IDM Mailing Archive

I think I brought up the Davis/Hancock influences in connection with the Jenkinson jazz record. "Rotted Note" definitely ain't at the "Bitches Brew/Live-Evil/Sextant" level but those are the influences being displayed. I think its A-OK. Nope, there ain't no IDM on there. BTW: The Wire review panned "Rotted Note" hard. (I'll shut up now.)

quoted 23 lines when i 1st heard "hard normal daddy" i hated its flashy muso jazz prog rock

>when i 1st heard "hard normal daddy" i hated its flashy muso jazz prog rock >wankery, just couldn't understand it. and the acidy/electro melodies seemed >somewhat ugly and lumpen compared to those sleek aphex washes. but the >rhythmn and absolute spot on-ness of those apparently wild random drum >breaks won me over. the sounds that had previously offended me became >placeholders for the dynamics of the music, and stopped being so goddam >irritatin. it is (unfortunately) mainly responsible for me being unable to >hate jazz any more. > >it sounds like he's made a jazz record. on his own, w/out the >improvisational sparks that fuelled the records that influenced it. in that >respect, and as someone who was playing bass in a pub rock band, and then >spent 5 years doing acid, and d'n'b,it seems unfair to compare it to davis' >and hancock's works which came many years into their careers. its already >happened on this list and in the (don't mention the goddam) wire (again, >please). i'm going to shut up now, 'till i actually get to hear the thing, >but from the descriptions it doesn't sound like there's going to much 'idm >content' on there, so why we even talking about it? > >-martin >np: bugger all, can't wait to get home. > >

I picked up the IDM Album of the Month by Sqpr yesterday... and was sadly disappointed. I knew I was in trouble when I got all the way up to track 7 and couldn't hum a single melody or remember much about what I'd heard so far. Of 15 tracks, only one song - My Sound - touched me in any way. The tunes sound like decent jazzy noodlings at best, jazzy elephant farts at worst. The fact that it's all live, no sequencing, etc. etc. doesn't impress me after being bored for an hour. I appreciate that Tom's really into jazz and is playing what he wants and is moving beyond drill'n'bass. At the same time, I've just started this past year to listen to Miles Davis / John Coltrane / Herbie Hancock, partly thanks to the ever-instructive Kirk DeGiorgio and his mix CDs. And the Sqpr album doesn't touch me in any way similar to the output by the greats. I don't think that's just because I'm thinking Miles is *MILES* and Sqpr is a twentysomething dude, either. I think the Sqpr style I like the most is in the vein of A Journey to Reedham. Incredible energy rush, melodic hooks to rot your teeth, a thousand times more inventive than most d'n'b tracks I've heard. It gets me every time, unlike anything on this new album. James Jung-Hoon Seo jseo@redsky.com Red Sky Interactive 921 Front Street San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 392-2500 x250 http://www.redsky.com

On 23 Oct 98, James Seo wrote re: (idm) music is rotten, period.:

quoted 2 lines Of 15 tracks, only one song - My Sound - touched me in any

> Of 15 tracks, only one song - My Sound - touched me in any > way.

YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH. Maybe it's a grower - first 2 tracks are pretty hot as well. I *

quoted 5 lines it sounds like he's made a jazz record. on his own, w/out the

>it sounds like he's made a jazz record. on his own, w/out the >improvisational sparks that fuelled the records that influenced it. in that >respect, and as someone who was playing bass in a pub rock band, and then >spent 5 years doing acid, and d'n'b,it seems unfair to compare it to davis' >and hancock's works which came many years into their careers.

You fail to extend the argument to its logical conclusion: it seems unfair to spend money on the record if you don't already own the classics by Miles, Herbie, etc. C. -- Chris.Hilker (cspot@hyperreal.org)

At 05:49 PM 10/23/98 -0700, Chris.Hilker wrote:

quoted 9 lines it sounds like he's made a jazz record. on his own, w/out the

>>it sounds like he's made a jazz record. on his own, w/out the >>improvisational sparks that fuelled the records that influenced it. in that >>respect, and as someone who was playing bass in a pub rock band, and then >>spent 5 years doing acid, and d'n'b,it seems unfair to compare it to davis' >>and hancock's works which came many years into their careers. > >You fail to extend the argument to its logical conclusion: it seems unfair >to spend money on the record if you don't already own the classics by >Miles, Herbie, etc.

Consider this: which is the greater feat, gathering together a band of virtuosi that record some great albums after jamming together for years, or sitting down and attempting to do it all by yourself? I think you're comparing apples to oranges. Remember, it used to be a BIG DEAL when someone played all the music on their album. Only guys like Paul McCartney or Stevie Wonder would attempt it. The age of MIDI has made this more commonplace, though there are differences between programming all of the music and playing it all (each is a valid way of making music and I don't think the list needs to go into this again). Success or failure (I haven't hear the album yet), I think Tom has some cojones grande for even attempting such a thing. Cut him some slack for doing what he wants to do. Normally, I would slag someone like Tom J. for being hopelessly retro in outlook. But I keep enjoying his music, so I don't. Che