"Matt ___" <qestseq@hotmail.com> wrote:
: The problem with most IDM and electronic music nowadays is that the human
: feel and sound has been taken out of it.
Not quite. The problem with most IDM and electronic music nowadays
is that many artists no longer are putting "the human feel and sound"
back into it. But I don't think you can blame the tools for the
laziness of those who use them.
Software doesn't make the humanization of music any harder -- it
never was easy, and never will be easy, whatever the medium. But the
techniques will have to be different. And it might be the case that
"humanization" isn't always what's missing when music goes flat.
Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. Let's say
that Musician Bob uses the Woodmaker Fractalizer to generate a five-
minute musical fractal (whatever that is). Using its intuitive GUI
interface, he selected from dozen of parameters and in less than an
hour came up with a product that virtually set his ears on fire.
Bob hears so much of interest in his new sound-product that he makes
it a track on his new "Bob's Throbbing Blobs" CD. Bob's many fans
listen to the track, and many of them also find it so interesting
that their ears are also ablaze.
What's missing from this picture, if anything? I'm sure some folks
would say that absolutely nothing is missing -- Bob's fans expect to
be taken on a thrilling sonic ride by his CD's, and he delivered.
But others might say that something vital is missing. Where's Bob?
The most one can say is that Bob "discovered" the track somewhere
inside the Woodmaker Fractalizer after an hour of exploring and
listening.
Perhaps the situation is best described in terms of the sound-product
itself. We experience it much as Bob did -- as a discovery. And
the discovery is as much ours as his. We gain no insight into Bob's
experiences, ideas, or intents, other than his ability to recognize a
sound-product that we also find enjoyable. Bob didn't interpret the
musical fractal, or adorn it, or do anything to share his experience
of it. Not a drop of his "humanity" is there.
Frankly, I have no problem with this situation. My excitement and
interest in a piece of music depend as much on my own humanity as
that of the musicians (and sometimes programmers) who create the music.
Though I'd find a steady diet of such work to be dry and lifeless, I'd
be bored by a steady diet of any one musical form. Variety isn't just
the spice of life, it is its meat.
-Ed
-Ed
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