Electronic Music
Come to Aphex Twin!
Have you ever had one of those days, where everything that comes up on your playlist reminds you of one particular artist? Like…
“oh, that beat reminds me of artist X”.
“Hey that sound reminds me of artist X”.
“Wait, I’m sure artist X has a few tunes like that”.
Well, over this last weekend alot of the tunes I’ve been listening to seem to remind me of (that wacky Irish camper himself) Aphex Twin. Yet I haven’t listened to one actual Aphex Twin song in months!
What I have been listening to though is a variety of jungle, hardcore, drum’n’bass, ambient and psytrance. Could it really be that Aphex Twin sounds like all of these?
One of the artists I listened to was Boards of Canada. They have that kind of ambient, IDM, experimental feel to them. And they are all words that you can definately apply to Aphex Twin (Selected Ambient Works?).
I also listened to some of The Knife, that Swedish synthpop pair who have some pretty warped sounds, with hints of mainstreaminess. Hmm, also Aphex Twin-ey (Richard D. James?).
And finally, there was some good ol’ Infected Mushroom. To me, there are some very similar beats, rhythms and mix-ups between the two.
You know, I think I may even go so far as to say, a journey through Aphex Twin is a journey through a vast array of electronic music styles.
Track Details: Aphex Twin – Window Licker
Track Details: Boards of Canada – Dayvan Cowboy
Track Details: The Knife – Like a Pen
If you like those, try: Aphex Twin – Digeridoo
Aphex Twin – Polynomial-C
Boards of Canada – Music is Math
Boards of Canada – Kid for Today
The Knife – We Share Our Mother’s Health
The Knife – Heartbeats
Minor – the key to my heart
I adore minor keys. They’re not discordant or jarring. They’re just… more melancholy? Darker?
I’ve been trying to quantify what it is that gets me about them. I studied music for almost a decade, but I still can’t say exactly what it is. So (as per usual) I went snooping around the net looking for someone else to say it for me.
“In the German theory by or derived from Hugo Riemann, the minor mode is considered the inverse of the major mode, an upside down major scale based on (theoretical) undertones rather than (actual) overtones (harmonics).
Minor scales are sometimes said to have a more interesting, possibly sadder sound than plain major scales. The minor mode, with its variable sixth and seventh degrees, offers nine notes, in C: C-D-Eflat-F-G-Aflat-A-Bflat-B, over the major mode’s seven, in C: C-D-E-F-G-A-B. The interval strength, or lowest possible location in the harmonic series, and thus consonance and “stability”, of minor triads is less than that of major, which interprets major as more “stable”, a major triad being found in the 4th, 5th, and 6th harmonics of a pitch, while the minor being the 10th, 12th, and 15th. This may explain the Picardy third, the use of a major tonic chord at the very end of a composition in minor, since it would be more stable and thus conclusive.”
Yes, couldn’t have put it better myself!
I will make one generalisation though. The majority of dark-genre songs (ie. dark drum’n’bass, dark breakbeat etc) are based on minor keys. The majority of happy or uplifting genre songs are based on major keys.
I’ll find some and show you soon!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Elgar Gets a Make-Over
On the weekend I went to a symphony with my Dad. The main attraction for me (apart from one of the cellists – teehee) was Vaughan Williams’ ‘Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis’.
The “headlining” piece was actually Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’. This was, ofcourse, towards the end of the concert, and by that stage I was getting a little drowsy. Well, did that change when they started this!
If any of you are familiar with the first movement of ‘Enigma Variations’, you’ll know why my interest was piqued.
If any of you are familiar with Rob Dougan’s ‘Clubbed to Death’, that’s why my interest was piqued!
The string theme used in the beginning of (and throughout) ‘Clubbed to Death’ is none other than the ‘Enigma Variation’ theme. Rob D just added some sexy bass lines and synthetic sounds.
Why I didn’t pick this up before the concert, I’ll never know. But I’m glad I didn’t, as it was a great suprise! I’m sure there were lots of other under 35yo (or Matrix fans) in the audience who agreed.
Anyway, hearing this piece got me thinking. Out of all my favourite classical pieces, which one would be most awesome to remix?
And how does one go about remixing an old song? Do you take out the theme from the original, think of a beat you like, then work it in? Or do you think about how you want the song to feel and then go from there?
Another question, is it harder to remix an established piece of music (particularly if it’s well written), than starting from scratch? The style and movement of it is already so intrenched by it’s genre, wouldn’t it be difficult to break away from that?
Track details: Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations
Track details: Rob Dougan – Clubbed to Death
If you like that, try: The Prodigy – Mozart Remix
Electronic Music Genre UPDATE 2
Just quickly letting you know that I have updated a few of the ‘Electronic Music Genre‘ pages, namely Ambient, Breakbeat, Disco, Downtempo, Electro, Electronic Art Music, Hardcore and House.
Some of the information on these pages is very brief, but I will be updating everything continuously. In the mean time, continue to check out all the related blog posts.
The rest of the genres will be covered shortly, so don’t forget to check up regularly!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Wisp-ey atmospheres
Even when I need to relax, I don’t like listening to ‘technically boring’ songs. By that I mean, songs where very little happens, there are very few layers, there are no rhythmic changes etc etc.
But every brain needs a little down time. Or, in my case, something to distract it enough to be able to wind down and rock it gently in to (hopefully) some form of temporary oblivion.
A song that does this really well for me is the Wisp remix of Aphex Twin’s ‘Rhubarb’. It’s an awesome mix of relaxing, atmospheric ambient with an Omni-Trio-esque jungle rhythm mixed in. There are no sudden loud noises to jar you back in to reality, just smooth, groovy ambience.
Track Details: Aphex Twin – rhubarb (Wisp 1159 mix)
If you like that, try: Aphex Twin – lichen (Wisp 1136 mix)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Calyx – Moving through the Shadows
If you were hanging around the drum’n’bass scene around 05-06, you more than likely heard a couple of songs by Calyx. If you were listening to the darker sounds in drum’n’bass, it’s even MORE likely that you heard some of his tunes.
Personally, I love the stuff this guy (Larry Cons) has been putting out. I don’t think I have found one song I don’t like. Sure some are better than others, but on a whole, it’s a hearty two thumbs up from me.
What I love even MORE though, is Moving Shadow. They are one of the record labels that have truly done a massive favour for the drum’n’bass and jungle collective. What I’m talking about are their MS sampler series. It is through these that I have discovered numerous new (and fantastic) drum’n’bass artists and been able revisit old ones. What makes them even better is that they’re SO CHEAP!! On average, you pay around AU$12 per CD, and they are top quality production-wise.
It was through MS05.2 that I came across Calyx. At the moment, I would say this album is one of my all time drum’n’bass favourites. It’s got everything I love about drum’n’bass in it. The sexy rhythms, the dark deep and grumbly bass lines, the occasional vocals, the industrial grunt that is still smooth and groovable. GAH! I’m gonna need a cold shower soon.
Track Details: Calyx – Tearing Us Apart
If you like that, try: Corrupt Souls – Trioxin
Or have a go of: Future Prophecies – Concrete Combat
Rave culture
I came across this post in my tag surf list. The majority of it I agree with.
I think there is such thing as a rave culture. It’s a culture that anyone can be part of and can contribute to. Your parents don’t need to have been part of it, and you don’t need to believe in anything to be part of it. You don’t need to swear allegiance to anyone and there are no strict rituals.
It’s a culture that (I believe) has been completely misrepresented and misunderstood. Fortunately, those who think badly of ravers are the ones missing out. So I don’t care.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Shout Out addition
Just a quick note to let you know I have added a page for ‘shout outs‘. Essentially it’s just a spot to say thanks to all those people who helped me discover electronic music and music in general.
Ofcourse, I haven’t been able to list EVERYone, so if your name isn’t there I do apologise. You are, nonetheless, *cue corny toonage* in my memories and my heart.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Electronic Music Genre UPDATE
Just a quick note to let you know I have updated the list of Electronic Music Genres.
There are a couple of genres on the list I’m not too familiar with, but I had seen them referenced in a couple of different places, so added them anyway.
They are split up according to the 14 most general areas of dance music today. Ofcourse, 10, 5, even 1 year ago, some of these genres didn’t exist. Soon I will be adding a page describing when each of the primary genres appeared and then attempt to break it down further from there. Just a little fine-tuning needed.
Stay funky!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Psycho-delic trance?
I was recently introduced to the musical stylings of Infected Mushroom. For years I had seen their posters and name splashed about the place, but I’d never actually heard anything of theirs.
Well! Have my eyes (or should I say, ears) been opened! And here I was thinking that all tech was becoming boringly progressive and all trance anthemic and blah.
This Israeli psytrance duo sure know how to get your brain going and every sense working overtime to keep up. And then, just like that, they can bring it right back down with hypnotic vocals and sexy rhythms.
Track Details: Infected Mushroom – Tasty Mushroom
If you like that, try: Infected Mushroom – Release Me
For something a little different, try: Infected Mushroom – Avratz
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