RE: [microsound] Farben/Gramm

[John Bush <johbus@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> should the all-music guide, a part of "one of the nation's
> largest home entertainment product distribution, fulfillment
> and infrastructure companies", be shunned as nothing but
> a corporate umbrella with musical opinion as a by-product?

David makes a good point here, though I'm probably the least objective
person to be found on this issue.  I have to laugh whenever I see the
corporate logo and slogan in our offices -- "All Music Guide, a total
solution provider."  That's so corporate of us, but I'm sure it placates our
"customers": retailers who license our technical information so they can
sell CD's online.  Fortunately, since they're mostly interested in whether
we've got the track titles for the new Britney Spears album, our editors and
writers can focus on spreading the gospel about the music we love with our
website and books.  Yes, we do make our money by corporate shilling, but we
spend it on promoting great music -- whether the release label is major,
indie, or micro...


> i certainly wonder for one if i would have
> ever been interested in, oh, say, autechre,
> without a certain sean cooper's reviews...)

Another valid point, though I should clarify Sean's own involvement by
stating that when he began writing for All Music Guide (and when I did as
well), we *were* independent -- just an informal project started by an Ann
Arbor hippie interested in merging his love of music and computers...


..John.

And as a bonus, here's my review of the new Oval album, as unbiased as I
could make it... ;>

By the time of "Process", Oval's fifth full album, the clicks-and-cuts style
of experimental ambience Markus Popp and company helped develop nearly a
decade ago was being championed all over the world, from Tokyo (Nobukazu
Takemura) to Berlin (Pole) to Sheffield (SND) to San Francisco (Kit
Clayton). All of which makes it a bit of a surprise that "Process" remains a
distinctive work. The scratchy bass hum and high-pitched, atonal effects
heard on most every track are very nearly Oval trademarks, and despite the
focus on experimentation, "Process" retains yet another hallmark of the
group's productions: it's a remarkably beautiful album. Granted, this won't
quite signify to listeners unfamiliar with the genre, but when the album
climaxes (on the ninth untitled track) with a droning organ melody heard
faintly above a cacophony of glitch static, electronics fans might just find
themselves wiping their eyes from the wonder of it all. Even among
considerable composition, Oval remains the very best at making beautiful
music out of civilization's sonic detritus. ~ John Bush