ecm for me. I am not really crazy about many of their records, but I find a lot of their output enjoyable. e.g. I will listen to a random jan garbarek or bobo stenson album and enjoy it.
― Rave Van Donk (jim in glasgow), Friday, 17 July 2015 22:13 (eight years ago) link
yeah if you throw a dart at both catalogs i think you're much more likely to hit something listenable on ECM - it will probably put you to sleep though
it's funny, i just found some old posts of mine on the ECM thread where i complain about "in montreal" and "ruta and daitya", but those albums have really stuck with me through the years
― the late great, Friday, 17 July 2015 22:16 (eight years ago) link
i hoped for but did not actually expect the wiki to have a complete discography:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ECM_Records_albums
― lil urbane (Jordan), Friday, 17 July 2015 22:21 (eight years ago) link
man the ECM quality to bullshit ratio is skewed highly in favor of quality to my ears. and their aesthetic is rad: this attention to place, to the specifics of a given recording...just cool as hell. I have some Windham Hill stuff I enjoy but I don't really care about Windham Hill, but I consider ECM a phenomenon & a big plus to the world of music generally.
― Joan Crawford Loves Chachi, Friday, 17 July 2015 22:23 (eight years ago) link
admittedly I'm a huge Keith Jarrett fiend and ECM has nobody even anywhere near his level in my view so grain o' salt etc
― Joan Crawford Loves Chachi, Friday, 17 July 2015 22:24 (eight years ago) link
their aesthetic is rad: this attention to place, to the specifics of a given recording
it's funny you say that because to me a lot of it sounds really samey!
― the late great, Friday, 17 July 2015 22:26 (eight years ago) link
i am aware of Windham Hill but don't know many of their releases at all, otoh i love a bunch of ECM stuff and can't think of anything on there i actively hate
saminess and hyper-focused aesthetics are things i like a lot tho tbf
― This is for my new ringpiece, so please only serious answers (Noodle Vague), Friday, 17 July 2015 22:29 (eight years ago) link
i used to work for a company that produced windham hill holiday radio specials, and i had to master them to DAT ... so, basically i'd vote for like poop on a stick over windham hill
― sarahell, Friday, 17 July 2015 22:47 (eight years ago) link
lolllll both at post & at mastering to DAT
― Joan Crawford Loves Chachi, Friday, 17 July 2015 23:40 (eight years ago) link
tough call but I have to go with windham hill cuz they released the michael hedges albums which changed the way I saw the acoustic guitar
― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Friday, 17 July 2015 23:47 (eight years ago) link
Where's the "I love both" option? Total dud on this poll.
― austinato (Austin), Friday, 17 July 2015 23:48 (eight years ago) link
The only 'Hill artist I can name is Hedges. Who is pretty great. On the EKG side I think had a Bach fugue by a chamber quartet.
I doubt there are many who are well versed enough in both to give an informed opinion.
That said, 'Hill.
― calstars, Saturday, 18 July 2015 00:05 (eight years ago) link
ECM, that is. Sorry, I'm drinking : )
― calstars, Saturday, 18 July 2015 00:06 (eight years ago) link
My stepdad had one of the Hill winter samplers but I was only 12 or so at the time so can't assume my assessment is accurate, but it was pretty alright.
― calstars, Saturday, 18 July 2015 00:10 (eight years ago) link
http://img.emuleday.com/data/img/6e/6e249981837679e2a2c0ede3efe97cab.jpg
― calstars, Saturday, 18 July 2015 00:15 (eight years ago) link
man the ECM quality to bullshit ratio is skewed highly in favor of quality to my ears. and their aesthetic is rad: this attention to place, to the specifics of a given recording...just cool as hell.
ECM for sure, for Manfred Eicher's recording quality and Jarrett overall. Then again, I haven't heard Shadowfax since living with my dad in high school.
― ... (Eazy), Saturday, 18 July 2015 04:43 (eight years ago) link
I gotta say, I love that Winter's Solstice album cover
― the man who posts like Sam Smith sings (Drugs A. Money), Saturday, 18 July 2015 12:30 (eight years ago) link
windham hill
― ANU (sisilafami), Saturday, 18 July 2015 12:50 (eight years ago) link
it's not that I hate it but windham hill just seems overwhelmingly incorrect to me, it puts me off digging deeper
― ogmor, Saturday, 18 July 2015 13:00 (eight years ago) link
ECM for that Holland Braxton Rivers Altschul "conference of the birds" album, that record is amazing
― marcos, Saturday, 18 July 2015 14:30 (eight years ago) link
and windham hill for those Michael Hedges records, those are great
― marcos, Saturday, 18 July 2015 14:31 (eight years ago) link
I might be atypical in that the overwhelming majority of the ECM discs I have are from that New Series; stuff that ends up filed uncontroversially in the classical section of record emporiums. Never noticed Windham Hill straying all that often into comparable territory, so...
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Saturday, 18 July 2015 14:40 (eight years ago) link
well Eicher is or was overseeing everything. he's the producer on many ECM records (most I think). it's my understanding anyway that with a lot of records he picks a location to record for the artist, like he's strokin' his chin goin' "ahh yes, I know a church in Switzerland, amazing acoustics for the Tigran Mansurian project"
I'm a sucker for that kinda thing
― Joan Crawford Loves Chachi, Saturday, 18 July 2015 15:44 (eight years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Friday, 31 July 2015 00:01 (eight years ago) link
Windham Hill has nothing comparable to the ECM New Series (Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, Sofia Gubaidulina, Meredith Monk, John Adams, Gavin Bryars, Hilliard Ensemble, Heiner Goebbels et al), or non-Western composers (Anouar Brahem, Manu Katché, the Jon Balke/Amina Alaoui). Even the improv is more interesting (I love Nik Bärtsch's Ronin - Swiss polyrhythmic minimalism). It isn't all Norwegian saxophonists serenading the the rising sun.
― Pauper Management Improved (Sanpaku), Friday, 31 July 2015 15:54 (eight years ago) link
ecm by light years.
― it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Friday, 31 July 2015 16:11 (eight years ago) link
Somehow I've never heard a single Windham Hill release! Not familiar with that much ECM stuff either but they've released some things I really like - Köln Concert, Tabula Rasa, Dolmen Music, Conference of the Birds, Music for 18 Musicians - so they win by default.
― Gavin, Leeds, Friday, 31 July 2015 16:27 (eight years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Saturday, 1 August 2015 00:01 (eight years ago) link
Kinda saw that coming.
― austinato (Austin), Saturday, 1 August 2015 00:05 (eight years ago) link
Norwegian saxophonists serenading the rising sun
put this on a hype sticker and I will buy it every time
― Wimmels, Saturday, 1 August 2015 01:18 (eight years ago) link