PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[Zeno Marx]

but it's also nice to think of this style being hijacked from the clowns of the past.

I can't really agree with this sentiment.  It isn't that I want it imprisoned to academia, but in the antithetical, I appreciate it hasn't been requisitioned and polluted with nonsense.  There's plenty of room to hybrid it, ie Brume, without it becoming a playground for adolescent crap.  For me, in its finest hour (Bayle etc), it's already respectfully reduced to ear candy and comedy.  Maybe one of the virtues of concrete and electroacoustics is that they are inherently laborious.  That alone is going to weed out a lot of people.  Going into it, there's a serious work ethic note from the start.

Is Eric La Casa an academic?

[eyestrain]

but it's also nice to think of this style being hijacked from the clowns of the past.

I can't really agree with this sentiment.  It isn't that I want it imprisoned to academia, but in the antithetical, I appreciate it hasn't been requisitioned and polluted with nonsense.  There's plenty of room to hybrid it, ie Brume, without it becoming a playground for adolescent crap.  For me, in its finest hour (Bayle etc), it's already respectfully reduced to ear candy and comedy.  Maybe one of the virtues of concrete and electroacoustics is that they are inherently laborious.  That alone is going to weed out a lot of people.  Going into it, there's a serious work ethic note from the start.

Perhaps I am being a little too forgiving here, hah!

Is Eric La Casa an academic?

Not sure about the man himself, although I've seen his work dissected in that way. He didn't come to mind, but I'm glad you mentioned him. Only heard the two discs with Peyronnet on Herbal Int., and they are damn good.

[Baglady]

As far as (sort of) old-timers nailing it, and since this is a playlist topic: Ákos Rózmann's Tolv Stations 7CD set is fucking magic. Was uncertain if I should go all out on a near-7 hour piece, but I'm so glad I did. Way more variety, intensity and perfection than I had counted on. I like SOMA when he does this and doesn't make more guitar drone. Kudos.

Have you listened through the whole deal? I picked it up myself, but I'm busy 24/7 until january, and this one demands alot of time, energy and mood. The two first discs are both VERY good, but I haven't listened any further. How are the later, more digitally assembled  pieces compared to the early "stations"?

[acsenger]

Ákos Rózmann's Tolv Stations 7CD set is fucking magic.

Also, how does it compare to the Images of the Dream and Death 3LP (if you know this release)? I have this triple LP and while I quite like it, I don't like it so much that it makes me want to get the 7CD box. It's a bit too monotonous for me. If, however, the 7CD box is more varied, I might just have to get it.

[eyestrain]

As far as (sort of) old-timers nailing it, and since this is a playlist topic: Ákos Rózmann's Tolv Stations 7CD set is fucking magic. Was uncertain if I should go all out on a near-7 hour piece, but I'm so glad I did. Way more variety, intensity and perfection than I had counted on. I like SOMA when he does this and doesn't make more guitar drone. Kudos.

Have you listened through the whole deal? I picked it up myself, but I'm busy 24/7 until january, and this one demands alot of time, energy and mood. The two first discs are both VERY good, but I haven't listened any further. How are the later, more digitally assembled  pieces compared to the early "stations"?

The Thanksgiving holiday gave me ample time to sit through. Got about halfway done with a second round, but other matters called. Hoping to give it another whirl this weekend. As a sort of quick and lazy description, the later discs get more "dark" and monolithic. When the more obviously digital-type sounds enter, it's very much like the DLP extract that came out a year or two ago. Which I thought was excellent. I would also say that discs 3-6 (maybe) are way more focused on voice than disc 7 (which was the DLP) is focused on orchestral manipulations. That one's also about as cold and modern as it gets. Hard to react to it yet, and for many months, in detail, but I was most engaged with the middle passages. Very possessed and discombobulating.

Ákos Rózmann's Tolv Stations 7CD set is fucking magic.

Also, how does it compare to the Images of the Dream and Death 3LP (if you know this release)? I have this triple LP and while I quite like it, I don't like it so much that it makes me want to get the 7CD box. It's a bit too monotonous for me. If, however, the 7CD box is more varied, I might just have to get it.

Much, much more going on with Tolv Stationer than that album. Also without all the aggressive and (for me) slightly-tasteless volume peaks that kinda ruin Images... album for me. Still, it's certainly not without its monotony; considering the massice length of it.

[WCrap]

musique concrete was basically just a term for music made with 'fixed sounds' (tape) as opposed to music made by / composed for instruments. it was sort of invented by the paris composers of the GRM. Other (french) studios or 'schools' named it acousmatic music, which is basically 'music for speakers'. so in the true meaning of the term one could of course use it for almost all electronic / tape-music / even noise, but that wouldn't make sense really. the terms gets thrown around quite randomly nowadays for all kind of tape/collage music, but it has nothing to do with this really. back then it was also used for studio compositions with recorded instrumental music.

i never understood the hate for 'academic' avantgarde music, that the word is often used as an insult around here (and elsewhere in the 'underground scene'). the academia / university studios were just the only ones back then who had the fundings and interest in electronic equipment and radical sonic experiments. before that it was all chamber music at rich people's homes or orchestras at concert halls. most of those 'academic' people and 'art fags' where in fact more 'punk' and subversive than most nowadays noise people. even if it was happening at (mostly) well-funded studios the work was actually sub-cultural and public presentations caused quite some trouble in the early days.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Perhaps one reply could be:

back then

If we'd be commenting to old academic music with significant achievements, but most likely more often something more recent what appears somewhat lame or pretentious.

One quite simple observation could be difference of conceptual art relying only to idea level vs. sheer uncontrolled energy what is good piece of noise.

One can be sure this attitude exists within "artfag" scene who don't feel anything common with juvenile "underground noise".

I would guess there are plenty of people who can handle both, at least to certain extent.

[GEWALTMONOPOL]

i never understood the hate for 'academic' avantgarde music, that the word is often used as an insult around here (and elsewhere in the 'underground scene'). the academia / university studios were just the only ones back then who had the fundings and interest in electronic equipment and radical sonic experiments. before that it was all chamber music at rich people's homes or orchestras at concert halls. most of those 'academic' people and 'art fags' where in fact more 'punk' and subversive than most nowadays noise people. even if it was happening at (mostly) well-funded studios the work was actually sub-cultural and public presentations caused quite some trouble in the early days.

I speak only for myself but with the experience of having my own efforts, and on occasion even me as a human being, devalued over and over by various high brow "artistes" and "connoiseurs", where much of this so called academic stuff gets used as a stick, my reaction has been one of fuck you, fuck your idols and fuck everything you associate yourself with. My experience is that the so called art fags are the nastiest most bitter back biting shits around. Consequently my defences come right up whenever I see hints of academia and artsiness. Same goes for a hand full of so called pioneers of yesterday clogging up the genre with their nowadays respectable and limp efforts. There's much attitude around and with a little bit less of that my hostile stance would change to a friendly one. But I don't see it happening so I stay hostile and run with the scum. Music is war!

[Zeno Marx]

i never understood the hate for 'academic' avantgarde music, that the word is often used as an insult around here (and elsewhere in the 'underground scene').

You're correct.  This is indeed everywhere.  It goes as far as to stigmatize intelligence, education, and knowledge.  I've seen people go as far as advocating for kids dropping out of school.  In 2014, intelligence and education is not elitism.  Anyway...just a weird perspective and a foolish reaction to a situation.

[HONOR_IS_KING!]

Terrorism is a dude named Arthur Rizsk who plays in some terrible metal core band and also runs Solomon's Gate studio.

Surprised that no one mentioned that he is the drummer for Endless Humiliation.

[RyanWreck]

i never understood the hate for 'academic' avantgarde music, that the word is often used as an insult around here (and elsewhere in the 'underground scene'). the academia / university studios were just the only ones back then who had the fundings and interest in electronic equipment and radical sonic experiments. before that it was all chamber music at rich people's homes or orchestras at concert halls. most of those 'academic' people and 'art fags' where in fact more 'punk' and subversive than most nowadays noise people. even if it was happening at (mostly) well-funded studios the work was actually sub-cultural and public presentations caused quite some trouble in the early days.

I can't speak for anyone else here but when I am talking about "artfags" I'm not at all talking about academics and intellectuals. I personally value intelligence as well as cultivated aesthetics and ideas. Rather, I'm talking about the phony intellectuals who think that their silly scribbling or collections of photos they put on tumblr make them artists. Those who don't really care about philosophy or art, who don't actually contribute anything or have anything important to say, the people who only care about being perceived as an intellectual or artist but don't want to do the actual work to be so. A good example of this type of popular false intellectualism would be this new crop of young "neo-Atheists" who think that because they don't believe in God that they now have a masters degree in biology, as if by simply preferring science and certain philosophies over religion makes them a scientist and philosopher. Or people who claim to "live the literary life" because they sit around without a job, drink fake Absinthe and write on their shitty blog, comparing themselves to a modern Oblomov.

[Zeno Marx]

A good example of this type of popular false intellectualism would be this new crop of young "neo-Atheists" who think that because they don't believe in God that they now have a masters degree in biology, as if by simply preferring science and certain philosophies over religion makes them a scientist and philosopher.

This would probably cover most of the fitness trade, particularly the crossfitters and the paleo dieters.  They're setting it all on edge.

[Andrew McIntosh]

It goes as far as to stigmatize intelligence, education, and knowledge.

I think that's taking it a bit too far, at least as far as the term "academic" is used around here. To me, it's an apt description for the kinds of music made by people from academic backgrounds. Some of it's good - I can and have listened to Mortal Feldman's music all day - but I don't see it as necessarily better than music from someone without that background.

The term "serious music" is a serious term, and I read this morning (well, this afternoon - I was on the cask last night) that they also use terms like "erudite music" and "legitimate music". There's a definite snobbery inherit in those terms, I feel.

It is definitely possible to over-think things, and when it comes to music I feel that's often a mistake.

[Levas]

Burial Hex / Crown Of Bone ‎– Burial Hex / Crown Of Bone - very nice tape. Still listening to the A side, but I like these massive drones and noises in the background with painful DSBM sort of vocals on top. Good stuff with the morning coffee.

[andy vomit]

ULTRA - Delirious Elaborations 4CD
prior to this, i only had the expanded "roman holiday" 2LP, so a lot of this is new to me... and it's great.  just buy it-- unless you own all the originals, there's nothing new here.  beautiful packaging with lots of attention to detail.  essential.