Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia
Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 2005 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 231:58 | |||
Label | V/Vm Test | |||
Producer | Leyland Kirby | |||
The Caretaker chronology | ||||
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Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia (stylized as “Theoretically pure anterograde amnesia”) is the fourth
The liner notes for Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia were written by Mark Fisher. The blogger, who referenced the record on his book Ghosts of My Life (2014), died by suicide in 2017, for which Kirby created Take Care. It's a Desert Out There.... Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia was met with general praise from music critics, who felt it improved on the Caretaker's style. However, some of the tracks were criticized for their production. The album has since been considered a precursor to the Caretaker's final and most acclaimed project, Everywhere at the End of Time.
Background
The Caretaker was an alias of English musician Leyland Kirby that explored the haunted
Composition and style
Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia explores drone, experimental, plunderphonics,[5] dark ambient, hauntology,[6] and noise.[7] Divided into six CDs, it consists of minimal drones made from orchestral music samples by Anglo-Italian orchestra conductor Mantovani slowed down and reverberated to an extreme amount. All of these samples come from a 6xLP box set known as "The Magic of Mantovani", with each track on the album corresponding to tracks on the box set. It has a basic concept and sound design, with its track titles simply being "Memories". In the album, Kirby uses various filtering and echo effects to reflect the disorientation felt by an amnesiac.[8]
Production
Kirby's fascination with
Release
Isn't, in fact, theoretically pure anterograde amnesia the postmodern condition par excellence? The present - broken, desolated is constantly erasing itself, leaving few traces. Things catch your attention for a while but you do not remember them for very long. But old memories persist, intact... Constantly commemorated... I love 1923...[12]
Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life (2014)
Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia was first released in December 2005 as a free download on Kirby's website for the
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Grooves | 3/5[6] |
Stylus Magazine | B+[15] |
Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia received praise from music critics, who felt it improved the Caretaker's style. Writing for Grooves, Allan Harrison said it "is quite a trip", calling it one of the year's most ambitious albums, and one of the Caretaker's darkest releases.[6] Scott McKeating of Stylus Magazine felt the record "needs to be checked out." However, he criticized some of the tracks, specifically "Memory Fifty", where it "sounds like The Caretaker just turned the whole thing backwards and pressed play."[15] Brainwashed's Matthew Jeanes summarized his review with the statement that, if Kirby's six discs exploring amnesia are not "enough murky drone for a lifetime, I don't know what is."[5] According to Kirby, the album was downloaded over 50,000 times and put him "back on the critical radar."[10] It is the first Caretaker release to be presented as a "recommended disc" on Italian music magazine OndaRock.[16]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Memory One" | 3:00 |
2. | "Memory Two" | 3:03 |
3. | "Memory Three" | 4:00 |
4. | "Memory Four" | 4:24 |
5. | "Memory Five" | 7:56 |
6. | "Memory Six" | 3:23 |
7. | "Memory Seven" | 3:33 |
8. | "Memory Eight" | 3:20 |
9. | "Memory Nine" | 4:08 |
10. | "Memory Ten" | 1:55 |
11. | "Memory Eleven" | 2:36 |
12. | "Memory Twelve" | 3:14 |
Total length: | 44:45 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "Memory Thirteen" | 3:54 |
14. | "Memory Fourteen" | 3:26 |
15. | "Memory Fifteen" | 3:30 |
16. | "Memory Sixteen" | 3:20 |
17. | "Memory Seventeen" | 2:52 |
18. | "Memory Eighteen" | 2:54 |
19. | "Memory Nineteen" | 3:26 |
20. | "Memory Twenty" | 3:39 |
21. | "Memory Twenty One" | 3:39 |
22. | "Memory Twenty Two" | 3:10 |
23. | "Memory Twenty Three" | 4:00 |
24. | "Memory Twenty Four" | 4:06 |
Total length: | 42:09 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
25. | "Memory Twenty Five" | 2:33 |
26. | "Memory Twenty Six" | 3:05 |
27. | "Memory Twenty Seven" | 3:00 |
28. | "Memory Twenty Eight" | 3:43 |
29. | "Memory Twenty Nine" | 3:23 |
30. | "Memory Thirty" | 2:10 |
31. | "Memory Thirty One" | 2:46 |
32. | "Memory Thirty Two" | 3:10 |
33. | "Memory Thirty Three" | 2:30 |
34. | "Memory Thirty Four" | 3:02 |
35. | "Memory Thirty Five" | 3:02 |
36. | "Memory Thirty Six" | 4:37 |
Total length: | 37:13 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
37. | "Memory Thirty Seven" | 3:55 |
38. | "Memory Thirty Eight" | 3:36 |
39. | "Memory Thirty Nine" | 1:54 |
40. | "Memory Forty" | 3:26 |
41. | "Memory Forty One" | 2:26 |
42. | "Memory Forty Two" | 3:39 |
43. | "Memory Forty Three" | 3:16 |
44. | "Memory Forty Four" | 3:06 |
45. | "Memory Forty Five" | 3:39 |
46. | "Memory Forty Six" | 3:16 |
47. | "Memory Forty Seven" | 3:12 |
48. | "Memory Forty Eight" | 3:27 |
Total length: | 39:05 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
49. | "Memory Forty Nine" | 4:11 |
50. | "Memory Fifty" | 3:24 |
51. | "Memory Fifty One" | 3:05 |
52. | "Memory Fifty Two" | 2:47 |
53. | "Memory Fifty Three" | 2:35 |
54. | "Memory Fifty Four" | 3:03 |
55. | "Memory Fifty Five" | 3:40 |
56. | "Memory Fifty Six" | 3:07 |
57. | "Memory Fifty Seven" | 3:29 |
58. | "Memory Fifty Eight" | 2:38 |
59. | "Memory Fifty Nine" | 3:07 |
60. | "Memory Sixty" | 2:06 |
Total length: | 37:24 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
61. | "Memory Sixty One" | 1:55 |
62. | "Memory Sixty Two" | 2:56 |
63. | "Memory Sixty Three" | 4:00 |
64. | "Memory Sixty Four" | 3:12 |
65. | "Memory Sixty Five" | 2:04 |
66. | "Memory Sixty Six" | 2:46 |
67. | "Memory Sixty Seven" | 3:02 |
68. | "Memory Sixty Eight" | 3:13 |
69. | "Memory Sixty Nine" | 3:08 |
70. | "Memory Seventy" | 3:21 |
71. | "Memory Seventy One" | 2:44 |
72. | "Memory Seventy Two" | 4:48 |
Total length: | 37:22 |
References
- ^ O'Neal, Seal (31 October 2013). "A scene from The Shining inspired a haunting ode to dying memory". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ Hazelwood, Holly (18 January 2021). "Rediscover: The Caretaker: Everywhere at the End of Time". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- Breznikar, Klemen (20 March 2012). "The Caretaker interview with James Leyland Kirby". It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine. Archivedfrom the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ Doran, John (22 September 2016). "A Quietus Interview | Out Of Time: Leyland James Kirby And The Death Of A Caretaker". The Quietus. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ a b Jeanes, Matthew (10 October 2006). "The Caretaker, "Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia"". Brainwashed. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Harrison, Allan. "The Caretaker - Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia". Grooves. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ a b Fisher, Mark (June 2009). "Ex-V/Vm prankster James Kirby converts pre-war nostalgia into modern-day haunted audio, healing emotional and political memory loss". The Wire. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Alt URL - ^ "Interview: The Caretaker". Fact. 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ Davenport, Joe (28 June 2011). "James Kirby (The Caretaker) | Interview". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Prescott, Shaun (12 April 2009). "V/VM | The Caretaker interview by Shaun Prescott". Cyclic Defrost. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Simpson, Duncan (24 August 2019). ".:: articles | From out of the Past". Musique Machine. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ a b Memory, Vapor (3 December 2017). "Memories Overlooked : A Tribute to the Caretaker". YouTube. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ Ryce, Andrew (15 December 2017). "The Caretaker releases charity album dedicated to Mark Fisher". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ a b Caretaker, The (31 May 2006). "Theoretically pure anterograde amnesia". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ a b McKeating, Scott (3 January 2006). "The Caretaker - Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ Russo, Raffaello. "James Leyland Kirby :: Le interviste". OndaRock. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2021.