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Thandrus View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: "Studio Improvisation" artists... bad/good?
    Posted: October 27 2007 at 07:27
Hi guys, I was just thinking about albums made by tape looping, electronic manipulations and other "non-instrumental" sources... And I got the feeling that quite bit of it is made in whatever-it-will-be mode... I mean they just record not knowing how it will sound... Complete improvisation, to put it short.
 
So my question is: how we could differ in this kind of musicians who is bad and who is good?
 
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 07:49
Any examples of bands are albums you are thinking of?
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Thandrus View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 08:12
Maurizio Bianchi and Nurse With Wound for example, ambient makers (Biosphere, Lustmord) and many others...
 


Edited by Thandrus - October 27 2007 at 08:13
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 08:13
If you like it, it's good. If you don't , it's not.

The artist deserves a help of little bit of randomness during making his art. Why not?

However, this is highly debatable topic. I would like to see the way it will develop.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 08:15
Alright but someone[s having greater success in it and someone - lesser. So could some criteria (if there are any) be defined?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 09:30
It is an interesting question.  There are some moments in music that could either be the work of a master, or a 5 year old having great fun having escaped into the studio.  Same with modern painting frankly.  I'm sure some 5 year olds have often created works that average people could not tell from a Pollack style professional piece in a museam. 

So Clarke2001 probably nails it here: if you like it, it's great. 
...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 09:35
I think balance is the best option, but there are some bands that really exceed that tool they have to create something, but there's when a good producer should re-focus all that hurricane of creativity and use some good parts of that improvisation.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 09:55
I don't think anyone should worry about whether a musician or group is "objectively" (I hate that word) good or not, because there's no way to determine that at all. Listen to the stuff you like, and don't listen to the stuff you don't like. Smile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 10:00
Originally posted by Philéas Philéas wrote:

I don't think anyone should worry about whether a musician or group is "objectively" (I hate that word) good or not, because there's no way to determine that at all. Listen to the stuff you like, and don't listen to the stuff you don't like. Smile

I listen to music I dislike all the time.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 10:41
Originally posted by Shakespeare Shakespeare wrote:


I listen to music I dislike all the time.


I do too. Being exposed to it in certain situations, and I also encounter stuff I don't like while looking for stuff I might like. I don't listen to music I don't like on purpose, though. Do you?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 12:35
i'm not too familiar with stuff like this, but i love porcupine tree's metanoia album, which is completely improvised in the studio.
i guess if it's what you're good at, then that's what you should do, and i'm sure some are better than others at it.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:45
I don't listen to music i don't like.. but that's not really a problem, because i've found that there is really no music i don't like! Or at least a lot less than there used to be....... aaaand.... studio improvisations.... well, yeah. I guess.

'Let's give it another fifteen seconds..'
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 14:52
Originally posted by Philéas Philéas wrote:

Originally posted by Shakespeare Shakespeare wrote:


I listen to music I dislike all the time.


I do too. Being exposed to it in certain situations, and I also encounter stuff I don't like while looking for stuff I might like. I don't listen to music I don't like on purpose, though. Do you?


Yeah, I do.

1) In case I judged them prematurely and am missing out on music and actualy DO like (a lot of people dislike Magma, and I always think that actually DO like them, they just have to give them a better chance...)
2) So that I can build arguments against that kind of music/discover WHY I dislike this band.
3) It's funny

Of course, there are limits. I won't listen to pop/rap/hip-hop/crappy standard rock, but I will listen to over the top metal bands. As long as it's prog or prog related, I give it more than a few chances.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 15:04
Originally posted by Shakespeare Shakespeare wrote:



Yeah, I do.

1) In case I judged them prematurely and am missing out on music and actualy DO like (a lot of people dislike Magma, and I always think that actually DO like them, they just have to give them a better chance...)
2) So that I can build arguments against that kind of music/discover WHY I dislike this band.
3) It's funny


1. If I don't like a band immediately I will also re-listen a couple of times. However, I don't view that as listening to bands I don't like.

2. Same as above

3. Haha, yeah, to some extent. But it can become painful after a while! Smile

Originally posted by Shakespeare Shakespeare wrote:

Of course, there are limits. I won't listen to pop/rap/hip-hop/crappy standard rock, but I will listen to over the top metal bands. As long as it's prog or prog related, I give it more than a few chances.


I think you will have to listen to it in order to know whether or not it's crappy... Wink


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 15:47
I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about since I've never heard of the bands you mentioned, but I like an improvisational element if done well (like in Amon Duul II and Henry Cow), but I'm not sure that complete improvisation (one take, no overdubs) usually works very well for a whole album (although I've only heard the samples, Cassiber might be an exception, except I'm not sure exactly how their improvisation worked).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 16:17
Everything is improvised, otherwise it could not have been written. Do you mean improvised in the moment?
Is it really improvised anyway? You have all the bands/artists you are listening to within yourself as well as your musical skill/theoretical knowledge .
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 18:21
Originally posted by misterkeyboard misterkeyboard wrote:

Everything is improvised, otherwise it could not have been written. Do you mean improvised in the moment?
Is it really improvised anyway? You have all the bands/artists you are listening to within yourself as well as your musical skill/theoretical knowledge .


Very interesting point.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 19:22
Good opinions, guys, but I meand a different kind of improvisation.... Not an Improv like King Crimson, Porcupine Tree and others are doing.
 
To express myself better, just an example: Imagine that Maurizio Bianchi is making His n-th album... He takes tapes, makes loops, collects some noises and then records it. Not to say it's easy but many can do the same without training 30 years to become a virtuoso. So if many can do it, and are actually doing it, so why we see M.B. as a legend and do not know or rate high other such manipulators? 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 21:42
Every piece Can recorded (at least through Future Days) was entirely improvised and then edited to reasonable lengths and overdubbed with solos.  I'd say that they did a pretty damn good job. 

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 27 2007 at 21:47
Originally posted by Thandrus Thandrus wrote:

Good opinions, guys, but I meand a different kind of improvisation.... Not an Improv like King Crimson, Porcupine Tree and others are doing.
 
To express myself better, just an example: Imagine that Maurizio Bianchi is making His n-th album... He takes tapes, makes loops, collects some noises and then records it. Not to say it's easy but many can do the same without training 30 years to become a virtuoso. So if many can do it, and are actually doing it, so why we see M.B. as a legend and do not know or rate high other such manipulators? 


To say it in different words: electronic music could be made by blind, deaf, one-handed granny. And that's true. But would it be good as electronic music made by an experienced artist? I don't think so. It could be, but there's much less chance.

Thandrus, let us not  fool ourselves: those electronic/avangarde composers who have no virtuoso skills at all and who are only able to make same tape loops and blips and burps...well..even the most notorious charlatan who is into that kind of business (unless is a complete idiot) will very soon learn a few things...it's not only "oh, let's see what will happen if I press this button" because people learn about waveforms, filters, modulations and many other things...and very soon they will know that machine will start to hiss with resonance.

Any unexperienced kid could make techno music on his computer nowadays. Some of that music could be good if some of those kids are gifted...they have an opportunity to uses 128 digital channels, polyphonic sequnces, millions of samples...but if someone on that equipment ignores all the opportunities and  makes a single monophonic 8-step sequence in pentatonic scale with basic sawtooth waveform, I will be sure that guy is influenced by Tangerine Dream.

So, experienced musician will be recognized with expereinced listener.
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