IDM Mailing Archive

quoted 14 lines Can anyone offer a reason why I should think of Oval as anything other

>Can anyone offer a reason why I should think of Oval as anything other >than boring and a complete waste of time? I listened to their newest >album in a store today and found it to be INCREDIBLY repetitive and >stifling, every song seemed to be something along the lines of "obscured >and reverbed synth line with CD player skip-clicks skip-clicking along". >I even noticed a blatant sample from SAW II. Is this all one has to do to >have one's own CD out in stores everywhere?...scratch up RDJ CDs, use the >most cohesive but invariably out-of-synch sequences I can find, and then >rake in the dough? 90% of what I heard sounded like it could have been >nothing other than a mangled and skippy SAW II CD. > >I ended up purchasing "68 Million Shades" by Spring Heel Jack and I can >already tell it's not going to be leaving my CD carousel for a hella long >time.

I thoroughly enjoy Oval's work. But I'm sure I *wouldn't* if I my only contact was at a record-shop listening station. Definitely an involving style that requires close, careful listening to fully appreciate. Think about what you're saying (re: SAW II) in the context of the sampling/copyrighting thread of late. Oval isn't to be slammed for manipulating other people's works to their own ends any more than their vinyl-spinning counterparts are.

On Mon, 21 Apr 1997, it was written: ]Think about what you're saying (re: SAW II) in the context of ]the sampling/copyrighting thread of late. Oval isn't to be slammed ]for manipulating other people's works to their own ends any more ]than their vinyl-spinning counterparts are. So, would you say that the sound generated by a CD player skipping through a scratched CD was obtained through an effort equal to that of someone who skips through and rearranges the sounds on a record by hand? If this is your opinion I would have to disagree, because DJs will at least do SOME of the work in making their music... [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [[ http://www.hybridgame.demon.co.uk/idm.htm : 4 IDM IT S3M MOD go here ]] [[][][][ wrecktangle sez: "Walk softly and carry a big spliff." ][][][]] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

wrecktangle writes:

quoted 5 lines So, would you say that the sound generated by a CD player skipping through

> So, would you say that the sound generated by a CD player skipping through > a scratched CD was obtained through an effort equal to that of someone who > skips through and rearranges the sounds on a record by hand? If this is > your opinion I would have to disagree, because DJs will at least do SOME > of the work in making their music...

it's an interesting question. brian eno is a famous proponent of systems-based music. for example, the album "thursday afternoon" is just a dozen or so tape loops running for an hour. it's also one of the most beautiful ambient albums ever made. does the ease of its construction mean that it is less valid as a work of art? so, while i may not care for oval that much (i know people on the net who were making albums out of skipping CDs five years ago), i wouldn't say what they do is any less *valid* because of it. i had an interesting discussion with my ex-roommate jeff taylor a while back. he had put together what was in essence just a bunch of loops on the sequencer. it sounded quite like an eno ambient record, and i thought it was very cool just as it was. i told him "throw in a DAT and record 74 minutes of this, then put it out as an album." he just couldn't bring himself to see what he had created as a valid piece in and of itself. we argued back and forth about it for a while. he did eventually cave in to my whining and record it on a DAT for a few hours but he only used about 1 minute of it as an intro to another, more traditionally-composed, track he did. it was interesting to see his allergy to accepting this piece as something he had at least partly given birth to. hmmm, now that i have a cd burner i should get that DAT from him... -- Jon Drukman jsd@gamespot.com SpotMedia Communications How the drunk and the maimed both are dragged forward out of the arena like a boneless Christ, one man under each arm, feet dragging, eyes on the aether. (David Foster Wallace/Infinite Jest)

quoted 2 lines Oval isn't to be slammed for manipulating other people's works to their

>>Oval isn't to be slammed for manipulating other people's works to their >>own ends any more than their vinyl-spinning counterparts are.

wrecktangle:

quoted 5 lines So, would you say that the sound generated by a CD player skipping through

>So, would you say that the sound generated by a CD player skipping through >a scratched CD was obtained through an effort equal to that of someone who >skips through and rearranges the sounds on a record by hand? If this is >your opinion I would have to disagree, because DJs will at least do SOME >of the work in making their music...

Well, therin lies the rub. The notion that Oval's recordings are the result of pressing 'play' and 'record' while a scratched up CD skips is false. They're the result of a multitude of scratched up CDs skipping. :) Seriously, their work is another example of collage. Like DJs. The difference being the timing, essentially. DJs work (usually) on the fly (as it were), which is definitely a skill and an artform. Contrast that with a recording artist (electronic) that performs a similar job of juxtaposition (rhythm & melody), but in the comfort of his/her studio (bedroom). I have a healthy respect for the job that DJs do, more so surely than the average beneficiary of their work. The third record. Two inspired journeys courtesy Teep. One artist, underdog, invisible, with cross-fades and back-spins for all. and I have rarely heard ambient/experimental music as complex and alien as Oval's. It never occured to me to demote their material to anything other than well-done electronic listening music. There are involving, emotive themes in their work. The fact that it is comprised of skipping CDs is rather beside the point, though it's a fact that I find very intriguing. random junk:

quoted 3 lines so, while i may not care for oval that much (i know people on the net

>so, while i may not care for oval that much (i know people on the net >who were making albums out of skipping CDs five years ago), i wouldn't >say what they do is any less *valid* because of it.

That's the spirit. :)

quoted 4 lines News on the Oval front, for any interested. Marcus Popp is going to

>News on the Oval front, for any interested. Marcus Popp is going to >release 3 or so more albums... [snip] >The new album, Dok, is Popp's experiments with sounds found by >Christophe Charles, crowd noise and bells and various other things.

What label? When will this be released? Thanks for the Oval post.. thanks in advance for further knowledge. - Brad

For those Oval fans out there, Marcus Popp has remixed "Happy Ending" by japanese tecno-pop duo pizzicato five. The remix has been released by Matador records on vynil only. It's #5 of the "pizzicato five remix series vinyls". Other remixers in the series have been Dimitri from Paris, 808 State, David Miller & Gareth Jones, Momus, St. Etienne, The Automator, John Oswald... If anybody needs further info, contact me. Jose C. Shinu-mae ni tatta ichido dake de ii, omoikiri waratte-mitai. Hi no ataru ohdohri wo, kuchibue fuite aruite yuku.

quoted 5 lines News on the Oval front

>>News on the Oval front >>The new album, Dok, is Popp's experiments with sounds found by >>Christophe Charles, crowd noise and bells and various other things. > >What label? When will this be released?

All the stuff i mentioned is coming out on thrill jockey, at least in the US (actually, the MoM single may be europe only release). I think the Oval is coming out in January, but I could easily be wrong. On a few listens, the "Twift" MoM signle sounds really excellent—4 tracks, each around 4 minutes long. The original mix of twift is great, sounds something like bentley rhythm Ace if BRA were really able to pull off the effect they're shooting for—i.e. goofy, lotsa different sounds, some squelchy things that almost sound like horns, a squarepusheresque fungle breakdown midway through, and lots of ideas per square inch. Review forthcoming... And the Oval is really quiet, ambientish on first listen, but not bad. Sam

In a message dated 10/20/99 10:43:43 AM, muziq@ionet.net writes: << I've never seen him live, but I get the sense that would be instrumental in making "sense" of Oval's output. This, however, is not a justification for the pain that track causes...nor is it to warn you off to his previous material. I think Systemisch and Szenario work very well and I enjoy them quite a bit. >> I saw Markus Popp perform at the MCA in Chicago this summer and it was actually very similar to his work on CD. I think he was probably actually playing CDs on stage. He performed a track off "diskont94" and i think a lot of the newer stuff on "szenariodisk" (i hadn't gotten it yet) plus the remix of Pizzicato 5 as his finale. It sounded similar but takes on a different context when performed at such volume. Incidentally the P5 remix is much more in tune with what he was doing with "dok", so I wonder if the Squarepusher remix is a sign of what's to come from his new software explorations.

In a message dated 10/20/99 2:47:24 PM, gdavis@gis.net writes: << i was also at this show at the MCA in chicago. he pretty much played and mixed tracks from a laptop but it was very great to hear his music at such a loud volume and truly feel the low frequencies that he uses. (home stereos dont normally do his music justice) and also the performance was at about 3am. so it was great to hear his music at that time of the day. >> i would have to agree that time of day (or night as it was) greatly enhanced the performance. oval's music has such a cerebral and surreal quality to it that felt much more appropriate in the wee hours. i wasn't criticizing the fact that a lot of the tracks seemed pre-recorded. the sheer volume alone justified the performance, as almost immediately everything he's done in the past several years made more sense (and i already really liked his work). i thought it was actually amusing to see people clapping when a track from "diskont" came on, only because oval never struck me as a "playing the hits" kind of project. needless to say, i was happy to hear it too.