IDM Mailing Archive

two quick reviews elektric music - esperanto this has been out for a while but it just recently got a US domestic release which meant that i just recently got it for real cheap... :) if you wonder what kraftwerk would sound like if they were still making music, this is probably the nearest you'll get to an answer. karl bartos who was 1/4 of kraftwerk made this album, and it sounds like computerwelt/electric cafe/the mix style kraftwerk, basically. the first three tracks are very synthpoppy - "tv" is really good synthpop though, in the classic kraftwerk electro vein. the other two are kind of lame, ESPECIALLY "kissing the machine" which features andy mccluskey of OMD on vocals. ouch. the rest of the album is rather better - lots of analog blips, insane sample manipulations, computer voices singing... the usual kraftwerk fare, with a slight '90s update. on "esperanto" he approaches nine inch nails territory almost... with heavier drums and the occasional distorted vocal! anyway, i enjoyed it, although if you have a total allergy to synthpop you should avoid it. it's very melodic and song-oriented. bill laswell/pete namlook - psychonavigation since laswell was involved in this, he obviously made sure to get permission to release it in the US on his own Subharmonic label. good deal, cos it can be found for cheap. anyway, this is an OK piece of "ambient dub" but it does sound very wanky and obviously ad-libbed in places. best parts are laswell's brutal dub basslines and the sparse electro rhythms. pleasant enough background music but i can't help feeling that pete namlook is really just coasting on his own reputation. (and actually, laswell's been seeming kinda lazy as well. if only they would both spend some time writing tunes and not just rush to the CD plant every time they have another 75 minute jam session on DAT...) /jon

quoted 6 lines bill laswell/pete namlook - psychonavigation

> bill laswell/pete namlook - psychonavigation > > (and actually, laswell's been seeming > kinda lazy as well. if only they would both spend some time writing tunes > and not just rush to the CD plant every time they have another 75 minute jam > session on DAT...)

Laswell is not known for "writing tunes" -- he's almost always worked from a "jam session" / "let's throw these folks together and see what happens" mentality. When his collaborator doesn't have much to say, you basically end up with a bunch of standard (if very catchy) Laswell bass lines but not much else. I'm to the point where I'm going to write down the time within each track on the Namlook/Laswell disc where the bass kicks in; the ambient bits sound really trite to me, but I have that complaint about a lot of current ambient releases... - Larry

quoted 1 line elektric music - esperanto....this has been out for a while but it just

>>elektric music - esperanto....this has been out for a while but it just

recently got a US domestic release which meant that i just recently got it for real cheap... :)<< Me too. I found it at a N.J. Record convention for $4.00. Got Consolidated's _Business of Punishment_ for the same price. It's worth the price of the CD (no matter what price you pay) just to get the track "Information". "Information.....wants to be free". ___________________________________________________________________________ Paul Rafanello Custom Forum #137: ambience@delphi.com A.U.D.A.C.I.T.Y. ___________________________________________________________________________