IDM Mailing Archive

On the keep music underground tip ... It's hardly surprising people in the US think IDM is crap if you lot are too busy keeping it to yourselves. Get out there, put some nights on, play it to everyone, take the soundsystem of your local mall hostage. If electronic music gets wide enough coverage it won't be long before people of the US realise the guitar is just a piece of wood and some string. It's getting electronic music played on MTV that will start to change things.

quoted 3 lines From: rephlex@popmail.dircon.co.uk (rephlex)

>From: rephlex@popmail.dircon.co.uk (rephlex) >Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 11:28:46 +0100 >Subject: (idm) Re: Phlex

quoted 1 line Don't keep music underground.

>Don't keep music underground.

Dead right! On the produce more tunes without gear, who needs royalties anyway tip ...

quoted 3 lines Yes, A lot of people have sneered at my project's setup. We use old

>Yes, A lot of people have sneered at my project's setup. We use old >shit, in fact we used to do all our our sequencing in BASIC on an old >ZX Spectrum 182k+2.

I would never sneer at anyone using a ZX spectrum for sequencing, credit seriously due to you. However, if you sell some tunes and a nice royalty cheque pops through the post I bet you'd be off like a shot to see Mr. Steinberg.

quoted 2 lines Waaah! The rawness, that beautifull lo-fi distorted noise, it just sounds

> Waaah! The rawness, that beautifull lo-fi distorted noise, it just sounds > incredibly warm & real.

I heard Orbital recorded there first EP with a penny whistle, a biscuit tin and an old washing machine, mastered onto a home made 8inch floppy disk system ;-) M:) PS:I've just traded the EMAXII for a washboard and some thimbles, hello creativity.....

4th world communication

quoted 3 lines From: rephlex@popmail.dircon.co.uk (rephlex)

>From: rephlex@popmail.dircon.co.uk (rephlex) >Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 11:28:46 +0100 >Subject: (idm) Re: Phlex

quoted 1 line Don't keep music underground.

>Don't keep music underground.

keep it in a well ventilated surrounding and make sure it get's loads of sunlight , and remember to water it every couple of days ....wait a minute this isn't alt. grow yer own grass!!!! we're going home ,time for a joke (so-called!) the fourth world

Aaarghh! Don't you want to kill those people? Have you ever gotten, "Nice video game music!"? I used to play IDM at my former place of employ and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who would ask what it was and express interest in it. They are probably still listening to Hootie but at least they had a moment in their lives when they experienced true greatness. On Tue, 16 Jul 1996 14:04:57 -0700 Sugatis & Co <sugatis@inreach.com> wrote:

quoted 1 line i can't get to the soundsystem of the mall, but i do get to

> >i can't get to the soundsystem of the mall, but i do get to

the soundsystem

quoted 12 lines of the shoe store (in the mall) where i work, and it is quite interesting to

> >of the shoe store (in the mall) where i work, and it is quite interesting to > >see people of all types connecting to squarepusher or wagon christ.... > > when I used to work in a chain mall music store, i put on ventolin late at > night when i wanted people to leave. this was fun, as i got to listen to > music i liked while watching idiotic, archetypal yuppie american music > consumers run for their lives. of course, i was only able to do this once, > as the other employees did not appreciate my "noise", and wondered "how i > could listen to that crap", and said "here... why don't you try this new > oasis cd instead?"... > >

on 7/15/96 M:) wrote:

quoted 2 lines play it to everyone, take the soundsystem of your local

>>play it to everyone, take the soundsystem of your local >>mall hostage

i can't get to the soundsystem of the mall, but i do get to the soundsystem of the shoe store (in the mall) where i work, and it is quite interesting to see people of all types connecting to squarepusher or wagon christ. seeing 45 year old, big-haired denver housewives tappa-tappa-tapping their long acrylic nails to the beat of jake slazenger convinces me that music is, truly, the universal language--who needs esperanto? It's much more fun to bring music up and out of the underground. ______ _____ _____________ _____ ____craig jurkiewicz: egg88@aol.com_____ _____________ ____________ ______ ______

quoted 3 lines i can't get to the soundsystem of the mall, but i do get to the soundsystem

>i can't get to the soundsystem of the mall, but i do get to the soundsystem >of the shoe store (in the mall) where i work, and it is quite interesting to >see people of all types connecting to squarepusher or wagon christ....

when I used to work in a chain mall music store, i put on ventolin late at night when i wanted people to leave. this was fun, as i got to listen to music i liked while watching idiotic, archetypal yuppie american music consumers run for their lives. of course, i was only able to do this once, as the other employees did not appreciate my "noise", and wondered "how i could listen to that crap", and said "here... why don't you try this new oasis cd instead?"...

quoted 13 lines From: Martin Ayrton <mayrton@cev.u-net.com>

>From: Martin Ayrton <mayrton@cev.u-net.com> >Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 16:04:34 +0100 >Subject: (idm) Keep Music Underground (not) > >On the keep music underground tip ... > >It's hardly surprising people in the US think IDM is crap if you lot >are too busy keeping it to yourselves. Get out there, put some >nights on, play it to everyone, take the soundsystem of your local >mall hostage. If electronic music gets wide enough coverage it won't >be long before people of the US realise the guitar is just a piece >of wood and some string. It's getting electronic music played on MTV >that will start to change things.

Excuse the delay (if any), I'm a lowly digest reader. :) I gotta chime in on this one. Guitars aren't what's keeping IDM or any sort of electronic music from taking off in the US. Over the past ten years there have been several times where electronic music has been king. Look at techno-pop, new wave, the Debbie Gibson Experience and rap for instance. Sure we happen to be in a guitar craze right now, but that's cyclical. No, the problem is: vocals. American kids can't handle music without vocals. If "Planet Soul" <gag> lacked vocals, it wouldn't have been a hit. Even WITH a 303 in it. :) When was the last time a song broke the US top 40 that didn't have vocals, huh? Probably "Axel F" from the original "Beverly Hills Cop" movie, like 10 years ago. Perhaps there's something more recent, but that's my point. Whereas you get UK top-TEN hits that are techno, non-vocal stuff. Plus, dance music is for pansies (or so many people think), and anything electronic with a beat must be dance music, ergo.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Haines haines@apc.net . . . . control-X:to:abort:transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aliens suck.

On Tue, 16 Jul 1996, Fletcher Sandbeck wrote:

quoted 3 lines YMO had the right idea! Video Game was a brilliant song, Defender

> YMO had the right idea! Video Game was a brilliant song, Defender > samples wasn't it? Does anybody know if they actually wrote any > video game music?

Yeah, check out "Stakker Humanoid" by Humanoid (pre fsol) for some cool Berserk samples. Video game samples recently heard: U.N.K.L.E track mixed by James Lavelle on the new Cream vol. 2 CD. It samples Street Fighter 2, kind of unoriginal in my opinion. Nevertheless, the cd is the shit!!! Lavelle is a pretty cool DJ. if anyone here doesn't like "Altered States", they should be shot. Ron Trent is the bomb!!!!!

quoted 1 line Super Mario Bros. was good too. I wonder who did Nintedo's music.

>Super Mario Bros. was good too. I wonder who did Nintedo's music.

Gentleman by the name of Koji Kondo, I believe. I owe this bit of information to the thousands of hours I spent with my SNES during my youth. THere's another Japanese video game composer by the name of Yuzo Koshiro who was _very_ big during Sega's heydey in the early 90's. Some of his scores were available on CD and became quite popular if I remember correctly. While certainly not IDM, a good number of his tunes were very housey + dance-funky. Has anyone else heard of this fellow? I remember reading an adverteasement for a Neo-Geo cart entitled "Viewpoint" that featured [boasted, more like] a house soundtrack. Ha. Ha ha ha. And I guess while I'm still on the embarrassing subject, what techno artists have composed for video games besides Orbital?

At 6:42 PM -0700 7/16/96, HUNG LIKE A BULL. wrote:

quoted 16 lines Super Mario Bros. was good too. I wonder who did Nintedo's music.

>>Super Mario Bros. was good too. I wonder who did Nintedo's music. > >Gentleman by the name of Koji Kondo, I believe. I owe this bit of information >to the thousands of hours I spent with my SNES during my youth. > >THere's another Japanese video game composer by the name of Yuzo Koshiro who >was _very_ big during Sega's heydey in the early 90's. Some of his scores were >available on CD and became quite popular if I remember correctly. While >certainly not IDM, a good number of his tunes were very housey + dance-funky. >Has anyone else heard of this fellow? > >I remember reading an adverteasement for a Neo-Geo cart entitled "Viewpoint" >that featured [boasted, more like] a house soundtrack. Ha. Ha ha ha. > >And I guess while I'm still on the embarrassing subject, what techno artists >have composed for video games besides Orbital?

I remember an old Atari ST game featuring Bomb The Bass. Joe (:Joe Rice:____________:joe@psychoactive.com:____________:ambient@netcom.com:) (:"Oh, the turntables are his instruments!" :) (:"But I can't tell what sound that record is making!" :) (:"I know! He puts them on and off and you never know! I've never seen :) (: anything like it!" :)

On Tue, 16 Jul 1996, Joe Rice wrote:

quoted 19 lines At 6:42 PM -0700 7/16/96, HUNG LIKE A BULL. wrote:

> At 6:42 PM -0700 7/16/96, HUNG LIKE A BULL. wrote: > >>Super Mario Bros. was good too. I wonder who did Nintedo's music. > > > >Gentleman by the name of Koji Kondo, I believe. I owe this bit of information > >to the thousands of hours I spent with my SNES during my youth. > > > >THere's another Japanese video game composer by the name of Yuzo Koshiro who > >was _very_ big during Sega's heydey in the early 90's. Some of his scores were > >available on CD and became quite popular if I remember correctly. While > >certainly not IDM, a good number of his tunes were very housey + dance-funky. > >Has anyone else heard of this fellow? > > > >I remember reading an adverteasement for a Neo-Geo cart entitled "Viewpoint" > >that featured [boasted, more like] a house soundtrack. Ha. Ha ha ha. > > > >And I guess while I'm still on the embarrassing subject, what techno artists > >have composed for video games besides Orbital? > > I remember an old Atari ST game featuring Bomb The Bass.

Xenon II on the Amiga had music done by Bomb The Bass , and the ancient amiga game "Captain Blood" had title music done my Jean Michelle Jarre ..

quoted 13 lines Joe

> > Joe > > > (:Joe Rice:____________:joe@psychoactive.com:____________:ambient@netcom.com:) > (:"Oh, the turntables are his instruments!" :) > (:"But I can't tell what sound that record is making!" :) > (:"I know! He puts them on and off and you never know! I've never seen :) > (: anything like it!" :) > > > >

______________________________ \_/ "\/\/\__"\/ "\/ "\/\__"\_/ / / / / / / / / / / / / ' / -= Serkul/CYDoNiA =- / /\/> / / / / / / / / / /__ \__/ \_/\__/\__/\/\/\/\/\/ \/

quoted 2 lines No, the problem is: vocals. American kids can't handle music without

>No, the problem is: vocals. American kids can't handle music without >vocals

don't get me started. this is so true, yes, but i wonder why this is so? we at sugatis and co think it is due simply to the stupidity of the average american consumer...

On Wed, 17 Jul 1996, Sugatis & Co wrote:

quoted 6 lines No, the problem is: vocals. American kids can't handle music without

> >No, the problem is: vocals. American kids can't handle music without > >vocals > > don't get me started. this is so true, yes, but i wonder why this is so? we > at sugatis and co think it is due simply to the stupidity of the average > american consumer...

North American "white" kids have a tight literary tradition.. with little aural space recognition.. few have had the experience of living in Europe or abroad.. Once ina while you'll find the one or two who will really phreak out on JAzz or Techno genres. Stupidity is ignorance.. and ignorance is just not seeing the subliminal background of life. :) Peace, KAos The Poet The Artist, the Slueth- Whoever sharpens our perceptions tend to be antisocial. Rarely "Well Adjusted," he cannot go along with currents and trends. -Marshall McLuhan (: (: (::::::: (:: (::: (::::::: ThisIsSuchAFukkinCoolPlace!!! :) *PLUR* oO(TEKNO_RAAVE_SiG)Oo

I'm not saying that video game music is bad- hell, I have the Wipeout CD, but the people who described what I listen to as such were not being complimentary. On Tue, 16 Jul 1996 16:37:33 PDT Fletcher Sandbeck <sandbeck@cs.washington.edu> wrote:

quoted 1 line Aaarghh! Don't you want to kill

> > Aaarghh! Don't you want to kill

those people? Have you ever gotten,

quoted 23 lines "Nice video game music!"? I used to play IDM at my former place of

> > "Nice video game music!"? I used to play IDM at my former place of > > employ and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who would > > ask what it was and express interest in it. They are probably still > > listening to Hootie but at least they had a moment in their lives when > > they experienced true greatness. > > Actually, I quite like video game music! > > I remember the groovy vibes of the Legend of Zelda. The soulful flute > playing of Link still brings tears to my eyes. That was the first > interactive techno. Crank the mono tv speaker up to ten and wail on > that B button! > > Brian Eno eat your heart out! > > YMO had the right idea! Video Game was a brilliant song, Defender > samples wasn't it? Does anybody know if they actually wrote any > video game music? > > Super Mario Bros. was good too. I wonder who did Nintendo's music. > > [fletcher] - [who owned the Pac Man Fever album when he was a lad] >

quoted 6 lines No, the problem is: vocals. American kids can't handle music without

> > >No, the problem is: vocals. American kids can't handle music without > > >vocals > > > > don't get me started. this is so true, yes, but i wonder why this is so? we > > at sugatis and co think it is due simply to the stupidity of the average > > american consumer...

quoted 4 lines North American "white" kids have a tight literary tradition..

> North American "white" kids have a tight literary tradition.. > with little aural space recognition.. few have had the experience of > living in Europe or abroad.. Once ina while you'll find the one or two > who will really phreak out on JAzz or Techno genres.

Umm, these are such blatant generalizations. It is rather sad. How many north american white kids do you think are on this list? There is nothing wrong with vocals being a primary focus point for music. People, in America and the world over, like to sing along with the songs they hear on the radio. I, too, enjoy singing along with music. For me, this means that I wander around chanting "the astronauts report it feels good!" and "Ooh la la la, la la, eee eee! la la la, la la" Also, vocals are an easy way to recognize songs. I know plenty of people who like techno, but simply cannot remember which song was which. This makes it difficult to go to the store and purchase albums you've heard and liked. The recording industry is based on selling albums. They need artists to be instantly recognizable and marketable. The lack of vocals in techno, the scores of instantly forgettable (non-idm :) bands, and the lack of 'image' and bravado on the parts of the musicians combine to keep techno out of the mainstream. IF techno wanted to break into the mainstream they should model themselves after jazz or classical rather than rock. I see a lot of similarities between the early history of jazz and the current history of techno and hip hop et al.

quoted 2 lines Stupidity is ignorance.. and ignorance is just not seeing the subliminal

> Stupidity is ignorance.. and ignorance is just not seeing the subliminal > background of life.

Ignorance is bliss! [fletcher]