IDM Mailing Archive

hey. I _knew_ that people like you all and music like this existed.. and now I have proof. I wanna know where to start. So many yummy-sounding records are mentioned on this and other lists, I wanna know what's the "best of the best". For instance, my next purchase will either be: System 7's latest, 777 FToL, Accelerator Amorphous And. Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient (vol.1) Aphex Twin (fill in the blank, really - any would do) I've heard people drool over all of these records, so what I need is some serious critique from real music buyers/listeners, not some review-writer. Or, if some record not mentioned deserves attention, let me know. I invite any replys to be made to me personally if that would be better, but please do reply; I'm anxious to get into some new sounds. Thanks. b.

quoted 2 lines I wanna know where to start. So many yummy-sounding records are mentioned

> I wanna know where to start. So many yummy-sounding records are mentioned > on this and other lists, I wanna know what's the "best of the best".

cool! This is the kind of info we're all here to exchange. I hope you get a lot of replies.

quoted 1 line System 7's latest, 777

> System 7's latest, 777

progressive house / trance with a kind of mellowness to it, not a whole lot of variety, nothing really grabs me, but it's very polished and a lot better than the harsher trance out there.

quoted 1 line FToL, Accelerator

> FToL, Accelerator

FSoL, you mean. this is a modern classic. if I were you I would make this my first purchase. it's got the hit "Papua New Guinea" and every other song on it is fantastic. it holds together better than any techno album I can think of. some of the stuff on it is 3 years old, but you wouldn't know it!

quoted 1 line Amorphous And.

> Amorphous And.

I can't help but wonder if my opinion is tainted by the knowledge that this is just the leftovers from the new album, like maybe it could be better, so therefore it's not that great. I loved it when I got it, but I'm not that crazy about it now. I can't really pin down why, though! I guess it doesn't have enough direction. They seem to be spending more time trying to dazzle you with neat sounds all pasted together, and not so much time writing coherent songs. It shows growth since Accelerator, but Accelerator is more listenable. The good parts are REALLY GREAT. Definitely check it out.

quoted 1 line Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient (vol.1)

> Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient (vol.1)

Get someone to tape some of it for you first. Aphex Twin tends to be formulaic. Distorted, heavily processed beats, dreary echoey keyboard doodling in the background, lots of reverb... everything he does is rather cold and synthetic, though SAW85-92 is pretty smooth and has its moments. It's not "ambient" by most peoples' definition, it's more like really mellow "electronic music", if that makes sense. Very few sample samples. Mike Mike J. Brown _ ___ ______________Approach and Identify ............................................................................... Ambient Music Survey: FTP or Gopher techno.stanford.edu. Contributions needed!

Digeridoo by Aphex Twin is purported to me a MUST, although I don't even have it yet myself. Vapourspace is a must. Anything by Moby is a must. And Trancesylvania is a must.......What else, what else, ANYTHING by Kraftwerk. That is all I can think of for now.

quoted 2 lines Digeridoo by Aphex Twin is purported to me a MUST, although I don't even

> Digeridoo by Aphex Twin is purported to me a MUST, although I don't even > have it yet myself.

It is a must. It might show up on Sonic Bubblegum. Then again, it might not.

quoted 1 line Vapourspace is a must.

>Vapourspace is a must.

I like the single a lot better than the whole album.

quoted 1 line Anything by Moby is a must.

>Anything by Moby is a must.

Ehhh...

quoted 2 lines And

>And > Trancesylvania is a must.

Haven't heard it, can't comment.

quoted 1 line What else, what else, ANYTHING by Kraftwerk.

>What else, what else, ANYTHING by Kraftwerk.

I wouldn't say that all their stuff is a must. That way, someone on the list might randomly pick 'Electric Cafe' or 'Radio-Activity,' neither of which really made a huge impact. All of 'The Man-Machine,' 'Trans-Europe Express,' and 'Computer World' are absolute hust-haves, though. The rest of their albums range from fair to great. I've been thinking of writing up reviews for all of their albums that have come out on CD, if there's interest I could do it this week.

quoted 1 line That is all I can think of for now.

> That is all I can think of for now.

As long as we're on the subject of older stuff relevant to today's IDM, how about the following: Art of Noise - Daft ('84, ZTT UK: ZCID Q2) 16 tracks, 1:01:21 Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land ('82, Editions EG US: EEGCD 20) 8 tracks, 0:44:34 Keith LeBlanc - Major Malfunction ('86, Southern UK: EFA CD 26-07952) 2 tracks, 0:33:01 Tangerine Dream - Poland (2 discs, '84, Relativity US: 88561-8045-2) 5 tracks, 1:21:51 Various - Relics: A Transmat Compilation ('92, Transmat/Buzz BE: BZZCD 106106) 27 tracks, 1:20:00 C. -- (Chris.Hilker) cspot@netcom.com

Add: _Flying High_ by Irresistable Force (man has this held up over time!) _Redcell:Stasis_ (B12 projects) _Temple of Transparent Balls_ by Black Dog Anything by Pete Namlook -Harvey ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harvey D. Thornburg hthornbu@osiris.ac.hmc.edu

quoted 3 lines I wanna know where to start. So many yummy-sounding records are mentioned

>I wanna know where to start. So many yummy-sounding records are mentioned >on this and other lists, I wanna know what's the "best of the best". >For instance, my next purchase will either be:

Someone else said it best when he replied to an earlier post asking for recommendations - we need to know what _you_ like before we can tell you if you'll like it or not. For example, if the following things turn out to be a good example of what you like, and I give a review of Speed Limit 140 BPM+ saying it's the shit, you may disagree with me totally. However, assuming that these things you listed are in the vein you are looking for, then they are all excellent selections. If you're new to techno music, I suggest that you start by educating yourself a little on the music...there are plenty of files in the ftp site at techno.stanford.edu. Then, try out recommended discs for different music styles and discover what you like. After you've found what turns you on the most, ask us again =). Of course, if you are rich, you can go out and by 100 discs that I will be happy to recommend and become an overnight expert on techno ;). ___ (:)====/__/\=(:)(:)============================(:)====================(:) |\| _\_ \ \|\||=| Tai Nguyen |\| email address: |=| |=| /__/\_\ \=||\| Cornell University |=| thn1@cornell.edu |\| |\| / /\ __/\|(:)============================(:)====================(:) |=|/ / /\ \ |=||=| "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, |=| |\/__/ \_\/ |\||\| and statistics." |\| |=\__\/\ \ |=||=| - Mark Twain |=| (:)==\__\/===(:)(:)===================================================(:)

On Mon, 14 Feb 1994, Chris.Hilker wrote:

quoted 21 lines As long as we're on the subject of older stuff relevant to today's IDM,

> As long as we're on the subject of older stuff relevant to today's IDM, > how about the following: > > Art of Noise - Daft ('84, ZTT UK: ZCID Q2) 16 tracks, 1:01:21 > > Brian Eno - Ambient 4: On Land ('82, Editions EG US: EEGCD 20) 8 tracks, > 0:44:34 > > Keith LeBlanc - Major Malfunction ('86, Southern UK: EFA CD 26-07952) 2 > tracks, 0:33:01 > > Tangerine Dream - Poland (2 discs, '84, Relativity US: 88561-8045-2) 5 > tracks, 1:21:51 > > Various - Relics: A Transmat Compilation ('92, Transmat/Buzz BE: BZZCD > 106106) 27 tracks, 1:20:00 > > C. > > -- > (Chris.Hilker) cspot@netcom.com

I would also add TErry Riley's albums "A Rainbow in Curved Air" and "Terry Riley in C", from the late 60s on Columbia. Experimental modern classical music, very sonically beautiful and quite ambient, with some bursts of energy; the music rises and falls like waves. "Rainbow in Curved Air" uses several electric organs and percussion, while "In C" is for a small orchestra. Can't recommend Mr. Riley too highly. stu 8)

quoted 3 lines Anything by Moby is a must.

> >Anything by Moby is a must. > > Ehhh...

Thhphphphp.

quoted 3 lines And

> >And > > Trancesylvania is a must. > Haven't heard it, can't comment.

Good God no. One of the few compilations I sold only one month after purchase. I thought it was horrible and lacked any sort of flow or continuity. Trance? Not.

quoted 8 lines I would also add TErry Riley's albums "A Rainbow in Curved Air" and

>I would also add TErry Riley's albums "A Rainbow in Curved Air" and >"Terry Riley in C", from the late 60s on Columbia. Experimental >modern classical music, very sonically beautiful and quite >ambient, with some bursts of energy; the music rises and falls >like waves. "Rainbow in Curved Air" uses several electric organs and >percussion, while "In C" is for a small orchestra. Can't >recommend Mr. Riley too highly. >stu 8)

I couldn't agree more - also try Riley's more recent _Desert Music_ - beautiful, organic stuff. abulafia "America is waiting for a message of danjlav@midway.uchicago.edu some sort or another." - Brian Eno

To Pashdown, mumbling something about how Trancesylvania isn't good at all, not even trance.: Then what is Hard Trance to you, since you obviously are going to correct me?

quoted 5 lines To Pashdown, mumbling something about how Trancesylvania isn't good at all,

> To Pashdown, mumbling something about how Trancesylvania isn't good at all, > not even trance.: > > Then what is Hard Trance to you, since you obviously are going to correct > me?

Not Moby. If you want to buy that stuff get a Harthouse or FAX compilation. Trancesylvania is a motley pile of garbage. Some good, most bad.

On Mon, 14 Feb 1994, Chris.Hilker wrote:

quoted 7 lines I wouldn't say that all their stuff is a must. That way, someone on the

> I wouldn't say that all their stuff is a must. That way, someone on the > list might randomly pick 'Electric Cafe' or 'Radio-Activity,' neither of > which really made a huge impact. All of 'The Man-Machine,' 'Trans-Europe > Express,' and 'Computer World' are absolute hust-haves, though. The rest of > their albums range from fair to great. I've been thinking of writing up > reviews for all of their albums that have come out on CD, if there's > interest I could do it this week.

Umm... Tour De France -- was it ever released on CD? Awesome tune! I had been looking for it for a couple years when it just showed up in the local record store. I've been trying to find all my stuff on vinyl now, just to be different I guess. :) tfinn@crash.cts.com (Preferred) The Finn/ VLA

quoted 10 lines To Pashdown, mumbling something about how Trancesylvania isn't good at all,

> > > To Pashdown, mumbling something about how Trancesylvania isn't good at all, > > not even trance.: > > > > Then what is Hard Trance to you, since you obviously are going to correct > > me? > > Not Moby. If you want to buy that stuff get a Harthouse or FAX compilation. > Trancesylvania is a motley pile of garbage. Some good, most bad. >

Ya, lots of it wasn't that great, but the ones that are good are AWESOME! Especially Namlook's 4 Voice track "music hypnotizes"... Pumping stuff. The new Trancesylvania 2 discs are nice! Disc 1 is mostly fast, 4onDaFloor, solid kicks with lotsa bleepy stuff and trancey sounds/synths. Disc 2 is various stuff... I find Harthouse a bit harsh for my taste most of the time. Though, when there's a softer track than usually, it's great. FAX label has various stuff...color coded. The big circle (label) is the type of music, and the little circle is the project. For trance, get the big yellow circle ones. Speaking of Trancesylvania, I just picked up about 5 records on 23! This was while in Austin at Waterloo records...I also saw 4 Voice's CD! God it sounded WONDERFUL, though $25 would have been worth it if it were on vinyl...I'll have to fax FAX. -djkc Anyone heard these oldies: Burger Industries - "Kosher Delight" E-Rection - "Smoke my Dang-a-lang"

I wrote:

quoted 2 lines I find Harthouse a bit harsh for my taste most of the time.

> I find Harthouse a bit harsh for my taste most of the time. > Though, when there's a softer track than usually, it's great.

Scratch that... I *LOVE* Arpeggiators' "Elements" EP. -djkc "Follow the sound, discover your inner self..."