Interactive Poll: It's Experimental, Dear Watson
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Other music related lounges
Forum Name: General Music Discussions
Forum Description: Discuss and create polls about all types of music
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=132732
Printed Date: May 14 2024 at 10:49
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Interactive Poll: It's Experimental, Dear Watson
Posted By: suitkees
Subject: Interactive Poll: It's Experimental, Dear Watson
Date Posted: March 23 2024 at 06:10
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Hi folks, Welcome to this new Interactive Poll! As discussed in the previous one, let's see if there are participants who are willing to dive into and propose us some experimental music. What should we think of when we talk about "experimental" music. Well, I'll leave that up to any one of us. If you think it is experimental, it must be experimental. Discussions can always follow later To participate, follow the usual guidelines: - Put up a
maximum of three suggestions per post (preferably with youtube embeds) of
tracks that you think are experimental and that you like and want to share with us; -
Don't forget to mention artist and title (sometimes the embeds do not
work for everybody so this will help to find alternatives), and give
some more information on your choices if you wish; - If you can, listen to the suggestions put forward by others and feel free to comment on them; -
When we think there are no new participants to be expected (or when we think
it's time), nominate one of your choices for the final poll (maybe more than one, depending on participation); -
In a week or two (things have slowed down lately, so let us not put the
pressure on, especially now it's also time to hide those Easter eggs thoroughly): listen to all
the nominated tracks and vote for your three favourites. - Prog is
allowed, but please limit it to the lesser known artists and pieces... The main objective remains to discover new music, not to mention music that everyone knows already.And have fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4sROgbaeOs&list=PL9sdQ5qbl2rCmYbVkpt6GhyR8uFtYleQy" rel="nofollow - Playlist for the nominated tracks appearing in the poll (except Earthena): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yxqujAHmgg&list=OLAK5uy_kOrcZM0wa-owWwolmN-7tCrvSVSnnrHGo" rel="nofollow - Playlist for Earthena - Symphony of the Crown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qWEEDMhjpk&list=PL9sdQ5qbl2rA4DsHNs1_wEUCxibhmz9We" rel="nofollow - Playlist for all suggestions before nomination: ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Replies:
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: March 23 2024 at 06:30
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The first two from me, come from one of those record labels that I follow a bit because they issue quite some music that I like: https://www.miasmah.com/recordings/index.html" rel="nofollow - Miasmah recordings . Simon Scott - The Old Jug And Drum (from the album Navigare, 2009): Gareth Davis & Frances-Marie Uitti - Felt (from the album Gramercy, 2012): ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: March 23 2024 at 21:13
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Cool stuff. I can't say I am very knowledgeable about experimental music, but I do like hearing various unconventional and adventerous soundscapes. I guess that would be how I define it. There are so.many different characteristics that could go into experimental music, but not one being defining, from using ambient sounds, distortions, non-standard instruments, electronics, found recordings, unusual structures, and so on. One artist I thought of was Holly Herndon.she was part of radio piece I just happened to listen to several years ago about A.I. in music composition. She a composer with a PhD in composition from Stanford University. She uses vocal recordings and computer programming to create her pieces. This is from her 2019 album Proto. Holly Herndon - Eternal Second suggestion is Oren Ambarchi whose name I have seen around (he has worked with experimental metal band Sunn O)))) and he has a rather extensive discography, but had not listened to him until last couple of years when Amazon Music suggested some tracks. This is from the 2022 album Shebang. You may like or hate the video. Oren Ambarchi - II |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 24 2024 at 08:30
| Great! I will of course contribute to this. |
Posted By: Mila-13
Date Posted: March 24 2024 at 23:33
| Hi everybody! It was a bit late when I discovered the new poll yesterday. Let me see what I have for you. I'll be back soon. |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 25 2024 at 15:38
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Here's my first entry: Fossil Aerosol Mining Project - 1991 from 2015 Maybe a bit too typical Lewian I'm afraid. I love it of course, but maybe I can surprise more with another entry.
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Posted By: Frets N Worries
Date Posted: March 25 2024 at 16:04
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Let's see, (I just hyperlinked them, no embeds, sorry) I do love me some experimental music! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yHRRJxm6w4" rel="nofollow - Peter Hammill - Magog https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kOrcZM0wa-owWwolmN-7tCrvSVSnnrHGo" rel="nofollow - Earthena - Symphony of the Crown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrlKxV5KWJo" rel="nofollow - John Cage - 4'33" ------------- The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time... |
Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: March 25 2024 at 20:43
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I remember first hearing of sound collage artists Negativland (named after the Neu! track) from the track Christianity Is Stupid off their 1987 album Escape the Noise and had various recordings through the early 90s. I had not listened to their releases in the 2000s until recently when I was revisiting Christianity Is Stupid and other tracks. One album was their 2014 album It's All In Your Head, which looks at humanity and religion. I choose this track from that album. Negativland - The Way We Know Things |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: March 26 2024 at 10:30
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Nice, Keep them coming! Another record label I follow is https://sonicpieces.com" rel="nofollow - Sonic Pieces , who share https://www.mi-so-store.com/" rel="nofollow - a shop with the previous mentioned Miasmah label. Here a recent duo collaboration between a Belgium and an Iranian, who are both based in Berlin, with some clear Persian influences... (I hope the forum accepts the Persian characters of the titles...) Oliver Doerell & Jawad Salkhordeh - صد اهای دور (Distant Noises) (from the album سایه [sāje], 2021): And band that is on PA (you might recognise something...): https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1944" rel="nofollow - Gastr del Sol . I discovered them more than 20 years ago thanks to an American friend who gave me their latest - and last - album. The track here is from the album that precedes that one. Gastr del Sol - Hello Spiral (from the album Upgrade & Afterlife, 1996) ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Mila-13
Date Posted: March 28 2024 at 03:18
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Sorry guys, it took me a while. Here is my first suggestion: Lucrecia Dalt - Atemporal Lucrecia Dalt is a Colombian experimental musician who currently lives in Berlin. While her earlier releases were rooted in electronic dance music, her work has evolved over time and is now obviously more abstract and experimental.- Here is a track off her latest album “¡Ay!” (2022). I will post some more suggestions soon. |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 28 2024 at 08:10
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Much of the experimental music I like is very long. I play something here that is 17:40 long and you may ignore or hate it, but Stockhausen really expanded what music is and can do, and as much as he probably was a jerk, he is a key figure to music how I like it (also of course as teacher to Holger Czukay and Irmin Schmidt). Karl-Heinz Stockhausen - Telemusik Here's one that is not so dominated by electronics, even though by a composer who is known for electronic music. Alvin Curran - Music Is Not Music |
Posted By: Mila-13
Date Posted: March 28 2024 at 10:19
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My 2nd suggestion is going to be . . The Brother Moves On - Umthandazo Wamagenge 'The Brother Moves On' is a South African performance art ensemble. 'Indaba Is' is a project, recorded close to Johannesburg over 5 days in the summer of 2020. The project resuscitates a collective of South African bands from a COVID-19-induced standstill; with newly composed improvised music created by the country's blooming new school jazz scene. Produced and managed by accomplished Creative Directors, award-winning pianist Thandy Ntuli and 'The Brother Moves On' bandleader Siyabonga Mthembu. The individual tracks on the album were played by diverse groups of people and bear the signature of the respective main artists. |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: March 28 2024 at 12:38
Always intrigued by your worldwide knowledge! 
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Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: March 29 2024 at 05:04
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For those who want, in a lazy way, inflict themselves an overdose of experimental music I created a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qWEEDMhjpk&list=PL9sdQ5qbl2rA4DsHNs1_wEUCxibhmz9We" rel="nofollow - playlist with almost all suggestions so far, in order of appearance - also added to the OP. (Sorry Frets, I didn't include the 48 hours and 39+ minutes of Earthena... )And since participation is overwhelming, I think we could decide to have two suggestions nominated for the final poll. No hurry though, let's see first if there is more coming up. And when there's no need to fill all poll options to the brim, it might be easier then to include some longer pieces (but shorter than 48 hours...). ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Frets N Worries
Date Posted: March 29 2024 at 06:26
^Fair enough, it's still plenty experimental though  ------------- The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time... |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: March 29 2024 at 07:02
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Some personal impressions after a first listen to the music put up so far (in order of appearance): George: Quite like both of your first two suggestions, although Holly Herndon's Eternal fascinates me a bit more: wonderful multiple voices multi-layered and with a busy rhythm section; great development of it all, subtle and complex at the same time. Oren Ambarchi's piece is more a slow burner - a kind of David Lynch soundtrack that doesn't want to really take off - it's abruptly cut off, so it is maybe not the whole piece(?). The video fits it well, but is a bit simple, especially compared to the Herndon one that is a well crafted experimental video, perfect for the music. Christian: "Fossil Aerosol Mining Project" - The name is already an indication of what we can expect: musique concrète/found sounds, heavily treated to create a wonderful atmospheric soundscape - earthy and gassy at the same time. Nice to discover here! Tennyson: Love that Peter Hammill track (and the album it is from), it definitely has it's place here! Listened to a couple of snippets from Earthena, which seems more leaning to ambient music, which is not necessarily where my preferences go to. John Cage is a classic piece - it has been mentioned in a previous interactive poll - a bit out of every league, but an important reference. George: Negativland with The Way We Know Things proposes -processed - voice recordings (of lectures?) with an electronic sequenced music backdrop, Well, not just backdrop: it somehow comments on the things said, with irony and critique. Needs some concentration, but it is a good listen, and funny! Mila: A short piece by Lucrecia Dalt, with a very rich instrumentation. I like that very much. Though sung in Spanish and with the Latin influences, it has a very international feel. I'd like to hear more from her. Christian: With Karlheinz Stockhausen we have a big name here, and a wonderful piece of electro-acoustic music. Not unknown to me, but you probably expected that. I'll reply with some Iannis Xenakis... I didn't know Alvin Curran. Love how this starts with the strings, then the choir arrives quite unexpectedly, but very fittingly, later joined by brass (horn? trombone?). Beautifully intriguing. Mila: The Brother Moves On track starts off in a jazzy way before the talking voice sets in. A nice fusion between multiple (lamenting) voices, world and smooth jazz music creates a very beautiful atmosphere, going slowly crescendo. Very rich. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: March 30 2024 at 04:08
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With the bizarre people participating in these interactive polls since a long time (or since a shorter time), there has actually been quite some experimental (or electronic) music strewn in here and there. When starting this poll I was actually thinking of artists like Kreng or Kaboom Karavan, but I've put up more than one suggestion of them in the past. We Like We, who I proposed in the Fiddle d Diddle poll could also qualify here. We've had an IA-poll dedicated to electronic music where some pioneers were featured (or on other occasions), like Delia Derbyshire, Tom Dissevelt, Kid Baltan (Dick Raaijmakers), Eliane Radigue and others. Stockhausen has been mentioned before (with Kontakte). And when I think of "electronic music" I rather think of these than those acts featured here on PA. Another pioneer of electronic music was Iannis Xenakis. Everybody knows his name, I guess, but not everybody necessarily knows his music. His orchestral works and chamber music are also wonderful, but here a later electroacoustic piece, as a kind of echo to the Stockhausen piece above... Iannis Xenakis - Tauriphanie (1987-88, from the box set Electroacoustic Works, 2022): ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: March 30 2024 at 05:43
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@suitkees, thanks for your ments and the playlist. I've listened to various tracks and am enjoying the variety in contributions. On the Oren Ambarchi track, the entire Shebang album has four tracks (I. II. III. and IV) that run seamlessly together as one. Each track has its own feel. The first track is lighter guitar piece with no percussion and the third piece is driven by piano (Chris Abrahams of the Necks) with the same rhythm from the second track, and then built up in the fourth with the instruments coming together. Album credits: Oren Ambarchi - guitars & whatnot with: Chris Abrahams - piano on III & IV Johan Berthling - acoustic bass on III BJ Cole - pedal steel on II & IV Sam Dunscombe - bass clarinet on I & II Jim O'Rourke - synths on III & IV Julia Reidy - 12-string guitar on III & IV Joe Talia - drums on the whole Shebang |
Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: March 30 2024 at 06:29
I am going to quote myself from the 2023 Interactive Poll since I posted this after I nominated my two tracks, so I don't think anyone listened.
The above track featured the Ribbon Controller, so I will add second, older track with the Kaisatsuko. Wananabani-en- Still Life |
mathman0806 wrote:Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: March 30 2024 at 08:34
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^ I listened to that ribbon controller piece in the other thread (but didn't comment on it). Will get back to it and to your new suggestion. Thanks for the info on Oren Ambarch; I see that Jim O'Rourke is listed among the musicians, of Gastr del Sol fame! ...and Sonic Youth, a.o.. Before he joined Sonic Youth as a full member for a stint of five or six years they already had a first collaboration, part of the very interesting (but not always as good) SYR series: on SYR3, Invito al cielo (1998) - out of competition, because it's a bit long, but it might interest some of us: ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Hiram
Date Posted: March 30 2024 at 10:17
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Here's a couple of suggestions. I wanted to include Finnish artists and it took me some time to think of suitable ones. Mnem - Sphynx (Engrama 10", 2000) Verde - Liemiruuat on kaikkein parhaimpia (Modern Electronic Circuits, 1999) |
Posted By: Mila-13
Date Posted: March 31 2024 at 01:23
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This one is just for fun, although I think that the track isn't actually bad at all. lol Temps - bleedthemtoxins 'Temps' is an international collective of about 40 musicians put together and produced by British comedian James Acaster. It is one of the many perhaps somewhat weird projects that emerged during the pandemic. However, in this case an album has been recorded and released last year. According to a press release, the album is named after a human-sized cuddly toy aligator wearing a t-shirt that read Party Gator, which Acaster won at a country fair aged seven. The quirky music video accompanying the song sees Acaster dressed as the Party Gator and interacting with passers-by in and around London's Victoria Park. Just imagine an Easter bunny instead of an aligator. Happy holidays everyone!  |
Posted By: Mila-13
Date Posted: April 06 2024 at 00:40
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Here's another one from me. Ori Lichtik - Corps de Walk I can think of so many artists of avant-garde and experimental music. In the end I decided to give an example of an interdisciplinary artistic collaboration. Here it is about the interaction between music and contemporary dance. Maybe Kees inspired me to some extent, who knows? lol Alternatively, I was thinking of a contemporary opera by Olga Neuwirth but the excerpts I found were either too short or too long. In the video above you can watch the Carte Blanche ensemble (Norway's national contemporary dance company) perform 'Corps de Walk' by Sharon Eyal and Gai Bachar. They are a choreographer duo from Israel who have made a name for themselves in the contemporary dance world. Israeli musician, drummer and DJ Ori Lichtik has been involved in all of their work to date. As one of the founding fathers of Israel's techno scene, he has developed numerous music productions, techno raves and various other music and peformance events since the 1990s. I will try to write a few comments on the suggestions made so far this weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't make it last week because of the Easter holidays. Thank you very much for your comments, Kees. Much appreciated as always! |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: April 06 2024 at 05:54
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^ Thanks, and added to the playlist. Contemporary dance and
experimental music go well together (there are many examples; Simon
Scott, who I presented here, is one of them, but you can also think of
Steve Reich and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker , Béjart and Pierre Henry,
etc.) And I listened to those piece put up since my last comments... George:
Wananabani-en are interesting because of those unique instruments, but
musically it is not very experimental, to my ears, and unfortunately the
novelty of the instrumentation wears out rather quickly. I prefer you
previous suggestions, especially Herndon and Negativland. Pekka: Finland is mainly terra incognita to me when it comes to music, so it is nice to discover these two acts here. Mnem sounds very much like the tape music experiments of the 50s/60s; very interesting soundscape, but maybe a bit too many loops. Great sonic quality, though. With Verde we're more in field recording territory with a suble accordeon and percussive sounds, before a spare voice is added. Quite contemplative and very rich at the same time. Makes me think of some works of Luc Ferrari. Very nice! Makes me want to discover more! Mila: bleedthemtoxins is funny indeed (the video) and the minimalist orchestral electro-pop is not uninteresting. Regarding Ori Lichtik's Corps de Walk, I very much like this type of contemporary dance; the video captures it very well. Not much techno here (fortunately), but a minimalist tribalism, with an orchestral end-note. Very intriguing. I listened to it while watching the video and together it makes a perfect piece. Will listen to it again without watching to hear how that works out. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: April 07 2024 at 04:19
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Although this "poll" is very slow it gives me immense joy. I have now listened to most things twice and the last ones once, and I'm happy to say (a) I know why I love experimental music and (b) there is obviously a lot around that I don't know, so thanks for this. Unfortunately these days there isn't that much time for writing about music, and the fact that my browsers have issues with PA and in order to write I need something else than Firefox, which I use for everything else, doesn't help either. Anyway, I just name some of my favourite things. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I know many Peter Hammill albums but for some reason I hadn't heard In Camera, and this is a monster of an album, and he knows what he is doing when going experimental. Great stuff! The playlist is up to an excellent start with the Simon Scott track, I love electronic atmospheric material and this is right up my alley. Also this has a very good mix of being meditative but still with much development and variation. I wanted to buy the Gastr del Sol album already the first time Kees played something from it and have finally done so now. Also you are right; I knew some Iannis Xenakis before but really not much, and I should do something about that. The Wananabani-en tracks are big fun, some more stuff that I will buy. I had never heard of Mnem, but this is another example of exactly how I love electronic music. I can play this kind of stuff around the clock really. Mila reminded me of my neglected appreciation for contemporary dance, particularly when combined with great music. When I see and hear such material I always think that this could be my thing, but I haven't done enough to explore modern dance in any depth (other than being a Pina Bausch fan). The combination of the elements is wonderful in the Corps de Walk. Just for the music alone, The Brother Moves On is my favourite of yours. Experimental can be relaxed! Thanks for this great collection!
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Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: April 08 2024 at 09:42
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^ Thanks for your comments. Maybe we could - slowly - start to think about the tracks we would like to nominate for the poll. I propose that each nominates two track (for those who put up more than two suggestions). Once all the nominations in I can put up the poll - the least interesting part of these IA threads, of course, but it is to give it some kind of closure... ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: April 09 2024 at 17:46
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I nominate Fossil Aerosol Mining Project - 1991 from 2015, Alvin Curran - Music Is Not Music. Stockhausen is most known and his piece is very long, so it's easy to decide against him even if not based on lack of quality.
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Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: April 12 2024 at 02:26
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I hesitated a bit regarding the two I will nominate myself, but in the end I choose: Simon Scott - The Old Jug And Drum Gastr del Sol - Hello Spiral ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: Mila-13
Date Posted: April 13 2024 at 00:56
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I nominate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3K_TJC2ZK0" rel="nofollow - The Brother Moves On - Umthandazo Wamagenge and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Ut58macr4" rel="nofollow - John Psathas - RealBadNow IV. Actually, my personal favourite is Ori Lichtik who made the music for the contemporary dance piece Corps de Walk. Dance and music go together, though and cannot be judged separately. Therefore I chose a new track instead. It is a recent piece by NZ-Greek composer John Psathas, performed by the young and talented Swiss percussionist Fabian Ziegler. Psathas is a well-known name but I believe that his music is less known here than e.g. Xenakis. I also like this young Colombian artist, Lucrecia Dalt who I mentioned earlier but I assume that her music is probably not interesting enough for you guys. :P I'm sorry, I didn't manage to comment but I will do so on the nominated tracks.
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Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: April 13 2024 at 03:32
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I nominate: Holly Herndon - Eternal Negstivland - The Way We Know Things |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: April 14 2024 at 03:08
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So, when we do a bit of administration, we have these suggestions up till now for the poll: Christian: Fossil Aerosol Mining Project - 1991 from 2015, Alvin Curran - Music Is Not Music George: Holly Herndon - Eternal Negstivland - The Way We Know Things Mila: The Brother Moves On - Umthandazo Wamagenge John Psathas - RealBadNow IV. Kees: Simon Scott - The Old Jug And Drum Gastr del Sol - Hello Spiral Pekka (only having two suggestions put forward, so I guess this is OK) Mnem - Sphynx Verde - Liemiruuat on kaikkein parhaimpia Tennyson (if only taking into account those two who produce sound): Peter Hammill - Magog Earthena - Symphony of the Crown If there are no objections or new suggestions brought in before, I'd like to put up the poll with these tonight or tomorrow morning, if that's OK with you. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: April 15 2024 at 02:01
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The Poll's up! So you can listen to all the nominated tracks, if you haven't done so yet (playlists below and in first post), and vote for your three preferred tracks... There are two extra poll options between which you can choose the one that fits best your opinion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4sROgbaeOs&list=PL9sdQ5qbl2rCmYbVkpt6GhyR8uFtYleQy" rel="nofollow - Playlist
for the nominated tracks appearing in the poll (except Earthena): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yxqujAHmgg&list=OLAK5uy_kOrcZM0wa-owWwolmN-7tCrvSVSnnrHGo" rel="nofollow - Playlist
for Earthena - Symphony of the Crown: ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |
Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: April 15 2024 at 12:32
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I will be upfront and say that I will not be listening to the entirety of Earthena. One more track, out of competition. I saw Swans last night and band member Kristof Hahn played a solo set to open. He plays lap steel guitar in a unique experimental manner. I had not listened to him before. Here's a track from 2021's Six Pieces. Kristof Hahn - Erwachen |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: April 17 2024 at 03:38
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I won't vote for Peter Hammill and Gastr del Sol having known them before, but otherwise they'd sure have been voteworthy. This leaves Simon Scott, The Brother Moves On and Mnem for the top spots. By the way, I looked a bit around and apparently Umthandazo Wamagenge isn't on any regular The Brother Moves On album but appears on a sampler called Indaba Is. This is a great collection indeed! (Normally if I get to know an artist I'd be happier to explore more work of the same artists rather than a sampler, but here I decided to buy the sampler, and I'm very happy I did that.)
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Posted By: suitkees
Date Posted: April 17 2024 at 10:12
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There are 11 contenders for the podium here, so I have to find reasons for not voting on some others, but well... let's skip those. My votes go to: - Holly Herndon - Eternal - Fossil Aerosol Mining Project - 1991 from 2015 - Verde - Liemiruuat on kaikkein parhaimpia Most of all the suggestions were very enjoyable, for one reason or another. ------------- The razamataz is a pain in the bum |