Evening, one and all.
After having a good feeling yesterday from writing about how fantastic G-Stone Records' artist repertoire is, I thought I would take a similar route for today's (only tangentially) related post.
You see, sometimes the best way to discover something is to just branch out. It also helps to have nothing to lose, as well. Relevant to both of these conditions is the fact that last summer (or maybe it was two summers ago...can that be right? Have I been running that long?) the kind people at Apple decided to not only offer their typical Single of the Week and Discovery Download, they also had a free sampler available from German electronik label Kompakt. Being a sucker for both music of both the free and electronic types, I immediately downloaded the 2009 Family Label Sampler. I have to admit I had very low expectations for the thing, assuming there would be a lot of heavy-handed four-on-the-floor techno music of the tritest variety, perhaps one or two decent songs in the collection.
To my surprise and delight I was completely wrong.
It turns out that the artists at Kompakt not only make fantastic music but do so with perspective and nuance I had frankly never encountered in electronic music before! Instead of mindless, stupid rave music I found myself zoning out to surreal, quiet little numbers that lasted longer than I could even hope. That's one of the secret bonuses to not working in conventional song structure - you don't have to limit yourself to three and a half minutes. There was a great deal of minimalist, barely expressed tones - from the churning and beeping of 'Kenton' by Mikkel Metal to the ambient atmospherics of 'America' by Dusty Kid. This was music with a refreshingly unique perspective. While I had been growing bored with my usual fare of indie rap and guilty pleasure pop songs, here was a collection of intelligent, subtly expressed electronic/techno music that came completely out of left field. On top of that it was free! What more could a guy ask for? Let me explain a little more accurately by quoting Grooves magazine:
"Kompakt’s chief aesthetic objective has always been the perfect marriage of ambient texture and linear 4x4 structure—blending deep, granular sound design with the 4-bar rhythmic intensity and patterning that makes house and techno so club-effective"
Around this same time I had begun running for fitness, after years of poor health and eating habits. While there was no shortage of guitar-and-screaming aggro music to motivate me in the beginning, after a while I had burned out on the same songs. I was enjoying the running very much but wanted to get out of my own head during the process. This collection was the perfect answer to that problem. The steady slap of rubber on pavement paired wonderfully with the soft synths and samples of beats. There was a zen element, an unconscious mantra of "Don't think, just breathe, one foot in front of the other" that I found myself slipping into. Unfortunately I have a habit of repetition and obsession. This collection was no exception. To be blunt, I was listening to the mix to the point of wearing it out on my ears.
Time passed and summer was coming again (and therein establishes my time frame!). A family member had kindly bestowed the simple joy that is an iTunes gift card to me. While many scoff at the idea of what they perceive to be a throw-away gift or an empty gesture, I am always thrilled to receive one. It means freedom to roll up your sleeves and dig in, really look for something left field. You can buy something on which you normally wouldn't risk the scratch. Recalling the joy of running accompanied by Kompakt, I searched around on the store to see what was available. Sure, I could have picked a specific artist and gone hogwild. Instead I decided to roll the dice again, purchasing one of the label's collections, this one titled Total 10.
I once again hit pay dirt.
Twenty tracks this time, all of them solid examples of the artists at their best. The weather was improving, bad bout of Illiotibial Band Syndrome was fading away and I had all the heady, zoning out music I could want. Having a total of 30 tracks from this excellent label has proved to be just the right amount for the time being - I have yet to tire of this combined grouping, still spinning the playlist when heading out for a run. By mixing these two compilations I created a monster of a playlist that serves as a surreal and dreamlike induction into a different headspace, all courtesy of this amazing German label. Head over to thier site or look them up on itunes, you'll find something you like, I know it.
After having a good feeling yesterday from writing about how fantastic G-Stone Records' artist repertoire is, I thought I would take a similar route for today's (only tangentially) related post.
You see, sometimes the best way to discover something is to just branch out. It also helps to have nothing to lose, as well. Relevant to both of these conditions is the fact that last summer (or maybe it was two summers ago...can that be right? Have I been running that long?) the kind people at Apple decided to not only offer their typical Single of the Week and Discovery Download, they also had a free sampler available from German electronik label Kompakt. Being a sucker for both music of both the free and electronic types, I immediately downloaded the 2009 Family Label Sampler. I have to admit I had very low expectations for the thing, assuming there would be a lot of heavy-handed four-on-the-floor techno music of the tritest variety, perhaps one or two decent songs in the collection.
To my surprise and delight I was completely wrong.
It turns out that the artists at Kompakt not only make fantastic music but do so with perspective and nuance I had frankly never encountered in electronic music before! Instead of mindless, stupid rave music I found myself zoning out to surreal, quiet little numbers that lasted longer than I could even hope. That's one of the secret bonuses to not working in conventional song structure - you don't have to limit yourself to three and a half minutes. There was a great deal of minimalist, barely expressed tones - from the churning and beeping of 'Kenton' by Mikkel Metal to the ambient atmospherics of 'America' by Dusty Kid. This was music with a refreshingly unique perspective. While I had been growing bored with my usual fare of indie rap and guilty pleasure pop songs, here was a collection of intelligent, subtly expressed electronic/techno music that came completely out of left field. On top of that it was free! What more could a guy ask for? Let me explain a little more accurately by quoting Grooves magazine:
"Kompakt’s chief aesthetic objective has always been the perfect marriage of ambient texture and linear 4x4 structure—blending deep, granular sound design with the 4-bar rhythmic intensity and patterning that makes house and techno so club-effective"
Time passed and summer was coming again (and therein establishes my time frame!). A family member had kindly bestowed the simple joy that is an iTunes gift card to me. While many scoff at the idea of what they perceive to be a throw-away gift or an empty gesture, I am always thrilled to receive one. It means freedom to roll up your sleeves and dig in, really look for something left field. You can buy something on which you normally wouldn't risk the scratch. Recalling the joy of running accompanied by Kompakt, I searched around on the store to see what was available. Sure, I could have picked a specific artist and gone hogwild. Instead I decided to roll the dice again, purchasing one of the label's collections, this one titled Total 10.
Twenty tracks this time, all of them solid examples of the artists at their best. The weather was improving, bad bout of Illiotibial Band Syndrome was fading away and I had all the heady, zoning out music I could want. Having a total of 30 tracks from this excellent label has proved to be just the right amount for the time being - I have yet to tire of this combined grouping, still spinning the playlist when heading out for a run. By mixing these two compilations I created a monster of a playlist that serves as a surreal and dreamlike induction into a different headspace, all courtesy of this amazing German label. Head over to thier site or look them up on itunes, you'll find something you like, I know it.
