Barking CD (2010)

First Released in 2010. 

If Oblivion With Bells was Rick and Karl getting to know a new studio space, Barking is them throwing open the Pigshed’s doors with an invite to small group of friends from across the globe to come and get involved. Unlike each of their previous albums, Barking is the result of a series of collaborations with contemporary electronic artists Dubfire, Mark Knight, Appleblim, High Contrast and Paul van Dyk, each of whom brings their own personal sonic stamp to the record. 

And it’s an experiment that works. While still unmistakably Underworld - from voice and words to rhythms and melodies - each respective producer helps hone their tracks for diverse dancefloors. Dubfire’s minimal takes seem to give Bird 1 and Grace a kind of electronic elegance… High Contrast’s work on Scribble evokes nothing less than Yellow Magic Orchestra tuning up at Metalheadz… the subsonic boom and two-step beat brought by Appleblim help take Hamburg Hotel deeper into the underground… Mark Knight’s oscillating techno on Always Loved A Film is enough to make you levitate…  and Paul van Dyk’s overhaul of Diamond Jigsaw sounds like it’s been custom built for a packed stadium at sundown. 

Album closer Louisiana is only track without assistance. Rick and Karl, piano, vocals and very little else, it’s as pure an Underworld track as anything else on the record.