Butter (album)


Butter is the first studio album by Scottish electronic musician Hudson Mohawke. It was released on Warp Records on 26 October 2009 to positive reviews from critics.

Background

In 2009, Hudson Mohawke signed to Warp Records, despite a very limited track record of official releases; in fact, the bulk of his releases were unofficial tracks and DJ mixes circulated on the Internet. Butter is his debut album and second release on Warp following the 2008 Polyfolk Dance EP. The album’s artwork was designed by Birchard’s friend Tom Scholefield, with both working from a folder of influences they wanted to incorporate. The album features collaborations with Dam-Funk, Nadsroic, and Olivier Daysoul, the latter an American singer who contributes to two tracks.
Birchard described his recording setup as "very simple," explaining "I’m more interested in the equipment being usable and immediate, rather than spending loads of time tweaking things." Most of the album was made in the audio program FruityLoops using free plug-ins. Mohawke also used hardware such as an Ensoniq VFX and Roland W30 "for lots of vintage dancey sounds" as well as a Korg M50, and sampled his own MIDI programming. He premiered the material at LA's Low End Theory, where it was received positively.

Reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Butter received an average score of 80% based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
AllMusic called it "A fearless scrap heap mutation that incorporates icebox IDM crunch, DayGlo synthesizer funk and, most notably, late-'80s/early-'90s R&B flourishes." AJ Ramirez of PopMatters gave the album 8 stars out of 10, commenting that "While Butters fascination with chaotic beats and sonic experimentalism fit right into the Warp aesthetic, the album is remarkably accessible, liable to inspire head-bobbing motions of approval." The Guardian wrote that "listening to Butter can feel like eavesdropping on the future," adding that "It's like eating candyfloss and helium on a speeding rollercoaster: exhilarating and discombobulating in equal measure."

Track listing