Fri
Jan
25
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I think most people cant appreciate electronic music becuase they cant appreciate sound as an objective medium for delivering art. Most people in contemporary society are used to a mass produced product for simple entertainment (as opposed to form crafted by skilled artisans for the soul purpose of the soul-purpose). The result is that a general audience has had cheaply produced sound quality, minimized ingenuity, uncreative adherence to formula, and focus around meaningless lyrical content all spoonfed to them for the past few decades, and that same general audience has a very hard time appreciating something that defies the fundamental formulae of contemporary music.
Music without lyrics is almost always doomed to fail with a generalized audience, as most listeners (to my assumption) would become instantly bored with having to identify with raw, objective sound. Given that few people in this day and age have any appreciation for anything that purely exists as art, a general listener will find him or herself biting at the bit to escape the monotony of repeating sequences without direction from the human voice. Its like an advertisement without a happy smiling face, confusion sets in as the viewer fails to interpret the mood of an ad without a bright shiny smile to accompany it. Those without a refined taste in music (note we are not discussing good or bad tastes here, just having a developed taste in general!) will fail to grasp all but the most primitive of human expressions, should there not be some contemporary narration to guide the unwary mind’s eye.
Like traditional forms of visual art, music too relies on creativity and ingenuity to stay interesting. A successful artist of any sort should be able to practice multiple types of art, show a progression and evolution of style as time progresses, and bring new elements, licks, twists, and perspectives to the large table of his or her genere of specialty. This of course instantly cuts out measures of success as record sales due to some hollywood tuffet’s crazed night of inebriated debauchery appearing on the cover of some scandalous magazine. Success, hereafter, is a measurement of contribution to the world of art (in this case, music). There are, of course, generalized categories in which any piece of art can fall. One could right off assume the content, expression, use of color, and presentation of form within a baroque era oil painting rather accurately without having even seen the piece. In the same manner, one could assume the general ‘feel’ of a thrash metal song circa 1986. Likewise, the evolution of painting styles can be instantly reviewed with a post-impressionist piece created centuries later, and the same sort of general attributes could be assumed just as they were with our unknown baroque era subject. The same can be said for an american doom metal song circa 2004. These evolutions occur based on series’ of small contributions made by sincere artists as well as singular large leaps in technique brought on by a few select talented artists. As a result, and soul-full contribution to the world of art brings on such evolutionary change, weather or not such additions are revered as good or bad. Appreciation is required in order for such great leaps in development, and this is more than ever applicable to the world of music. If one only is able to hear the absolute most raw and simplistic attributes to electronic music (for instance, a floor kick, high hat, and gated synth), one will never have an open enough mind to appreciate the highly evolved sounds flooding their ears. A broad sampling is required for observance of ingenuity and creativity, and therefore, one must be willing to appreciate that which is foreign (relative to the rest of contemporary music) in order to experience the genuis behind certain creative minds. Dare your mind to experience a new formula for delivery of sound-art!
The genreal audience is almost always set awry by lack of appreciation for sound quality! Few unexperienced listeners could hear any random electronic track produced between 1981 and 2008 and declare its time period based on production quality alone. This is one of the key aspects of electronic music. Fancy schmancy headphones, speakers, and media players are required. Equilizer settings must be highly customized. Multiple channels must be available. Output devices must have a full range of frequency available to deliver. I persoanally have sampled such music focused around very deep, artistically crafted, and creatively delivered resounding bass only to realize 65% of the musical content is inaudible due to low-grade speakers! One can never reach an appropriate level of appreciation if most of the information isnt properly delivered. Such samplings are compareable to observing a beautiful painting in a dark room with random sections of the painting torn out and replaced with visual “white noise.” Obsession with quality is a must. If your headphones arent able to pump out lows like the shock of nuclear fission, or highs like the shrieking of a freshly disturbed banshee, all the while delivering the sound evenly and without distortion, you arent hearing electronic music properly. Production quality means everything - the texture of the bass, forcefulness of the kicks (keep in mind most low quality speakers wont even detect the frequency of a very low floor kick), smoothness of the hats and snares, and the countless hours spent toiling away at perfecting the texture and delivery of synthesized melody - these are just some of the aspects pertenent to the analyzation of electronic music. Those of us who are not audiophiles will simply scoff at that which we dont understand.
In conclusion I will provide a brief sampling of some of the finest electronic music produced within the last 2 years. This piece is not provided for anyone to like, or dislike, only to earn apperciation. Drum and Bass music has evolved out of its musical ‘missing links’ since the early 90s, having roots in Raggae, Hip Hop, Electronic Hardcore, and freestyle Turntablism. A lot of great artists have made their own great contributions to the world of art by perpetuating the advancements of styles (DnB breaks down into many subgeneres, all of which differ vastly from each other), quality of sound, production of texture, and overall creativity in composition. Our artist under scrutiny produces what is known as Darkstep, or Techstep. Like all respectable artists, Limewax (our producer) represents a myriad of releases, and explores many different branches of style. Darkstep happens to be a subject starkly focused on abstract time signatures, dark and forceful undertones, agressive delivery of basslines and percussion, and deeply developed texture. Hailing from Penetration Records (a child label to Tech Itch Recordings), Limewax delivers some earth shattering basslines and rhythmically pulsing percussionary steps. Put on your finest pair of headphones, set your equalizer for clearest output, close your eyes, and let your mind dissolve in a phantasmal onslaught of pure auditory art. Oscillating synths, panning sound channels, phasing elements forward and back, thick juicy basslines, powerful percussionary foundation, clear high end free of clutter, and a sharp yet smooth snap on the snare to keep the pace. Learn to disregard reliance on vocals (note: in electronic music, sampling does not equate vocals!), listen for innovation and mastery of the tools, and to create your own visual headspaces from objective sound.
Related reading:
Life of Sin (Limewax Remix)
Ishkur’s Guide to EDM
Comments (View)
Audiophilia
I think most people cant appreciate electronic music becuase they cant appreciate sound as an objective medium for delivering art. Most people in contemporary society are used to a mass produced product for simple entertainment (as opposed to form crafted by skilled artisans for the soul purpose of the soul-purpose). The result is that a general audience has had cheaply produced sound quality, minimized ingenuity, uncreative adherence to formula, and focus around meaningless lyrical content all spoonfed to them for the past few decades, and that same general audience has a very hard time appreciating something that defies the fundamental formulae of contemporary music.
Music without lyrics is almost always doomed to fail with a generalized audience, as most listeners (to my assumption) would become instantly bored with having to identify with raw, objective sound. Given that few people in this day and age have any appreciation for anything that purely exists as art, a general listener will find him or herself biting at the bit to escape the monotony of repeating sequences without direction from the human voice. Its like an advertisement without a happy smiling face, confusion sets in as the viewer fails to interpret the mood of an ad without a bright shiny smile to accompany it. Those without a refined taste in music (note we are not discussing good or bad tastes here, just having a developed taste in general!) will fail to grasp all but the most primitive of human expressions, should there not be some contemporary narration to guide the unwary mind’s eye.
Like traditional forms of visual art, music too relies on creativity and ingenuity to stay interesting. A successful artist of any sort should be able to practice multiple types of art, show a progression and evolution of style as time progresses, and bring new elements, licks, twists, and perspectives to the large table of his or her genere of specialty. This of course instantly cuts out measures of success as record sales due to some hollywood tuffet’s crazed night of inebriated debauchery appearing on the cover of some scandalous magazine. Success, hereafter, is a measurement of contribution to the world of art (in this case, music). There are, of course, generalized categories in which any piece of art can fall. One could right off assume the content, expression, use of color, and presentation of form within a baroque era oil painting rather accurately without having even seen the piece. In the same manner, one could assume the general ‘feel’ of a thrash metal song circa 1986. Likewise, the evolution of painting styles can be instantly reviewed with a post-impressionist piece created centuries later, and the same sort of general attributes could be assumed just as they were with our unknown baroque era subject. The same can be said for an american doom metal song circa 2004. These evolutions occur based on series’ of small contributions made by sincere artists as well as singular large leaps in technique brought on by a few select talented artists. As a result, and soul-full contribution to the world of art brings on such evolutionary change, weather or not such additions are revered as good or bad. Appreciation is required in order for such great leaps in development, and this is more than ever applicable to the world of music. If one only is able to hear the absolute most raw and simplistic attributes to electronic music (for instance, a floor kick, high hat, and gated synth), one will never have an open enough mind to appreciate the highly evolved sounds flooding their ears. A broad sampling is required for observance of ingenuity and creativity, and therefore, one must be willing to appreciate that which is foreign (relative to the rest of contemporary music) in order to experience the genuis behind certain creative minds. Dare your mind to experience a new formula for delivery of sound-art!
The genreal audience is almost always set awry by lack of appreciation for sound quality! Few unexperienced listeners could hear any random electronic track produced between 1981 and 2008 and declare its time period based on production quality alone. This is one of the key aspects of electronic music. Fancy schmancy headphones, speakers, and media players are required. Equilizer settings must be highly customized. Multiple channels must be available. Output devices must have a full range of frequency available to deliver. I persoanally have sampled such music focused around very deep, artistically crafted, and creatively delivered resounding bass only to realize 65% of the musical content is inaudible due to low-grade speakers! One can never reach an appropriate level of appreciation if most of the information isnt properly delivered. Such samplings are compareable to observing a beautiful painting in a dark room with random sections of the painting torn out and replaced with visual “white noise.” Obsession with quality is a must. If your headphones arent able to pump out lows like the shock of nuclear fission, or highs like the shrieking of a freshly disturbed banshee, all the while delivering the sound evenly and without distortion, you arent hearing electronic music properly. Production quality means everything - the texture of the bass, forcefulness of the kicks (keep in mind most low quality speakers wont even detect the frequency of a very low floor kick), smoothness of the hats and snares, and the countless hours spent toiling away at perfecting the texture and delivery of synthesized melody - these are just some of the aspects pertenent to the analyzation of electronic music. Those of us who are not audiophiles will simply scoff at that which we dont understand.
In conclusion I will provide a brief sampling of some of the finest electronic music produced within the last 2 years. This piece is not provided for anyone to like, or dislike, only to earn apperciation. Drum and Bass music has evolved out of its musical ‘missing links’ since the early 90s, having roots in Raggae, Hip Hop, Electronic Hardcore, and freestyle Turntablism. A lot of great artists have made their own great contributions to the world of art by perpetuating the advancements of styles (DnB breaks down into many subgeneres, all of which differ vastly from each other), quality of sound, production of texture, and overall creativity in composition. Our artist under scrutiny produces what is known as Darkstep, or Techstep. Like all respectable artists, Limewax (our producer) represents a myriad of releases, and explores many different branches of style. Darkstep happens to be a subject starkly focused on abstract time signatures, dark and forceful undertones, agressive delivery of basslines and percussion, and deeply developed texture. Hailing from Penetration Records (a child label to Tech Itch Recordings), Limewax delivers some earth shattering basslines and rhythmically pulsing percussionary steps. Put on your finest pair of headphones, set your equalizer for clearest output, close your eyes, and let your mind dissolve in a phantasmal onslaught of pure auditory art. Oscillating synths, panning sound channels, phasing elements forward and back, thick juicy basslines, powerful percussionary foundation, clear high end free of clutter, and a sharp yet smooth snap on the snare to keep the pace. Learn to disregard reliance on vocals (note: in electronic music, sampling does not equate vocals!), listen for innovation and mastery of the tools, and to create your own visual headspaces from objective sound.
Related reading:
Life of Sin (Limewax Remix)
Ishkur’s Guide to EDM