IDM Mailing Archive

1997-05-30 21:22Mark LakataOk, 808 State UTD 90 is these oldest techno cd in my collection (from 1990), but listening

From:: Mark Lakata <lakata@sseos.lbl.gov>
To:: <idm@hyperreal.com>
Date:: Fri, 30 May 1997 14:22:24 -0700 (PDT)
Subject:: (idm) 808 state cobra bora, wow

Ok, 808 State UTD 90 is these oldest techno cd in my collection (from 1990), but listening to Cobra Bora last night made me think how techno has much more repetitive and boring recent, cf. Chemical Brothers, most trip-hop/acid stuff now. Are there any good artists today that don't simply that a single 4/4 measure smaple and repeat it for 7 minutes, with a little tweaking here and there on the filters and volumn controls? Cobra Bora actually has what you might call a "lead" synth part, that spans more than one measure, on top of that chugged bass line. I don't like adherence to pop song structure, but I think now a days the structure is so simple that it gets boring soon. IMHO, the whole UTD 90 album is still the best up-tempo techno album ever. Maybe I'm missing a whole world of techno by only buying drum n bass now, and some one can turn me on to something similar to this style. -Mark

1997-05-31 21:58CheOn Fri, 30 May 1997, Mark Lakata wrote: > Ok, 808 State UTD 90 is these oldest techno cd i

From:: Che <zeus8@synthcom.com>
Cc:: <idm@hyperreal.com>
Date:: Sat, 31 May 1997 21:58:53 +0000 ()
Subject:: Re: (idm) 808 state cobra bora, wow
Reply to:: (idm) 808 state cobra bora, wow

On Fri, 30 May 1997, Mark Lakata wrote:

quoted 10 lines Ok, 808 State UTD 90 is these oldest techno cd in my collection (from

> Ok, 808 State UTD 90 is these oldest techno cd in my collection (from > 1990), but listening to Cobra Bora last night made me think how techno has > much more repetitive and boring recent, cf. Chemical Brothers, most > trip-hop/acid stuff now. Are there any good artists today that don't > simply that a single 4/4 measure smaple and repeat it for 7 minutes, with > a little tweaking here and there on the filters and volumn controls? > Cobra Bora actually has what you might call a "lead" synth part, that > spans more than one measure, on top of that chugged bass line. I don't > like adherence to pop song structure, but I think now a days the structure > is so simple that it gets boring soon.

The structure of 808 State on that album is pretty hard to pin down. Yes, there's a vague resemblence to the pop structure, but it's not that simple. If you take every part and map it out on graph paper, measure by measure, according to how things change, it's amazing how often things change, especially the rhythms. Whereas Moby will repeat 16 measures, 808 State repeated nothing.

quoted 2 lines IMHO, the whole UTD 90 album is still the best up-tempo techno

> IMHO, the whole UTD 90 album is still the best up-tempo techno > album ever.

I agree. It's a landmark.

quoted 2 lines Maybe I'm missing a whole world of techno by only buying drum n bass

> Maybe I'm missing a whole world of techno by only buying drum n bass > now, and some one can turn me on to something similar to this style.

Nothing, really. That album was an aberration, a flash in the pan, a once in a lifetime glimpse of how things might be. ex:el is a pale shade of UTD State 90.. God, what I'd give for something similar as good. FWIW I, like you, am buying mostly drum n bass, trip hop kinda stuff - not a lot going on in techno land - Beaumont Hannant, Black Dog, Autechre, maybe Orbital ... otherwise a lot of cheesy rehash. Che

Re: (idm) 808 state cobra bora, wow