IDM Mailing Archive

quoted 6 lines Has there been any articles/books written or discussions of some of the IDM

>Has there been any articles/books written or discussions of some of the IDM >art/presentation, from the perspective of design? Also, what are your >opinions? In particular, I'm interested in any analysis of Designers >Republic's work, and also of IDM song titles / artists' presentation of >themselves. >

you could find DR's works in _Localiser 1.0_ a german techno design book (featuring Warp, Fax and many others). 300 pages to storm your eyes! there's also a magazine called Edge, and their current issue has a huge feature on game/club culture and design, and has some gratuitous DR logos & stuff littered around, from the game Wipeout which they had a big hand in the look of.

quoted 8 lines ...In one sense, the aesthetic looks like a growth/development from the work

>...In one sense, the aesthetic looks like a growth/development from the work >that Peter Saville did for New Order - the record covers with no band name or >picture, just obscure images and designs. I remember there was an essay called >"How Cool is Cold?" sometime in the eighties, discussing how these "cold", >opaque designs were becoming hip and important. I'm wondering if there is a >90's version of such an essay/writing, that takes a survey of what's going on >now in IDM-land. Is the recent book collecting techno record covers such a >thing?

_Design After Dark_ by Cynthia Rose (Thames+Hudson) was the first book about the uk dancefloor style. published in 1991, it's a wicked introduction on the club design. _Localiser 1.0_ (watch out for the 1.1 coming soon). _Techno Style: Graphics Fashion Culture_ (Olms) is another german publication. _High Flyers_ (Booth-Clibborn) highly recommended. but no publication about IDM aesthetic. hope i'm wrong ;-) a few weeks ago, Sean Cooper > scooper@best.com wrote a brilliant reflexion about the IDM "packaging". the design could be seen as a graphic echo of the music. the inner sleeve art of _Tri Repeat_ or the video of _Second Bab Vilbel_ are the perfects visuals representations of the Ae sound: weird, cutted, minimal, accidented and strongly beautiful. in the (idm) Ae=overated discussion, many fans have trying to describe their sonic feelings. make a design cover or a video are the best way for exposing your sensations: just look at the Ae _Second Bad Vilbel_ , Ken Ishii _Extra_, Mouse on Mars _Frosh_ or Underworld _Rez_. when you have seen the video, the track is taking a new dimension. my own definition of idm is the title of the next Black Dog lp: _Music for Adverts (and Short Films)_ electronic music is a film material for your mental theatre. so make some movies!

quoted 5 lines I'm not an art or design major, so please shout out if I'm talking out of the

>I'm not an art or design major, so please shout out if I'm talking out of the >wrong orifice here. I'm just interested in design/image in music I love. >Please, no "music is music, image don't matter" flames. We're on the wrong >wavelength already if that's what you believe. I think image (song titles, >sleeve covers, etc.) does influence you.

yes. absolutely ok with it! for me, the best techno-design is a white label sleeve cover. a black square with a white hole on the middle. it's look like a Malevitch 1917 manifest, isn't it? david2b