IDM Mailing Archive

quoted 1 line Maybe the whole EP idea is stupid. Maybe EP's are all rip offs.

>> Maybe the whole EP idea is stupid. Maybe EP's are all rip offs.

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quoted 3 lines I, personally, would rather pay $10 for 30 min. of focused and inventive

>I, personally, would rather pay $10 for 30 min. of focused and inventive >composition than $15 for 70 min. of attractive but aimless beats. Where is >this to be found? J

Interesting point. I usually have to go to my "experimental section" for the inventive composition, and then it's back to the "electronica section" when I'm wanting grooves, loops, etc. Techno certainly develops, but generally in a different way from more composition-based work, more based on sound structure, repetition, etc. To find the two together is indeed a challenge. Back when I was listening to Slowdive, Curve, et al., I always noted how I preferred the e.p.'s to the albums. More listenable -- cf. RDJ's short attention span, and would Autechre's _Garbage_ really hold up as a full-length album? Better quality -- one or two weak tracks ruin it. More cohesive -- I'll stand up for FSOL at this point, as I think they show up strongest on their e.p.'s, where they take a couple of musical themes and really work them for half an hour. Anyway, to tie back into the musical development issue ... I assume that we're talking about musicality and dynamics, not the brute allocation of ideas (i.e. Is "Out There Somwhere?" a 'better' song because it's lengthy and changes themes a few times? While we're at it, do you think of _Air_2_ as one piece or thirteen?) In their own ways, I think FSOL, Global Communication, and Paul Schutze (Uzect Plaush) do some great work in this regard. Of course, if you want the real shit, you should go back and check out Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, etc. -- and, to take a random example, you'll realize how much GloCom owes to Vangelis. I've also noticed that the 'Detroit school' of techno tends toward more musical development than the 'German school', so that might be an avenue to try if you haven't already. --Seofon