IDM Mailing Archive

(hrm, what's with all these 'knocker' noises, must be some russ meyer residuals. ;) current 'wagon christ' thread goes like this:

quoted 9 lines I just picked up the new redone ep. on rising high

> I just picked up the new redone ep. on rising high > the JUNGLE MIX BY APHEX TWIN ( spotlight ) is fucking wicked....first > jungle track I have ever heard from mr. D james. very interesting! > the VOAFOSE & BOYmerang MiX is very nice....to > > must check it out....... . . . >> >> >>Is this plug 2? remixes from Throbbing Pouch?

i guess i disguised my review of this 12" well. it's a throbbing pouch remix project yes. love, mason

The promo 12"s for Aphex's Donkey Rhubarb just came into Warner's yesterday. Fortunately a friend picked one up for me. Its quite nice and fairly beautiful in parts. I don't know what the American release date is, but its worth getting regardless. cheers gooey

I heard this on last week's Autechre show on Kiss 102. It's strange to hear a classical treatment of an Aphex tune, but it makes what was already a sinister track even more intense and brooding. I hope the rest of the single is as good. Adam Huffman

I just picked this up at Gramaphone, and I must say I'm very pleased. A couple of days ago, Mr. Perry's review made me quite curious as to what I'd find. He said it was the best thing James has done so far, then said disparaging things about every song on it but the first one. Well, I have to say that I'm quite pleased with the EP. It is indeed Aphex, melodic aggressive, funny, and futuristic. I think that James has a perfect sense of timing, both in the music, and in when to release records. My favorite tracks are the second one and the fourth one, the second because it's really far flung funk, and the fourth because of the poor production values--the garage sound, yes? The review Alan posted on the show in Philly makes me feel really bad about missing the show in Chicago. Sounded Great. Regards, ___________________________________________________________________________ Ron Small Rational Graphics Inc. Chicago,USA "Let's Start What We Came In The Room To Do" ___________________________________________________________________________ P.S. DonkeyR is at Gramaphone in Chicago.

Got my copy of Donkey Rhubarb today in Toronto. If you act quick, Republic Records should still have a few left. So far they're the only ones in Toronto who have it. Otherwise, it'll be a week or so before anybody else gets a copy. Just a few points I thought I should mention. The title track is excellent. RDJ is back into old form with fast beats and noisy looping! I think that the disc is worth the asking price alone for this first track. But, what about the praised Phillip Glass instrumental of Icct Hedral? I can't see that he did much. It seems like its just a straight to orchestra version, with no real style or flare. Am I missing something, or is this the general impression? Oh, and I won't say that this Aphex Twin disc is for everyone. I already got in trouble for this once.... DONKEY RHUBARB -------------- WINNER OF BEST SINGLE WINNER OF SHITTIEST COVER OF ALL TIME ____ __,---' `--.__ ,-' ; `. "Everything you know is wrong." ,' `--.`--. ,' `._ `-. ; ; `-- ; ,-'-_ _,-~~-. ,-- `. ;; `-,; ,'~`.__ ,;;; ; ; ;; ;,' ,;; `, ;;; `. ; `: ,' `:; __/ `.; ; ; ;~~^. `. `---'~~ ;; ; ; `,' `. `. .;;; ;' Aaron Michelson ,',^. `. `._ __ `:; ,' amichel@io.org `-' `--' ~`--'~~`--. ~ ,' /;`-;_ ; ;. /. / ; ~~`-. ; ; ; ; `,;`-;__;---; `----' ``-`-;__;: ; ;__; `-- `-' * Offline Orbit 0.75a *

Steel drum stomper! On Wed, 16 Aug 1995, Aaron Michelson wrote:

quoted 9 lines Got my copy of Donkey Rhubarb today in Toronto.

> Got my copy of Donkey Rhubarb today in Toronto. > > Just a few points I thought I should mention. The title track is excellent. > RDJ is back into old form with fast beats and noisy looping! I think that > the disc is worth the asking price alone for this first track. But, what > about the praised Phillip Glass instrumental of Icct Hedral? I can't see > that he did much. It seems like its just a straight to orchestra version, > with no real style or flare. Am I missing something, or is this the general > impression?

NO, you're right, it's pretty much note for note. I don't think it was meant to be a remix or anything, and I think it's beautiful. I like it better than the original actually! I don't see how you can say it lacks style or flare. Philip Glass definately has his own style. I'd love to hear an orchestrated version of X-Tal myself. Philip Glass seems to me, to be the most appropriate composer to orchestrate Aphex Twin. Glass is a very futuristic composer - easily the Aphex Twin of the classical music/new composers world. An acknowlegement of recognition from the old school to the new. But if you don't dig it, you don't dig it. S'ok.

quoted 5 lines DONKEY RHUBARB

> DONKEY RHUBARB > -------------- > WINNER OF BEST SINGLE > WINNER OF SHITTIEST COVER OF ALL TIME >

On Wed, 16 Aug 1995, Johnathan A. Rickman wrote:

quoted 2 lines Glass is a very futuristic composer -

> Glass is a very futuristic composer - > easily the Aphex Twin of the classical music/new composers world.

Glass has one great idea that he's been reusing for many years. Having said that, I consider _Glassworks_ and _The Photographer_ to be genius. Your analogy is very appropriate, though maybe not for the reason you made it. Richard James and Phillip Glass are both important and talented composers who are nonetheless desperately overrated, and who repeat themselves. Now that your ears are accustomed to new musical experiences, you might consider looking into some of these composers/works: (not IDM, I realize) Glenn Branca / Symphony #3 (Gloria) Music for the First 127 Intervals of the Harmonic Series. -- A successful blend of the visceral power of Rock and the subtleties of orchestral music. Performed on a number of custom-built electric stringed instruments, the harmonics blend, collide and bounce off each other to create a dense mist from which phantom instruments may emerge. Morton Feldman / Triadic Memories, For Bunita Marcos, For Phillip Guston, Piano and String Quartet -- Impossibly beautiful, elegant and time-warping, almost religious, minimalist music without a trace of the cliche. Triadic Memories and For Bunita Marcos are piano pieces. For Phillip Guston is a good starting point if you don't feel the need to dip your toes in the water before diving in. It is a 4-1/2 hour meditative (non-repetetive) head-trip. Piano and String Quartet performed by Kronos will probably be easiest to find and the least expensive. Conlon Nancarrow / Studies for Player Piano -- Only bother with the Vol. I-V on Wergo, don't settle for anything less. Nancarrow meticulously composed about 4 dozen amazing polyrhythmic musical creations using the best sequencer available to him: player piano. Since the piano is a sound one normally associates with human hands, these performances sound "superhuman" rather than "non-human" or "mechanical". Nancarrow often goes well beyond what is remotely playable by human hands, sometimes creating sounds which no longer even sound like piano.

quoted 5 lines But, what

> But, what >about the praised Phillip Glass instrumental of Icct Hedral? I can't see >that he did much. It seems like its just a straight to orchestra version, >with no real style or flare. Am I missing something, or is this the general >impression?

I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to know more about this composer. Is this his usual style or does he make weird atonal music that could never really be compared to IDM? I think his version of Icct Hedral is excellent and I don't mind that it has not been changed much. -Ed on now: Gescom - Cicada

On 17 Aug 1995, Edward Pond wrote:

quoted 5 lines I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to know

> I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to know > more about this composer. Is this his usual style or does he make weird atonal > music that could never really be compared to IDM? I think his version of Icct > Hedral is excellent and I don't mind that it has not been changed much. >

Philip Glass is a modern/classical composer whose works have run the gamut from movie soundtracks to opera <check out Akhnaten, tis REALLY cool>. His trademark seems to be the idm-ish repetition of various elements - a single note or phrase can be repeated throughout his whole piece. He's quite interesting, and as i said, his opera Akhnaten is excellent and well worth a listen <CBS Masterworks / M2K 42457 - 2 Discs> -sasha On now - Earthrise/Ntone 1 <a space bass dub trip> on Instinct/Ninjatune ____ 'c a use l i fe is l i ke a t hr e e r i ng ci rcus... ... a ll o f th e up s a nd d ow ns of t he c ar ousel.. .. t ha t I k n e w s o w el l.. .

quoted 2 lines I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to

> I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to > know more about this composer.

My favourite is the soundtrack Philip Glass made for Godfrey Reggio's "Koyaanisqatsi" movie. He has made loads of stuff, orchestral scores, operas (e.g. "Einstein On The Beach"), lots of film soundtracks ("Mishima", "Thin Blue Line", etc.); I have one album which he made with the Indian Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and there are a lot of other collaborations - he even remixed the late 80's house act S'Express (who had made a tribute for Glass on their first album) for their single. Glass must the best known "minimalist" composer at the moment, which has of course caused some purists to accuse him of selling out... Check him out anyway

quoted 1 line On 17 Aug 1995, Edward Pond wrote:

> On 17 Aug 1995, Edward Pond wrote:

quoted 1 line I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to know

> > I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to know

quoted 6 lines Philip Glass is a modern/classical composer whose works have run the

> Philip Glass is a modern/classical composer whose works have run the > gamut from movie soundtracks to opera <check out Akhnaten, tis REALLY > cool>. His trademark seems to be the idm-ish repetition of various > elements - a single note or phrase can be repeated throughout his whole > piece. He's quite interesting, and as i said, his opera Akhnaten is > excellent and well worth a listen <CBS Masterworks / M2K 42457 - 2 Discs>

Philip Glass is great once you get into his music. The first time I heard Glass was a used copy of 1000 Airplanes on the Roof (music to a play) and it just sounded so refreshing! He's done opera and soundtracks mostly (he calls it theatre music) and some collaborations with singers and instrumentalists. Things to expect when listening to Glass: - Repetition, lots of it, not phase changes like Reich, just repetition. - Pace changes, different rhythms - repetition doesn't mean boring! - Orchestral instruments, vibrant brass, strings and shrill piccolos. - Vocals, choral singers used just like another instrument. Akhnaten may be a bit heavy for a first listen. Check out Koyaanisqatsi (try the video for some imagery too), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, The Photographer or Powaqqatsi for a more ethnic feel. Of the three opera (the trilogy), Akhnaten is probably the most accessible. I've heard extracts of Einstein (a bit strange) and none of Satyagraha. Some of the early stuff (eg North Star) is a bit, er, noisy :) Check out this web site: http://www-lsi.upc.es/~jpetit/pg/ I would say that the Icct Hedral orchestration is typical Glass, except for the melody of course :) Mark Mark Dobie M.R.Dobie@ecs.soton.ac.uk University of Southampton http://diana.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~mrd/cv.html MS Windows? Linux and X!

Ahem. Picked up a secondhand copy of a Cybotron CD that I didn't know existed until last night: 'Interface: The Roots of Techno.' It's got all the classics - "Clear," "Techno City," "Cosmic Cars," "Alleys of Your Mind, "R-9" - why it's so obscure is beyond me, especially since it was released last year. (UK CD: Southbound CDSEWD 069) Also picked up Goldie - 'Timeless' earlier this week (thanks to all who recommended Virgin). The title track is an early runaway favorite to get my vote for track of the year. It's a twenty-minute multipart piece with recurring themes, gorgeous sounds and a transition from the intro to the first movement (or whatever) that's unfrickinbelievable. The rest of the album ranges from very good to excellent, but wow, what a track. Jill says 'Exit Planet Dust' is her favorite album of the year so far, and I can't say I disagree strongly. It's a big, happy, FUN album with tons of energy that's still well-suited for home listening. Now if we can only convince Astralwerks to compile a CD of tracks from their 12"-only EP's and their remix work, we'll be cookin' with gas. :) I like all the tracks on "Donkey Rhubarb," too, although from the reviews I'd read I expected more of a prominent calypso feel to DR. C. -- cspot@hyperreal.com (Chris.Hilker) "I feel like I'm being electrocuted."