re: [microsound] Album of the Year (thank you)

["tobias c. van Veen" <tobias@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Subject: Re: [microsound] Album of the Year (thank you)

I should not be saying anything.

But I just can't help it .. so please write this off somewhat. All aestheti=
c
debates are caustic to some degree, although I will try and avoid that.

That said --

Akufen has done more for minimal techno than the previous 3 years of
releases combined. Agreed that personally, I dig his Montreal Nightclubbing
LP on Perlon much more than "My Way." The former is a rocking techno monste=
r
that has shed more sweat on the floor -- try doubles of some of those track=
s
-- than anything I have thrown down, from Detroit, Germany, or wherever, in
some time. It's a techno lover's album, a DJ's DJ album. "My Way" is perhap=
s
the nu-listener-hype release, but also an exploration farther into the earl=
y
'80s (Moroder influences rate much higher).

Personally I think Detroit is an inspirational bastion, but the style tends
to niche and date itself. I remember the "Swedish Invasion" and how they
hated that shit on 313. Today, I hear all those early Beyer records, and I'=
m
like: this is real beautiful techno .. Moreover I find it troubling to see
Detroit held as a yardstick for "techno"--not anymore. Montreal, Akufen, ha=
s
its own funk, its own sound. Detroit doesn=B9t go over well in Montreal,
either. Which isn't to hold one up above the other -- just to recognise the
otherness of the two.

I mix the two together -- I've been DJing (minimal / hard / dub / Detroit /
German / experimental) techno for awhile and I see Akufen as working quite =
a
few aesthetics negated by the Detroit crowd. Purity in any discourse is the
mark of its creative limit and (self) censorship.

And I feel alienated in Montreal as a lover of Detroit. When I've spun that
here, people don't jive with it. It's darker, funkier ..

Which is why I am interested to see the Mat Jonson show (itiswhatitis
records from Victoria / Vancouver, BC) this Saturday here in Montreal. This
is a "micro.mutek," also with Colin the Mole (aka Bodensee), who is also
from Vic. I think, to be honest, West Coasters have done more to bring
together the Detroit sound, the German sound, dub, and Montreal's
innovations more than anywhere else -- perhaps because we've always dug tha=
t
dub sound, with Interchill Records and all, and because we're all a little
paranoid from the spliff. Whatever. Mat's records conjure the looped tensio=
n
of Detroit with a sampled repetition of a dirty backalley Brinkmann -- then
there's Daniel Gardner, who takes the splice and dice of Akufen on his two
Background releases and adds another layer of thud.

Anyways ..

tV

> well I'm able to appreciate "laptop techno" since thats what I DO, but I'=
ve
> heard many many better albums than his and many many many many better liv=
e
> shows.
>=20
> then again, we're pretty spoiled in detroit :)
>=20
> his old stuff was a lot better than the new album
>=20
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "graham miller" <grahammiller@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "microsound" <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 4:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [microsound] Album of the Year (thank you)
>=20
>=20
>> akufen's music is phenomenal IMO: original, funky and beautiful. it's
>> quite easy to bash someone who is able to transcend the aesthetic
>> inbreeding of academia and connect with the public at large. god forbid
>> 'normal' people should actually enjoy laptop techno - or even dance to
>> it for that matter. his hard work deserves to be celebrated - just as
>> much as anyone. the first time i heard his music it blew my mind - it
>> stands on its own in sea of laptop homogeneity.
>>=20
>> graham.
>>=20
>>=20
>> r3dshift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>=20
>>> congrats Andrew!
>>>=20
>>> album of the year!! yay!
>>>=20
>>> I'd like to hear your album, along with those of your
>>> fellow nominees.  I bet there is some great stuff in there,
>>> which the exception of akufen..  I hope his stuff didn't
>>> win, it's nothing special IMO.
>>>=20
>>> he should however, win shittiest live show of the year.
>>>  maybe he just wasnt feeling detroit..  I know detroit
>>> didn't feel him last time around.
>>>=20
>>> -Joe
>>>=20
>>> I just found out yesterday (despite the press release
>>> being dated Feb 11) at around 5pm that I received a
>>> nomination for Canadian Electronica album of the year
>>> (see below) for my album "Sprung" that was released on
>>> Bip-Hop in the fall of last year; the award ceremony
>>> happened at 10pm my time last night. Have no idea who
>>> won.  Only found out about the nomination because Greg
>>> Clow told me, and it looks like none of us were told of
>>> our nomination.  Anyway, I just want to thank everybody
>>> for their support of my music and congratulations to
>>> the other nominees and those who support what we are
>>> doing.  Thank you very much. Take care. Andrew Duke
>>>=20
>>> THIRD ANNUAL CANADIAN INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS HONOUR
>>> INDEPENDENT RECORDING ARTISTS
>>> Toronto, Ontario (February 11, 2003)-Independent
>>> recording artists will be honoured at the Canadian
>>> Independent Music Awards ("The Indies") on Wednesday,
>>> February 26, 9 p.m. at the Phoenix Concert Theatre,
>>> Toronto. The event, now in its third year, kicks-off
>>> Canadian Music Week (CMW) festivities with a bang.
>>>=20
>>> ELECTRONICA ALBUM OF THE YEAR
>>>=20
>>> Akufen
>>> Eloi Brunelle
>>> Andrew Duke
>>> Mossman vs. Mr. Tsunami
>>> Oeuf Korreckt
>>>=20
>>> albums out now: Sprung (http://bip-hop.com)
>>> *Canadian electronica album of the year nominee*
>>> More Destructive Than Organized
>>> (http://staalplaat.com)
>>> Highest Common Denominator (http://pieheadrecords.com)
>>> Physical and Mental Health (http://dialrecords.com)
>>> 74'02 (split with Hypo) (http://tsunami-addiction.com)
>>> check Cognition (http://techno.ca/cognition)
>>> for upcoming appearance and release updates
>>> __________________________________________________________
>>> Get your FREE personalized e-mail at http://www.canada.com
>>>=20
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>>>=20
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>>=20
>>=20
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>>=20
>=20
>=20
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>=20

tobias c. van Veen -----------
http://www.quadrantcrossing.org
http://www.thisistheonlyart.com
------------- tobias@xxxxxxxxx
---McGill Communications------
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