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a feeling : no really new music can be recorded any more.
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stray
stray
2057 posts

Edited Aug 29, 2008, 00:11
Re: It's all in the machines
Aug 28, 2008, 23:56
I can see what you're saying but it's horribly wrong imo, I hear new interesting electronic music constantly. Also though, yep, live perfromance contributes greatly to the quality, have you listened to any electro-acoustic music ?

If any music has an assembly line quality it has fuck all to do with the machines and everything to do with the dick sat at the controls. (Edit : Brian Eno, a lot of his classics are assembly line, seriously, he made a system to generate them, pressed record. They're still bloody good, well.. some of them are, I personally find them all lazy) There is a renaissance in electronic music, and live performance and improvisation is leading it, you just need to look harder than you are to find it. You'll also need to lose a lot of preconceptions too I think.

I'm also sick to the back teeth with the ooh, electronic instruments have no soul arguments. Christ. People used to say the same things about the electric guitar, as in that it could never match the soul of a good acoustic. This is more annoyingly crap now, as most electric guitars are going through the same digital effect circuits as any synth or rack. Also, when it comes to sound quality, the tech has reached the point now where it can brute force analog equipment in realtime, so the sound is identical. Sure, thats the top end equipment, but it will be the standard shortly (nebula 3cm is a lovely little brute force plug in I play with).

Technology does not, has not, and will never be responsible for music not being good, not having a soul, nor energy. Also, music is as much about good composition as it is performance right ? So why lean so hard on the 'its done live or it isnt real' argument,. I mean, what is live these days ? Surely we've all grown up enough to appreciate that digital != bad.

Also, a good composition is a good composition yeah ? Personally, I think learning good composition comes from performing live and jamming with others. That doesnt mean you cant take those skills into a room on your own with a keyboard, some kit and turn out something good without an audience or other people. Just means you need to learn those things first.

What you say in another post about us becoming a more visual culture though.. absolutely spot on. This is why all half decent electronica artists are also video artists or animators. Seriously, check it out, most do tbh. In fact its rarer to find an electronic musician/composer who doesnt do visual art as well as bang out tunes. Its also not a new development, I know its film and he's an entirely acoustic guy but Tony Conrad made some important structuralist films. He has also spent most of his life teaching video art. Tony Conrad is cited as an influence by most of us electronica bods.

Oh, and thanks for playing one of my noosign tunes on the radio show, I had no idea you had until today. It wasn't one of my good ones though, sorry for that. ;) But many thanks for playing it.

Edit : I appreciate that a lot of my post is in response to things that you're not actually saying, not what you actually mean, dog3000, I'm sorry for giving that impression. I'm responding in general to a few posts in this thread.

Edit2 : And I'm pissed, and having trouble with the dynamics of animating a creature made out of smoke.

Edit3 : and YES the ipod thing is really, really fucking meoff. Why should I, or anyone else, even make a fucking effort to mix/produce something properly when noone seems to care anymore. Amen there brother.
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