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Three Albums That Changed My Life: PVT

After a three year break, PVT made their triumphant return last year with the epic nine-minute journey of a tune, Morning Mist, Rock Island Bend. They recent followed this up with the stunning Another Life, and are on the bring of releasing their new album – their fifth – the appropriately titled New Spirit. 

The group have been around for well over a decade, and have managed to maintain a reputation as one of the most riveting and exciting electronic groups, each album delivering something new, intriguing on many different levels – musically and thematically, and utterly engaging throughout.

Ahead of the album release this Friday, Feb 17, we decided to find out a little more about the influences behind the music, so we asked frontman Richard Pike to share three albums that changed their lives.

Enjoy!

Bjork, Post

I guess I was 17 or 18. I didn’t really listen to female singers, I was into metal bands or jazz guitarists. Real boy-ish stuff. My high school girlfriend played me Bjork and I didn’t understand it at first. I then saw her live and it was like a demi-god had dropped in. She’s been that way since to me, kind of untouchable. She just kind of floats above it all. I did like ‘Debut’ – it was weird but still conventional. But ‘Post’ was far more risky and artful. I wanted to make music like that.

Autechre, LP5

I was still a nerd playing jazz guitar around about 19 years old, I didn’t really like much electronic music. House music was big. I hated it. A friend played me Autechre – LP5 and I thought I was hearing alien party music from 100 years in the future. Unbelievable. I played it to some jazz purist friends at a party and it took 1 and a half tracks before someone took it off to play more Miles Davis. I thought, but this is jazz from the future. Miles would’ve liked it.

Every track on this album seems to have it’s own language. Drums that are pure electricity, or recorded by banging a fence – you just can’t tell. How is this even made. Any ideas? Nope? Me neither.

Talking Heads, Fear Of Music

We did an interview in France once, this guy who looked about 12 asked “so, I heard you like Talking Heads. What the fuck is with this band? I don’t understand why people like them?” Oh man. If you have to ask why people like them, well, I guess you’ll never know. This record sounds like the band of all bands, at its peak. David Byrne is half-talking, half-singing, in dada inspired nonsense – it changed the whole idea of what a song could be.

Image: Supplied