IDM Mailing Archive

> From: Deckard <njurcin@orion.it.luc.edu>

quoted 10 lines I'll second this notion that Atom Heart has run out of gas.

> >I'll second this notion that Atom Heart has run out of gas. > >Maybe he ought to take a vacation. > > Hmmm... For a musician as prolific as Atom Heart, it's inevitable > that some of the things he releases are going to sound a little > outlandish and inaccessible *even* to people who pride themselves on > listening to odd sorts of music. Atom Heart releases whole albums when > others have finished one song. Saying he's run out of gas just means > he's exploring more areas then you have interest in. The solution to > this problem is rather simple: just buy the releases by Atom Heart

that

quoted 2 lines fit yer fancey. You'll still prolly have plenty of his stuff to

> fit yer fancey. You'll still prolly have plenty of his stuff to > investigate...

I'm right with Deckard and Chris on this. I used to pride myself on listening to odd sorts of music but when I bought my first Atom Heart discs - Flextone and Morphogenetic Fields - I was disappointed. With the exception of the acid house tracks on the CDs, I thought the rest sounded like...noodling! Needless to say, my opinion eventually reversed. Atom Heart's one main consistency is his power to confound one's expectations with each brilliant release. I'm afraid I'm quite partial to the work of prolific artists such as Mr Schmidt. I find the idea that an artist should release only one measly album a year by his or her label, so as to avoid flooding the market, somewhat dishonest considering the power and limitations (I have never been greatly imressed by "live" electronic music) of the medium - even when the artist in question agrees to the process. Take, for example (and this is just an example - I do like his music), Aphex Twin's refusal to release the Caustic Window LP because he doesn't like the tracks anymore: why doesn't he just own up to the fact that that's the best he could do at the time and make his fans happy? There really is no such thing as perfect art. Ah well, there's always the brave new Atom Heart, Richard Kirk, Bill Laswell, Pete Namlook, or Mick Harris CD. Pip pip! -- Chris Tourgelis