On Sep 24, 2006, at 7:33 AM, kent williams wrote:
This has eff all to do with techno though. Someone talk about
records ;-)
In a sense, though, this does have a fair bit to do with techno. A
part of the story of techno (and IDM, for that matter) has been the
effort to get respect for the genre, which raises questions about
whether it needs respect, whose respect really counts, whether
disrespect from certain groups is more valuable, etc. As for
records, I like them. They're tasty. =]
But, Damian, as far as discussion of the experience of listening to
dubby techno is concerned, there's little written specifically on
it. In addition to Mark Butler's book that Dennis mentioned, you can
also check out Robert Fink's book, "Repeating Ourselves: American
minimal music as cultural practice" (2005). As the title suggests,
it focuses more on American (classical) minimal works, but you might
find useful ideas about the experience of listening to sparse or
repetitive textures.
Also, in a fit of self-promotion, I could recommend an article I
wrote a years ago, called "On and On: Repetition as Process and
Pleasure in Electronic Dance Music." It's in Music Theory Online,
Volume 11/4, at:
http://mto.societymusictheory.org/issues/mto.05.11.4/mto.
05.11.4.garcia_frames.html
It focuses more on a history of why and how repetition in music came
to be viewed with hostility in many circles through the 20th-century,
and then the second half tries to theorize why and how the experience
of listening to repetitive music can be pleasurable, powerful, etc.
Again, it's not specifically on dubby techno, but the focus in my
paper on minimal and microhouse might be a useful parallel.
Luis
LMGM
p.s. On a record-related note: I'm totally smitten with several
artists associated with Katapult records here in Paris (esp. Mikaël
Weill, Skat, Cabanne, Alex&Laetitia), but I've noticed that
Katapult's storefront is no longer open. Anybody know what's going
on? I did see a Katapult float at the Techno Parade last weekend and
they threw an afterparty, so presumably they're still active... If
you haven't heard of these folks, go to Beatport.com and look up
Karat Records, then the title "Katapult: Various Artists 2"
