quoted 8 lines Why is telefon tel aviv "idm"... Aren't they just
>Why is telefon tel aviv "idm"... Aren't they just
>making music?
>
>Honestly, if we're gonna insist on using "idm" as a
>genre, shouldn't we decide on exactly what the genre
>is? I mean, there are so many artists and styles
>under that one umbrella term that it really is
>meaningless.
One thing I like about this genre is its variety. You tend to get a mosaic
of sounds coming from all different styles and ideals of electronic music
and otherwise. I'd say that there are a few key elements and pillars that
can establish idm as a credible genre. But obviously it's not as easy as
pegging Omni Trio as dnb or Daft Punk as house. The glitch is something
that's always been present. Some people tend to use it as a gestural
brushstroke (Telefon Tel Aviv), and some base their sound and song solely
upon it (Oval). Also, probably 50% of the artists create (or try to create)
a very convincing, well-thought-out melodic structure, processed and warped
as it may be. And then, with all this potential silliness, it's really easy
to get caught up in making fun of the music while still maintaining an
homage to it (Cex, Otto Von Schirach).
I think what gets pegged as idm is very dependent on the label it's released
on. Hefty is generally thought of as an idm label, with some live
instrumental post-rock lean. I think Schematic is usually labeled as a
post-Autechre idm label. Planet-Mu drill'n'bass/idm, Tigerbeat: dsp/idm,
Force-Inc: minimal techno/idm, deFocus: early-sounding idm, and on and on.
Then it gets blurry when you bring in a name like Nitemares on Wax, who
records on Warp, but is probably not acknowledged as an idm act (because
they lack the glitch maybe?).
With all the cross-genre happenings in idm today, it's not a surprise that
it's started to catch on in the past year or so. The variety makes it easy
to recruit new fans. Joe Blow only listens to indie rock. Joe Blow hears
some Four Tet by chance and thinks it's pretty interesting. In turn, Joe
Blow ends up digging Marumari, Boards of Canada and Phoenecia (Confield's
still a bit much though). Goth Hideous only listens to Skinny Puppy. Goth
Hideous hears a rather scary and morbid track by Richard Devine. In turn,
Goth Hideous goes and checks out Mu-Ziq, Speedy, and eventually gets a
hair-cut, buys some non-black jeans and an orange t-shirt. Before you know
it, Goth Hideous ends up snuggling up by the fire with his new K&D-lovin'
chill-out honey with some TTA lulling in the background.
So even if you're pretty buried in your own genre, chances are there will be
some idm track you can groove to, simply because there's so much to choose
from. But the variety can be interpreted as a bad thing, and bad things can
potentially come with it. I host a local radio show where I play mainly
what I would consider
to be idm/abstract electronics. Not many people locally know what to call
the type of music I play. What's sort of aggravating is that whenever I
play a track by Crane A.K., people will call and request more
straightforward tech-house tracks. And when I play something with a lot of
atmosphere, people will call and request Shpongle and Robert Rich. It sucks
to turn down requests like that, but I really try to stick to a specific
format and do my best not to go off on tangents. People don't seem to
understand why I would turn down a request for Biosphere when five minutes
earlier I played something off SAW2. And I really don't have a good reason
for doing so either. But that's just an example of how certain tracks and
artists of the genre can suck in different kinds of listeners.
I don't think Telefon Tel Aviv has the influence to kill idm, neither does
Bjork, neither does Radiohead, neither does a misspelled cornfield or a
sloppily prepared piano doodling. If anything, I'd say idm is bigger than
ever (in the US anyways). When in the past could you have seen Marumari and
Mouse on Mars in light rotation on MTV2? If it's suddenly cool for Justin
Timberlake to beatbox like an epileptic droid, then it's probably cool to
like idm.
-char
_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device:
http://mobile.msn.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org