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The Electronic Music Thread


Thor

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I personally don`t feel confortable listeing to electronic music on its own whether on scores or away from films.

Sounds like you need a better chair.

Electronic music is something you either "get" or you don't. I got into electronic music at the age of 4 when I first heard Autobahn. It probably helped that I was a big Dr Who fan (even then!) and loved the theme music. At the age of 4 I didn't think of Autobahn as electronic music though, rather just an album that I always wanted to listen to. I guess I always just "got" it. Much the same way as I don't get country music.

For the last 4 or 5 years I've really been getting into the music of Klaus Schulze. Great stuff, very spacey. Much more improvised and slow-moving than a lot of electronic music (which is often meticulously arranged and crafted). The opening track "Sequenzer 70-07" from Schulze's 2007 CD "Continuum" is one of the most beautiful electronic pieces I've ever heard. A real triumph of an organic, minimalist build up of layers. Other classic albums to check out:

Irrlicht (1972)

Moondawn (1976)

Mirage (1977)

X (1978)

The rest are also terrific for the most part, but those are my absolute favourites.

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You mentioned all the big hits of those artists, though. Some of their lesser known material is more interesting, IMO.

Absolutely. Especially with Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys, I could have written a list a mile long. But I really do like that 'Fingers and Thumbs', a song that doesn't get as much play time on things like radio as their earlier hits like A little Respect, Stop,Blue Savannah etc. Plus, it's from what to me is their Magnus Opus album, which was interestingly titled.....Erasure. :P

I've seen JMJ live 5 times myself, and I am a completist of his, just as I am of John Williams. I saw him twice just last year

Excellent. At one stage I was quite obsessed with his work. Attending concerts though I only attended his 1993 Wembley on the Chronologie tour and the 1995 Concert Por Tolerance in Paris.

Prior to that I was all booked up to attend one of his concets in Dusseldorf in 1994, but they cancelled it for various reasons. After 1995, my life took another direction and I was off doing other things. But he does seem to be doing a lot more 'multiple concert in one country' things now and it would be nice to attend one again. Even today I keep coming back to that video based around the China Concerts he did in the early 80s though, a fascinating experiment of storytelling with image and music, and one of my favourites of his. It inspired me to visit China in later years.

The line up of image and music at 3:43 always makes my hair stand on end.

Did you ever tap into the clubbing, or was it only music listening?

On the fringes of it really, due to friends who were hardcore clubbers and the music spilled out into life outside the clubs.

Soil Festivities:............The key is to let yourself 'undergo' the music, rather than to actively listen to it.

Yep, a nice little album that one. Interesting. Very subtle.

,
(his 1998 work,not the later score he did) and '
' are also nice additions (imo).
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I enjoy listening to T2 on its own.

I wore my tape out,playing it in my car (chasing young boys on motorbikes).

Mind you, it was a strange point in my life.

Unusually I could also repeat play Fiedel's score for 'The Terminator' in the car, along with the fab 80s songs in the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJjYkAs1ZFQ&feature=related

Mind you, it was a strange point in my life.

Hate the Theme from The Equalizer though....

Many hardened inner city thugs turned to jelly at the sight of the old refined English Gentleman with Black Gloves and a Jaguar. :P

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So there really isn't anyone here who knows the Vangelis clip I've posted? :(

Yes, sorry for missing your post earlier.

The cue is "Alpha" from his 1976 album ALBEDO 0.39.

Melange,

Yes, the China concerts are really something. Both the legendary ones he did in the early 80's (he was the first western artist to hold a concert in the People's Republic of China) as well as the more recent ones he had a few years ago. I have the legendary 2CD set of the first, and the wonderful DVD set of the second, but I'd really like to have the first China concerts on DVD too. They're of historical importance.

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Yes, sorry for missing your post earlier.

The cue is "Alpha" from his 1976 album ALBEDO 0.39.

That's the second cue. I'm looking for the first one.

I have Albedo 0.39, Heaven and Hell and Spiral, and while among them they have most of the Vangelis material used in Cosmos, that first cue isn't there.

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Yes, the China concerts are really something. ..... I have the legendary 2CD set of the first

Oh, I didn't know it was legendary. Is it out of print now in that form?

On a video camera tape I have bits and pieces (15 Mins appx) of personal footage I shot of the 1995 Paris Concert.

Although it is so so quality,I'm convinced that I captured the 'visual' finale better than the official concert film :D

Just had a look in my closet and found a plastic folder full of all sorts of Jarre memorabilia from my Jarre Fan days. Concert Ticket,Concert Program and Badge,Receipts (and a booking receipt and flyer for the Concert that was cancelled),issues of 'Conductor of the Masses' an A5 Jarre Subscription Fanzine of photos and interviews and notices about coming concerts that was fans central source of information here in the UK before internet came on the scene,along with several large Jarre photo books. I used to have several Jarre LPs, but it seems I must have sent them to charity shops when I updated to CDs of his stuff. Silly Melange,silly Melange. Somewhere in the house I have a DVD of the Moscow Concerts, that I bought in Iran of all places. I still haven't watched it, even though it's been in the house for a few years. The cover has Farsi writing and the DVD probably has too. Btw, I've just found an amusing review of the 80s China Concerts on Amazon UK.

"I was at the concerts in China. They were awful; the Chinese audience didn't understand the music and kept talking through them (the only bit they liked was the laser show, which doesn't appear on the CD ;-) ) and Jarre himself almost walked off the stage in frustration at the end. But the CD makes the event sound almost worthwhile. Fine as a musical curiosity - but not really great music, even after all the polishing up that must have been done to turn the live disaster into the recorded just-about-OK concert".

What Vangelis piece is this (at the beginning of the clip):

Can't say I know it,Marian. Perhaps it was composed specifically for the intro?

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Can't say I know it,Marian. Perhaps it was composed specifically for the intro?

It doesn't actually appear in the intro, that YouTube video just mixes together various Vangelis tracks used throughout the series.

On the DVDs, the piece plays during the DVD production credits after each episode, but I think it only shows up once near the end of the actual series. It also doesn't seem to appear on the soundtrack release.

So I still have hope that it's a non-original piece which I can track down eventually.

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For us Vangelis fans some new remasters of Opera Sauvage and L Apocalypse Des Animaux.

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/esoteric/artists/vangelis.php

La Fete Sauvage was supposed to be part of this but no one knows what happened to that.

Of course the question of whether Vangelis himself did the remasters or oversaw them remain.

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It doesn't actually appear in the intro, that YouTube video just mixes together various Vangelis tracks used throughout the series.

On the DVDs, the piece plays during the DVD production credits after each episode, but I think it only shows up once near the end of the actual series. It also doesn't seem to appear on the soundtrack release.

So I still have hope that it's a non-original piece which I can track down eventually.

I've never heard it before. It sounds very early-mid 80s. It's definitely not from Vangelis' 70s music, I'd stake money on that. The sound is too polished and grand.

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Oh, I didn't know it was legendary. Is it out of print now in that form?

Well, yes, it's only available as a single CD now, not two CD's. But I didn't really mean that the CD release was legendary. Only the concerts! :)

On a video camera tape I have bits and pieces (15 Mins appx) of personal footage I shot of the 1995 Paris Concert.

Although it is so so quality,I'm convinced that I captured the 'visual' finale better than the official concert film :D

The 1995 Paris concert ("For Tolerance") has never been officially released on DVD or VHS, as far as I know. Or do you know something I don't?

The Moscow DVD is great, though, if only because it includes the great documentary "How to make a Steamroller Fly". I would never part with my Jarre CD's, even though I know the interest goes in phases. Just a couple of months ago, I was on a real Jarre binge.

Yes, sorry for missing your post earlier.

The cue is "Alpha" from his 1976 album ALBEDO 0.39.

That's the second cue. I'm looking for the first one.

I have Albedo 0.39, Heaven and Hell and Spiral, and while among them they have most of the Vangelis material used in Cosmos, that first cue isn't there.

Ah, sorry about that.

The track in question is "Cosmos 16", which is part of a new, ORIGINAL score that Vangelis wrote for the 1986 relaunch of the series (in relation to the Haley Comet incident). Vangelis wrote a whole new score for it, but that track is unfortunately the only one that was released on the new COSMOS 2CD set. However, I own a set of Vangelis rarities that includes a couple more. Sound quality is crappy, but it's a beautiful score. Deserves a better fate.

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I've been playing the beautiful ANTARCTICA too a bit recently, as well as my favourite Vangelis album next to BLADE RUNNER, namely L'APOCALYPSE DES ANIMAUX.

Antarctica is one of my favorites too.

One of my favorite pieces of all time is REVE from Opera Sauvage. I just love how it builds with that driving rhythm in the background.

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The track in question is "Cosmos 16", which is part of a new, ORIGINAL score that Vangelis wrote for the 1986 relaunch of the series (in relation to the Haley Comet incident). Vangelis wrote a whole new score for it, but that track is unfortunately the only one that was released on the new COSMOS 2CD set. However, I own a set of Vangelis rarities that includes a couple more. Sound quality is crappy, but it's a beautiful score. Deserves a better fate.

Thanks, I din't know either.

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Pinta, Niña and Santa Maria must be my absolute favorite Vangelis track

Oh yeah, forgot about that. This is #1 with Reve #2.

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Well, yes, it's only available as a single CD now, not two CD's.

Ok. Pretty sure my set is the 2 CD (just checked, yep). Amazon.co.uk has some of the 2CD sets for sale (used though).

The 1995 Paris concert ("For Tolerance") has never been officially released on DVD or VHS, as far as I know. Or do you know something I don't?

Oh right. I've still got the UK TV broadcast of it on VHS though. I was away at the concert but got somebody to record the broadcast of it back home for me.

At one stage I transferred both that and my own footage to DVD. I dont' know where it is now though. I may have to transfer it again.

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Has anyone here listened to Larry Fast aka Synergy? Some nice stuff.

I've enjoyed the music of Larry Fast since I first heard an excerpt from the track "Legacy" on the original Cosmos soundtrack album back in the mid 1980s (which I bought mistakenly thinking it was a new Vangelis album). Great stuff!

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[quote name='David Coscina' timestamp='1302607880' post='712918'

Has anyone here listened to Larry Fast aka Synergy? Some nice stuff.

At last! A man after my own musical heart!!! I have been listening to Larry Fast's music for well over 33 years, and I own all his stuff, except "Computer Experiments Vol. 1", and "Reconstituted Artifacts". In a word; BRILLIANT!!!!

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You should definitely start with his first album "Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra" (a terrible title but a great album). After that it's all a matter of taste. I personally think his 3rd album "Cords" is fantastic. Some fans find it a little too avant garde in places, but that's the very thing that makes me love it!

Actually, another good place to start would be the compilation album "Semi Conductor". Get the 2-CD version if you can. It features tracks from all his albums and will give you a good idea of his style and what other albums to buy.

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The track in question is "Cosmos 16", which is part of a new, ORIGINAL score that Vangelis wrote for the 1986 relaunch of the series (in relation to the Haley Comet incident). Vangelis wrote a whole new score for it, but that track is unfortunately the only one that was released on the new COSMOS 2CD set. However, I own a set of Vangelis rarities that includes a couple more. Sound quality is crappy, but it's a beautiful score. Deserves a better fate.

Thanks!

And damn.

I wasn't even aware of a shortened, newly scored version of the series. But I guess they took some material from it and added it to the DVD release of the full series. That doesn't just explain the appearance of Cosmos 16, but also why there's a screenshot of a Seti@Home client in what is essentially an early 80s docu series.

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The Electronic Music Thread

Oooo yeah, pulsey synth music. Long followed Jarre's career and attended two of his live concerts after getting into his early analogue soundscape work while still at school (and also loved his later work up until the mid 1990s,after which his later experiments lost my interest) and truly love Synth Pop from the late 70s, 80s, 90s and even some forms of it which continue today. Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys in particular are duos who really flooded this genre with great meaningfull songs and clever use of the instrumentation. Both provided great stuff which was a bit of a soundtrack to my life in the early to mid 90s. O.M.D,Yazoo,Jan Hammer,New Order,The Prodigy,Depeche Mode,A-Ha,The Shamen,Gary Numan,Vangelis,Kraftwerk,the list goes on. Lots of great work.

Like you, my interest in the kind of stuff, spilled over into the Rave / Trance.

Anyway, a mere slice of a very large pie :D

~ Pet Shop Boys.

~ Erasure.

~ U96

~ KLF ( 2:01-2:36 .....woo hooo! )

~ Rhythm Device

Enjoy the Silence ~ Depeche Mode

~ Gary Numan

~ Vince Clarke in Yazoo, before teaming up with Andy for Erasure.

Ebeneezer Goode ~ The Shamen

Forever Tonight ~ Jan Hammer

Video Killed the Radio Star ~ The Buggles

Das Model ~ Kraftwerk

Blue Monday ~ New Order

~ A-Ha

Charlie (Original Mix) ~ The Prodigy

Interestingly,Kylie Minogue has tinkered with Synth to produce new songs with an earlier synth era feel to them.

,has an awesome throw back to an earlier synth era at 2.26. I explode into dance when that part comes :D

And when it comes to J.M.J, I wouldn't know where to start. But to pick one from his later stuff, how about Chronologie 1?

He opened his London 1993 Concert in Wembley with this Gem, and I tell ya it shook the very ground :eek: . That night was a dream come true, for me.

I am a big Jarre fan two, ive seen him live 3 times and he's signed my LP :).

He's a genious and i love all his work.

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Yes, Melange, I remember Prodigy's "Out of Space" well. I attended a concert of theirs 2-3 years ago. It was awesome, totally kick-ass from start to finish.

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You should definitely start with his first album "Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra" (a terrible title but a great album). After that it's all a matter of taste. I personally think his 3rd album "Cords" is fantastic. Some fans find it a little too avant garde in places, but that's the very thing that makes me love it!

Actually, another good place to start would be the compilation album "Semi Conductor". Get the 2-CD version if you can. It features tracks from all his albums and will give you a good idea of his style and what other albums to buy.

Thanks for the recommendations. I never heard of the chap.

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Me neither. I know Larry Fast only from some less-than-stellar Pink Floyd remix albums. He's never been on my "electronic radar", so to speak.

Edit: Hmmm...I gave some of those Synergy/Larry Fast things a chance over at Spotify, and I'm sorry to say that I didn't like it at all. The sound was too "cheap", I hated those highpitched synth strings that keep going through them and in general it was more grating than pleasing. But one man's jewel is another man's trash etc. That's how it goes.

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What do we think about Ryuichi Sakamoto, fellas? Granted, I prefer the more acoustic Sakamoto but there's always some use of electronics in his music, right? Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence!

Edit: Hmmm...I gave some of those Synergy/Larry Fast things a chance over at Spotify, and I'm sorry to say that I didn't like it at all. The sound was too "cheap", I hated those highpitched synth strings that keep going through them and in general it was more grating than pleasing. But one man's jewel is another man's trash etc. That's how it goes.

I did the same over at Youtube and while I didn't hate it I sorta agree with Thor. I don't think it's grating but I get tired of it pretty fast. Very note-heavy with almost no expression to it. The sounds/atmospheres aren't really seductive or evocative. I did like the fact that it's different from other synth composers. Some of it reminded me of the electronic side of Todd Rundgren.

Alex

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I love his stuff, but the mixed reaction his music is getting even in the "electronic music" thread is a perfect demonstration of why he remains considerably more obscure than the more "spacey" or "techno" artists like TD, Schulze, Jarre, Kraftwerk, Vangelis etc. The sound of his synths seems to make you either love him or hate him. His music is more about the "composition" than the "sound".

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I love his stuff, but the mixed reaction his music is getting even in the "electronic music" thread is a perfect demonstration of why he remains considerably more obscure than the more "spacey" or "techno" artists like TD, Schulze, Jarre, Kraftwerk, Vangelis etc. The sound of his synths seems to make you either love him or hate him. His music is more about the "composition" than the "sound".

Qiute right, Pixie. Fast has always put melody and harmony over texture, or "feel". If you want texture, then check out his work with Peter Gabriel, especially "peter gabriel 3". "ERFRO" is a good start, but he really came into his own with "Sequencer", especially my all-time fave, "Sequence 14"; Stunning.

Some little-known facts:

1/ Fast performed a concert in NYC (was he "back in NYC?")a few years ago, along with Wendy Carlos.

2/Fast auditioned for Yes circa "TFTO".

3/Fast was asked to "audition" for the role of composer for the film "The Right Stuff". Those pieces are on "Semiconductor - release 2", and are: "Launch At Dawn", and "To The Edge And Back".

4/ Although not credited, Fast worked on "Us", by Peter Gabriel.

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Just listening to Man With No Name now, his classic 1998 album EARTH MOVING THE SUN. Now THIS is my kind of electronica! Hardhitting psytrance/goa from the top of the era!

Brilliant!

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