http://thegeodes.bandcamp.com/album/drums-with-drones
One of my earliest memories is sitting on a sofa in Columbia, MD and suddenly sobbing and screaming in terror after my father turned on Jean Michel Jarre’s Zoolook. I ran to my room and did not leave for maybe an hour.
I doubt there was a point at which Electronic Music was Universally Terrifying for every child under the age of 3 in the ‘80’s. I do wonder about the texture of transformation from Esoteric Sound a la Stockhausen and Oliveros to the Ecstasy [sic] found at Raves (do these even exist anymore?) and generally everywhere. (The emergence of Cymatics in Scientific and Aesthetic culture is not simply demonstrative. It is comprehension; of the modern body liquefied by electronics and, on a much gentler scale, a shifting of the fluidity of thought from a metaphorized stream of consciousness to accelerated connection between Engineer and Engineered. We are all Engineers now, welcoming the Alien sound of Technology into our flesh, fixing it to reverberate and harmonize with every breath).
Insofar as I have finished typing the above, I realize this Record surprised me. There are surprises woven in and out of the synthesized patterns and persistently calm exterior. If you do not examine this possibility you will be lulled by the sound beyond doubt. There is a topical glaze that comes with the territory of Electronic-Music-That-Could-Be-Danced-To (this record permits dancing, an paean to breakbeat techno predominant throughout). It will wash you if you do not exercise the choices and intensity of the Humans on the Other Side. Consider the consequences of this and you will be surprised by their articulation.
There is more information in this record than you feel at first hearing. No doubt just hearing it once is a success – I can easily imagine a group of intelligent people delightfully entranced by the interconnectivity of sound and structure. However if you choose to probe deeper you will discover charged and perplexing philosophical and aesthetic debates that are yet satisfied, some of which have yet to be posed. Where is the eye of the device? Why is my flesh buzzing? Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
thesupercoda 