primer by ilkae

ilkae - primer [1998 - 2002]

This anthology collates every completed yet otherwise unreleased track written by K.Lubiszewski and myself while ilkae was a two-person collaboration.

I had assumed that my archival work was over with the release of 'incidental guilt jazz' in 2011. However, for reasons unknown, I omitted our 2002 EP on Monotonik as well as the 3 tracks present on Neferiu Records' debut compilation.

NEF001 along with MERCK002 were both crucial for establishing a link between demoscene musicians and the nascent North American IDM scene. As Neferiu Records closed its doors this earlier this week, a long overdue shout-out and thank you is in order. (Hi, Nate!)

The final prompt to compile this collection was the recent rediscovery of the source files I had used for my first live appearance, which was part of the Safety in Numbers music festival which took place in NYC, October of 2000.

A low-fidelity recording of this set has circulated the internet for over a decade, and it is a relief to finally offer proper recordings of these tracks to people who still bump late 90's IDM.

10 of these 16 tracks remained unreleased for well over 10 years.
(I swear, we wrote more than just loops!)

Of the unreleased material, some dates back as far as 1998: the year that ilkae began as a collaboration via internet relay chat. I have done my best to present these without modifying the original XM files. (We were really big about 8bit 8386hz samples back then.) An archive serves no purpose when subjected to revisionist inclinations.

Of special note are tracks 2 and 9, which were to have been the first official ilkae release, made via Bauri's short-lived Saundart label.

The rest were either brushed aside in favor of completing 'pistachio island', or prospective demos for 2002's 'bring extra dragons' mini-album, which at the time we both considered to be our proper debut release.

Why that release continued to gather dust for a further 2 years before seeing an eventual release via Merck would require a lengthy explanation that I quite honestly don't feel like providing.

By the time Merck salvaged the release in 2004, K.Lubiszewski had already withdrawn from all-things-ilkae to focus on his university studies. I often wonder if I should have followed his lead.

I hope that you enjoy this collection of what feels to me now like ancient history. Additionally, I hope that you are able to do so without the need for this lengthy contextualization of its contents.

The archive is now complete.

- Aaron Munson, 09/02/2013.

ilkae.net