Brand X
Unorthodox Behaviour

There's a dear friend of mine who only listens to drum'n'bass, techno, electronica, breakbeat, and more generally all that ultra-technological and radical stuff full of "blips" and "blinzes" and "stump-ta skekete" that you can only produce with elaborate mathematical calculations, bits, and computers.

He's my "nerd" friend from university, the one who in the morning looks like he covered himself in glue and then threw himself into the wardrobe to get dressed, who's always high on some synthetic drug or other, who knows all the porn films and can classify them by director, lead actress, and year of production, who never talks to girls and leaves the classroom ten minutes before the lesson ends. Incredibly intelligent, very well-prepared, he knows everything and has read everything. During the lunch break between classes, you invariably find him behind his laptop, hunched over, with giant Sennheiser headphones and his face lit by the blue monitor. Composing. Electronic music, of course. A couple of years ago, we arranged for a party at his house ("No guys... come on... I don't know if my parents are coming back, I should wash my hair, my knee is touching my elbow... then I'm really tired tonight... really, let's do it another time...") so my friends and I show up in a group of about twenty, bringing girls and female friends along in the hope of loosening him up a bit. In the kitchen, while we open the wine, someone says: "Oh, Aphex! If you put on electronic music, we'll strangle you! Don't you have a record of... I don't know, anything other than techno or you'll scare the women away?" Said and done. My friend takes out a vinyl record - and already we all look at him with satisfaction - and puts it on. "Unorthodox Behaviour" by Brand X. The situation suddenly becomes lively. We drink, smoke, chat, and listen to good music. Brand X was for a long time the side project of Phil Collins from Genesis (don't worry! I know too that Phil Collins is the Antichrist! But this album dates back to when he didn't sing crap like "Hold On My Heart" and he just played drums divinely!) and "Unorthodox Behaviour" marks their debut in 1975 in the budding "fusion" genre. What kind of "fusion" you may ask? Well... like the Mahavishnu Orchestra jamming with the Soft Machine after a collective snort of coke and baths in mare's milk. A mighty, powerful sound led with regal mastery by Phil's impeccable technique and harmonically guided by Percy Jones' "chubby" and pompous bass over which John Goodsall's futuristic guitars rain down just when you least expect them. Impossible melodic interweavings, light years away from the verbosity of prog. Ultra-syncopated rhythms and sudden explosive upbeat openings. Seven completely instrumental tracks that don't let you catch your breath for a second and sound like a post-everything even before a... everything was born!

Do you want to know how it ended?... My friend graduated with top marks with an insane thesis between Bartok, Stravinsky, and laptop technology. He's still dating one of the girls he met at the party. He dresses better and has quit porn. All those present on that legendary evening now have a Brand X copy at home.