The Amazing Electronic Music Thread

[bruce marshall 1,315]

This is why I hate " Hall of Fame" crap. And Oscar.

They become the default arbiters of what is great.

Every time I read or hear someone whine  " I can't believe ?_??__ isn't.in the RORHOF"  I become infuriated. Who needs their imprimatur?

I don't.

 

•  

"Kraftwerk finally granted entry to 'Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame..."

 

" Granted entry".

Gimme a break.

It's not Valhalla, it's a building in Cleveland. And, you don't get.to LIVE there!😝😠

[Holko 9,537]

Thank you so much for this contemporary art piece, bruce!

[A24 4,349]

Bruce gets arty when he thinks of Kraftwerk.

[Thor 7,533]

1 hour ago, AC1 said:

Kraftwerk finally granted entry to 'Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame' after 6 rejections:

 

https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/kraftwerk-finally-granted-entry-rock-roll-hall-fame-six-rejections-998243

 

Typical that it happens now, a year after Schneider passed away.

[GerateWohl 4,389]

My first touchpoint with electronic music was the double LP of Tangerine Dream's Warsaw concert. An I was really enflamed by it. But the Techno Wave of the 90s burried my passion for electronic music somehow. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

My favorite track from my favorite Michael Rother solo album.  It sounds like Morricone meets motorik.

 

 

[bruce marshall 1,315]

On 5/13/2021 at 11:39 PM, AC1 said:

Bruce gets arty when he thinks of Kraftwerk.

Why?!

I thought it was just on my phone!😵

On 5/13/2021 at 10:50 PM, bruce marshall said:

This is why I hate " Hall of Fame" crap. And Oscar.

They become the default arbiters of what is great.

Every time I read or hear someone whine  " I can't believe ?_??__ isn't.in the RORHOF"  I become infuriated. Who needs their imprimatur?

I don't.

 

 

•  

 

 

" Granted entry".

Gimme a break.

It's not Valhalla, it's a building in Cleveland. And, you don't get.to LIVE there!😝😠

 

[Faleel 5,370]

On 10/8/2019 at 3:51 PM, Naïve Old Fart said:

Nice, but...I'd be more interested to find out what classical record Banks nicked the backwards intro., from.

Banks isn't saying anything (!).

Apparently this piece is what was sampled:

 

 

Not sure what specific record it would be.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

I seem to remember Banks saying that the recording was of a symphony by Shostakovich. I'll have to watch the "Making Of Genesis" doc., again.

[Faleel 5,370]

19 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

I seem to remember Banks saying that the recording was of a symphony by Shostakovich. I'll have to watch the "Making Of Genesis" doc., again.

Could be, I read what I posted above in the comments of this video:

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

That video makes me want to hear It's Gonna Get Better!

[Thor 7,533]

 

I had so high expectations for this, but alas, most of it is bland, commercial techno. I had hoped for something a little more visionary. The track from Röyksopp -- from my own country -- is, by far, the best contribution.

[A24 4,349]

Listen to how Vangelis still plays and adds real percussion instruments like the timpani, concert bassdrum, gongs, tam-tam and all kinds of bells to the synthesizers in this track. This is something he would exchange for rudimentary percussion samples around the beginning of the '80s. It's one of the things I regret the most about Vangelis, even Blade Runner has nothing but E-MU Emulator percussion samples (which he sampled and uses at the same time while he's playing synths) and it's pretty obvious. He used to have a studio that was packed with percussion instruments. He also played the drums.  

 

 

 

[Thor 7,533]

I'm glad he left all that behind and went for a pure electronic approach in most things. Can't stand the Irene Papas stuff.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

What do you think of Aphrodite's Child?

Just think what might have happened, if he had joined Yes...or perhaps not...

[A24 4,349]

13 hours ago, Thor said:

I'm glad he left all that behind and went for a pure electronic approach in most things. 

 

You didn't like the implementation of real orchestral percussion? Wow! Not only did it sound incredible, it was a lot more musically interesting than the lazy and simplistic one-note samples he adds while playing his synths 'live'. Vangelis is actually a very good percussionist but he has replaced musical skill with simplistic accents masked by huge reverbs. Now if the percussion was truly electronic-sounding and generated with real synthesizers, then I have no problem with it. But that's the thing, apart from that I don't find his musical style interesting anymore, Vangelis has ditched his all his analog synthesizers and real instruments, and gradually switched to 100% samples which he drowns in wishy washy reverbs. 

 

 

Vangelis' percussion section at Nemo Studios during the good years.

 

 

 

Vangelis today at his custom-made sample workstation adding percussion accents. Meh...

 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

What do you think of Aphrodite's Child?

Just think what might have happened, if he had joined Yes...or perhaps not...

 

Well, he met with Jon Anderson and they did something totally different and unique. I love the Short Stories album they did together. BTW, the percussion on it is friggin amazing. I can't play it loud enough! 

[Thor 7,533]

I don't care for Aphrodite's Child, really. I will probably offend a lot of Greeks by saying this, since they're such an iconic band there, but it sounds like a garage band tumbling around to capture the prog rock aesthetic of the time. It's very "muddy-sounding", in lack of a better word (with some exceptions, of course). I do, however, really enjoy the Jon & Vangelis albums, since the Yes connection was brought up here.

 

When it comes to Vangelis, I really prefer him when he's all-out electronic. Not too many acoustic elements, percussion or otherwise. I can't stand MYTHODEA, for example. Wishy-washy nonsense.

 

Cobbler, stick to your last!

[A24 4,349]

44 minutes ago, Thor said:

When it comes to Vangelis, I really prefer him when he's all-out electronic. Not too many acoustic elements,

 

But the sampled bass drum, timpani, cymbal crash or gong that Vangelis adds as percussion accents are meant to sound real and not electronic. Only now it sounds static and so simplistic that it becomes boring. It's boring because it's nothing more than an accent and he needs to be able to add it 'live' when he plays strings on his keyboard. Most 'samplists' do it better (with better, more extensive sampled instruments). Like I said, if it did sound electronic, like the rhythm in J-MJ's Oxygene Part 4 or Vangelis' Rêve* (Opera Sauvage), then by golly, I'm all for it.  

 

 

At least we agree on Aphrodite's Child!

 

 

 

* God, did that track gave me a Blade Runner overdose back in the days

[Thor 7,533]

Sure, I don't mind a little bit of acoustic "colourization" now and then, but it needs to be organic.

[A24 4,349]

The crazy thing is, even though it's not intended as such, Odes feels more Ancient Greece (albeit more about the country life) to me than his score to Alexander (which I do not like one bit).

[Thor 7,533]

I'm thankful ALEXANDER doesn't sound like "ancient Greece" and instead focusses on the mythological scope of the narrative. Love the score, and can't even get through ODES.

[A24 4,349]

It's difficult not to think of Ancient Greece when focusing on Greek mythology, but okay.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

Has anyone heard THE ODYSSEY, by David Bedford?

I like it.

[Thor 7,533]

52 minutes ago, AC1 said:

It's difficult not to think of Ancient Greece when focusing on Greek mythology, but okay.

 

I was thinking mythology in a wider sense -- the drama, intrigues and scope of characters and settings. Vangelis makes just enough references to "Greek" music while keeping the story and mise-en-scene universal. A sparse, ODES-like folk score would be absolutely dreadful for the film and the lush cinematic language used by Stone.

[A24 4,349]

2 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Not really. I was thinking mythology in a wider sense -- the drama, intrigues and scope of characters and settings. Vangelis makes just enough references to "Greek" music while keeping the story and mise-en-scene universal. A sparse, ODES-like score would be absolutely dreadful for the film and the lush cinematic language used by Stone.

 

Hmm, I never said Odes would be appropriate for Alexander, just that it builds more of an Ancient Greek atmosphere than Alexander does, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with Ancient Greece. It creates its own ancient world, no movie necessary. That's why I like it. 

[Thor 7,533]

15 minutes ago, AC1 said:

 

Hmm, I never said Odes would be appropriate for Alexander, just that it builds more of an Ancient Greek atmosphere than Alexander does, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with Ancient Greece. It creates its own ancient world, no movie necessary. That's why I like it. 

 

OK, but I maintain that it's not a primary objective of ALEXANDER to build an Ancient Greek atmosphere, even though it's set in that period.

[A24 4,349]

I understand that. His score to Chariots Of Fire doesn't try to take you back to the 1920s either. 

[Thor 7,533]

 

I think when all is said and done, this 2004 album remains my favourite Orbital. "Acid Pants" is a surely a tribute to The Sparks' "The Rhythm Thief", released two years earlier? I know Sparks were involved in the album.

[Thor 7,533]

Jon Aanensen provides another extensive filmography, this time for Jan Hammer:

 

http://celluloidtunes.no/jan-hammer-a-filmography/

[Jurassic Shark 12,100]

The last interesting work of Vangelis was Mythodea.

[A24 4,349]

In fact, it's your favorite!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

Does anyone like Kebu?

[Bellosh 3,422]

one of my favorite tracks of all time.

 

 

[A24 4,349]

1977

 

 

1976

 

As somebody (Sweepers) pointed out in the movie thread ... the similarities are pretty striking. In fact, the Earth depicted on the End Of The World poster is an exact copy of JMJ's Oxygene.

[A24 4,349]

 

[A24 4,349]

 

"Aperture: The Stack is a software instrument, created from recordings of an unlikely collection of electronic instruments being played through no fewer than 56 classic guitar amps and, just for the hell of it, four subwoofers." -Sound On sound

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

I've discovered a band called Logic 1000. I really like them.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Can't believe Thor doesn't like ODES.

And yes, that music would have been PURRFECT for ALEXANDER.

I was disappointed he didn't go that approach

 

[A24 4,349]

Thor doesn't like '70s Vangelis. He prefers lazy 'workstation samples' Vangelis (see photo). If he wants trumpets, he pushes the button that says trumpets, et cetera.

 

 

I remember that I once loved Vangelis because he was able to play synthesizers with real emotion, just like a great violinist is able to make a violin sing.  Now it's all dead samples from a computer drenched in oceans of reverberation. And music wise he has become too New Agey instead of exploratory and adventurous.

[Thor 7,533]

That's somewhat of a simplification. While it's true that I gravitate more towards his 80s and 90s output, there are several 70s things I like. L'APOCALYPSE DES ANIMAUX is my second favourite Vangelis, no less. Also in my top 20 are OPERA SAUVAGE (8), HEAVEN AND HELL (17), SPIRAL (18), AMORE (19).

 

On to:

 

 

This 2015 effort is my favourite of the five electronic Mathevon albums I own (he's also a film composer that does orchestral scores). Per his own admission, it owes plenty to his countryman Jean Michel Jarre, and a little bit of Tangerine Dream. I think he's pretty good at nailing that sound.

[A24 4,349]

 

 

Brand new Tangerine Dream album with vintage sounding easy-listening sequencer music. Are these still the same guys from all those years ago?

 

 

Great for two Blade Runner-ish tracks: 'Abraham's Theme' and '100 Metres'. More Blade Runner than Blade Runner, more human than human. And while the famous main theme still works wonders in the movie (the running men on the beach scene), it has been used so many times that it has become a bit of a caricature.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

2 hours ago, AC1 said:

 

 

Nice. They've even returned to the FORCE MAJEURE font, for the name.

 

 

2 hours ago, AC1 said:

 

 

Is this the cover from the box-set, a few years ago. Why there's never been an expanded score, is beyond me.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

VANGELIS is best heard in the 70s.

His 80's film work is his best of that era; surpasses his non- film work

52 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Nice. They've ever returned to the FORCE MAJEURE font, for the name.

 

 

Is this the cover from the box-set, a few years ago. Why there's never been an expanded score, is beyond me.

No leaks?!

[A24 4,349]

2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Is this the cover from the box-set, a few years ago. 

 

I think it's the 25th Anniversary release. I streamed it from Amazon Music. I don't have the CD.

 

1 hour ago, bruce marshall said:

 

His 80's film work is his best of that era; surpasses his non- film work

 

 

My favorite of the '80s is Movement 1, though, a non-score track on Soil Festivities ... Sadly, side B of Soil Festivities is not that essential, but I'm not bothered by it either. Another '80s non-score album that gets a lot of playtime with me is See You Later. At the time, I didn't buy the LP but recordered it from a radio program. What they forgot to play was Memories Of Green and so I was unfamiliar with it when I saw the famous movie in which it later was used.

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

Two great records, Alex. SEE YOU LATER is my second favourite Vangelis recording.

[A24 4,349]

 

The third CD (which has nothing to do with the movie). It's okay as background music.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,558]

Agreed. It's all a bit meh.

[Thor 7,533]

Love the whole set! That's the way to do an expansion.

[Positivatee 327]

What was wrong with the original album that it needed an expansion? 

[A24 4,349]

Anyone familiar with Two Lanes?

 

 

Apparently these are piano versions of their electronic music. It's nice and calming.