Re: [microsound] farben/gramm + dat politics

[Joshua Maremont <thermal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>  > yes. and i totally agree: the gramm track on the scape comp (which is
>  > otherwise a total snoozer) is great, great, great. gramm has a full-length
> Sean...my English isn't good enough to catch stuff like "snoozer"...I'm
> guessing it's bad. Care to elaborate? I was thinking of buying this comp
> (heard a couple of short, but good, Real Audio from it and it sounded quite
> interesting), but now I'm not so sure.

I am rather surprised to see the "Staedtizism" compilation subjected 
to such derision here, as I found it to be, if unsurprising, 
consistently excellent and refreshingly varied.  Yes Pole has gone 
from the enigmatic first album through the - to me - bizarrely rootsy 
alien dub of the second to the unmistakable processor reggae of the 
third, but having now more defined both his form and his technique he 
has nevertheless put out a tasty spread of kindred spirits each of 
whom are using different means to arrive at a similarly bin-shaking 
and head-nodding ends, placing his Scape compilation in stark 
contrast with some superficially similar collections from the CPU 
orthodoxy:  rather than manifestoes of post-digital relevance, Scape 
presents a simple and irresistable groove.  If dub could survive some 
of the humiliating insults to which it was subjected by the dreariest 
of mid 1990s "ambient dub" and "digidub," it can certainly survive a 
journey or two through the intestines of a desktop processor. 
Admittedly the "urban dub" category is slightly troublesome as it 
reminds me too much of "urban contemporary" (meaning, in US at least, 
shallow pop hip-hop soul), but such names are for marketing hacks and 
mercifully make no appearance on the record itself.  But unlike so 
many compilations masquerading as "dub," this one shows a clear 
understanding and deep love of the style while still subjecting it to 
some quite welcome innovations.  Another compilation, by the way, of 
which I have read little is that released recently by Sonig, and to 
this one too I will give a strong recommendation.  And meanwhile, 
there seems to be silence on new Oval and Pole...

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