IDM Mailing Archive

On Tue, 20 Jan 1998, lwtcdi wrote:

quoted 5 lines With the fashionable press foaming at the mouth over the new album "Moon

> With the fashionable press foaming at the mouth over the new album "Moon > Safari" by 'French Band' Air, one can become confused as to the merits > or not of the music they produce. > > 1)Is the concept of a 'digital ELO' a good one?

No

quoted 3 lines 2)Will you been rushing out to buy a selection of polo necked sweaters

> 2)Will you been rushing out to buy a selection of polo necked sweaters > in an attempt to pre-empt this summers fashion craze, or is the French > revolution really over?

No and no

quoted 1 line 3)Why do the French, or anybody, like the Beach Boys so much?

> 3)Why do the French, or anybody, like the Beach Boys so much?

(sound of spluttering) What? Have you no soul? :-)! The world, as far as I can tell, like the Beach Boys so much because they wrote beautiful, melodic, pop music and you, me, idm should take note of some of the truly innovative production ideas they used. Air have some good melodies and a similar emotional sense as the Beach Boys so criticts feel bound to draw the comparison. The same parallel has been drawn with Kraftwerk, somone else Air are supposedly similar to.

quoted 3 lines 4)Aren't Virgin just trying to pull another 'Daft Punk' by slipping the

> 4)Aren't Virgin just trying to pull another 'Daft Punk' by slipping the > new Air CD into the executive pigeonholes of the 'beautiful people' who > work at style mags?

Hmmm yes and no. I mean of course they want the band to be a sucess and so they employ the usual methods, courting the press, comparing them to other successful acts with somthing in common, and writers are trying to get your average punter interested in somthing new try and thus describe them in terms easily understood. However having listened to the album Daft Punk, the Beach Boys and Kraftwerk aren't really useful comparisons. As for pulling another Daft Punk, I don't quite know what you mean. Magazines are sold because they have new things in them (thats why I buy them) and if I worked at a magazine I would want to write about these people making differnt sounding, cool new music that appeals to a wider audience as well as purists (Bastards, I've no time for that kind of pointless snobbery and blinkered, point-scorring, smugness that purists adopt to cover the fact that they just don't get other styles of music and are too uptight to really enjoy themselves. Ahem.).

quoted 2 lines 5)And, of course, is the album really any good, or is prog rock really

>5)And, of course, is the album really any good, or is prog rock really >the new rock and roll?

Well to be honest I flicked through the album at my favourite vinyl den (the excellent Way Ahead in the Victoria Qtr, Leeds) and I was deeply under whelmed. The style seemed to vary between the aforementioned Prog Rock and a kind of lazy/easy trip-hop Jazz we've heard far to much of over the past few years. There's a bit of electronic stuff (courtesy of a Korg MS20 by the by) but nothing to warrant the comparrisons drawn in the press. The melodies for which, at the end of the day, is what they are being lauded for were nice enough but then I did only flick through so they're probably growers. There are also a couple of folky numbers (cheers) which aren't to my taste but I suppose gives the album a bit of balance if you like that kind of thing. If you read what Air cite as influences its more Sere Gainsbourgh and the Beatles with a bit of Jean Pierre Henry than anything else just pop with a twist as they say. It's not a shocking waste of time just not as good as it sounded like it might be when I read about it and not the kind of thing I generally want to listen to beyond other peoples stereos and the radio. I don't really care what the new rock and roll is, it won't be half as interesting as the new ....(insert name of genre yet to be invented here). The moral of the story is to read between the lines of what the press tell you try and find the truth about what the stuff actully sounds like. I quite like it when the press hype things up, it makes me feel like I might be part of somthing or somthing beautiful is about to happen, but all too often I find it's just hot Air. -Funky music I can't get enough. -Know what it is? Steve P.S. As a general point would people mind reading their mails before hitting send perhaps then could we sentences that because avoid sense eliminate and the rest of us could enjoy your thoughts more. P.P.S. This only applies to people with English as a first language of course. No disrespect or piss taking meant. Peace.

lwtcdi <graham@lwtcdi.prestel.co.uk> wrote: referring to Air...

quoted 1 line I mean, do Virgin send out press releases going on about baguettes,

>I mean, do Virgin send out press releases going on about baguettes,

berets, bicycle riders with onions around their necks, and the hotbed of amazing muscial talent such as Ettienne De Crecy, Dimitri From Paris, Kid Loco, Laurent Garnier etc etc who all live in the same house togethe, give each other music making tips and reflect a new wave of French talent <

quoted 3 lines I'll just butt in here to say I've just heard 1 track by Air, and that's

> I'll just butt in here to say I've just heard 1 track by Air, and that's > the one on the 'Super Discount' compilation... oops, can't remember what > it's called.....

This man is a genius! I'd forgotten about this track completely when asking about the Air LP... Silly me!

quoted 2 lines It's dreamy and utterly ravishing, though when I first heard it, it didn't

> It's dreamy and utterly ravishing, though when I first heard it, it didn't > particularly engage me.

Yes, it's a beauty, isn't it! The best track on an overrated comp (I preferred the Motorbass LP for the housey type stuff)...

quoted 2 lines Must be one of them growers cos it's now one of my

> Must be one of them growers cos it's now one of my > 3 favourites off what is a pretty topper compilation.

It's pretty good, but still overrated IMO.

quoted 2 lines Having said that

> Having said that > though, the track's a remix by Etienne de Crecy.

This is true, and probably explains why I didn't think of it before. Anyone know what the original sounds like in comparison? I believe Mr Crecy remixed and used the track on this LP without Air's consent. gb. "Incomplete without pants" - Autechre

i've been living with this album for a week now.i'm glad i didn't post right away because initally i was slightly disappointed.i think this was down to how absurdly eager i was to get my mitts on it. it's been a long time since i have anticipated a records release as keenly as this.it was hearing "modulor" on the heads 2 comp that started it all off for me.then i got "premiers symptomes"(their 3 source 12"s collected on 1 12").fabulous, i couldn't believe i was listening to tracks with tuba solos. anyway "moon safari".it's gorgeous. from the ez listening of "ce matin la" to the 70's glitterstomp of "kelly,watch the stars" it's all good.even the singer/songwriterish "all i need" is wonderful(btw beth hirsch who she?). i would say though that if your defination of idm is a very narrow one or if you think people that listen to the beach boys should be publicly beaten then your not going to like this record.it has guitar on it.and tuba(but only one track,pity). so it's a beautiful record,if not particularly idm, and if you like vocoded vocals this album has heaps of them. oh btw i was looking at sourcelab 3 today,does anyone know if the air track on that (cosmic bird) is any good? what about the rest of the album, worth getting? bye -drew np:plone-press a key

quoted 2 lines oh btw i was looking at sourcelab 3 today,does anyone know if the air

> oh btw i was looking at sourcelab 3 today,does anyone know if the air > track on that (cosmic bird) is any good?

Air's track on Sourcelab 3 is a colaboration with the great Jean Jacques Perry. When I first heard this was going to happen I was fucking ecstatic. I'd loved every single I'd gotten from Air and Jean Jacques is one of the greatest electronic musicians ever. If you STILL haven't heard Moog Indigo you don't know what you are missing. Anyway, the track itself as it materialized on the comp. is not very good at all. Quite medicore, which is sad really cause I was expecting so much more. As long as we are on the subject though, has anyone heard anything about a new full length album from Jean Jacques? I think I read about it awhile ago but haven't heard anything since. I am desperate to get anything by him but all but 2 of his solo albums are looooong out of print (Moog Indigo and The Amazing Electronic Sound... are available on CD from Vanguard). If anyone has any leads on this stuff please speak up, it is impossible to get information (and even harder to get the actual records) on this type of music anywhere. I would give a finger to have some enterprising label put together a boxed set of his recordings. Here is a selected discography for those wondering... Jean-Jacques Perrey (and Gershon Kingsley) research by Desmond K. Hill Prelude to Sleep (France) 1957, 7" 45rpm Soul of a Poet (France) with Charles Trenet & Django Reinhardt, 7" 45rpm Mister Ondioline (France) 1960, Pacific ref. 90.338 B Med, double 7" 45rpm set Sound for Insomniacs (France) 1964. The Happy Moog (US) with Harry Breuer, Pickwick SPC-3160 The In Sound From Way Out (US) 1966, Vanguard VS-79222 Kaleidoscopic Vibrations: Spotlight on the Moog (US) 1967, Vanguard VSD-79264 The Amazing New Electronic Pop Sound of Jean-Jacques Perrey (US) 1967, Vanguard VSD-79286 Moog Indigo (US) 1970, Vanguard VSD-6549 Dynamoog (US) CREA Sound Ltd, Canada 46.532 Moog Sensations (France) Montparnasse 2000 MP-25 Moog Expressions (France) Montparnasse 2000 MP-26 Moog Vibrations (France) Montparnasse 2000 MP-27 Moog Mig Mag Moog (France) Montparnasse 2000 MP-35 Moog is Moog (France) Montparnasse 2000 MP-106 Kartoonery (France) Montparnasse 2000 MP-131 Makes you want to bang your head into the fucking wall doesn't it? /gonzi./ PS wasn't there someone who was going to steal Dick Hyman albums from their library for me? I'm still interested! write me... :)

Gonzi 'Fresh' Merchan wrote

quoted 2 lines As long as we are on the subject though, has anyone heard anything about

>As long as we are on the subject though, has anyone heard anything about >a new full length album from Jean Jacques?

it's called "eklectronics - VINTAGE 97" and apparently the promos have been sent out out.i dont know which label it's on.

quoted 1 line If you STILL haven't heard Moog Indigo you don't know what you are missing.

>If you STILL haven't heard Moog Indigo you don't know what you are missing.

it's worth getting for the original version of EVA alone. i have a double album on vanguard(vsd 71/72) called the "essential perrey and kingsley" it's pretty amazing too.i was told that it had been re-issued on cd but i haven't come across it. -drew np:raymond scott-soothing sounds for baby (vol.1)