from freak fighter to lamp lighter

OccultHawk · 03-04-2018, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Already love that album so I'll give a shot at reviewing an album with that much prog.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindy

Listening to it right now.
Indeed very nice.

Two mini-reviews in already! See how easy it is bitches?

**Frownland** · 03-04-2018, 02:58 PM

I'm definitely not an expert in the genre, but Demdike Stare is a big player in getting me interested in it. So here's a review for OH's 2016 exploration.

Demdike Stare - Wonderland (2016)

Demdike Stare is a duo that's dabbled in dark ambient, jungle, industrial techno, dub, etcletctronic. Their 2016 record Wonderland teases out all of these influences and packages them into a really crisp and hard hitting UK bass record.

The opener, Curzon comes right out with gloomy and hypnotic dancefloor rhythms that subtly morph and occasionally run into ambient drifts. Synthy, industrial banging beats that progress in a storylike fashion full of psychedelic moments and nods. Very meticulous and unique sound.

Animal Style opens up a little more simply, making you think that Demdike is drawing back a little bit, but it slowly becomes more polyrhythmic as they introduce new loops. The rhythms begin to settle in before falling into a delirious ambient interlude where you realize how ****ing tired you are before it jumps back into the heavy rhythms filled in with vocal samples and small tweaks. Man this would be insane to see live.

Hardnoise is possibly the best track on the record, taking a similar layer building approach to sucking you into the hypnotic polyrhythms that dive into more abrasive territories that Demdike is no stranger to. A big part of what I love about their approach is how surprising they can be despite heavily relying on repetition. This track goes into a super bassy direction as Demdike transports you to the ocean and throws you in the water with the wires. They introduce what sounds like another interlude before snapping back to the hard rhythms maintaining that surprising attitude throughout the music. The track closes out on some dreamier synth leads peppered with some nice percussion. Truly a monster track imo.

Blue is one minute of dark, ominous thudding and sputtering. A break from the intensity of Hardnoise, but also a reminder of what you're in for.

FullEdge (eMpTy-40 Mix) jumps in with some more distorted synths and underwater drums twisting and turning across the track as the percussion gets increasingly tribal. It dissolves into a trippy bass loop that carries out the song as they play with textures and timing. There are some absolutely face melting moments full of contorted and delayed percussion. Banger.

Sourcer comes in with some insane polyrhythms, vocal samples, and glassy synths. Really strange and chaotic track in the best way that pulls a lot of influence from Autechre. Definitely the most intense and busiest track on the record that goes to some cool and psychedelic places. Crazy tinges toward the end of the track, but the beginning steals the show.

Airborne Latency takes off with slower, thudding rhythm that plunges into a more twisted groove. Ultra bassy and tribal with trippy progressions into dark and bright drones. It goes into some more metallic jungle rhythms that fall in and out of the lush, sweeping synth drones that dominate the track. Definitely another highlight of the record.

Fridge Challenge opens with twisted synth noises that almost sound like they're being tape manipulated and filtered through more modulators or some shit like that, but it's wild. It kind of reminds me of Aaron Dilloway's Modern Jester with the approach that it takes to panning these similar tones that bend in an almost jarring manner. Really trippy track.

Overstaying comes in on a dancy rhythm that jumps into a surprisingly intense short loop. They know it's a dope rhythm so they let it ride only adjusting, filtering it slightly, letting a little synth drone slide in a little bit before they slip in the bass. Then it doubles down on a sick beat switch that hisses and hums over the bassy rhythms. I want to see this in a place with good speakers while I'm on a lot of drugs. I think that's some of the highest praise that an album can get.

Overall I give the record a 4.8/5. A crazy display of synth/turntable/electronic godliness. It could use a much better album cover though.

s/o to MBer Sequoioioidae for turning me onto these guys.

OccultHawk · 03-04-2018, 03:17 PM

A Plus!

OccultHawk · 03-06-2018, 10:31 AM

again

thanks for that Frowny

Today’s record is a 2016 neo-classical ambient piano release from Barcelonian Nil Ciuró.

Futuralgia by Nil Ciuró

Fans of the genre should enjoy this.

Listen here: https://nilciuro.bandcamp.com/releases

OccultHawk · 03-09-2018, 10:06 AM

For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price by Willie Nelson

I’m not even going to bother with the praise because if you need it **** you.

Ray Price

Heartaches by the Number

Ray Price Version:

Willie’s Tribute Version

Other notable versions:

Guy Mitchell Version

Burl Ives Version:

Removed from youtube

Harlan Howard (the dude who actually wrote the ****ing song)

I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)

Ray Price Version

Willie Nelson Version

George Jones Version

(The wiki page gets this song ****ed up with a Bobby Darrin song just fyi)

to be continued...

The Batlord · 03-09-2018, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Guy Mitchell Version

Hey, that was on the soundtrack to Fallout: New Vegas. Can't listen to it without thinking about sniping Deathclaws with my Anti-Material Rifle. Just like GTA San Andreas opened my mind to hip hop it was probably F:NV that brought me to country.

Oriphiel · 03-09-2018, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Hey, that was on the soundtrack to Fallout: New Vegas. Can't listen to it without thinking about sniping Deathclaws with my Anti-Material Rifle. Just like GTA San Andreas opened my mind to hip hop it was probably F:NV that brought me to country.

^

OccultHawk · 03-09-2018, 11:21 AM

I’m inclined to say I was raised on country music but if they have it in video games I guess you were too.

Faded Love

Willie Nelson w/ Ray Price Version:

(Used in lieu of tribute version)

Bob Wills Version:

For the Good Times

Ray Price Version:

Willie’s Tribute Version:

other notable versions

Al Green

Elvis

Kris Kristofferson (Writer)

The Batlord · 03-09-2018, 11:32 AM

I was in my 20s when I got that game so I definitely wasn't raised on country.

~~MicShazam~~ · 03-09-2018, 01:51 PM

Katie Gately - Color
2016

No joke; I had an entire long-form review 80% done on this album, but ended up thinking my approach was boring as ****, frankly. I was rambling on about the difference between traditional 12-tone harmonically centered compositon and texturally oriented music like a lot of ambient, electronica and drone music.

It was boring, frankly, so I'm starting over. In it, I mentioned how I very clearly don't come from the same place as Frownland and Mondo Bungle when it comes to music. Both of these guys seem heavily oriented towards the very thing that I don't much appreciate: Music where texture and "feel" takes place over more traditional ("conservative" if you will) ideas of what the "content" of a composition/piece lies in.

It seems odd to me that I like this Katie Gately album so much, just as it seems odd to me that I like Jenny Hval and Holly Herndon. They all make quite texturally oriented electronic music that really wouldn't work as well if, for example, converted to cellos and piano instead. The sound of these tracks are arguably more important than the strict compositional, 12-tone oriented contents of them.

Katie Gately isn't quite as far away from what I usually like as the much more texturally oriented Holly Herndon, but the feel - and occasional cacophony - of her sounds are a very, very important element in her appeal.

I feel like this album (Color) manages to constantly draw me back in with whirling melodies and interesting chord or key changes just when the soundscapes are about to lose me. The album keeps me right at the edge of my musical comfort zone, one foot firmly placed in familiar territory at all times. I think this album, as well as albums by Jenny Hval and Holly Herndon, might one day teach me how to see music more like Frownland and Mondo Bungle - at least partially - sees it.

There's a mere 7 tracks on this Katie Gately album, but it's still over 41 minutes long. I feel like there's a clear idea behind every track, but you can expect to hear a variety of sounds and voices in the mix in every track. I love how the second track on the album uses both a key change and textural changes to make a recurring hook feel very different late in the track.
The album slides from almost mellow beats to walls of noise and voice. There's a brittle quality to a lot of the mixing on the album, which I remember turned me off at first, but I learned to love it with repeat listens.

It seems pointless to try and describe the individual tracks here. They all fit vaguely withing the sphere of electronic music that plays with synths, samples and voices. You could say there's a poppy element to the album, as you can point to some legit vocal hooks in some tracks. The album ebbs and flows in intensity, feel and texture, but never strays from something that sits right between the conventional and the forward looking. This is not avant-garde.

I had this album on my best of 2016 list. It's odd that I still haven't quite settled on what I think about this album, two years later. This must have to do with how it's still only 50% within my musical comfort zone. At the same time, I can legitemately appreciate most of what the album does and I think there's some fantastic moments on the album. It effortlessly keeps me interested on some level. I could spin it all day and still feel like I'm discovering new details and vibes in these 7 compositions. It seems that I wouldn't like this, but I do. Quite a bit. A future gatweay album to another perspective on music? Perhaps. I doubt it. Time will tell.

03-04-2018, 02:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I'm definitely not an expert in the genre, but Demdike Stare is a big player in getting me interested in it. So here's a review for OH's 2016 exploration. Demdike Stare - Wonderland (2016) Demdike Stare is a duo that's dabbled in dark ambient, jungle, industrial techno, dub, etcletctronic. Their 2016 record Wonderland teases out all of these influences and packages them into a really crisp and hard hitting UK bass record. The opener, Curzon comes right out with gloomy and hypnotic dancefloor rhythms that subtly morph and occasionally run into ambient drifts. Synthy, industrial banging beats that progress in a storylike fashion full of psychedelic moments and nods. Very meticulous and unique sound. Animal Style opens up a little more simply, making you think that Demdike is drawing back a little bit, but it slowly becomes more polyrhythmic as they introduce new loops. The rhythms begin to settle in before falling into a delirious ambient interlude where you realize how **ing tired you are before it jumps back into the heavy rhythms filled in with vocal samples and small tweaks. Man this would be insane to see live. Hardnoise is possibly the best track on the record, taking a similar layer building approach to sucking you into the hypnotic polyrhythms that dive into more abrasive territories that Demdike is no stranger to. A big part of what I love about their approach is how surprising they can be despite heavily relying on repetition. This track goes into a super bassy direction as Demdike transports you to the ocean and throws you in the water with the wires. They introduce what sounds like another interlude before snapping back to the hard rhythms maintaining that surprising attitude throughout the music. The track closes out on some dreamier synth leads peppered with some nice percussion. Truly a monster track imo. Blue is one minute of dark, ominous thudding and sputtering. A break from the intensity of Hardnoise, but also a reminder of what you're in for. FullEdge (eMpTy-40 Mix) jumps in with some more distorted synths and underwater drums twisting and turning across the track as the percussion gets increasingly tribal. It dissolves into a trippy bass loop that carries out the song as they play with textures and timing. There are some absolutely face melting moments full of contorted and delayed percussion. Banger. Sourcer comes in with some insane polyrhythms, vocal samples, and glassy synths. Really strange and chaotic track in the best way that pulls a lot of influence from Autechre. Definitely the most intense and busiest track on the record that goes to some cool and psychedelic places. Crazy tinges toward the end of the track, but the beginning steals the show. Airborne Latency takes off with slower, thudding rhythm that plunges into a more twisted groove. Ultra bassy and tribal with trippy progressions into dark and bright drones. It goes into some more metallic jungle rhythms that fall in and out of the lush, sweeping synth drones that dominate the track. Definitely another highlight of the record. Fridge Challenge opens with twisted synth noises that almost sound like they're being tape manipulated and filtered through more modulators or some shit like that, but it's wild. It kind of reminds me of Aaron Dilloway*'s Modern Jester* with the approach that it takes to panning these similar tones that bend in an almost jarring manner. Really trippy track. Overstaying comes in on a dancy rhythm that jumps into a surprisingly intense short loop. They know it's a dope rhythm so they let it ride only adjusting, filtering it slightly, letting a little synth drone slide in a little bit before they slip in the bass. Then it doubles down on a sick beat switch that hisses and hums over the bassy rhythms. I want to see this in a place with good speakers while I'm on a lot of drugs. I think that's some of the highest praise that an album can get. Overall I give the record a 4.8/5. A crazy display of synth/turntable/electronic godliness. It could use a much better album cover though. s/o to MBer Sequoioioidae for turning me onto these guys. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

03-04-2018, 03:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	A Plus! __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

03-06-2018, 10:31 AM	#4 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	again thanks for that Frowny Today’s record is a 2016 neo-classical ambient piano release from Barcelonian Nil Ciuró. Futuralgia by Nil Ciuró Fans of the genre should enjoy this. Listen here: https://nilciuro.bandcamp.com/releases __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

03-09-2018, 10:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price by Willie Nelson I’m not even going to bother with the praise because if you need it ** you. Ray Price Heartaches by the Number Ray Price Version: Willie’s Tribute Version Other notable versions: Guy Mitchell Version Burl Ives Version: Removed from youtube Harlan Howard (the dude who actually wrote the ing song) I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) Ray Price Version Willie Nelson Version George Jones Version (The wiki page gets this song *ed up with a Bobby Darrin song just fyi) to be continued... __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html Last edited by OccultHawk; 02-05-2019 at 03:16 PM.*

03-09-2018, 11:21 AM	#8 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	I’m inclined to say I was raised on country music but if they have it in video games I guess you were too. Faded Love Willie Nelson w/ Ray Price Version: (Used in lieu of tribute version) Bob Wills Version: For the Good Times Ray Price Version: Willie’s Tribute Version: other notable versions Al Green Elvis Kris Kristofferson (Writer) __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

03-09-2018, 01:51 PM	#10 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	Katie Gately - Color 2016 No joke; I had an entire long-form review 80% done on this album, but ended up thinking my approach was boring as ***, frankly. I was rambling on about the difference between traditional 12-tone harmonically centered compositon and texturally oriented music like a lot of ambient, electronica and drone music. It was boring, frankly, so I'm starting over. In it, I mentioned how I very clearly don't come from the same place as Frownland and Mondo Bungle when it comes to music. Both of these guys seem heavily oriented towards the very thing that I don't much appreciate: Music where texture and "feel" takes place over more traditional ("conservative" if you will) ideas of what the "content" of a composition/piece lies in. It seems odd to me that I like this Katie Gately album so much, just as it seems odd to me that I like Jenny Hval and Holly Herndon. They all make quite texturally oriented electronic music that really wouldn't work as well if, for example, converted to cellos and piano instead. The sound* of these tracks are arguably more important than the strict compositional, 12-tone oriented contents of them. Katie Gately isn't quite as far away from what I usually like as the much more texturally oriented Holly Herndon, but the feel - and occasional cacophony - of her sounds are a very, very important element in her appeal. I feel like this album (Color) manages to constantly draw me back in with whirling melodies and interesting chord or key changes just when the soundscapes are about to lose me. The album keeps me right at the edge of my musical comfort zone, one foot firmly placed in familiar territory at all times. I think this album, as well as albums by Jenny Hval and Holly Herndon, might one day teach me how to see music more like Frownland and Mondo Bungle - at least partially - sees it. There's a mere 7 tracks on this Katie Gately album, but it's still over 41 minutes long. I feel like there's a clear idea behind every track, but you can expect to hear a variety of sounds and voices in the mix in every track. I love how the second track on the album uses both a key change and textural changes to make a recurring hook feel very different late in the track. The album slides from almost mellow beats to walls of noise and voice. There's a brittle quality to a lot of the mixing on the album, which I remember turned me off at first, but I learned to love it with repeat listens. It seems pointless to try and describe the individual tracks here. They all fit vaguely withing the sphere of electronic music that plays with synths, samples and voices. You could say there's a poppy element to the album, as you can point to some legit vocal hooks in some tracks. The album ebbs and flows in intensity, feel and texture, but never strays from something that sits right between the conventional and the forward looking. This is not avant-garde. I had this album on my best of 2016 list. It's odd that I still haven't quite settled on what I think about this album, two years later. This must have to do with how it's still only 50% within my musical comfort zone. At the same time, I can legitemately appreciate most of what the album does and I think there's some fantastic moments on the album. It effortlessly keeps me interested on some level. I could spin it all day and still feel like I'm discovering new details and vibes in these 7 compositions. It seems that I wouldn't like this, but I do. Quite a bit. A future gatweay album to another perspective on music? Perhaps. I doubt it. Time will tell. Last edited by MicShazam; 03-09-2018 at 03:27 PM.

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