frozenman on 9/6/2009 at 20:18
Hey guys, I was tempted to post this in the Great music from 09 thread, but I figured I would make a thread and say hello. I still lurk around here every now and then but rarely do I make posts anymore.
The past year and a half or so I've been in a shitty living situation and extremely unemployed so I've been making music as much as I can, hoping to find some vindication for all the shit in the world, and I'd like to share some with you guys to see what you think. I went to the darkside and got a myspace -
(
www.myspace.com/blueblackthings)
These are mostly the work of my good friend and I, we've been playing together for ages. We used to make sad guitar music but now we work entirely in ableton, slowly crafting a space shuttle command center of synths and midi controllers.
My recommendations for listening (all aren't of equal quality) are: halogen adventure, unlived, torless, and 60 seconds. I'm happiest with unlived, as I've never been able to extract that kind of intensity out of ableton before. Some day I'd like to be able to play this kind of stuff live, but there are so many theoretical problems surrounding it, that for now it must remain tape music.
I'd really appreciate some feedback, as this has been my internet home for so many years. :D
SubJeff on 9/6/2009 at 20:26
Wait, you're happiest with unlived or unhappy that it really is just noise. I like alot of experimental "noise" music but this needs serious work. It's not too bad later on (1.50 in) but before that its a trainwreck. I only listened to that (since you inadvertently recommended it) and the halogen, which was marginally better.
PigLick on 10/6/2009 at 04:01
I dont listen to enough of this sort of thing to make a judgement. Some things there that I like, but I mostly just skimmed through it.
Stitch on 10/6/2009 at 04:28
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Wait, you're happiest with unlived or unhappy that it really is just noise. I like alot of experimental "noise" music but this needs serious work.
Eh, while I'd perhaps argue that "Unlived" could stand to meet the listener in the middle a bit more, as is I think it's the best of the bunch. It's the sound of a song struggling to break through the elastic static, and this tension between song and noise is where the track draws its strengths. At any rate, I find it more compelling that "noise samples and synths over beats."
Volitions Advocate on 10/6/2009 at 04:56
I couldn't listen to an entire LP like this, I do enjoy it in small doses. Makes me think of the Further Down the Spiral album from NiN.
june gloom on 12/6/2009 at 05:52
60 Seconds blew me the fuck away. I don't know why. There's something almost apocalyptic about the main melody. DO MORE LIKE THAT.
Phyre on 12/6/2009 at 07:29
Hmmm, your stuff is so far away from the kinds of stuff I usually listen to that I feel sort of unqualified to pass judgement.
The ones I liked best though were:
save this isn't
60 seconds
&
Variation on a Theme (despite or, possibly because, the intro made me seriously dizzy)
Anyway, they're neat.
I hope your luck changes frozenman.
Aja on 12/6/2009 at 08:29
reviewed in the order I listened:
save this isn't: the production is a little dry but I love the atmosphere, and the way the samples interact with one another is very clever and catchy at times, particularly during the rhodes/trumpet part in the middle.
glass candy: sounds more ableton-y, more predictable, less interesting. Still grooves with that fuzzy synth part but I probably wouldn't buy it.
halogen adventure: this is cool but again it's a bit let down by the production. With a more polished sound it could be quite good—the background chords are chic and the beat doesn't stagnate. But it's all very lo-fi, and not exactly in a good way.
Variation on a Theme: silly but I suppose it's not really what you're trying to show off here.
torless: bizarre and intruiging. can I complain about the production again? If it was crisp, this could be really satisfying. Your samples are creepy and I like them. Some of the video-gamey synths are cliched, but the drone is nice and lush.
60 seconds: I'd buy it.
you did this: like 'save this isn't', 'halogen' and 'torless' this needs a cleaner sound to really make an impact. Your compositions are totally something I would listen to, but the best experimental music is more aesthetically conscious: the listener should feel pleasure in both the overall structure and the individual sounds themselves (maybe they have better gear?). As it is you have half the equation (and I actually do still like it).
unlived: hmm, I agree that it's probably the best track so far. this sort of sound is befitting of the lo-fi production more than the others, though if it was shinier I wouldn't complain. Still, I would buy an album of this.
tether: a great track to listen to after 'unlived'. Oddly tense but in a weird cathartic way. It meanders but that only helps to sustain its pleasantly hypnotic effect on the listener.
Overall I'm impressed. There are some great ideas here, though I think the sound itself could be improved in most of the tracks (and I suppose the myspace player isn't helping). Keep at it, I say. You'll probably never make a living with it, but that only puts you in the company of nearly every other experimental musician (even some of the best ones!).
So, can I download these anywhere? I can imagine some situations where it'd be handy to have this music on my mp3 player :D
frozenman on 12/6/2009 at 22:11
Thanks guys I really appreciate the feedback, especially Aja what with comments on every song. :D
I know what you mean regarding the mixing issues, and that really isn't my strong suit. I only recently figured out how to use a compressor, and I'm pretty sure I'm not using it correctly. Also, almost all of these songs are mixed using just headphones, and so it makes things extremely inconsistent when others listen (incidently I think that's an interesting avenue I'd like to explore with recorded music- mixes and drones and so forth that sound different depending on where it's listened to. Played in a car with the windows rolled down or outside in a stereo bring out different facets of the sound).
But hopefully someday I'll get to sit down with a sound engineer and learn a thing or two.
Sub Eff- I'm happiest with unlived in that, while it's electronic music, it feels very dynamic, or improvised (or dicking around). Granted it borders on formlessness at times (Stitch you put it well as it could stand to meet the listener more on middle ground). But when most of my music is made by meticulously arranging bits and pieces and phrases linearly (in arrangement view), I was very pleased with having that pop out nearly fully formed, as if it were actually played. To me, the most attractive aspect of electronic music is it's potential to completely represent the musician's mindset- I'm thinking of IDM and such where it seems almost like there's a dude wearing a electro-brain-scanner and he's just imagining the music in his head and it pops out the other end. I think I approached something of this sort with unlived.
Thanks again guys!
Aja on 12/6/2009 at 22:27
You should check out this guy: (
http://www.myspace.com/electricwest) Electricwest. He produces music that's vaguely in your direction, that is, ambient-y field-record-y with glitchy beats. And his newest album is free to download.
