Still two to go to get on track with all the Spread the Vibes invites. Hopefully, this one will bring the counter to one. Hopefully. The one inviting shall validate the entry; Orrrr? Am I now making new rules? Maybe... Am pretty tired after three nights with not more than 4 to 5 hours sleep each. Though I could take a bit more hours during the last one, I instead spend more than some time listening to the more or less recent works by some of my favourite artists from the Techno underground scene. From several EPs to the album I present you in this post. One that gives yours truly: Vibes Extraordinaire.
Both invites are from the same HIVE user. Another 'problem' to solve: Which post to select! THIS or THIS? {please click THIS for the posts}
...and the winner is? ...THAT!
{Seriously Edje?}
"Trying! trying... Ok, Getting ready"... {serious mode switched on}
The obvious choice is the first one, this post (click me) for the sole reason the other post (click me) contains a session played and recorded in a special location and deserves a special response. That one I'm still developing. Most of the base material is there, like the music, the video, the audio. All raw stuff. Planning to convert, edit and mix them into a video. Work in progress.
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW
...difficult to find other words for what we can hear when we play the recording shared in the other post)... orrrr simply click the play button below; I took the liberty to copy the video share. But before you hit the play button, you shall know MiPiano went the extra mile to create this response. A response not 'just' using her piano, but one fused with electronic music. A challenge that was not easy. But she did it!
...don't you think?
A more than perfect response to the Nils Frahm post!
My Response is not so much a fusion of styles. But that one album I heard for the very first time sometime in the middle of the night, yesterday! A proper underground sound, the underground Techno sound. By this artist, I have respect for big time for as long as I know him. This must be something like 25 years by now. Not sure when I heard him play in a live setting for the first time. Also not sure about the location. Must have been in Amsterdam or somewhere close. I know for a fact I didn't travel crazy lengths, as I've done many times since then. As I did for this artist as well. All the way to Berlin for one of his four hour Berghain sessions. No Berghain in the 90s, but Mazzo in Amsterdam. The first-ever club hosting Techno events in the Netherlands was maybe the place I'd heard Joel for the first time. No Mazzo anymore. So sad it closed its doors! But that's for another post.
Joel Mull. That's the artist. Joel and his music can be classified as Uncompromising, Elegant and Warm. Ask me why and I'll tell you why I use those classifications. At the same time, I like to hear from you the words that come to mind when listening to this album "Arrow of Time".
The album starts with a sound that is present in much of what he does. Strings. Lots of strings! One of the earlier sessions I remember, sometime back in 2001 was two hours of techno with an almost constant stream of strings. Almost as if he had some 'string' machine connected up to his mixer and vinyl record decks (the time of vinyl, no CD or USB players around in the clubs back then). But the truth is, he simply selected the records with strings and did some magic with the mixer.
But be not fooled. Though the start and the ending of the album is somewhat melodic, the middle part is going more 'rough'. Obviously, 'rough' is the wrong word, since anything Joel makes is never rough, but can't find the right words. Maybe I shall say, the middle part is full-on techno, whilst the start and end of the album is less so. Full-on techno, but still warm. Just listen to Caver, Mnemonics and subsequent few tracks. And even when going full-on techno, the strings are still around. Maybe a little less constant, but at times, more prominent. A little bird as well in 'Mnemonics'. And what to think of the mechanic bee in 'Colorblind'? And the somewhat angry AI drone in 'Working Baby'?
I Love 'Hertzsprung', by the way!
...but that's not fair... after listening to the album for the third time by now, it becomes harder and harder for me to select the best track(s). Every track I really like! This album is more and more growing on me. While listening through my phone last night, I felt the vibe and started to fall in love with the music already. Listening through proper headphones, the music and mind are becoming one.
Joel about his album:
“We all have moments when we think about time, I do, especially when I travel. There is a certain loose feeling when I write music and sketch on ideas while I’m in a moving object that is blasting throughout space, such as a plane or a train.
These moments are more intense for me than, for example, when I’m working on ideas in the studio. The studio is amazing but it can also be too structured. When I look out of a window and have a moving canvas in front, it directly adds emotion and easily inspires me. Arrow Of Time is the inspiration to this album’s title. It is both the time capsule that we all travel in and the journey that you do every time you listen to music.”
After a little more internet searching, I found this FANTASTIC review at 'The Waveform Transmitter'. Simon Huxtable is seeing the artist Joel as I see him and has done some great writing to express his thoughts. I wish I could write like that, but I can't. Therefore better to read the original (here) 😉
So You Know
You can contribute to spreading vibes as well. It's super simple. Create a post with positive vibes in it and spread it! In case you like to get some help, check the guidelines in this post. Or check some to more of the entries here. And as you can read over in the referenced/linked post, the spread the vibe thingy doesn't have any rules, just guidelines. Guidelines you can follow or you may deviate from. To show you how easy that is, the deviation part, I show you. The guidelines say: "Invite a few HIVE users to pick up from this post."
My decision right here and now. I won't.
I won't mention any specific HIVE users. I invite all of you! All those who read and not read this post. Not sure how the not readers will find out about this invite, but that is a topic I shall elaborate on another time since I may bore you. One user I have to name though: Don't ask me why.