Yahoo Tuning Groups Ultimate Backup makemicromusic ice ritual

Great album. 2/3 through it. Initial impressions:

. Like the first album, it is what I would call "electronic
music" or "academic electronic music". But it has an aire of
musicality and note-centered-ness that such music often
lacks.

. Much more refined than the first album, and preferable in
every way.

. Interesting in that it can both entrance and scare the
shit out of me at the same time. Usually one has to feel
safe to go into a trance.

. Some of the synths sound a bit dated. This has something
to do with the patches, maybe, but mainly I think it's the
sound *quality* -- a bit compressed? The same is true of the
whole album perhaps. Was it run through an analog compressor
in mastering? OTOH, maybe this is just the work of the shitty
sound system in my car.

. Sounds like it has to be microtonal but this doesn't stick
out in a wear-it-on-the-sleeve way.

-Carl

🔗Rich Holmes <rsholmes@...>

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@...>

really carl.
Academic?
like what comes out of columbia princeton that sounds like this?
maybe i need to go to the schools and hear what they are doing , but haven't heard anything like this coming out of cal arts
or the cal arts boys ( don't know of any electronic people coming from the opposite of the boys)

there is some playfulness to this that one would never here in such circles.
like when he is playing with the speeding up and slowing down with what is like a LFO on the filter.
like listening t osomeone play with the setting.
kinda like feldman even , in that it sounds like some one practicing.
But the point is these are the type of things that are often over looked and i always enjoy when people place
such things in front of me. It is what motivated much of the painting of the 19th century.
possibly the best music done electronically is when people are figuring out their settings.

One of the problem of electronics is that certain sounds become associated with certain times, being representative of the technology at the time. For this reason it is quite subject t owhat one could only call fashion. Also it often represents the economics of the creator and for the most part the field is dominated by whoever has the most funds sounding the best.

Usually i recognize when i do listen to electronic music that it is representational for some sound beyond what the artist is able to achieve.
it is a young field and i tend not to get too bogged down about when or where it sounds like.

This is by the way i tend to approach Gene's music. That it is representational of of the idea more than a finished performance.

Those i know who do work in music production are usually find such ways of thinking incomprehensible in that here one has the actually material in front of one and the artist should use it. scores and structures really being conceptual ideas divorced from real music making.
Carl Lumma wrote:

>Great album. 2/3 through it. Initial impressions:
>
>. Like the first album, it is what I would call "electronic
>music" or "academic electronic music". But it has an aire of
>musicality and note-centered-ness that such music often
>lacks.
>
>. Much more refined than the first album, and preferable in
>every way.
>
>. Interesting in that it can both entrance and scare the
>shit out of me at the same time. Usually one has to feel
>safe to go into a trance.
>
>. Some of the synths sound a bit dated. This has something
>to do with the patches, maybe, but mainly I think it's the
>sound *quality* -- a bit compressed? The same is true of the
>whole album perhaps. Was it run through an analog compressor
>in mastering? OTOH, maybe this is just the work of the shitty
>sound system in my car.
>
>. Sounds like it has to be microtonal but this doesn't stick
>out in a wear-it-on-the-sleeve way.
>
>-Carl
>
>
>
>
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> >
>
>
> >

--
Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main.html> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

🔗Aaron Krister Johnson <aaron@...>

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <ekin@l...> wrote:
>
> Great album. 2/3 through it. Initial impressions:
>
> . Like the first album, it is what I would call "electronic
> music" or "academic electronic music". But it has an aire of
> musicality and note-centered-ness that such music often
> lacks.

Thanks!

> . Much more refined than the first album, and preferable in
> every way.

Agreed...

> . Interesting in that it can both entrance and scare the
> shit out of me at the same time. Usually one has to feel
> safe to go into a trance.

Yeah, are music does have a bit of a "scary edge" to it I suppose....
like it's going through a cathartic hauntedness or something. I often
hear it is being transmission from some 'beyondness'

> . Some of the synths sound a bit dated. This has something
> to do with the patches, maybe, but mainly I think it's the
> sound *quality* -- a bit compressed? The same is true of the
> whole album perhaps. Was it run through an analog compressor
> in mastering? OTOH, maybe this is just the work of the shitty
> sound system in my car.

The oldest synth is a Korg X5DR. Yes, it's dated, but I use it for
layering strange non-standard patches mostly. I think of it as a
positive kitschy quality. Could you be specific with track and
timestamp on what you mean?

> . Sounds like it has to be microtonal but this doesn't stick
> out in a wear-it-on-the-sleeve way.

Yes, it's microtonality is in general a secondary feature. Firstly,
this music is about timbre, and the tuning 'serves' the timbre,
really. The title track 'Ice Ritual' has the tuning come to the fore.

The prominant feature of this music's use of tuning, more than
anything, is that it is 'in the cracks', and tends to be
devil-may-care about systematically thinking about 'how to be in the
cracks', i.e. there is alot of sliding and slipperiness, and most of
the time, to analyze it in terms of 'what scale is that' is to miss
the point....it's very intuitive, right-brained, Dionysian. Kraig also
got it right when he heard the spirit of playfulness and humor, albeit
often kind of edgy-dark humor.

-Aaron.

🔗Carl Lumma <ekin@...>

>really carl.
> Academic?

Yup.

> like what comes out of columbia princeton that sounds like this?

If you just say "electronic music", what do you think that means?

> there is some playfulness to this that one would never here in such
>circles.

One would seldom here in such circles, for sure.

> like when he is playing with the speeding up and slowing down with what
>is like a LFO on the filter.

Where exactly?

>This is by the way i tend to approach Gene's music. That it is
>representational of of the idea more than a finished performance.

Yes, this is also how I view Gene's music. And about 95% of the
music posted to these lists.

-Carl

🔗Gene Ward Smith <gwsmith@...>

🔗Carl Lumma <ekin@...>

>> Great album. 2/3 through it. Initial impressions:
>>
>> . Like the first album, it is what I would call "electronic
>> music" or "academic electronic music". But it has an aire of
>> musicality and note-centered-ness that such music often
>> lacks.
>
>Thanks!
>
>> . Much more refined than the first album, and preferable in
>> every way.
>
>Agreed...
>
>> . Interesting in that it can both entrance and scare the
>> shit out of me at the same time. Usually one has to feel
>> safe to go into a trance.
>
>Yeah, are music does have a bit of a "scary edge" to it I suppose....
>like it's going through a cathartic hauntedness or something. I often
>hear it is being transmission from some 'beyondness'
>
>> . Some of the synths sound a bit dated. This has something
>> to do with the patches, maybe, but mainly I think it's the
>> sound *quality* -- a bit compressed? The same is true of the
>> whole album perhaps. Was it run through an analog compressor
>> in mastering? OTOH, maybe this is just the work of the shitty
>> sound system in my car.
>
>The oldest synth is a Korg X5DR. Yes, it's dated, but I use it for
>layering strange non-standard patches mostly. I think of it as a
>positive kitschy quality. Could you be specific with track and
>timestamp on what you mean?

Yes. Let me finish listening to it first. I'm waiting for my
new powered monitors to arrive. I've really reached the limit
with my car and laptop speakers.

>The prominant feature of this music's use of tuning, more than
>anything, is that it is 'in the cracks', and tends to be
>devil-may-care about systematically thinking about 'how to be in the
>cracks', i.e. there is alot of sliding and slipperiness, and most of
>the time, to analyze it in terms of 'what scale is that' is to miss
>the point....it's very intuitive, right-brained, Dionysian. Kraig also
>got it right when he heard the spirit of playfulness and humor, albeit
>often kind of edgy-dark humor.

Very good.

-Carl

🔗Carl Lumma <ekin@...>

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@...>

sounds to me autechre would sound acedemic to you then .
So you put this stuff in the same category as your man up there chris brown.
he likewise hasn't done anything like this or Crowning for that matter.
like who?

Carl Lumma wrote:

>>really carl.
>>Academic?
>> >>
>
>Yup.
>
> >
>>like what comes out of columbia princeton that sounds like this?
>> >>
>
>If you just say "electronic music", what do you think that means?
>
> >
>>there is some playfulness to this that one would never here in such >>circles.
>> >>
>
>One would seldom here in such circles, for sure.
>
> >
>>like when he is playing with the speeding up and slowing down with what >>is like a LFO on the filter.
>> >>
>
>Where exactly?
>
> >
>>This is by the way i tend to approach Gene's music. That it is >>representational of of the idea more than a finished performance.
>> >>
>
>Yes, this is also how I view Gene's music. And about 95% of the
>music posted to these lists.
>
>-Carl
>
>
>
>
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> >
>
>
> >

--
Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main.html> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles