Simon Posford is the founder of Twisted Records, a label dedicated to electronic music. Previous to his involvement in the Younger Brother project, he became well known on the electronica and trance music scene under the alias Hallucinogen. Under this name he has released four albums, alongside several singles and EPs, out of which the first one, titled Twisted, which was released in 1995, holds the record as the best selling psytrance album ever and is regarded as one of the most influential psytrance recordings. (http://www.sputnikmusic.com/bands/Hallucinogen/4007/) Electronic and trance music aficionados are well familiar with the work of Simon Posford also through his collaboration with Raja Ram, an Australian-born musician who also owns a record label in the UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Ram_(musician)), on the cult downbeat psychedelic trance psybient world-music project - Shpongle. He has also participated in many other musical projects and collaborated with many artists of the electronic music scene.
Benji Vaughan is the second part of the Younger Brother duo. He is a prolific artist who has released music under many names, but he is best known to the general public by his solo project, Prometheus. He is the representative of psychedelic trance and psybient music, and his work is "characterized by heavy and distinct bass lines and high production quality" and by unique and original approach to the psytrance genre. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benji_Vaughan)
When it comes to the genre to which we would ascribe the music of Younger Brother, as it is with many other artist and especially with the artists of the electronic music scene, things are not clean-cut. Probably most often described as "unclassifiable", their name is, across the websites dealing with music industry, listed under such genres as psytrance, psybient, downtempo, progressive trance, trance, etc. It could be, with some certainty, said that they simply belong to the wider genre of electronic music, but they have slowly moved from under this label as well, especially with their third and last album so far. It may be useful to discuss the characteristics of these genres in few details before classifying the work of Younger Brother.
We will start with the term that has the widest scope of meaning among those previously mentioned - electronic music. Electronica evolved into an entity and a genre of its own on the grounds of 1970s disco and funk music, and the electronic effects used in that music. It has its roots in the post-disco era and in the cities of Chicago, New York and Detroit. It is from here that we got techno and house in the 1980s. The Europeans picked up the vibe, and, during the same decade, styles such as jungle, drum'n'bass and trip-hop appeared in Britain. Mostly danceable music in its early forms, it later on evolved into a diverse scope of subgenres, some of which are ambient-house, experimental techno, trance, etc. (http://www.allmusic.com/genre/electronic-ma0000002572)
Amongst these varied subgenres in electronic music, we can set aside a group of genres produced primarily for the dancing environment, i.e. mostly nightclubs. This music is referred to as electronic dance music, or just dance music. And trance is the electronic genre in this family. It developed during 1990s in Germany. It is marked by repeated melodic phrases, a high tempo of usually 110 to 150 beats per minute and a rising and falling flow in the song. It is influenced by and often incorporates the elements of techno, house, pop, chill-out, classical, etc. Trance is a melodic and harmonic type of electronic music. As it is suggested by its name, this music is supposed to induce a state of euphoria, high, uplifting experience in the listener, sometimes compared with that of a religious type. (http://www.allmusic.com/style/trance-ma0000002903) Female vocals are often employed in order to increase the intensity of this ethereal, floating atmosphere. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trance_music)
Progressive trance is characterized by a smoother sound, more chart-friendly sound, somewhat close to eurodance or house, or such artists as Jean-Michelle Jarre. (http://www.allmusic.com/style/progressive-trance-ma0000011914)
Goa trance got its name after the region on the southwestern coast of India, a clubbing resort and a "hippie mecca". This style of trance included the elements of Indian music and culture. Thus, it is often highly charged with mystical and spiritual feelings, dealing with topics like "shamanism, aliens, technology, religious imagery primarily from the Eastern cultures," etc. (http://www.moodbook.com/music/trance.html#goa-trance) Traditional instruments like sitar or sarod are often used in making this music. Moreover, Goa trance records commonly have prominently heavier and more distinct bass lines than it is the case with other trance subgenres. (http://www.allmusic.com/style/goa-trance-ma0000011977)
Psychedelic trance, psytrance or just psy, is a subgenre which is closely linked to Goa trance, both in regards to its historical origin and to its style. It is characterized by hypnotic arrangements of rhythm and complex melodies in layers. It gained on popularity with the appearance of Goa trance, and they developed alongside. (http://www.omnilexica.com/?q=psytrance) Its name best describes its aspirations - it is derived from the Ancient Greek word ψυχή, meaning "psyche, mind, soul, breath, spirit". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psytrance)
We also mentioned psybient as a word used to describe the music of Younger Brother. Sometimes also called ambient psy, psychedelic chillout, ambient goa, psychill, etc, it is a genre that combines the influences of psytrance, ambient and world music. (http://www.omnilexica.com/?q=psybient) Here we could mention the ambient music because it is a genre that definitely influenced the Younger Brother duo, and as the duo itself, it also originated in the UK.
Brian Eno is an English musician, composer, producer, singer, etc, and he is the man widely regarded as the founding father of ambient music. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188580/Brian-Eno#ref666647) This music evolved from the experimental and mainly synthesizer-oriented genres, influenced by German artists Klaus Schulze and Kraftwerk. The concept of furniture music existed from before (France, early XX century) , a music that was intended to set a background atmosphere and not impose itself upon the listener's attention. Eno is usually credited for coining the term "ambient music", which he described as something between "melody and texture" which allows the listener to chose whether to pay attention or not.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_music)
Finally, downbeat or downtempo refers to the genre similar to ambient, but it is usually characterized by a distinct beat or a groove. The tempo is usually slower than that of other electronic music, being that this music is intended for a living room rather than a dance floor, aimed to set a mood and relax rather than occupy the attention. (http://www.allmusic.com/style/downbeat-ma0000012007; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtempo)
Having said all this, it is probably safest to say that Younger Brother duo combines the elements and building blocks of all the genres mentioned, adding the components of world music, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, diverse ethno influences and vocal performances to create something which is, just maybe, classified the best if classified as unclassifiable.
After somewhat clarifying the influences that produced and shaped the music of Younger Brother, we can now consider the band's history and development. Posford and Vaughan first worked together when they wrote a song for a charity concert that raised money for the indigenous tribe called the Kogi. This tribe not only provided the musicians with the inspiration for the song, but also, unexpectedly, provided them with a name for the band. (http://www.twistedmusic.com/artists/younger_brother/) But first, a few words about the Kogi.
The Kogi are an indigenous tribe inhabiting the northern Colombia. "Kogi" means jaguar, and the Kogi, in their belief, trace their origin back to mythical jaguar beings. (http://www.everyculture.com/South-America/Kogi-Orientation.html) They also call themselves the Older Brother. And they have a prophecy saying that the destruction of "Aluna" or "The Great Mother" will be brought upon by the Westerners, or the Younger Brother. In this contrast the electronic duo found inspiration and symbolism to undertake a new trip, and search for some new and creative solutions and ideas. Pieces of this prophecy can be heard in the song "Evil and Harm". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogi_people; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Brother)
So far, the Younger Brother has released three albums. The first one is A Flock of Bleeps, published in 2003. It was released under Twisted Records. It became an instant classic in the underground electronic scene, which led to the fast increase in their popularity and a huge demand to see them perform live. The album included tracks like Crumblenaut, The Receptive, Finger. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Brother)
When they started to plan the second album, propelled by the success of their live shows, and as they state themselves (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2mchCfsoLY - Younger Brother interview, 2010), because the availability of technology now allowed them to, they realized they wanted to move from mainly electronic sound to the more organic one, i.e. they wanted to record with a band and real instruments. As Benji and Simon state in the interview, their sonic palette became much wider with the introduction of the instruments in the recording process. For their second album they played all the instruments themselves, and they employed Ruu Campbell, former Leftfield member and Vaughan's friend, to perform the vocals. (http://www.twistedmusic.com/artists/younger_brother/)
The second album was titled "The Last Days of Gravity", and it was a step away from the largely electronic sound of their debut album, but still, as Simon states in the mentioned interview, a fine and spontaneous transformation in musical style can be noticed. Many tracks from this album are well accepted worldwide; to name a few: All I Want, Ribbon on a Branch, Psychic Gibbon.
The cover art on the album The Last Days of Gravity was done by Storm Thorgerson (1944-2013), who was an English graphic designer, one of the founders of the Hipgnosis designer group. He is one of the most famous graphic artists in the history of modern music. His work has covered albums of various musicians and bands such as Pink Floyd, UFO, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Paul McCartney & Wings, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO, etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Thorgerson; http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/ptr/pfloyd/interview/great.html - Article On Storm Thorgerson, Q Magazine, 1992).
The third album, Vaccine, came out in 2011. In terms of the organic quality of the sound, they have reached the furthest point with this album. It projects a wide range of sound, samples, instrumental recordings, great musical lines and melodies, creating a feeling of musical fantasia, psychedelic ambient reminiscent of Pink Floyd and their psychedelic rock, with influences of pop, but with always present spacey texture and undertone of electronica. Some of the most popular numbers from this record are Night Lead Me Astray, Train, Crystalline.
The unique blend concocted by Posford and Vaughan, consisting of slow downtempo beats but also hard driving rhythms, trance mayhem and pop-rock sensitivity, wide range of instrumental and electronic sounds, samples, tribal chants, melodies and dancey beats, and combined with spectacular live performances, holds a strong promise that more great work is before these two musicians in the years to come. (http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/twi/twi1cd024.html)
