FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
First, I get now that the title is a bit of a joke and reading up on the history of this musician I recogniz(s)e there’s little you can trust about him so all you’re left with is his music. I say music and not songs, because reading a bit of the rapturous fawning by music critics over the differences among the “varied” tunes when this came out in 92, I struggle to understand it. What’s the same (and good) song to song is a reasonably solid backbeat, and the melody and layover sounds and atmospherics do vary, true — but in quality, not interest. Some are intriguing and even approaching beauty, but a few are grating (bad industrial vs. good industrial) or even awful, raising suspicions that the artist is clowning about on purpose. I don’t view that as “different”; it’s just variations on a theme, and plenty of experimentation to see what spaghetti sticks to the wall (and ignoring that sometimes it doesn’t). In fact if over seven years (if it really was seven — again, you can’t trust this guy) this is the tip-top, absolute very best he could come up with, whilst sleeping only 2-3 hours a night (if you believe him) then honestly this output is a bit feeble and some of what made it on this record wouldn’t have had he worked harder.
All this said — I liked a lot of it — especially the first three, Music Makers, and Heliosphere. What I didn’t like as much was Green Calx and and Schottkey. All else was listenable enough, as befits ambiclubhousedance and my sensibilities. What I liked best was that there was a conflict within me as to whether I should move or sit. The ones I liked best also kept my intellectual interest — tracking tempo or note changes and enjoying them when they (eventually) occurred. And that tension between move and sit appears to be what he’s going for here, and pulls off admirably.
I come away thinking 75% of this was a quite pleasurable listen and I’d happily put it on when the mood strikes, not expecting more depth in the music, but adding depth to whatever I happened to be doing at the moment. The other 25% — eh, where is that skip button, let’s get to a better one?
Put it this way — I was listening to Pulsewidth (my favourite) while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset on a clear day, and it did lift an always pleasurable experience (when there’s no traffic) to a somewhat ethereal one.
So I guess it’s an ambient after all.
7/10 and a nice selection.
All this said — I liked a lot of it — especially the first three, Music Makers, and Heliosphere. What I didn’t like as much was Green Calx and and Schottkey. All else was listenable enough, as befits ambiclubhousedance and my sensibilities. What I liked best was that there was a conflict within me as to whether I should move or sit. The ones I liked best also kept my intellectual interest — tracking tempo or note changes and enjoying them when they (eventually) occurred. And that tension between move and sit appears to be what he’s going for here, and pulls off admirably.
I come away thinking 75% of this was a quite pleasurable listen and I’d happily put it on when the mood strikes, not expecting more depth in the music, but adding depth to whatever I happened to be doing at the moment. The other 25% — eh, where is that skip button, let’s get to a better one?
Put it this way — I was listening to Pulsewidth (my favourite) while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset on a clear day, and it did lift an always pleasurable experience (when there’s no traffic) to a somewhat ethereal one.
So I guess it’s an ambient after all.
7/10 and a nice selection.
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