Bytes album cover
Bytes

Black Dog Productions

1993
Warp Records

The end is still two years away but the cracks are showing. Although this music was all made by the original three dogs, everyone uses various aliases here—like Plaid, which Ed and Andy are about to become for the remainder of their careers. Their first track here, “Object Orient,” opens up the sound field. We are no longer in Detroit or Chicago; textures and rhythms are sprouting. This album is an absolute peak of 90s Warp, still completely sleek and unusual. Something about using different names spurred everyone here to think ahead. One of the few IDM albums that sounds exactly like that name? Sparkly, smart, physical music.

Sasha Frere-Jones

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