I just put together a new Welcome message and thought you all might like
to see it...
[begin message]
dMP dMMMMb dMMMMMMMMb
amr dMP VMP dMP"dMP"dMP
dMP dMP dMP dMP dMP dMP Welcome to IDM
dMP dMP.aMP dMP dMP dMP
dMP dMMMMP" dMP dMP dMP the Intelligent Dance Music mailing list.
Greetings. The Intelligent Dance Music mailinglist was set up in August
of 1993 by Brian Behlendorf and myself as a platform for the discussion
of a wave of what was termed "Intelligent Techno" originating mainly
from the UK. Initially, the idea was to create a list dedicated to the
Aphex Twin but it soon became apparent that there was a whole lot more
going on that we felt was worthy of discussion. The most obvious example
of this was Warp records "Artificial Intelligence" series which brought
together various artists whose names are now at the forefront of the new
wave of electronic listening music. These artists, including BlackDog
Productions, B12, Autechre, Speedy J etc., are in my mind the epitomy of
"IDM". As always, however, there are no specific boundaries by which we
are able to define what is and what isn't Intelligent Dance Music. To
begin with, lets look at this analysis below by Chris Hilker:
What is Intelligent Dance Music? "Intelligent" gives a nod, obviously, to
Warp Records' (UK) "Artificial Intelligence" releases. Let's take a close
look at our copies of the 'Artificial Intelligence' compilation, shall we?
(This compilation, WARP CD 6 in the UK, Wax Trax/Tee Vee Toons TVT 7203 in
the US, is one of the very few definitive releases in this genre.) On the
front cover, we see the subtitle: "Electronic Listening music from Warp".
The picture on the front cover is of a humanoid figure reclining in a
chair. From these two points, we can conclude that the music we're talking
about is intended for *listening* - it may be danceable, and it may be
influenced by current trends in more straightforward dance music, but it is
intended more for your living room than your local club. Looking more
closely at the cover pic, there are three album covers strewn on the floor
of the figure's room: an early Kraftwerk record, Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of
the Moon,' and Warp Records' first compilation, 'Pioneers of the Hypnotic
Groove.' These, then, are three big influences in IDM: the electronica of
Kraftwerk, the druggy self-indulgence of Floyd, and the funky bleepiness of
Warp's early stuff (and techno, in the narrow sense of the word, in
general). Moving on to the back cover, there are two bits of text, besides
the tracklist, of interest: one, at the top left corner, asks "Are you
Sitting comfortably?", the other, in the lower right, says "Artificial
Intelligence is electronic 'Listening music' for Long journeys quiet nights
and club drowsy dawns. Listen with an open mind." Again, and always, the
focus is on listening, rather than dancing. Inside back cover: "Artificial
Intelligence: electronic music for the mind created by trans-global
electronic innovators who prove music is the one true international
language. Real people whose unity lies in a common sound + spirit and whose
'listening music' cannot be described as either soulless or machine driven.
The atmosphere and emotion both come from the musicians, their machines are
merely the means to a human end."
So as to prevent the list from becoming a hopeless barrage of flame
mail over what is and is not "intelligent", the official stance will
be that all opinions are to be respected - you are welcome to disagree
and post your disagreements, but outright flames and name-calling are
to be avoided. However, if you declare that "Rozalla is intelligent
dance music", you should be willing and able to back it up - not just
"because it obviously is".. Just remember that your mail goes into over
250 mail boxes worldwide therefore unrelated or unneccessary posts should
be kept to an absolute minimum.
The request address follows the same conventions as most other lists -
i.e., idm-request@techno.stanford.edu is where you mail to. Send mail
there with the word 'help' in the message body and it'll give you
instructions on how to subscribe and unsubscribe, get a list of members,
etc. Regular list mail should be sent to idm@techno.stanford.edu, and
you can contact the list admins at idm-owner@techno.stanford.edu.
Also available now is the related list IDM-Reviews - for those who just
want the music reviews rather than all the related discussion. The
reviews are sent out periodically as they appear on the IDM list or
mailed to the listowner. IDM-Reviews format is as above, just interchange
idm with idm-reviews for mailing commands.
It is recommended that you read the IDM archives, at least for the last
couple of months, before posting to the list. These can be read through
gopher or FTP at technno.stanford.edu under pub/raves/music/idm. The
techno.stanford site has an extensive archive which contains a plethora of
information and can answer many of your questions. It is an invaluable
resource and I recommend that you use it and familiarise yourself with
its use.
As of yet, there is no FAQ, but if you feel compelled to write one, feel
free :)
Alan M. Parry (fluid@freezer.cns.udel.edu)
Brian Behlendorf (bbehlen@techno.stanford.edu)
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