Mark Turner wrote:
quoted 5 lines Personally, I would like to see Atom Heart experiment more with> Personally, I would like to see Atom Heart experiment more with
> different instruments and/or textures, rather than trying to get
> more complicated with his programming. Fucking up the rhythms
> to the point that there *is* no rhythm is an intellectual exercise
> but artistically a dead end. IMHO. ;-)
I agree with the first sentence. In fact I said more-or-less that in my
last letter. I suspect a certain laziness is a factor -- that is, hearing
the material I get the impression he thinks more in terms of structure and
programming than sound design. And, to be fair, unless you are arbitrary
about it, sound design can take a lot of time. (I can't tell you how much
time I spend waiting for MIDI sample dumps.)
I disagree, though, with your thoughts on rhythm. Music, unfortunately,
is under Disco Lockdown. Rhythm in the service of dance. When you use a
rhythm that in any way resembles a groove, people want a groove. A steady
rhythm is perhaps the cornerstone of all popular music. It is probably
only all the 4-on-the-floor material which even gave Atom Heart the
opportunity now to stretch rhythmically and to be able to release the
material.
If anything, I think the rhythms on _Brown_ and some of _Machine Paisley_
for example are in a somewhat uncomfortable middle ground, with groove
implied but skewed. I think most people get caught up in the implication
of groove, and the music fails at something it wasn't trying to do. (Like
criticizing hip-hop for lack of melody and harmony.)
I suspect that abandoning groove in an ambient/techno context would yield
wonderful results. Layer different meters, approach rhythm in a painterly
way and disregard or subvert the 4/4 grid. It's difficult to avoid the
usual rhythmic patterns. So the art-music scene has been working a
half-century to devise various ways to organize coherent rhythms which
don't center on pulse.
Anyway, I thank you because you've inadvertently given me an idea that may
have a lot of promise (artistically if not commercially).
--Mark