IDM Mailing Archive

ok ok ok enough already! i've got a billion letters telling me that prototype 909 is taylor808 & crew and they are internet linked so i can ask them my burning questions personally... i knew all this stuff before i wrote the review (taylor's email address is in the liner notes)... and i know about human mesh dance. so you can stop writing, really... the quote that seems to have generated all the interest was: The burning question is: why would a group named Prototype 909 have a picture of a 303 on the cover of their record? and it's what's known as a rhetorical question. i don't really want to know the answer. thanks. (you all have so much faith in me; don't you know there's NOTHING i don't know about IDM?! :-P ) in the november 93 issue of Street Sound there is a big feature with: Sven Vath interviewed by Moby interviewed by Orbital interviewed by Sven Vath also an interview with Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia. jon say czech it out. Jon Drukman jdrukman%dlsun87@oracle.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence.

Prototype 909: Acid Technology The burning question is: why would a group named Prototype 909 have a picture of a 303 on the cover of their record? Because that's what they use for most of the expressive sounds, and because they must have *sold* their 909: It isn't listed in the equipment list.

quoted 3 lines If I read the liner notes correctly, this was done entirely using old

>If I read the liner notes correctly, this was done entirely using old >Roland DIN-sync equipment rather than MIDI, which means they limited >themselves to a few old synths and drum machines.

Old = Bad?? I'll have to disagree here. Just ask Vince Clarke what he thinks about MIDI vs. DIN Sync...

quoted 3 lines Unfortunately, it

>Unfortunately, it >shows in the music. Repetitive, acid tweaky sounds and minimal drum >machines.

Repetitive, yes. Minimal, yes. HARD --- Yes!! Very acidic.

quoted 3 lines Also, since they were limiting themselves to the built-in sequencers,

>Also, since they were limiting themselves to the built-in sequencers, >the songs don't really go anywhere. It's just boom boom boom around a >simple idea, build it up for way too long and then fade out.

Perhaps some of the tracks are a bit long, but I once again disagree that using only the built-in sequencers is a limiting factor. I see these guys as purists from the German school of musical thought. Simple is just exactly what they are trying to do, it seems. The music evolves subtly, not grossly. No ridiculous rave whistles and soundbites here!

quoted 4 lines Maybe it

>Maybe it >would work on a dancefloor if you mixed it in to something else for a >few minutes, but listening to this entire disc on its own will >definitely drive you insane (in a bad way).

I don't know. Clangorous random industrial bashing drives me insane. This music puts me into a trance, so I call it "trance" music. My girlfriend hates it, but she's into like LA Style and Apotheosis. She hates all of my hardcore/trance/ambient stuff. Even the music *I* write :-( BTW: One of the band members, taylor808, posts to Internet frequently. I think he's on the Analogue Heaven mailing list. Good stuff, Taylor! -Barry Sanders

barry sanders:

quoted 5 lines The burning question is: why would a group named Prototype 909 have a

>>The burning question is: why would a group named Prototype 909 have a >>picture of a 303 on the cover of their record? > >Because that's what they use for most of the expressive sounds, and because >they must have *sold* their 909: It isn't listed in the equipment list.

aye caramba... i already posted to idm that it was a rhetorical question and a joke... geez, i'll keep my stupid comments to myself next time i guess.

quoted 6 lines If I read the liner notes correctly, this was done entirely using old

>>If I read the liner notes correctly, this was done entirely using old >>Roland DIN-sync equipment rather than MIDI, which means they limited >>themselves to a few old synths and drum machines. > >Old = Bad?? I'll have to disagree here. Just ask Vince Clarke what he >thinks about MIDI vs. DIN Sync...

where does it say anywhere in the review that old == bad? i don't believe it, personally, and i know damn well what Clarke thinks (i happen to agree, to a point). old does NOT equal bad... hence our recent purchase of a matrix-6. unfortunately, prototype 909 have gone and made a bad album with old equipment. it's not the gear that makes it bad, it's the musical ideas expressed.

quoted 1 line Repetitive, yes. Minimal, yes. HARD --- Yes!! Very acidic.

>Repetitive, yes. Minimal, yes. HARD --- Yes!! Very acidic.

very boring. i don't instantly hate all repetitive minimal hard music but this stuff doesn't float my boat.

quoted 2 lines exactly what they are trying to do, it seems. The music evolves subtly,

>exactly what they are trying to do, it seems. The music evolves subtly, >not grossly. No ridiculous rave whistles and soundbites here!

i object to your putting words in my mouth. where did i say that good music involved rave whistles and soundbites? and i don't think their music "evolves" at all. there's a difference between buildup/breakdown and evolution.

quoted 2 lines I don't know. Clangorous random industrial bashing drives me insane. This

>I don't know. Clangorous random industrial bashing drives me insane. This >music puts me into a trance, so I call it "trance" music.

too hardcore to be trance.

quoted 2 lines BTW: One of the band members, taylor808, posts to Internet frequently. I

>BTW: One of the band members, taylor808, posts to Internet frequently. I >think he's on the Analogue Heaven mailing list. Good stuff, Taylor!

taylor, if you're reading this, nothing personal - it just ain't my cup of tea. i hope you sell a million copies to people who like this kind of stuff. Jon Drukman jdrukman%dlsun87@oracle.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence.

Well, as a friend of 1/3 of the "band" maybe I can clear up a few questions.

quoted 2 lines The burning question is: why would a group named Prototype 909 have a

>The burning question is: why would a group named Prototype 909 have a >picture of a 303 on the cover of their record?

Taylor picked the name "Prototype 909" for the project because he liked the way it sounded. In fact, he has this computer data base of "cool" words that generates random combinations. When he gets one he likes he files it away for future use.

quoted 2 lines Because that's what they use for most of the expressive sounds, and because

>Because that's what they use for most of the expressive sounds, and because >they must have *sold* their 909: It isn't listed in the equipment list.

Actually, to the absolute best of my knowledge and recollection, Taylor has never owned a 909. He has a Roland R-8 with a 909 card in it, but he didn't use it in the "Prototype 909" project.

quoted 3 lines If I read the liner notes correctly, this was done entirely using old

>If I read the liner notes correctly, this was done entirely using old >Roland DIN-sync equipment rather than MIDI, which means they limited >themselves to a few old synths and drum machines.

Yep, and they did it this way on purpose. They just felt like doing it that way, no particular burning reason. Taylor, Jason, and Dietrich have a slew of cool old and new gear betwen them, they just felt like using all old non-MIDI stuff for this project.

quoted 3 lines Unfortunately, it

>Unfortunately, it >shows in the music. Repetitive, acid tweaky sounds and minimal drum >machines.

Sort of like old 1988 acid house, eh? Taylor really adored the old acid house stuff, so it is quite fair to say that that is an influence on him.

quoted 3 lines Also, since they were limiting themselves to the built-in sequencers,

>Also, since they were limiting themselves to the built-in sequencers, >the songs don't really go anywhere. It's just boom boom boom around a >simple idea, build it up for way too long and then fade out.

Well, nothing is MIDI-ed or sequenced on purpose: that's just the way they felt like doing it. THey made each track by fiddling around with some ideas, and then hitting "record" on Taylor's DAT deck and jamming for a while (Brian Behlendorf -- or was it Mike Wertheim? -- and I happened to wander in on one of those sessions earlier this summer; parts of it were recorded in Taylor's bedroom). So each track was done live, and is pretty much irrepeatable -- like jazz is sometimes.

quoted 2 lines I see these guys

>I see these guys >as purists from the German school of musical thought.

Well, I wouldn't go THAT far. Taylor, Jason, and Dietrich are just three talented guys with lots of gear from Connecticut who decided to make a record playing by a set of "rules" that included no MIDI, all analogue, etc. They most certainly have done other stuff, too.

quoted 2 lines BTW: One of the band members, taylor808, posts to Internet frequently. I

>BTW: One of the band members, taylor808, posts to Internet frequently. I >think he's on the Analogue Heaven mailing list. Good stuff, Taylor!

Yes, he's also on the ne-raves mailing list. Laura

Jon Drukman says:

quoted 2 lines taylor, if you're reading this, nothing personal - it just ain't my

>taylor, if you're reading this, nothing personal - it just ain't my >cup of tea.

Personally, I liked it better "live" -- i.e. watching Jason and Taylor doing it all for real on the fly -- than just listening to it on a CD. But any of you who know me know I like my techno either harder and faster or just more complex and phatter. I know people who really dig the "cyclical/repetitive/simply-constructed" old acidy stuff who really like the Prototype 909 CD. I don't think it's for everyone -- and Taylor/Jason/Dietrich certainly didn't write it to be something everyone would love. But it's not my cup of tea either. Laura

Laura reveals:

quoted 3 lines Taylor picked the name "Prototype 909" for the project because he liked the way

> Taylor picked the name "Prototype 909" for the project because he liked the way > it sounded. In fact, he has this computer data base of "cool" words that > generates random combinations.

Is this how he sends mail and posts news as well?

laura la gassa clarifies:

quoted 6 lines Unfortunately, it

>>Unfortunately, it >>shows in the music. Repetitive, acid tweaky sounds and minimal drum >>machines. > >Sort of like old 1988 acid house, eh? Taylor really adored the old acid >house stuff, so it is quite fair to say that that is an influence on him.

it's not really all that much like 1988 acid house - too fast & distorted. but even if it were, would that make it good? i think quite the contrary... we should be moving forward, not sticking in the past. Jon Drukman jdrukman%dlsun87@oracle.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence.