Oval(process)

[Øivind Idsø <ezueled@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Joshua Maremont wrote:

> 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.

I've been meaning to check this one out, and will probably order it soon...sounds
too fascinating (on paper, at least) to ignore.

> And meanwhile,
> there seems to be silence on new Oval and Pole...

End of silence: "Ovalprocess" is fantastic. Granted, I love Oval and everything
they (well, he) do, but Markus Popp still manages to surprise me with what
sometimes sounds like a true modem-melody bonanza. Many of the tracks can very well
have used the connection sound of an analog modem as their source material, but
with added distortion (sometimes gentle and sometimes not) and, as always, lovely
themes/scapes and melodies. Whether punning on his name or not, Popp has a great
sense of melody and harmony and some of the melodics and harmonics found on
Ovalprocess manages to maintain a twisted kind of pop sensibility. There's also the
infamous digital CD-skipping click/pop rhythm of Systemisch and Diskont 94, but
there's been a definite development since then. The tracks contain more
information, and the information is perhaps better organised and more developed.
Sometimes the whole thing threatens to collapse under the weight of the distorted
bits and bytes of a serious information overload, but the tension is released with
some of the most sublime and subtle glitches you can imagine (track 5 and 10 -- the
latter could very well be one of the most beautiful glitchtracks ever. And if you
like to play Spot The Sample you should recognize some of the source material for
Microstoria).

I guess people have seen Chris Cunninghams stunning video for Björk's "All Is Full
Of Love" (just bought it on DVD...I had to). Oval sort of represents the same thing
for me: robots making love. A kind of cold and distant machinery mixed with and, if
you want to get meta-physical, transcended by the sensuality of melody and rhythm.
In short: Oval is one of my alltime favourites and Ovalprocess doesn't disappoint.

Haven't heard Pole's 3. I have 1 and 2 (love the former, the latter is OK), and I'm
not sure I need the last one.

/Øivind/