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Re: (idm) Back to Music....

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2000-03-23 08:14(idm) Back to Music....
└─ 2000-03-23 12:11Irene McC Re: (idm) Back to Music....
2000-03-23 17:48M Mercer Re: (idm) Back to Music....
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2000-03-23 08:14AeOtaku@aol.comAfter the complaining.... Let's talk about music.... Current Stuff: The only stuff I've ma
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Thu, 23 Mar 2000 03:14:27 EST
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(idm) Back to Music....
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After the complaining.... Let's talk about music.... Current Stuff: The only stuff I've managed to get excited about in the year 2000 so far has been the various German dancefloor labels that have it all together, namely Playhouse, Klang, Perlon, Raum Musik and Ware. I'm fairly new to these labels but I'm loving what I'm hearing and I'm especially excited by the fact that these labels are putting out at least one awesome record out of every three they release, which is a great batting average. Especially digging: Playhouse (see Isolee, Lo Soul and Blaze) Klang (see Farben, Maus and Stoll and Eight Miles High) Perlon (see Villalobos and Dimbiman) Raum Musk (see Dirk Diggler) Ware (see Schaffhauser and Neiswandt's "Loom Service") This German scene has all the makings of being another genre-defining scene that we'll be reminiscing about in five years (see A.R.T.ificial Intelligence, Detroit, Chicago, Lowlands, etc.) A defining term is "quirk-house", which is what you get when you combine the brutally rationed out funk and soul of Theo Parrish or Herbert with the nigh-beatless super deep transcendence-minded ambience of Larry Heard or Chris Grey. Just a home run, and these labels are getting me excited about music again, especially the Carl Craig remix of Blaze's "Lovelee Dae". That track does capture all the glory of a summer day and is the quantified application of that elusive optimistic chord that doesn't get struck often enough in the bleak air of western Massachusetts. What a track. Also the Clicks and Cuts genre (at least the better stuff) is working as a balancing sound at the other end of the spectrum (ala Basic Channel in the A.R.T. era: you see Vico is right about repeating patterns in history) but I've probably said enough about that genre already without having any new theory at the moment. Most of the other new stuff has been really, really boring me. As I think Nutti said techno in many ways has progressed beyond our mutual tolerance for abstraction, but I don't think it's even abstraction so much as it is abandoning effective formulaic structure. One of the pitfalls in art and music seems to be going at it from a freeform, chaotic angle. Not to sound like your college English professor, but you have to make choices in a work. Part of the reason Playhouse, Klang, SND, Delay and of course Mad Mike, Beltran, May, etc. are/were so good is because they make the right choices, pick an effective rhythm, strip the track down to manageable length, in a good rhythm at a good tempo with only the best sounds integrating into the mix. But it's not just that the structure is absent, it's also that most of today's stuff sounds flat and grey to me. Looking at the stuff I mentioned above it shares two qualities: a very incremented structure and a use of sharp, distinct sound. I think these are the two qualities I look for in music, be it "house" from 2000 or "313" from 1989. Your mileage may vary, and I think that there is probably as much good stuff now as there was in 1992, it's just that we haven't forgotten all the crap from 2000 yet. (Old Stuff write-up coming soon (maybe)).... Matt --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org
2000-03-23 12:11Irene McCOn 23 Mar 00, AeOtaku@aol.com wrote re (idm) Back to Music....: > especially the Carl Crai
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Irene McC
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Thu, 23 Mar 2000 14:11:15 +0200
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Re: (idm) Back to Music....
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(idm) Back to Music....
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On 23 Mar 00, AeOtaku@aol.com wrote re (idm) Back to Music....:
quoted 1 line especially the Carl Craig remix of Blaze's "Lovelee Dae"> especially the Carl Craig remix of Blaze's "Lovelee Dae"
Isn't everyone sick of this damn track by now? Yet ANOTHER remix is one too many. No matter who it's by. {{{Sigh.}}} I * --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org
2000-03-23 17:48M Mercer>The only stuff I've managed to get excited about in the year 2000 >so far has been the va
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M Mercer
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Thu, 23 Mar 2000 12:48:53 EST
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Re: (idm) Back to Music....
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quoted 13 lines The only stuff I've managed to get excited about in the year 2000>The only stuff I've managed to get excited about in the year 2000 >so far has been the various German dancefloor labels that have >it all together, namely Playhouse, Klang, Perlon, Raum Musik >and Ware. I'm fairly new to these labels but I'm loving what I'm >hearing and I'm especially excited by the fact that these labels >are putting out at least one awesome record out of every three >they release, which is a great batting average. Especially digging: > >Playhouse (see Isolee, Lo Soul and Blaze) >Klang (see Farben, Maus and Stoll and Eight Miles High) >Perlon (see Villalobos and Dimbiman) >Raum Musk (see Dirk Diggler) >Ware (see Schaffhauser and Neiswandt's "Loom Service")
Mathias Schaffhauser's "Lido Hotel" album has recently been released by Forcetracks and includes this track amongst numerous others. There's a lot of great tech-house numbers on it that I quite enjoy. Neuton is a label that seems to put out decent compilations in this vein, especially the M.Mayer mix CD which came out a while ago, and the Heiko Laux "Classic Open" mix CD which includes tracks by Morgenstern, Surgeon, etc. Also, the Sistol release on Phthalo, Sistol being a side project of Vladislav Delay, is good for that ultra-minimal, almost-but-not-quite-funky sound. Just when a groove starts to kick in, the beat skips half a step and starts over.... I love it!
quoted 5 lines Also the Clicks and Cuts genre (at least the better stuff) is working>Also the Clicks and Cuts genre (at least the better stuff) is working >as a balancing sound at the other end of the spectrum (ala Basic >Channel in the A.R.T. era: you see Vico is right about repeating >patterns in history) but I've probably said enough about that genre >already without having any new theory at the moment.
It will be interesting to see how far clicks_+_cuts goes with this sound. Frank Bretschneider's "Rand" is pretty minimal, but Ihan's "Iota" takes minimalism to new extremes. Or how about Stilluppsteypa's last release on Ritornell? How minimal is too minimal? Francesco Lopez's mix on Hecker's disc on Mego almost completely disappears. On the one hand, you have this music that's simulating Ad Reinhardt and the like via sound, but on the other hand, is it an interesting listen? As far as I am concerned, it varies from case to case. The Stilluppsteypa is effective as an album, but the Lopez is so nonexistant that beyond the concept (minimal as concept) it doesn't do much for me (it doesn't do much at all for that matter). On a side note, I haven't seen any mention of the Ultra-Red album, "Structural Adjustments," on Mille Plateaux, which I find to be rewarding on multiple levels: sonically and conceptually.
quoted 13 lines Most of the other new stuff has been really, really boring me.>Most of the other new stuff has been really, really boring me. >As I think Nutti said techno in many ways has progressed beyond >our mutual tolerance for abstraction, but I don't think it's even >abstraction so much as it is abandoning effective formulaic structure. >One of the pitfalls in art and music seems to be going at it from >a freeform, chaotic angle. Not to sound like your college English >professor, but you have to make choices in a work. Part of the reason >Playhouse, Klang, SND, Delay and of course Mad Mike, Beltran, >May, etc. are/were so good is because they make the right choices, >pick an effective rhythm, strip the track down to manageable >length, in a good rhythm at a good tempo with only the best sounds >integrating into the mix. But it's not just that the structure is absent, >it's also that most of today's stuff sounds flat and grey to me.
Vladislav Delay's work tends to have the added appeal of dense atmosphere. It's not as sterile as some of the other work being produced lately, which may contribute to those artists' flatness as you described it. However, VD doesn't tend to be manageable in length as most of his tracks go over 15-20 minutes. I'm not complaining :) snd is good but sometimes strikes me as overrated. I enjoy their MP album quite a lot but there are many other artists doing more interesting things in that genre: gramm's Personal_rock, dettinger's Intershop, etc. Glad to see the discussion has gone back to music for a change.... keep it up. matt ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org