Armchair DJ Review and Interview “CLASSICAL TO TECHNO TO CLASSICAL” Larry
Kucharz interviewed by Brian J. Dillard
“...I like all the genres. I was never affected by groupthink peer pressure
when I was young and I'm not affected now. I sometimes get the idea that
people who like Trance live on the other side of the tracks from the kids
who like Hardcore. I went into a shop one day and asked for some Thunderdome
CDs. The salesperson turned up his nose like he smelled something bad and
said, "We don't sell that stuff here." I can enjoy ALL music because I'm
unaffected by musical prejudices.”...
complete interview at:
http://www.armchair-dj.com/handler.asp?/features/interviews/larry_kucharz.asp
Techno Unit 30:Audiochrome
CD, International Audiochrome, USA, 2000
Composer Larry Kucharz has been releasing compositions of stripped-down
ambience for quite some time, but with "Audiochrome," he expands his sonic
palette to include the purposeful beats of Detroit and German minimalism.
The result is an album whose spartan purity will appear to fans of early Rob
Hood and early Steve Reich alike - even as its measured intellectualism
uncovers unexpected emotional nuance. Eschewing samples but using much of the
same production gear favored by dancefloor producers, Kucharz creates
precisely modulated tracks whose dry drum sounds and steely, quasi-melodic
tonal pulses interlace into complex waveforms that alternate between martial
purposefulness and diffident funk. The pace would be considered midtempo by
most fans of electronic dance music, but the intent here isn't to get bodies
moving; instead of focusing on dancefloor dynamics, Kucharz zeroes in on the
precise timbres and oscillations of his loops. The results may seem clinical,
but there's enough syncopation (and in some cases actual chords) to give
these resolutely cerebral tracks emotional pull and physical heft. Opener
"U301" plays with woodpecker beats, metallic tonal thrusts and
Kraftwerk-worthy synth chords for a sound that brings to mind an
adreneline-soaked ride down a deserted highway under a beautifully clear
sky. "U306" overlays a rolling sub-bass waveform with dreamy Detroit synth
pads, stereoscopically separated metronome clicks and an irregularly
recurring, almost kazoo-like riff that bobs and weaves through the track,
providing something approaching a hook. "U308" picks up the pace with
helicopter oscillations, high-pitched whistles and wonderfully rounded,
echoing bass formations that slowly increase in volume and intensity till it
seems that every available portion of the audio spectrum is full of ominous
sound. If Kucharz put any effort at all into following the rules of clubland
composition, he could easily outstrip the steel-plated grooves of even the
Surgeon and James Ruskin. As is, these nine tracks reveal new nuances with
every at-home listen - something that can't always be said of dancefloor
stormers. Write to: International Audiochrome, Box 1068, Rye, NY 10580.
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available from cdstreet.com
http://www.cdstreet.com/artists/internationalaudiochromeinc
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also available:
Techno Unit 32: Misc Tracks
“The cranked-up beats and synths of drum’n’bass combined with relentless,
obsessive phrasing ...” Jim Aikin In Review, Keyboard Oct 01
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