Amon Tobin – Out From Out Where

Was there ever a single or similar released with Micro Mighty People? I'd love to have that one on vinyl.

A very good pressing, which hasn’t been the case for most of my AT pressings. The cut is good, too. It could be even better, but it’s very enjoyable to listen to this era of Tobin. I sold my 2011 pressing a while ago because it was poorly pressed by contrast. This is definitely an upgrade.

If there's one thing I can say about Mr. Tobin, it's that his albums with Ninja Tune truly show artistic development. He started off with a solid jazz footing in Bricolage, but with Permutation, Supermodified, and now this fourth album, he's moved further and further away from that foundation. Heck, on this album, he pretty much abandons it.
When an album starts off like this one does, you know you're in for something good. "Back From Space" sets the tone, letting the world know that the master is back. Then "Verbal" (featuring MC Decimal R.) comes on, and proves to be the most straight-up fun tune that Tobin has put his hands on. ittedly, the concept of cut-up vocals was previously done by Prefuse 73, but at least Amon its it.
If you're wondering what would happen if "Get Your Snack On" and "Four Ton Mantis" got together and had a child, "Chronic Tronic" answers your question in style, baby. It's totally funked-up and danceable to boot. It segues into "Searchers, which is haunting to say the least. The mere thought of Tobin touching strings brings joy to my ears, so imagine how I feel when I hear the result.
Tobin then pulls a surprise from his hat with "Hey Blondie." It's like no Tobin tune I've ever heard; it actually sounds a fair bit like R.E.M.'s "Drive." "Rosies" comes next, and it's an album highlight; it starts off all innocent, but then it shows its true colours and compels you to bob your head along with it.
The next tune, "Cosmo Retro Intro Outro," is straight out of left field. A casual listener might think that this is an underproduced tune by The Chemical Brothers or Fatboy Slim. As it stands, it's quite a nice surprise to hear Tobin doing an overtly dancefloor-friendly tune. But that's where the friendliness ends...
"Triple Science" could have come straight from a horror movie - the part where you're in a haunted house and you're opening a creaky door which is hiding some pretty nasty stuff behind it. The effects and the drums give a sese of urgency, like something is about to happen. That something is "El Wraith," the nastiest track on this whole album. It's dark from beginning to end; if you previewed the first two minutes of this at the Ninja Tune website, you have no idea what you're in for.
"Proper Hoodidge" starts to bring a close to the madness, but it's no less eerie. It vaguely reminds me of "Saboteur," but without the clinking bottles. Finally, "Mighty Micro People" serves its purpose well as "ending credits" music; it's calmer than the preceding nightmare, but definitely not wimpy.
There aren't too many artists who can put out one brilliant album in the space of their careers. Witness an artist who, with "Out From Out Where," has put out FOUR (I haven't heard "Adventures In Foam" so I can't comment on that). I always worry that Amon won't be able to step up his game when he puts his next album out. I mean, when you set the bar so high with each release, to set it even higher is pretty much the equivalent of Jesus walking on water again. However, it's safe to say that Amon's got wet feet, 'cause with "Out From Out Where," that bar has been raised yet again. Simply put, no one does it better.

Very good repress! Not enough low frequencies but still sounds great...

Disappointing press: drums have no punch, and overall quite flat with no good dynamic range. I was hoping to get this to bask in the dirtiness and rawness of some of the tracks but instead it will have to be background listening mostly..

Decent repress. Bit of crackle here and there, but not too bad and gets lost in the darkness of this dirty album. Worth picking up. Sleeve way to tight for the cardboard inner sleeves. Poster unnecessary.

Gold reissue on its way (with glow-in-the-dark details and a poster)!
https://www.banquetrecords.com/amon-tobin/out-from-out-where/ZEN70X

I had this on CD for ages (still have it, I think)... listening to this album on vinyl is another experience entirely. "Cosmo Retro Intro Outro" is freaking insane on wax. Knocks your brain around a bit. Strong stuff!

I'd really like to know where Amon found his inspiration (and his samples) for the 4th track of this great release. I had a big surprise when I compare this track with the 6th track "Up And Away" from the Wibutee's album "Eight Domestic Challenges" released by Jazzland Rec. in Norway. You have the same melody in the background ! Maybe inspired from an old movie music... Anyway "Out From Out Where" was released in 2002, Wibutee's in 2001, and I pretty love theses two different releases.

This is a solidification of Tobin's great work. After "Premutation" looks like he wanted to make things diferent and he started to make a kind of sound completely new. "Bricolage" and "Premutation" are very still like the "Adventures In Foam" that got too much sampled breaks from jazz tunes and movies samples. He already said that he loves to grab a old tune, sample it to the bone and make a completly diferent song form it. On "Supermodified" he uses samples from the most unexpected things and put them into a musical context. On "Out From Out Where" he pushes the limits of his imagiantion and the result is a album that fits perfectly as a movie soundtrack. Listening to this album is like a trip to somewere...