BBC 6 Music started broadcasting in spring 2002. I had broadband then, but there was a problem playing music on my old iMac DV: because its speakers were built in and right below the screen, each bass note sent ripples across the screen. When I got the iMac on which I'm writing this, in April 2003, with its external speakers, I quickly discovered the wonders of 6 Music and developed a habit that has only slightly attenuated four and a quarter years later.
My parents had also got Freeview around this time, so when I went to see them at Easter 2004 I could indulge my habit there too. It was on Easter Saturday that they ran a competition to win the new Adem album. The question was: "What instrument did Adem play when he was a member of Fridge?" I can't remember exactly how, but I knew the answer, and in those days there were still so few people listening to digital radio that your chances of winning were pretty good — especially if you answered by text message, which I had to from my parents' place. Hence I got this CD bearing the legend "For promotional use only / This promotional CD remains the property of Domino Recording Ltd and must be surrendered on request". I won it fair and square, so just try to get me to surrender it.
The album starts very well with the inventive tuned percussion of Statued, but doesn't quite live up to the expectations created by the excellent beginning. Since 2003 I've seen Adem at least four times, always as part of larger bills (usually featuring the likes of Alasdair Roberts or King Creosote), and two impressions always strike me. Firstly that he's completely genuine about what he does, a sincere and supportive person who takes pleasure in the success of his peers. Secondly that the inventiveness of his arrangements isn't quite matched by the quality of his songs.
Mostly I've listened to this album on my iPod, but listening to it on my hi-fi recently revealed how wonderfully well it's been recorded. You can really hear all the textures in the old-fashioned Joe Boyd kind of way, and that helps lift the songs: I got a lot more from listening to These Are Your Friends, Everything You Need and Pillow this time around.
Joe Boyd says his kind of production skills are no longer much in demand in an age when you can tweak every feature of the acoustics in post-production with digital manipulation. But if anyone did want a Joe Boyd for the new generation, my hunch is that Adem would be an excellent candidate for the role.
The good news as far as I'm concerned is that Fridge have reconvened and will be playing at the Green Man Festival next month. I'm really looking forward to that.
 MusicBrainz entry for this album
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