IDM Mailing Archive

hey kids, me again. re: oval. i've got the following: microstoria_snd, the two oval/tortoise remixes, and the dj vadim remix off of reconstruction. of these, i really enjoy the sound of the vadim remix, with the typical oval swirliness coupled with clicky-pseudo-beats. what other oval releases are of this caliber? maybe that new heyward collaboration? reviews? also on this note: there is a seefeel element to one of the sub rosa collections, alongside tim leary and scorn etc. what is this like? what is the composition of the album, seeing as the casing was a bit vague? what in particular, is the seefeel contribution, and how does it rate to fans of clifford et al's other material? thanking the knowledgeable types in advance, j e an- p aul tr emb la y || | | || ||| | | || | http://swankarmy.net/transmit | | || ||| | || || || | |

quoted 4 lines re: oval...i really enjoy the sound of the vadim remix, with the typical

>re: oval...i really enjoy the sound of the vadim remix, with the typical >oval swirliness coupled with clicky-pseudo-beats. what other oval >releases are of this caliber? maybe that new heyward collaboration? >reviews?

Offhand it sounds like you would enjoy their 'Systemisch' full-length the best. I haven't heard the DJ Vadim remix, so can't do a 1:1 comparison for you, but 'Systemisch' features subtle but definitely-felt rhythms (clicky-pseudo-beats) on all but a couple of tracks. The latest Oval release ('Dok') and their compilation appearances reverses this ratio with predominantly free-floating, "beatless" pieces.

quoted 5 lines also on this note: there is a seefeel element to one of the sub rosa

>also on this note: there is a seefeel element to one of the sub rosa >collections, alongside tim leary and scorn etc. what is this like? what is >the composition of the album, seeing as the casing was a bit vague? what in >particular, is the seefeel contribution, and how does it rate to fans of >clifford et al's other material?

The CD ('Ancient Lights and the Blackcore') is a standard compilation with tracks from the artists you named. There are three Seefeel tracks, a triptych. The closest comparison at this point would be to 'CH-Vox', possibly even less accessible. I enjoy them quite a bit- it's a different side of the project.. all four band members are credited (cf: 'Succour'), and there is an almost acoustic quality to some of the sounds used. Just yesterday I received the latest release in the Sub Rosa series you're asking about, 'Water & Architecture'. It contains two previously-unreleased Seefeel tracks. Like the three on 'Ancient Lights...' they're from late-1995, and all four band members are credited. The tracks represent a pretty good combination of the 'CH-Vox' and 'Ancient Lights...' sound with the more familiar Warp-era sounds. Cheers, - Brad Shelton bshelton@cte.net

On 3 Mar 98, Brad Shelton wrote: (OVAL)

quoted 4 lines Offhand it sounds like you would enjoy their 'Systemisch'

> Offhand it sounds like you would enjoy their 'Systemisch' > full-length the best. [...] 'Systemisch' features subtle but > definitely-felt rhythms (clicky-pseudo-beats) on all but a couple of > tracks.

Indeed it does : sounds like a CD version of scratched vinyl, the sound of a skipping disc - which wears pretty thin after a while. I don't geddit at all. What am I missing here? Is there some gnostic secret I'm not in on? I was greatly disappointed with Systemisch. I *

quoted 7 lines Offhand it sounds like you would enjoy their 'Systemisch'

> > Offhand it sounds like you would enjoy their 'Systemisch' > > full-length the best. [...] 'Systemisch' features subtle but > > definitely-felt rhythms (clicky-pseudo-beats) on all but a couple of > > tracks. > > Indeed it does : sounds like a CD version of scratched vinyl, the > sound of a skipping disc - which wears pretty thin after a while.

You equate "(clicky-peusdo-beats)" with "The sound of a skipping disc" but I see a distinction. The latter is Oval's signature sound.. seen as a gimmick by some, enjoyed by some, groups not mutually exclusive. By itself, that sound can be musically tiring ("wears pretty thin after a while"), though I like it just fine in controlled dosage. =) Around half of the Oval tracks I've heard are like this- a cloud of clicks without a prominent underlying structure or rhythmic pulse, they are purely made up of swirling, scraping CD-skips, without benefit of rhythmic context or feel. In contrast, the former is a superset of the latter- the raw Oval-stuff quantitized and tweaked until a tempo and rhythmic elements and patterns emerge. There's still plenty of randomness and clickety-click skittering over the top, but there's a definite pulse or feel implied by all the chatter. The tracks on "Systemisch" are pretty much of this type. Look no further than track #1 ('Textuell') for an example of a laid-back dub feel ina Oval style. That having been said, it's all 100% subjective. I say that 'Textuell' has a dub feel, but it's open to interpretation. Oval pieces are kind of impressionistic that way- you hear and recognize patterns that are not always plainly stated. They are in the ear of the beholder.

quoted 2 lines I don't geddit at all. What am I missing here? Is there some gnostic

> I don't geddit at all. What am I missing here? Is there some gnostic > secret I'm not in on? I was greatly disappointed with Systemisch.

I think there are some clear avenues of discovery and appreciation for Oval's sound.. if you like the alternating warm/cool of Seefeel's music, or the percolating sound of mid-to-recent Mouse on Mars, you're halfway there, I would think. If on the other hand, you are into good old fashioned experimentation, you're halfway there. If you like both, you're there. =) - Brad Shelton bshelton@cte.net

In a message dated 98-03-04 08:15:37 EST, you write: << (OVAL) > Offhand it sounds like you would enjoy their 'Systemisch' > full-length the best. [...] 'Systemisch' features subtle but > definitely-felt rhythms (clicky-pseudo-beats) on all but a couple of > tracks. Indeed it does : sounds like a CD version of scratched vinyl, the sound of a skipping disc - which wears pretty thin after a while. I don't geddit at all. What am I missing here? Is there some gnostic secret I'm not in on? I was greatly disappointed with Systemisch.

quoted 1 line

>>

this was my exact first reaction to systemisch as well. and i still like 94 diskont better (i have yet to pick their new one up- hard time waiting) but systemisch slowly grew on me. the clicks that we distracting and annoying at first (is my cd player broken?!?) gradually became reference points for the activity in between, if this makes any sense...perhaps giving it some time to wear down your conditioned reactions to clicks will do "the trick"- it did for me. admitted semi psuedo-gnostic- -thad

quoted 14 lines The CD ('Ancient Lights and the Blackcore') is a standard compilation

>The CD ('Ancient Lights and the Blackcore') is a standard compilation >with tracks from the artists you named. There are three Seefeel tracks, >a triptych. The closest comparison at this point would be to 'CH-Vox', >possibly even less accessible. I enjoy them quite a bit- it's a >different side of the project.. all four band members are credited (cf: >'Succour'), and there is an almost acoustic quality to some of the >sounds used. > >Just yesterday I received the latest release in the Sub Rosa series >you're asking about, 'Water & Architecture'. It contains two >previously-unreleased Seefeel tracks. Like the three on 'Ancient >Lights...' they're from late-1995, and all four band members are >credited. The tracks represent a pretty good combination of the 'CH-Vox' >and 'Ancient Lights...' sound with the more familiar Warp-era sounds.

Please, can someone post tracklisting of these two compilation CDs. Are all those 5 Seefeel tracks previously-unreleased ? Is there Sub Rosa url or emial or something ? any help really appreciated thanks rob np: return to taklimakan - as one

At 15:13 04.03.98 +0200, you wrote:

quoted 13 lines On 3 Mar 98, Brad Shelton wrote:

>On 3 Mar 98, Brad Shelton wrote: > >(OVAL) > >> Offhand it sounds like you would enjoy their 'Systemisch' >> full-length the best. [...] 'Systemisch' features subtle but >> definitely-felt rhythms (clicky-pseudo-beats) on all but a couple of >> tracks. > >Indeed it does : sounds like a CD version of scratched vinyl, the >sound of a skipping disc - which wears pretty thin after a while. I >don't geddit at all. What am I missing here? Is there some gnostic >secret I'm not in on? I was greatly disappointed with Systemisch.

I've always wondered what this "getting it" would look like if one was actually able to describe it. What kind of information is needed to enter and understand Oval's "gnostic" universe? Music is abstract and is therefore very difficult to translate into meaningful sentences, i.e. explaining why a certain piece of music is great and how one should approach fx. Systemisch (or Dok, which is even greater). For example: How would people on this list explain "getting it" when listening to Autechre so that other people who had not heard them before would be able to "get it"? How would you "transmit" your feelings or intellectual activities relating to certain music so that "non-insiders" (probably not a word, but what the heck) would understand it? Conclusion: Get everything Oval's done; begin with Dok, then Diskont '94 and so on. :)

quoted 1 line I

>I

/Oeivind/

On 03/05/98 12:45:36 you wrote:

quoted 1 line (OVAL)

>>(OVAL)

quoted 2 lines Conclusion: Get everything Oval's done; begin with Dok, then Diskont '94

>Conclusion: Get everything Oval's done; begin with Dok, then Diskont '94 >and so on. :)

on a semi-related tangent, did systemisch come out before or after 94diskont? i know dok is the most recent... "a dream is worth a thousand pictures, the mouths of lampreys a thousand more..."

At 17:18 05.03.98 -0600, you wrote:

quoted 9 lines On 03/05/98 12:45:36 you wrote:

>On 03/05/98 12:45:36 you wrote: > >>>(OVAL) > >>Conclusion: Get everything Oval's done; begin with Dok, then Diskont '94 >>and so on. :) > >on a semi-related tangent, did systemisch come out before or after >94diskont? i know dok is the most recent...

Systemisch came first, then Diskont94, then Dok. And, of course, some brilliant Microstoria stuff together with Jan St. Werner in between. /Oeivind/

On Fri, 6 Mar 1998, [iso-8859-1] ?ivind [iso-8859-1] Ids? wrote:

quoted 2 lines Systemisch came first, then Diskont94, then Dok. And, of course, some

> Systemisch came first, then Diskont94, then Dok. And, of course, some > brilliant Microstoria stuff together with Jan St. Werner in between.

speaking of: i've got the oval microstoria 12" for trade... a couple things i'm looking for are: Ae anti e.p.; MoM instrumentals; funki porcini carwreck e.p. * #### a disturbance in a system. #### laerm. @voicenet.com #### reduced to perfection.