''Black Secret Technology'' is the fourth

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by UK

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

producer

A Guy Called Gerald Gerald Rydel Simpson (born 1967), better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the electronic group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP '' Newbuild'' (1988) and hit single " ...

, released in February 1995 to widespread critical acclaim. It has since been described as the best

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

album of all time by publications such as ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'', ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' and ''

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2 ...

''.

Background and release

Following Gerald's pioneering work in

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

in the late 1980s, ''Black Secret Technology'' showcased his movement into

and

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...

production. The album's liner notes, written by Gerald, reference the music of ancient African tribal cultures as inspiration: "methods of rhythm helped early man to get in touch with the universe and his small part in it ..I believe that these trance-like rhythms reflect my frustration to know the truth about my ancestors who talked with drums." In 1996, the album was repressed on CD and LP formats with new cover artwork and the bonus track "Hekkle and Koch" placed as the album's opener. In 2008, a remastered edition of the album was released, this time with the original 1995 cover art and the removal of both "Hekkle and Koch" and the unlisted hidden track "Touch Me". The album's famously "murky" mastering was improved slightly, according to critics.

Reception

Since its release, ''Black Secret Technology'' has received widespread acclaim and has been described as a "candidate for 'best jungle album ever.'" In a 1995 review, Andy Smith of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' proclaimed that Gerald was "among the first of his peers to corral he genreon to a satisfying album" as he had previously done with acid house, calling it "enthralling". '' Select'' placed the album on their list of the top 50 albums of 1995 at number 16. Discussing the 1997 reissue, Ian Harrison of ''Select'' stated that "there're few records in this fast-moving genre that could sound as good as this does now," adding that "the album will one day have him listed among

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

/ Lee Perry/ George Clinton cosmic clubhouse of interstellar visionaries." In 1999, Tom Ewing of ''

'' described it as the "best jungle album ever", stating that Gerald "latched onto a more turbulent tradition, the jazz-funk-electronica of ''

Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea ( ) was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous period approximately 335 mi ...

''-era

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

or ''

Sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of cel ...

''-era

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

, and the music he made boiled like theirs." He ranked "Finley's Rainbow" as the sixth best single of the 1990s. In 2010, ''

'' magazine ranked ''Black Secret Technology'' the fourth best album of the 1990s, calling it "gloriously knotted, soulful and uniquely psychedelic;" ''Fact'' critic

Mark Fisher Mark Fisher (11 July 1968 – 13 January 2017), also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Golds ...

wrote that the album "succeeded in simultaneously being of its moment and transcending it," praising in particular "the way that Gerald transforms the jungle sound into a kind of dreamy OtherWorld music .. humid, tropical, full of strange bird cries, seething with nonhuman sentience." Tim Finney of ''

'' wrote that "there is simply no other single-artist jungle album that pushes consciousness-altering beat programming as far, as fearlessly, as it is pushed here." Lee Arizuno of ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' called it "one of the best dance albums ever made", adding that "what stands is psychedelic rhythm with a purpose: to reconnect in the midst of a formless and hectic present, to present a human glow in the midst of a harsh environment."

Track listing

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 albums A Guy Called Gerald albums