My god, this new Oval record is good.
After 3 or 4 listens, I've come to the conclusion that "ovalprocess"
is really, really good. I've been in love with "systemisch" since I
got it (spring of 1999; I was late to the glitch party), and I had
mixed feelings about a new Oval record. The "szenario" 12"
dissappointed me with its barely-there nature and overly harsh sound
design (for my tastes, anyway). My anticipation for a new full-length,
then, was tempered with uncertainty towards the new direction that
Markus Popp would take.
I'm pleased to report that, while "ovalprocess" is certainly more
harsh that much of "systemisch", that it retains much of the warmth
and organic sound. "systemisch" starts off lovely and delicate, and
grows in levels of soft distortion (to quote Bjork) until the end,
when it has a gorgeously torn quality to it, like the ragged and
burned edges of paper left in a fire.
"ovalprocess" starts off harsh and somewhat off-putting, but then
proceeds to let the beauty show through as the tracks go by, allowing
a warm glitched organ or delicate bell-tone into the mix. A friend of
mine, who became a huge Oval fan after I lent him "systemisch" and
"diskont94", immediately raved about the use of feedback as a primary
element in "ovalprocess", and he's right. Popp is using pitched
feedback to great effect as pads, leads or other melodic elements.
The thought I'm left with about "ovalprocess" is that, for all his
talk about theory and process being more important than result, that
Markus Popp's result is still worth listening to. Maybe that's a
validation of the refinement his process has undergone since he
started working with digital sound design, maybe it's just that he
makes great music in spite of the theory behind it. I'm not sure which
it is.
To me, however, the overwhelming sense I get from "ovalprocess" is
that Markus Popp wants to make beautiful music, but can't stand "pure"
beauty - it has to come with all the flaws, dirt, and digital cruft
that one encounters in everyday life. This is truly modern music, in
both the good and bad senses of the word "modern".
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