I just got to work and am drinking my morning coffee. Can I expect you back here around my quiting time?
Have fun and drink safe!
Drunken posts...
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Shadi Megallaa
- mnml maxi
- Posts: 1614
- Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:27 am
listen up you punks! I have actually been out of the house for sooo long that i've sobered up but I have something to say.. I was jsut thinking, when people ask me what I play I really don't know what to say. I usually say, I dunnooo.. Minimal techno or something but it sjust music that I like.. and mind you, in the Middle East people don't really what what is what.. so it makes ti that confusing.. anyway, I need a new name for the kind of music I play.. so I need everyones input on that.. Maybe, sleazno? orrrrrr sleazinal houseno? wsell, I think some of it is sleazy and kind of low-slung.. so that works for me.. anyway, listen to that fooking opening set of mine for Metro Area in Dubai.. this isn't a shameless plug to ehar my set but there is no better way to explain ure point about music other than just hearing it.. but if you do hear it remember it was a wam-up for Metro Area and i tried to keep it a bit funkier and not really dark eerie creepy druggy .... :evil: I dojn't even know what i'm talking about, I warned you it would just be rambling... I reckon its time to hit the sheets
Nice Shadi.
I totally agree with you. It happens quite a bit to me too. Its hard to describe a genre that is so vague. If you tell someone its techno or minimal techno you might scare them away.
Thanks for the post - maybe show some pics?
Hey whats that track in one of your mixes that has a guy talking about fabric?
Check out Phillip Sherburnes artible on the current state of techno and the names that follow including the name Ketamine house. Dont take this too far out of context. Here is the article:
____________________________
Column: The Month in Techno
The Minimalarkist's Cookbook
Story by Philip Sherburne
What exactly has happened to the genre formerly known as minimal techno? In the past 18 months or so, the cultural capital of dance music's former black sheep has skyrocketed-- to extend a mixed metaphor, it's as though suddenly everyone from house jocks to trance heads (and even occasionally breaks fans-- just check Krikor's mix of Freq Nasty's "Punkadelic", on Skint, of all labels) wants charcoal-colored cashmere. Is this a good thing? Well, it depends upon your perspective. On the one hand, minimal techno's growing hype and newfound ubiquity has led to a perceived uniformity of sound-- or at least, of selection. The tunes dominating clubs and comps seem to share a similar format: big, brassy, ballsy, and barbed to the teeth. (Check not just Roman Flügel's "Geht's Nocht", but also Einmusik's "Jittery Heritage", most of Mathew Jonson's anthems, Nathan Fake's "Dinamo", and Booka Shade's "Mandarine Girl" for examples of electro-house's Mr. Universe physique.)
But at the same time, almost as if in response to minimal techno's expanding profile, another strain is retaining microhouse's emphasis on whittled-down sounds, and fleshing it out with psychedelic flashes of energy. This stuff-- which I referred to as "ketamine house" in last month's column, and for which there still seems to be no appropriate name-- is growing ubiquitous in its own way, as well. Influenced by the woozy polyrhythms of Ricardo Villalobos, the digital detailing of Dominik Eulberg and the Wighnomy Brothers, and the hard-panned spatialism of Luciano, this new, groggy minimalism is popping up everywhere from Poker Flat and Milnor Modern to newer labels like Opossum, Liebe Detail, and Hello Repeat. (Interestingly, much of this stuff is being distributed not by Kompakt or Neuton but the Hamburg-based Word and Sound; is an industry split along aesthetic lines in the works?) In an entirely unscientific survey of my local record shop, about 80% of the singles I pulled on a recent visit featured the mammoth reverb, uncouth bass burps, and white noise sweeps that seem to be the hallmarks of this subgenre of a subgenre of a subgenre.
I don't mean to suggest that these two styles are mutually exclusive, by any means, nor are they even hard-and-fast entities in and of themselves; hence the general acceptance of terms as misapplied as "minimal," and as vague as "electro-house," to describe everything from the Metro Area-ish sounds of Get Physical to the analogy battery of Areal. But if we accept that there is something distinct in this realm that I'm choosing to call (for today, anyway) "crypto-minimalism"-- because there seems to be a hidden logic lurking beneath the overall sense of disorientation-- then it's possible to try to define what those qualities are, not as a prescriptive exercise, but simply a descriptive one.
With a new Ricardo Villalobos doublepack shortly on the way from Luciano and Serafin's Cadenza label, it's entirely possible that all will be laid bare, since Villalobos' albums Alcachofa and Thé Au Harem D'Archimède served as signposts for the continuing development of druggy, post-microhouse minimal techno. Until then, we'll have to peel back the leaves of the artichoke ourselves. So with no further ado, four sure-fire elements of the new minimalism: Consider this the beginning of a glossary (which in my notes I'm calling "The Minimalarkist's Cookbook") of the genre's key tropes.
1. Thunderclaps are go
Where classic rave used the "stab" as a means of carrying melody and creating forward energy, crypto-minimal employs irregular explosions of white noise to signal rupture. In the Vegetable Orchestra's "Ciboulette (Luciano Remix)", great slamming sounds break through at odd intervals, hammering down over easy gliding hi-hats like bolts from the blue. The effect is like a wake-up call-- that is, until the hypnotic beat carries you back under again.
2. Wheels on fire
Crypto-minimal is all about the horizontal; as should be expected from a sound called "ketamine house," it uses layered repetitions to create a sense of stasis. Unlike the quickly churning minimal techno of yore, though, which tended to loop in one-, two-, or four-bar increments, crypto-minimal pairs the long melodic lines of trance with tight, syncopated rhythms to confuse the sense of movement, a bit like a chrome wheel seems to spin backwards when it's moving at just the right velocity. Triola's "Leuchtturm (Wighnomy's Polarzippar Remix)" offers a classic example of this, as do the cyclical counterpoints of Nathan Fake's "Dinamo" and the ultra-long chord progressions of Luciano's mix of M83's "Teen Angst". Ricardo Villalobos' "Easy Lee" and "Dexter", which soar so high and far they seem to be daring the horizon to disappear, are touchstone moments of this tactic.
3. Highway to squelch
Pantytec, the duo of Sammy Dee and Perlon co-founder Zip, isn't nearly highly enough rated, especially since their fantastic 2002 album Pony Slaystation introduced many of the strategies that define today's post-microhouse sounds. When the album emerged, one of its signature traits was the way it favored twisted, squelching sounds over "pure" tones. Between bent notes, trails of white noise, and bass tones tuned so low they dissipated into clicks, everything had gone grey. You can hear the same ideas over and over in current tracks, where hi-hats fillip like cooling peanut brittle and every sound is sculpted like a duck's tail. The signature example of this is undoubtedly Ricardo Villalobos' remix of Sven Väth's "Cala Llonga". From the queasy melodies to the neverending delay, it's probably the freakiest thing Villalobos has ever done-- and that's saying something-- but the percussion alone merits special attention; every electronic drum seems to melt, screaming, as soon as it's struck.
4. St-st-stop me if you've heard this beat before
One of Robag Wruhme's favorite tricks is to apply a gravelly stutter to-- well, just about anything he can: voices, kick drums, bass bleats. (It's in particularly full effect on his remix of Slam's "This World"; too bad he couldn't re-arrange those lyrics beyond recognition while he was at it.) The newest version of Ableton Live shows that they've clearly kept their ear to the ground; version 5 includes a nifty plug-in called Beat Repeat that will Wrumify your own music with a flick of the switch. Just don't tell him I told you.
Philip Sherburne's writing and photographs can be found at http://www.philipsherburne.com.
Next week: Jess Harvell on the month in drum'n'bass.
I totally agree with you. It happens quite a bit to me too. Its hard to describe a genre that is so vague. If you tell someone its techno or minimal techno you might scare them away.
Thanks for the post - maybe show some pics?
Hey whats that track in one of your mixes that has a guy talking about fabric?
Check out Phillip Sherburnes artible on the current state of techno and the names that follow including the name Ketamine house. Dont take this too far out of context. Here is the article:
____________________________
Column: The Month in Techno
The Minimalarkist's Cookbook
Story by Philip Sherburne
What exactly has happened to the genre formerly known as minimal techno? In the past 18 months or so, the cultural capital of dance music's former black sheep has skyrocketed-- to extend a mixed metaphor, it's as though suddenly everyone from house jocks to trance heads (and even occasionally breaks fans-- just check Krikor's mix of Freq Nasty's "Punkadelic", on Skint, of all labels) wants charcoal-colored cashmere. Is this a good thing? Well, it depends upon your perspective. On the one hand, minimal techno's growing hype and newfound ubiquity has led to a perceived uniformity of sound-- or at least, of selection. The tunes dominating clubs and comps seem to share a similar format: big, brassy, ballsy, and barbed to the teeth. (Check not just Roman Flügel's "Geht's Nocht", but also Einmusik's "Jittery Heritage", most of Mathew Jonson's anthems, Nathan Fake's "Dinamo", and Booka Shade's "Mandarine Girl" for examples of electro-house's Mr. Universe physique.)
But at the same time, almost as if in response to minimal techno's expanding profile, another strain is retaining microhouse's emphasis on whittled-down sounds, and fleshing it out with psychedelic flashes of energy. This stuff-- which I referred to as "ketamine house" in last month's column, and for which there still seems to be no appropriate name-- is growing ubiquitous in its own way, as well. Influenced by the woozy polyrhythms of Ricardo Villalobos, the digital detailing of Dominik Eulberg and the Wighnomy Brothers, and the hard-panned spatialism of Luciano, this new, groggy minimalism is popping up everywhere from Poker Flat and Milnor Modern to newer labels like Opossum, Liebe Detail, and Hello Repeat. (Interestingly, much of this stuff is being distributed not by Kompakt or Neuton but the Hamburg-based Word and Sound; is an industry split along aesthetic lines in the works?) In an entirely unscientific survey of my local record shop, about 80% of the singles I pulled on a recent visit featured the mammoth reverb, uncouth bass burps, and white noise sweeps that seem to be the hallmarks of this subgenre of a subgenre of a subgenre.
I don't mean to suggest that these two styles are mutually exclusive, by any means, nor are they even hard-and-fast entities in and of themselves; hence the general acceptance of terms as misapplied as "minimal," and as vague as "electro-house," to describe everything from the Metro Area-ish sounds of Get Physical to the analogy battery of Areal. But if we accept that there is something distinct in this realm that I'm choosing to call (for today, anyway) "crypto-minimalism"-- because there seems to be a hidden logic lurking beneath the overall sense of disorientation-- then it's possible to try to define what those qualities are, not as a prescriptive exercise, but simply a descriptive one.
With a new Ricardo Villalobos doublepack shortly on the way from Luciano and Serafin's Cadenza label, it's entirely possible that all will be laid bare, since Villalobos' albums Alcachofa and Thé Au Harem D'Archimède served as signposts for the continuing development of druggy, post-microhouse minimal techno. Until then, we'll have to peel back the leaves of the artichoke ourselves. So with no further ado, four sure-fire elements of the new minimalism: Consider this the beginning of a glossary (which in my notes I'm calling "The Minimalarkist's Cookbook") of the genre's key tropes.
1. Thunderclaps are go
Where classic rave used the "stab" as a means of carrying melody and creating forward energy, crypto-minimal employs irregular explosions of white noise to signal rupture. In the Vegetable Orchestra's "Ciboulette (Luciano Remix)", great slamming sounds break through at odd intervals, hammering down over easy gliding hi-hats like bolts from the blue. The effect is like a wake-up call-- that is, until the hypnotic beat carries you back under again.
2. Wheels on fire
Crypto-minimal is all about the horizontal; as should be expected from a sound called "ketamine house," it uses layered repetitions to create a sense of stasis. Unlike the quickly churning minimal techno of yore, though, which tended to loop in one-, two-, or four-bar increments, crypto-minimal pairs the long melodic lines of trance with tight, syncopated rhythms to confuse the sense of movement, a bit like a chrome wheel seems to spin backwards when it's moving at just the right velocity. Triola's "Leuchtturm (Wighnomy's Polarzippar Remix)" offers a classic example of this, as do the cyclical counterpoints of Nathan Fake's "Dinamo" and the ultra-long chord progressions of Luciano's mix of M83's "Teen Angst". Ricardo Villalobos' "Easy Lee" and "Dexter", which soar so high and far they seem to be daring the horizon to disappear, are touchstone moments of this tactic.
3. Highway to squelch
Pantytec, the duo of Sammy Dee and Perlon co-founder Zip, isn't nearly highly enough rated, especially since their fantastic 2002 album Pony Slaystation introduced many of the strategies that define today's post-microhouse sounds. When the album emerged, one of its signature traits was the way it favored twisted, squelching sounds over "pure" tones. Between bent notes, trails of white noise, and bass tones tuned so low they dissipated into clicks, everything had gone grey. You can hear the same ideas over and over in current tracks, where hi-hats fillip like cooling peanut brittle and every sound is sculpted like a duck's tail. The signature example of this is undoubtedly Ricardo Villalobos' remix of Sven Väth's "Cala Llonga". From the queasy melodies to the neverending delay, it's probably the freakiest thing Villalobos has ever done-- and that's saying something-- but the percussion alone merits special attention; every electronic drum seems to melt, screaming, as soon as it's struck.
4. St-st-stop me if you've heard this beat before
One of Robag Wruhme's favorite tricks is to apply a gravelly stutter to-- well, just about anything he can: voices, kick drums, bass bleats. (It's in particularly full effect on his remix of Slam's "This World"; too bad he couldn't re-arrange those lyrics beyond recognition while he was at it.) The newest version of Ableton Live shows that they've clearly kept their ear to the ground; version 5 includes a nifty plug-in called Beat Repeat that will Wrumify your own music with a flick of the switch. Just don't tell him I told you.
Philip Sherburne's writing and photographs can be found at http://www.philipsherburne.com.
Next week: Jess Harvell on the month in drum'n'bass.
Keepin' the beats deep in the groove bunker
-
Shadi Megallaa
- mnml maxi
- Posts: 1614
- Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:27 am
-
minimal house
- mnml maxi
- Posts: 879
- Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2004 9:41 pm
- Location: South Chicago, IL
I just say i play techno or house. There's so much sh!t now that constitutes "minimal," almost like "scranz,"wtf is "scrantz?" its really just a name for techno is it not?
Otherwise, i just say i play that funky german minimal sh!t.
ps I should be at the derrick carter show at smartbar but i dont feel like driving so im getting a little blunted and sippin on an ice cold Becks.
Otherwise, i just say i play that funky german minimal sh!t.
ps I should be at the derrick carter show at smartbar but i dont feel like driving so im getting a little blunted and sippin on an ice cold Becks.