IDM Mailing Archive

At 20:38 02/05/96 +0200, Marc Wangenheim wrote:

quoted 2 lines Yep yet again another bonus track on the CD version... all trax from the LP

> >Yep yet again another bonus track on the CD version... all trax from the LP

are on the CD as well this time tho.... Speaking of _Polyester_, whats the low-down on this? Good? Bad? From what I remember from the old IDM reviews, it's sort of jazz ambient (jazzbient? :) yeah? My local vinyl pimp has a copy and I'm wondering whether to check it... OnNow: Inner City first LP || [CiM] || s.walley@uea.ac.uk || http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~u9323899/

CiM wrote:

quoted 3 lines Speaking of _Polyester_, whats the low-down on this? Good? Bad? From what I

> Speaking of _Polyester_, whats the low-down on this? Good? Bad? From what I > remember from the old IDM reviews, it's sort of jazz ambient (jazzbient? :) > yeah? My local vinyl pimp has a copy and I'm wondering whether to check it...

It's jazzy funk stuff, kinda like Jake Slazenger but less ostentatious and tacky. The big drawback for me was all of the out-of-key improvisation; Mike P's occasional solos are much more tasteful. 'Machine Paisley' is a much more worthwhile purchase as far as Uwe Schmidt releases go... GD

On Fri, 3 May 1996, GD wrote:

quoted 12 lines CiM wrote:

> CiM wrote: > > > Speaking of _Polyester_, whats the low-down on this? Good? Bad? From what I > > remember from the old IDM reviews, it's sort of jazz ambient (jazzbient? :) > > yeah? My local vinyl pimp has a copy and I'm wondering whether to check it... > > It's jazzy funk stuff, kinda like Jake Slazenger but less ostentatious and tacky. The > big drawback for me was all of the out-of-key improvisation; Mike P's occasional solos > are much more tasteful. 'Machine Paisley' is a much more worthwhile purchase as far as > Uwe Schmidt releases go... > > GD

Does anyone remember trans-europe express 3? Mike P was interviewed there and he said that he wanted to do a techno-jazz album, 'kinda like lisa carbon trio' was what he said . Anyway, the influence from LCT is definitely present in Jake Slaz material but his stuff is somewhat less based on loops. I like 'polyester', it's a real oddity. Also: Mike P's mixes of kinesthesia have obviously now been released. I also read somewhere that he's remixed X-Asp, also on Rephlex. Does any one know who or what X-Asp is? Richard.

quoted 1 line big drawback for me was all of the out-of-key improvisation;

>big drawback for me was all of the out-of-key improvisation;

This is a criticism that goes back at least to Schoenberg's accentuation of "passing notes" at the beginnings of the pre-WWI gravitation toward chromaticism, and probably back to the tenor's loss of the _cantus firmus_ about 500 years ago. Traditional harmonic hearing can gloss over these dissonances up to a point since they are usually momentary, but when they are accentuated they provide new combinatory chordal possibilities. What composers have done throughout history: introduce harmonic tension in the form of tonal (or conceptual) dissonances that are eventually integrated back into the 'system' (i.e. key). Uwe's disregard for key and melodic resolution is simply an exercise in Ehrensweig's fourth stage of harmonic articulation which signifies the demise of the classic harmonic approach and dissonances are favored over consonances for their 'bite.' Go Uwe! eric ---------------------------- from the 909 to your alpines ---------------------------- "recent electro" mixtape now availiable www.burnmedia.com ----------------------------

On Fri, 3 May 1996, Eric Hill wrote:

quoted 14 lines big drawback for me was all of the out-of-key improvisation;

> >big drawback for me was all of the out-of-key improvisation; > > This is a criticism that goes back at least to Schoenberg's accentuation of > "passing notes" at the beginnings of the pre-WWI gravitation toward > chromaticism, > [snip] > introduce harmonic tension in the > back into the 'system' (i.e. key). Uwe's disregard for key and melodic > resolution is simply an exercise in Ehrensweig's fourth stage of harmonic > articulation which signifies the demise of the classic harmonic approach and > dissonances are favored over consonances for their 'bite.' > > Go Uwe! >

huh huh huh huh You said 'bite.' Was this parody, eric? I doubt seriously that Mr. Schmidt has digested the whole of western musical theory in order to come up with his solo lines. Nice of you to give him some theoretical scaffolding, though. I want you with me when I explain my bounced checks to the bank! Some of what he's doing on the Polyester disk is intentional, and some of it is just plain bugging out. Besides in a century that contains Archie Shepp, Thelonius Monk and John Cage, can you really say *any* note is a wrong note? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Unintentional Internet Humor (and I'm not making this up!): "Could someone please define 'AMBIENT' (This question is completly rhetorical)" -- some guy called 'JPM' "Why my source is crazy? He play without my hands, and don't hold down the presets, he change it when he wants, I don't try to use it in any mode, he starts the sequence or the arpeggiators, who can explain me my source crazy?" - Daniele Viali Kent Williams kent@inav.net (319) 338 6053 (home) (319) 626 6700 x 219 (work) (319) 626 3489 (fax)

quoted 2 lines Was this parody, eric? I doubt seriously that Mr. Schmidt has digested

>Was this parody, eric? I doubt seriously that Mr. Schmidt has digested >the whole of western musical theory in order to come up with his solo lines.

He doesn't have to. It's the listener who requires tonal cohesiveness (or lack thereof) for the music to sound good. eric

Kent Williams wrote:

quoted 5 lines Some of what he's doing on the Polyester disk is intentional, and some of

> Some of what he's doing on the Polyester disk is intentional, and some of > it is just plain bugging out. > > Besides in a century that contains Archie Shepp, Thelonius Monk and John > Cage, can you really say *any* note is a wrong note?

When Coltrane or Ornette Coleman go atonal I dig it, and I love Monk's missteps and duffed notes; Tom Waits' out-of-tune singing and organ playing is nice too, because it's appropriate to the songs. The soloing on Polyester is just plain bad, because it doesn't work as a parody of keyboard wankery or as real solo material. Soloing on idm releases works best as real-time manipulation of sound (e.g. filters, effects, and patch parameters); soloing as practiced in pop or jazz music just doesn't work both from a rhythmic or structural point when brought to the idm arena, if ya ask me... GD

On Sat, 4 May 1996, GD wrote:

quoted 4 lines Soloing on idm releases works best as real-time manipulation of sound (e.g. filters,

> Soloing on idm releases works best as real-time manipulation of sound (e.g. filters, > effects, and patch parameters); soloing as practiced in pop or jazz music just doesn't > work both from a rhythmic or structural point when brought to the idm arena, if ya ask > me...

I'd have to disagree here. Some recent Russ Gabriel tracks have extended improvised keyboard lines in them that work *extremely* well, and Carl Craig's Kurzweil improvs were quite a refreshing addition to a live performance of his I saw last fall. I guess, as in all things musical, restraint is key here. One must tread the thin line between expressing something interesting throuhg inprovisation, and just plain wanking. ;) - Matthew OnNow-->Paul Bishop: Inner Surface "I grew up thinking that techno music is actually something that you can't imagine. That is techno at its best. If you hear something that you'd never expect to hear - that's techno. If you hear something that kind of sounds like you've heard it before, then it's not techno." - Jeff Mills