Re: [microsound] failure and production (or lack thereof)

[Oeivind Idsoe <ezueled@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

taylor deupree wrote:

> i don't think many electronic musicians can say they spend MONTHS or
> weeks on tracks.. if so, they're probably just afraid to admit it
> took them 10 minutes!

Depends on the "genre", I guess, if the concept of the "genre" still exists in the
postpostmodern 90s.

I am guessing that John Wall spends a lot of time on all his releases (his last
one says "1997-1999", but that probably doesn't mean he has eight-hour working
days each and every day for two years), and I suspect people like Pierre Henry,
Xenakis, Francois Bayle, Bernard Parmegiani et al spend lots and lots of time on
their work, because you simply can't do what they do within a period of five days
(or maybe they can -- I certainly can't).

On the other hand, I guess Porter Ricks and Microstoria spend less time on their
tracks...but that doesn't make their work any less valuable, which I guess is the
point of this thread.

Personally, I have such an incredible hard time finishing tracks that I sometimes
consider going more or less "all improv", that is, inducing a bit of live
mixing/processing, instead of using hours and days and weeks and months on stuff
that never seems to finish. I guess I will have to accept that I just don't have
the patience to work on tracks that sound as detailed as John Wall's work, but not
consider this as a "loss"; different personalities, different music. My vanity has
to go.  :)

Next step: imposing restrictions. Limitivity enhances creativity.

> today.. i bypass my mixer altogether.. going directly from my
> computer's digital outputs to my dat deck..  i rarely use any reverb
> or effects..

Me too. These days the only stuff I use is my Mac (hopefully soon a Powerbook --
as soon as those Pismos are released!) and my Kyma system...they provide so
incredibly much versatility that I don't need any of my older outboard stuff.

Next item up for sale: My Kurzweil K2000RS.  ;)

> any thoughts? why is "reverb" a bad word now? these dry, glitchy
> sounds that we all use rarely have any spacial effects added.. and
> the whole traditional art of production seems to have been thrown out
> the window!..

For me it depends on the kind of reverb being used, and on what sounds it's being
applied to. I really love composers/sound artists who manage to juxtapose
soundworlds that combine the use of extremely dry sounds with incredibly wet
sounds. This creates a very intimate sense of space, where the distance between
wet and dry creates a sort of pseudo-room that provides a very interesting area
for the listener to observe what's going on. Randall Smith comes to mind (on
empreintes digitales), but also Francis Dhomont...and Autechre during their best
moments...to mention a few.

Perhaps pop culture has more or less corrupted reverberation, by inserting into
every conceivable (and unconceivable) context to smooth surfaces that might seem a
bit rough if left to its own devices (bad singers/drummers/guitar players etc.). I
find extremely dry and close sounds very interesting because they make sounds
reveal everything about themselves, instead of invoking the chilly distance that
reverb often introduces. On the other hand: Thomas Köner knows what to do with
reverb...if you're going to get soaked his way is the/one way of doing it.

I also loathe traditional delay, but I guess that goes without saying (OK, it
sounds cheap, easy, static and effortless).

> taylor,

/Oeivind/



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