Otto Matta

Dang, I thought Tales... was awful (except for Dorset Perception, which I've listened to a million times). It's like a keyboard wizard trying to make world music. I liked a couple of tracks from the first album, or at least a few bits from a couple of tracks, mainly the step-sequenced voices.

Dark Puppy - Your logo looks like a cock 'n' balls. Just sayin'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ZcPpnAHYY

Holy shit, Hotaka by Ubar Tmar? What a crazy-awesome combo. Can't wait to hear it.

Was a big fan of early Depeche Mode, but Enjoy the Silence was a big deal for me as a kid when it came around. http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMfV0sVQ_VU

Tech-trance is what you're looking for. Check out the Soundmute and Boshke Beats labels. If I recall, the techno scene really started this style, and some psy artists incorporated it, so there's more to be found in that arena if you're really interested.

I don't hear it. Are you sure you have the times correct?

They were big in the '90s.

I was born exactly 113 years after On the Origin of Species was published. Letter 113 — Beaufort, Francis to FitzRoy, Robert, 1 Sept 1831 My dear Sir I believe my friend Mr Peacock of Triny College Cambe has succeeded in getting a “Savant” for you— A Mr Darwin grandson of the well known philosopher and poet—full of zeal and enterprize and having contemplated a voyage on his own account to S. America Let me know how you like the idea that I may go or recede in time | F B UNCANNY

I learned recently that a substantial portion of the United States is going to have a total solar eclipse in 2017. Very fucking exciting. I'll have to drive a bit south if I want to experience the true total eclipse, but it would be mostly total from where I am. Anyway, Total Eclipse.

I've been doing a bunch of research based on a panic attack I had earlier in the week (caused ultimately by hypoglycemia, which in turn was caused by other things), and have discovered an enormous amount of information related to diet that affects all levels of one's existence, including sleep issues. There's never a simple answer, and the knowledge is like an onion with layer after layer after layer... Anyway, perhaps this might be useful: Link Good luck. I know how horrible it can be.

The Modernist had some really cool music from that time period: http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSEPleyzt7A Also check out Gas' album Pop. Not exactly like Ishii, but interesting.

I read it a very long time ago, but I remember it being very weird. I've read pretty much all of Hesse's stuff and I definitely prefer the early to middle stuff he wrote, before he got into heavy mystical motifs.

Very true. And FWIW I agree entirely with Antares. Music from the heart is the best music. Hell, people are still interpreting music by people who died centuries ago. Being an aspiring artist can be really tricky. No one wants to tell someone their music is shitty, or answer difficult technical questions in laymen's terms that noobs can understand. So it becomes a steep, frustrating, lonely climb. I think people should be more honest and informative with aspiring artists, especially those who are asking for it. P.S. It looks like Elysium is open to advice.

The American scale is: A (Excellent, 9.5+/10) A- B+ B (Good) (~8.5/10) B- C+ C (Average) (~7.5/10) C- D+ D (Below Average) (~6.5/10) D- F (Fail) (6.5-/10) (A+ does not exist (not necessary), and add the Ds.) I personally prefer the 0-10 system, because it reminds me less of school and can be more precise.

You can have my bottom with your needle.

Really cool! Like a deleted scene from Mad Max.

The best samples are necessarily part of good music. Woob - Strange Air http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=f64mX65jUxc http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5kzNsJS1s

I can soil them for extra. I'm saving up for a lock of a certain artist's pubes, as soon as he grows some.

Yes, it's too bad some people will never have offers for their fingernail clippings or dirty underwear. Makes them troll on the internet for attention instead.

Your arm clearly lacks a sense of humor, thus it should be amputated.

Apologies for my irresponsible comment about Blue Room. For some reason I was thinking more about the small number of releases I think were weird (Alien, Montauk P, Sunkings) than the majority of their releases which were very accessible to a large market.

Dark. And I don't mean "darkpsy." I mean the music which has no intentions of making me happy, regardless of what time of day, music that has a furrowed brow, no stupid sense of humor, and intends to rock my mental socks. My sources of happy music are elsewhere.

I appreciate your attitude and idealism, Jason. I think it's a complex and simple issue at the same time. The people promoting the music want music they can believe in, which means the music itself has to strike some balance between newness and accessibility. Too much newness/weirdness and people won't listen. Too much accessibility and it's cheese, which eliminates the discriminating listeners. Matsuri's music was really great, but even that stuff was too weird to be sustainable for long. Same could be said for Blue Room, I think. So ultimately we get down to the intentions of the artist, and then, taken to the extreme, the talent of the artist. The most talented artist, I think, can make the most crazy music but still be accessible by a large sample of people, which will make music promoters want to dedicate themselves to it. And then there's the whole issue of labels needing a niche to be marketable. I don't think a weird, eclectic label is as marketable as one whose sound you can depend on, although the former has worked in the past. But I hear you, and agree with you. Warp Records is a great example of a successful electronic label that had a fairly eclectic sound from the beginning. But they were also very new across the board, and as such were kind of a niche already, and also had some great graphics to back their stuff up. Anyway, complicated.

*Dark and brooding Stage 2 music begins, with a message...* In order to truly take the high road and win you have to apologize for your part in it. You can't just take the easy out by backing away without claiming proportionate responsibility, otherwise nothing is resolved, leading to tension in the future...

I'm not talking about the specific sounds - they're all using synthesis, after all - I'm talking about their general aesthetic - their "sound." Sorry if the translation doesn't come over very well. What I mean, for example, is that extremely dry and crisp aesthetic they had that didn't depend on a lot of reverb to give it atmosphere, like with the artists you listed (who I like a whole lot more than IM, BTW). Their technique was enough to support their unique aesthetic, and that's enough to get people excited. It's a very obvious difference to my ears, but perhaps not to everybody's. What was obvious was the stir they created in the late '90s, one that lasted several albums, unlike, say, Skazi, or other artists I could mention but won't.