IDM Mailing Archive

1993-08-06 18:26Mike J. Brown> - This is all my opinion, which is invariably correct, so don't argue. >... > Amorphous

From:: Mike J. Brown <mjbrown@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Date:: Fri, 6 Aug 93 14:26:41 EDT
Subject:: FSOL Amorphous

quoted 17 lines - This is all my opinion, which is invariably correct, so don't argue.

> - This is all my opinion, which is invariably correct, so don't argue. >... > Amorphous Androgynous - Tales Of Ephedrina >... > Oh my fucking god. That's all I can say. >... > absolutely mind-blowing. >... > words are pretty much pointless. >... > There's a musical vision at work here that defies description >... > The second track has just started up in my headphones and my brain is > quickly losing the ability to put one word after another. >... > 300 out of 10. More than that. Infinity out of 10. Just get it. > Pay whatever price is necessary.

Yeah, I agree, BUT this album is also almost entirely devoid of melodic content. Accelerator was better, IMHO. The few bits that are melodic are sampled -- i.e. Pod Room's main riff is right out of "Of These, Hope reprise)" by Peter Gabriel (and Petey does a much better job adding percussion to it than FSOL's bleeps and squawks).. and the main sample that repeats all the way through the dub track is from a Hawkwind album -- but the production and overall sound, the atmospheres they create, are all as great as you say and I recommend it to those who don't have it yet. mike

1993-08-06 18:41Jon Drukmanmike j brown sez: >> 300 out of 10. More than that. Infinity out of 10. Just get it. >> Pa

From:: Jon Drukman <jdrukman@us.oracle.com>
Date:: Fri, 6 Aug 93 11:41:11 PDT
Subject:: FSOL Amorphous

mike j brown sez:

quoted 5 lines 300 out of 10. More than that. Infinity out of 10. Just get it.

>> 300 out of 10. More than that. Infinity out of 10. Just get it. >> Pay whatever price is necessary. > >Yeah, I agree, BUT this album is also almost entirely devoid of melodic >content.

well, the lack of melody is what makes it so great. and anyway, there *are* melodies in there but they are very unconventional and hard to hear. take lots of drugs and listen to it again.

quoted 1 line Accelerator was better, IMHO.

>Accelerator was better, IMHO.

accelerator is genius but it's way more "typical" in terms of song construction. i don't want to get into the whole "does art have to be innovative or does it have to be good" debate here though. Ephedrina is both. Accelerator is both, but it's not as innovative.

quoted 4 lines The few bits that are melodic are sampled -- i.e. Pod Room's main

>The few bits that are melodic are sampled -- i.e. Pod Room's main >riff is right out of "Of These, Hope reprise)" by Peter Gabriel (and >Petey does a much better job adding percussion to it than FSOL's >bleeps and squawks)..

you mean "fat cat", not "pod room." anyway, this did bother me a tad, but not enough to detract from the 300 out of 10 rating! i like the bleeps & squawks (and that weird female vocal sample that's so quiet it's practically subliminal.) FSOL can do no wrong. Word up. Jon Drukman jdrukman%dlsun87@us.oracle.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Always note the sequencer - this will never let us down.

1993-08-07 06:56Mike J. Browni said: > >Yeah, I agree, BUT this album is also almost entirely devoid of melodic > >cont

From:: Mike J. Brown <mjbrown@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Date:: Sat, 7 Aug 93 2:56:33 EDT
Subject:: Re: FSOL Amorphous

i said:

quoted 2 lines Yeah, I agree, BUT this album is also almost entirely devoid of melodic

> >Yeah, I agree, BUT this album is also almost entirely devoid of melodic > >content.

jon xdwombat said:

quoted 3 lines well, the lack of melody is what makes it so great. and anyway, there

> well, the lack of melody is what makes it so great. and anyway, there > *are* melodies in there but they are very unconventional and hard to > hear. take lots of drugs and listen to it again.

okay.

quoted 4 lines accelerator is genius but it's way more "typical" in terms of song

> accelerator is genius but it's way more "typical" in terms of song > construction. i don't want to get into the whole "does art have to be > innovative or does it have to be good" debate here though. Ephedrina > is both. Accelerator is both, but it's not as innovative.

right. i will agree that ephedrina is more innovative, while accelerator is more accessible. it is hard to hear something you expect to be richly orchestrated be stripped to near minimal, i guess. when they go from what they are doing now to something more melodic (though maybe not that much more 'typical'), they will be heard as being that much more innovative. that's my prediction. seems like doing the fuzzy squawky bleepy music without much attention to melody and structure is considered for some reason to be intelligent. like all dance music you will see it get built up into a fuller, more vibrant, melodic form of music (progressive i.d.m.?) over time. it will still be called intelligent. just something to think about...

quoted 1 line you mean "fat cat", not "pod room."

> you mean "fat cat", not "pod room."

fat room, cat pod, whatever. :) mike Mike Brown _ _ __ ______________________________________Approach and Identify

1993-08-09 17:36Jon Drukmanmike brown writes: >right. i will agree that ephedrina is more innovative, while accelerat

From:: Jon Drukman <jdrukman@us.oracle.com>
Date:: Mon, 9 Aug 93 10:36:49 PDT
Subject:: FSOL Amorphous

mike brown writes:

quoted 3 lines right. i will agree that ephedrina is more innovative, while accelerator

>right. i will agree that ephedrina is more innovative, while accelerator >is more accessible. it is hard to hear something you expect to be richly >orchestrated be stripped to near minimal, i guess.

it *is* richly orchestrated... it's just that all the pieces fit together in weird and unexpected ways. it's a very *dissonant* record, and i think that dissonance is largely unexplored (at least to any *useful* extent) in dance music. oh, and about that sample in the reggae track that you thought was from hawkwind... it's a preset sound on the korg wavestation called "20 second alien invasion" actually, so both groups swiped it :) (we've got a wavestation and we're gonna use it. - new motto of The UVC.) Jon Drukman jdrukman%dlsun87@us.oracle.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Always note the sequencer - this will never let us down.

1993-08-10 11:49Mike J. BrownXDGrouchy writes: >it *is* richly orchestrated... it's just that all the pieces fit >toget

From:: Mike J. Brown <mjbrown@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Date:: Tue, 10 Aug 93 7:49:03 EDT
Subject:: Re: FSOL Amorphous

XDGrouchy writes:

quoted 4 lines it *is* richly orchestrated... it's just that all the pieces fit

>it *is* richly orchestrated... it's just that all the pieces fit >together in weird and unexpected ways. it's a very *dissonant* >record, and i think that dissonance is largely unexplored (at least to >any *useful* extent) in dance music.

Is it still dance music if it is very dissonant?

quoted 3 lines oh, and about that sample in the reggae track that you thought was

>oh, and about that sample in the reggae track that you thought was >from hawkwind... it's a preset sound on the korg wavestation called >"20 second alien invasion" actually, so both groups swiped it :)

after listening to the hawkwind track again, i later discovered there was indeed no way it could have been sampled without other sounds bleeding through on top of what turns out to be the wavestation sample. but.. a PRESET??!! Dougans & Cobain use PRESETS?!!! arrgh! my opinion of them just took a nosedive! :) Mike Brown _ _ __ ______________________________________Approach and Identify

1993-08-10 19:19Jon Drukmanmike brown asks: >Is it still dance music if it is very dissonant? i'd say yes. listen to

From:: Jon Drukman <jdrukman@us.oracle.com>
Date:: Tue, 10 Aug 93 12:19:09 PDT
Subject:: FSOL Amorphous

mike brown asks:

quoted 1 line Is it still dance music if it is very dissonant?

>Is it still dance music if it is very dissonant?

i'd say yes. listen to (the big local hit) "Jump To My Beat" by The Wildchild Experience (that's the one with the Lisa Lisa "can you feel the beat" sample repeated ad nauseum) - very dancy, very dissonant (almost industrial!) Great track.

quoted 2 lines but.. a PRESET??!! Dougans & Cobain use PRESETS?!!!

>but.. a PRESET??!! Dougans & Cobain use PRESETS?!!! >arrgh! my opinion of them just took a nosedive! :)

geez, chill out! the birdcall in "papua new guinea" is a hoary old cliche - it came on an emulator demo disk called "zen garden" and has shown up everywhere. check out tangerine dream. the question is not "did they use a preset" but "did they use it well"? i hear wavestation presets over everything these days. the wavestation is a really excellent synthesizer and it comes with some really excellent sounds, so why not use them? Jon Drukman jdrukman%dlsun87@us.oracle.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Always note the sequencer - this will never let us down.

FSOL Amorphous