Ted Riederer

i figured out the name of that artist i was talking about who smashed up the instruments and then played them - Ted Riederer & the piece is called "the Resurrectionists."

Evolving West Coast Hip Hop Microcosms

It was requested by Trace that I include some of the hip hop I mentioned in class the other day. I'm really into a hip hop scene on the West coast that suggests strong influences by DIY electronics, Electronica, Dub, 70's/80's glam, science fiction, pop and lock/krumping, and remix/mashup. I've also included a lot of samples if you've never heard any of this before.





To my understanding most of this music culminates in and around Low End Theory night at the Airliner, a bar in LA. Here is a really interesting documentary project (someone beat me to it) where Daedalus (Alfred Darlington) talks about the fusion of rock, electronic aesthetic and hip-hop in this specific club scene. The resulting music is complex and sophisticated, melding earth pounding bass with throwback funk and punk sensibilities. Here is a brief tour de force of some of the artists breaking ground:

LazerSword:
http://www.myspace.com/lazersword

Low Limit:
http://www.myspace.com/lowestlayer

Nobody:
http://www.myspace.com/nobodyelvin

The Gas Lamp Killer:
http://www.myspace.com/thegaslampkiller

Samiyam:
http://www.myspace.com/samiyambeats

Robot Koch (from Berlin):
http://www.myspace.com/robotkoch
Mixtape:
http://soundcloud.com/robot-koch/robot-koch-robots-dont-sleep

Lunice (from Toronto all of his albums are free there are links on his Myspace):
http://www.myspace.com/Lunice

Slightly Different scene but also involved:

Flying Lotus:
http://www.myspace.com/flyinglotus

Many Low End Theory Podcasts:
http://www.lowendtheoryclub.com/podcast/



Finally, on another note I thought I'd share what came to mind in reading about the space age bachelor pad music. Fat Jon takes on the nom de plume Maurice Galactica for Humanoid Erotica, science fiction imbued, headphone hip-hop. Here are two nice tracks from the album as well as the very "Heavenly Bodies" like album cover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyTPiLTMDKk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDkTAWSYXjk

Mainstreaming the Mashup

The tagline says it all: "(CNN) -- Some great songs were released in 2009 and thanks to a mashup master named DJ Earworm you can listen to the top 25 releases from the year in just under six minutes."

CNN coverage of DJ Earworm's year-end Billboard Top 25 mashup:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/25/dj.earworm/index.html

Acousmatic listening

Location: Driscoll Lounge

A low beat, consistent, accentuated by a higher pitched humanoid forced exhalation.
Intermittent high pitched beats, short bursts of them then fading away.
A short sucking high pitched sound.

Soft clicking noises interspersed with a short intake or sucking sound.

A low thrum, constant..

Highly pitched beat muddled by mid to low range sounds, in the background behind the other noises. Further away.

Lower pitched humanoid sounds, punctuated by higher pitched ones, alternating.

Low pitched exhalation, distorted and forced.

A High pitched clatter in the distance.

A new low thumping, regularly spaced, disappears then reappears as it gets louder. Eventually it too fades.

Similar noises but higher pitched with a thumping beat.

Slower this time with longer pauses, a rhythmic beat.
Two beats at a time, same pattern as before, louder,
off beat but close together.

Several humanoid voices in seeming competition.
All in pairs, in a 1-2 progression or a 1-2-2-1 progression.

Humanoid sounds low pitched or just further away, too hard to make out.

Music / Noise / Sound / Silence

The timing couldn't be any more perfect with this upcoming performance from DU's own experimental music group, The Playground Ensemble:

Music / Noise / Sound / Silence
When: Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 7:30pm
Where: Hamilton Recital Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts
2344 E. Iliff Ave, Denver CO (303) 871-6412
Tickets: $18 adults, $16 seniors, and free for students from any school and DU/ID
Web: www.playgroundensemble.org

What is music? When is sound just noise? The attempts of 20th-century composers to grapple with these questions generated some of the most important musical innovations of the era. In this concert, the Playground presents music that redefines these terms and examines the boundaries between them.

The performance will include:
Profilo Sintetico-Musicale di Marinetti by Silvio Mix
Suite for Percussion by Lou Harrison
4'33" by John Cage
Sound Patterns by Pauline Oliveros
Clapping Music by Steve Reich
Dots, Lines, Zigzags by Sofia Gubaidulina
The Dead Man by John Zorn
Tabula Rasa by Einstürzende Neubauten

Artists-in-Residence at DU's Lamont School of Music, The Playground Enemble is a force for new music in the Rocky Mountain region. The group strives to provide stimulating performances, expand common perceptions of both contemporary music and the chamber ensemble, and nurture a community around this music that we love.

Brian Eno's "2/2"

A low murmur is joined by two higher, yet still subdued wails from opposite sides. Even more wails join in, but further apart, and seemingly at random. The sounds are elongated and seem to trail on forever, imperceptibly fading out behind even more moans. The moans are harmonious, rarely breaking out of fifths, thirds, and octaves. There is an occasional augmented third in the chaos that sporadically resolves into a major third. The structure of each moan becomes clearer as the sound continues: they fade in quickly from nothing and peak before fading back out into infinity. This chaotic pattern continues until only the slightest hint of a unified, orchestrated rising progression makes its way to the fore before quickly being lost in the infinite, subdued, harmonious disorder. How can such a contained, orderly harmonious sound simultaneously be perceived to be so chaotic and disorderly?

Brian Eno's "Lizard Point"

An eerie whisper. A constant background noise, its volume and pitch rising and falling. Slowly a melody/rhythm forms in the foreground, yet so soft it easily falls into the background. The sounds move backwards, unintelligibly, almost a groaning. As that fades a rhythmic mid-toned sound emerges punctuated by drips and a drop they quickly come in, then out. They deteriorate into digital/metallic sounds and fade. Sounds never quite heard fade in then out. Mid tones sweep in and out like labored breath following a distinct rhythm. A building in the distance, machinery thrumming as it slows. Going down into the basement or down a dark alley, the groans of something left behind. A small sound whips around, barely heard above the original background noise and the soft melody. Everything fades. Why should my hair stand on end, these soft sounds and rhythms bring little peace but the flavor of forgotten things, perhaps best forgotten?