Conceptronica

[version]

The LP on Hyperdub, Mnestic Pressure, was good, imo. I wasn't bowled over by it or anything like that, just thought it was a solid album. It didn't seem to be as concept-heavy as his other stuff, just a bunch of tunes.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

unrelenting amiablness

the bitterness is under the facade

it's always interesting to hear Europeans describe their idea of America, the funhouse distortions they make

it's a hard place to get a grip on. whereas yall are tethered to your millennia of history.

 

[sadmanbarty]

Baseball!

Nice polished ball. A worn leather catcher glove that’s been passed down from generation to generation. You and pup would go to the park on one of those eternally clear blue days to have a go while mum’s at home Cooking in a similataneously humble and luxurious home.

It’s all well and good until they start setting fire to disco records on the pitch because they hate the gays.

 

[version]

I can't think of a release with a concept in this vein where I've been really invested or interested in the concept, it lives and die by the tunes.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

Mnestic Pressure

just skimmed thru. I see what you mean. still doesn't interest me but at least it's not buried under the ponderous weight of its concept and history.

"Ghost" is pretty passable late ca. late 94-turn of 95 jungle tune, which ain't something to scoff at.

 

[version]

just skimmed thru. I see what you mean. still doesn't interest me but at least it's not buried under the ponderous weight of its concept and history.

"Ghost" is pretty passable late ca. late 94-turn of 95 jungle tune, which ain't something to scoff at.

He's mentioned Black Secret Technology in interviews before and you can def. hear the influence in that tune in particular.

 

[mvuent]

The LP on Hyperdub, Mnestic Pressure, was good, imo. I wasn't bowled over by it or anything like that, just thought it was a solid album. It didn't seem to be as concept-heavy as his other stuff, just a bunch of tunes.

haven't listened to that one. I got really excited hearing that it was his take on jungle and then was very underwhelmed when I heard this:


pales in comparison to actual jungle imo. I'm sure he was trying to do something a bit different but I can't help but hear it as surprisingly lacking. maybe should have spent less time reading about late capitalism and more time drum programming.

 

[sadmanbarty]

The British national character is very oyster like. We need a bit of grit to make oysters. American soap operas are full of beautiful people who are loaded, whereas British ones are full of potato faced poor people.

American sitcoms are about gorgeous people all shagging each other whereas British ones are about broken people alienating themselves and suffering for it.

American rap’s about cars, jewellery and big bums whereas British rap’s about stabbing someone at the local chicken shop

British people can’t gave fun without the initial impetus of something grimey and grim

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

setting fire to disco records on the pitch because they hate the gays

don't forget people of color

that was in Chicago, as you may know, at old Comiskey Park in Bridgeport, stronghold of the Daleys

traditionally working-class white, now one of the few - Chicago is and always has been one of the most segregated cites in the country - truly racially diverse neighborhoods in the city

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

pales in comparison to actual jungle imo

I don't really disagree tbc

if it had come out in 94 it would be one of 1000s of filler tunes no one remembers

that's still much better than virtually anything conceptual revivalists usually do

 

[version]

haven't listened to that one. I got really excited hearing that it was his take on jungle and then was very underwhelmed when I heard this:


pales in comparison to actual jungle imo. I'm sure he was trying to do something a bit different but I can't help but hear it as surprisingly lacking. maybe should have spent less time reading about late capitalism and more time drum programming.

That's the only more or less straight jungle tune on it tbh, dunno who told you the album was that as a whole. There are traces of it in some of the other tunes, but it's not a jungle album.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

broken people alienating themselves and suffering for it

you have to suffer the kind of defeat or setback that inspires existential crisis (like losing an empire) to have a historical sense of irony

as bad as things are right now, the U.S. has yet to face that

albeit Americans are much closer to it than they were 50, or especially 20 (9/11, endless wars, collapse/recession, Trump etc) years ago

 

[version]

It's an odd album. I like it and have listened to it a fair bit, but it doesn't really excite me or hit me particularly hard. The same goes for most newer stuff. I might find the odd tune where I'm like 'fuck' and play it to death for a week, but that's about as enthusiastic as I seem to get these days. I can't think of the last album which I thought was genuinely brilliant and absolutely had to buy it.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

if you're talking pastiche revivalism definitely give me Where U Were U In 92 or that Shitmat record from around the same time

they're doing anything new but they have tunes and they're listenable

whereas I can't imagine voluntarily listening to Lee Gamble for more than about 15 seconds

 

[version]

There's a constant back and forth over whether music is actually very dull at the moment or whether I'm just out of touch/aging out of it.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

I might find the odd tune where I'm like 'fuck' and play it to death for a week, but that's about as enthusiastic as I seem to get these days

yeah that's about where I am. tbf it's not like I'm making any kind of effort to find new things. who's got the time/energy?

 

[version]

The good stuff I find tends to come from just following the YouTube algorithm. The sites and shops I used to look at are all completely stagnant.

 

[version]

Twitter's still going.

can’t be bothered to read that article about conceptual dance music yet.. make some funky weird boom boom music that doesn’t make u feel like a dumbass bore or a fascist. conceptual art is for people that can’t just make good shit without needing to explain why it’s not boring

I always felt that if you need an essay to explain your art - you ain’t doing it right

And if you do make conceptual and thoughtful art - please don’t try to explain that shit... if it’s any good you won’t need to write a dumb manifesto about it. Isn’t that the point of art vs the academia.. jeez

on #conceptronica piece by @SimonRetromania
- agree with mention of the shrinking streams of revenue for artists, when dubplates aren't selling and arts grants are the only chance for pocket money/travel expenses, then only those that know the language are going to be heard - ironically the main source of all this conceptual framework and language that artists are able to attach to relatively club-ready music is, you guessed it, writers such as @SimonRetromania ... kinda hard to address this reflexivity perhaps - world building as buzz word is incredibly played out, i agree... but the need to carve out a space in an increasingly full mediascape whereto establish an artistic vision amidst the homogeny of the Zuckerborg and other blue platforms isn't going to be limited to the 2010s

 

[Leo]

It’s all well and good until they start setting fire to disco records on the pitch because they hate the gays.

and shooting up the nearby high school.

 

[version]

Talking of musicians being overly reliant on dodgy sources of funding, just seen this from last year.

HUAWEI AND BOILER ROOM LAUNCH PARTNERSHIP EVENT SERIES ‘NEW FORMS’, INSPIRED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Event and content series draws on shared values to combine technology with art and music

Huawei, the global technology leader, has announced a new European partnership with international online music broadcasting platform, and cultural curator Boiler Room which will see the first ever Boiler Room events live streamed exclusively via the HUAWEI P20 Pro.

The partnership will see Huawei and Boiler Room launch ‘New Forms’, a six-part event series inspired by Artificial Intelligence that celebrates live electronic music’s intersection with technology. The collaboration aims to empower a new generation of creative talent with the combination of art, technology and music and will showcase a collection of some of Europe's most forward-thinking electronic music producers. The six event series will take place across Europe this summer in atypical non-club environments – art galleries, cultural institutions, historical buildings.

Each event will be exclusively live streamed using a network of HUAWEI P20 Pro smartphones featuring the world’s first Leica triple camera system powered by AI and quoted as “best camera in a smartphone, taking number one spots in both our photo and video rankings” by DxOMark (the leading source of independent image quality measurements and ratings for smartphone, camera and lens). Showcasing a collection of some of Europe's most forward-thinking artists, the series will also present six A/V commissions that respond to technology's most significant new frontier: Artificial Intelligence.


https://consumer.huawei.com/uk/press/news/2018/boiler-room-huawei/