins – samples
  • Tweeter Cushing – tambourine
  • Queefer Sutherland – trombone (track 6)
  • Konx-Om-Pax – design
  • Brian Sweeney – photography

References[edit]

  1. ^ McFadyen, Alex (30 November 2020). "The 20 Best Scottish Albums Of The 21st Century". Clash. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  2. ^ Sisson, Patrick (12 October 2009). "Hudson Mohawke: Butter". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. ^ Sisson, Patrick (12 October 2009). "Hudson Mohawke: Butter". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Ramirez, AJ (27 October 2009). "Hudson Mohawke: Butter". PopMatters. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b Gardner, Noel (28 October 2009). "Hudson Mohawke - Butter". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Butter - Hudson Mohawke". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Hudson Mohawke Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  8. ^ a b Marlow, Oli (4 November 2009). "Hudson Mohawke - Butter". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  9. ^ Gieben, Bran. "Warp Week: Hudson Mohawke Melts Genres Like Butter!". The Skinny. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Welsh, April Clare (13 March 2019). "Joy Fantastic: An Oral History of Hudson Mohawke's Butter". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  11. ^ a b c Bamberger, Seas. "Hudson Mohawke: "I was never really a fan of hammering shit in people's faces all the time"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  12. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Butter - Hudson Mohawke". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  13. ^ Pattison, Louis (2009). "Hudson Mohawke - Butter - Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  14. ^ Murray, Robin (26 October 2009). "Hudson Mohawke - Butter". Clash. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  15. ^ a b MacInnes, Paul (22 October 2009). "Hudson Mohawke: Butter". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  16. ^ Richards, Sam (9 October 2009). "Album review: Hudson Mohawke - 'Butter'". NME. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  17. ^ Sisson, Patrick (12 October 2009). "Hudson Mohawke: Butter". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  18. ^ McFadyen, Alex (30 November 2020). "The 20 Best Scottish Albums Of The 21st Century". Clash. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  19. ^ Hudson Mohawke (2009). Butter (booklet). Warp. WARPCD188.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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