Defend The Indefensible: Robert Miles

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This topic came up at the FAP last night. Matt DC and I considered him indefensible. But Toby thought it was time for a Robert Miles revival. Then we realised none of us could exactly remember how his big tune went. So who knows really? You may approach this question in the strictest neutrality (apart from the title obviously).

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw him last (end of) summer, playing an outdoor festival in South Shields. It was a sort of religious fest/benefit/charity thing, not that well attended, as these things end up being...

He had more hits than I thought...

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:20 (twenty-two years ago)

He has a new album out with Trilok Gurtu which I've only heard once but is at least interesting and I will certainly listen to it again. I'm not very familiar with his previous stuff though.

― ArfArf, Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Balls. That's John Miles. (my original post)

Umm, Robert miles was "Children", and it went

Ding....
Ding ding ding...
diddly ing dig ding
ding-ding ding de ding... (fast computer drum roll fades in...)

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Dudda-ling-ding-ding-ding-du-du-ding-ding-ding-ding. That's how it went.

The problem with all dance tunes from this age is that I only remember them from compilation adverts on the TV, so, to the best of my knowledge, "Children" turns into "Nightrain" by Ken Doh after five seconds.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:23 (twenty-two years ago)

(I was doing the intro..)

Hey we should do 'spot the intro'

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:29 (twenty-two years ago)

i liked 'Children' a lot, all his other stuff is rubbish though. i got thinking about this track again yesterday too after compiling the list of SINGLES THAT REACHED NUMBER 2 for my possible project NOT AT ALL IN ANY WAY RIPPING OFF TOM EWING that i might be starting very soon, maybe

'Night Train' was by Kadoc, Ken-DOh's hit was called, obviously enough, 'Nagasaki (I need A lover tonight)'

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:30 (twenty-two years ago)

'Children' was apparently 'inspired' by the alarming rise in the number of Italian youths getting killed in car-crashes or being run over whilst making their way back from clubs/raves. juventus! say no to drugs!

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I apologise for my ignorance. The video to "Children" featured a child looking out of a (car? train? bus?) window, full of wide-eyed innocence, looking into the future.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:32 (twenty-two years ago)

(vagueish x-post)

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:32 (twenty-two years ago)

the video was nice - black and white, great shots of the Alps (I presume), and at one point the car drives past an object that looks like a UFO

additionally i think it was Robert Miles who released an album after the success of 'One Is One' that got 9 or 10 out of 10 in Mixmag (could've been DJ tho) which seems bizarre. He also made the cover of Muzik during 'Children's chart run which triggered a flood of bemused letters, but I guess it demonstrates how, despite it's fragility and tweeness, 'Children' was more popular with clubbers than they may now dare admit.

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Thankyou Stevem this is surely the source for my confused memory of Robert Miles' songs being comissioned by the Italian government to send 'the kids' to sleep instead of haring round motorways chasing the buzz.

I will download Children now.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:38 (twenty-two years ago)

2 Robert Miles Children Single Feb 1996
7 Robert Miles Fable Single Jun 1996
7 Robert Miles Dreamland Album Jun 1996
3 Robert Miles featuring Maria Nayler One And One Single Nov 1996
15 Robert Miles featuring Kathy Sledge Freedom Single Nov 1997

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:38 (twenty-two years ago)

actually yes it may have been younger kids having the accidents and not necessarily cos of yer dodgy Med E's

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Robert Miles is better than 99% of the music that his success inspired.

Children was the first crossover trance hit, right?

― Jacob (Jacob), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:40 (twenty-two years ago)

okay, okay ... (runs away)

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Children was the first crossover trance hit, right?

eeeehhh, maybe, it was a much bigger hit than 'Age Of Love' or Jam & Spoon's 'Right In The Night' - but Snap!'s 'Do You See The Light' has a similar trance-based pop voib. it only beat BBE's 'Seven Days ANd One Week' by just a month or so iirc. i'm probably forgetting something else really obvious from before 1996 as well though.

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:53 (twenty-two years ago)

i guess for the whole 'dense plodding bassdrum, zero-delay hi hat combined with low bass 'wam' sound' which became signature of light-trance from '96 to the end of the decade it set the trend, in the charts at least

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:56 (twenty-two years ago)

"What time is Love"?

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 10:56 (twenty-two years ago)

the KLF are a whole other thing though really

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 11:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I downloaded it and it's quite good, it has stood the test of time well, mind you in my case there's little that doesn't.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 11:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I think at the time I disliked it because I knew it spelt the end for all the big vocal handbag house that I loved having in the charts.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

It's interesting how that style (dream house: Gianni Parini, Leonardo Rossi, DJ Dado, older Gigi d'Agostino, Panda, Zhi-Vago) came and went so fast, within a year the "melancholic piano" sound was dead and buried again.

― Siegbran (eofor), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 11:09 (twenty-two years ago)

subliminal cuts 'le voie le soleil' is still lovely instrumental* melancholic piano house

*apart from the 'you got a beat for me?' snippet

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Didn't Robert Miles get inundated with letters from tearful Italian mothers, thanking them for saving their children's lives with his calming ambient-trance-lite and thus ensuring that they all drove home safely at the end of the night?

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 11:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm sure I secretly like 'Children' more than I'd care to admit, but I definitely like 'Fable' and 'One And One' ("still is one" - silliest hook ever?) like the 'deep' pieces of semi-superior, light mid-90s pop-trance fluff they are. 'Ee knew his way arahnd the old joanna, 'ee did.

And yeah, mike, I b'lieve he did.

― Barima (Barima), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 11:14 (twenty-two years ago)

doesn't he have a new jazz collaboration album out? or have i imagined that?

― toby (tsg20), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 12:13 (twenty-two years ago)

"Children" has always and will always fucking rock.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 20:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Dan Perry is so, so right.

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

The Box continually played a video that was a mix between Children and the X-Files theme. Might've been by DJ Bobo? It's too long ago now. But it was inescapable at the time. Bloody annoying too!

― Raymondo, Tuesday, 24 February 2004 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

It sounds best in a car too. As does most trance-lite music.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 23:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, thinking about it all music sounds better while driving. One of the few pleasures of doing so.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

That's DJ Dado "X-Files".

― Siegbran (eofor), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 23:06 (twenty-two years ago)

seven years pass...

I bought Dreamland for $1 and didn't like it much (though "One and One" is kinda neat). I found his follow up (23 AM) at a similar price and I have to say it's actually pretty good!! Very chill but it has its explosive moments. He's still very much second tier but I can't believe I'm enjoying a Robert Miles album. I almost wonder if his other non-Dreamland albums could be good?

― frogbs, Tuesday, 2 August 2011 14:14 (fourteen years ago)

This is fairly ubiquitous in its second life as corporate switchboard hold music.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 2 August 2011 16:12 (fourteen years ago)

five years pass...

http://www.vanyaland.com/2017/05/09/rip-electronic-music-producer-robert-miles-has-died-at-the-age-of-47/

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 03:23 (eight years ago)

jeez - so young too

lol @ my post above. I eventually checked out some of his later albums, they ain't too good, but they're decent. Even got to work with Bob Fripp on one of 'em. Time to bust out the Pure Moods....

― frogbs, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 13:20 (eight years ago)

rip

dreamland is classic imo

― marcos, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 13:29 (eight years ago)

A bit late, but RIP.

― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Saturday, 13 May 2017 20:48 (eight years ago)

i have been on the lookout for his collaboration album with bill laswell.

at the time of its release, he put out a mixtape of stuff that influenced it.

its brilliant.

https://www.discogs.com/Robert-Miles-The-Organik-Selection/release/3106656

― mark e, Saturday, 13 May 2017 20:52 (eight years ago)

I liked his post-Dreamland material quite a lot, it's all over the place from IDM to jazz to prog rock - in fact I can't think of any other successful dance producer that branched out this far and wide into 'inaccessible' music compared to his hit sound.

― Siegbran, Saturday, 13 May 2017 21:02 (eight years ago)

Awww. RIP. How can ANYBODY hate "Children"? It's such a cute catchy tune!

(I'm talking about the "Dream Version.")

― Mr. Snrub, Saturday, 13 May 2017 23:49 (eight years ago)

three years pass...

i have been on the lookout for his collaboration album with bill laswell.

well, i eventually found a copy of "Organik" last year, and yeah, it's rather good.
despite not having that much bill laswell involvement, it does feature some full on axiom style excess with its mix of world musics, and big production values.
not like the dance/pop stuff at all.
a perfect chilled out sunday evening listen basically.

― mark e, Sunday, 20 September 2020 16:57 (five years ago)

There's three tracks on "Organik" with Trilok Gurtu on drums, he later did a whole jazz album with him, which is very enjoyable too.

― Siegbran, Monday, 21 September 2020 15:07 (five years ago)

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