Richard Devine classic or dud

I dont care how much musical training he has or how big his studio is; he cannnot write a tune, and he is not the least bit funky. I saw him live in Detroit last year...yawn.

However, saying that he is the rockingest of the laptoppers does not necessarily make him a classic. But I can name hundreds of duds below him; so neither.

I don't disagree with this at all, but to me it seems that Devine is going for a different kind of aesthetic. He seems to be obsessive about the technical angle of his music and trying to push towards some type of sound that hasn't been heard before and unlike other artists making somewhat similar sounding music is is presented as being something abstract with little or no real world reference and with no humor at all.

I've only heard a bit of some of those hardcore dsp computer music peoples sounds and a bit more of the older analog electronic composers, but it seems to me that Devine is trying to create sounds much more in this vein. Devine also really likes Coil, which for some reason makes perfect sense to me, even though his music is much more geeked out tech wise.

Like Yngwie or perhaps Al DeMeiola is to some guitar geeks, Devine is to some dsp/granular synthesis/max people.

Is this kind of electronic music what free jazz was to bop?

What do I think about Devine's music? I think some of it sounds pretty interesting and unique. Some bits would sound good in a horror movie, it sounds like it is from another realm and parts are very unsettling. It definitely isn't something I would seek out unless I am in the mood.

i'm such a whore

new album is supposedly 'all live' recordings of specialised modular synthesizer systems. it sounds like Autechre, a little bit:

https://richarddevine.bandcamp.com/album/sort-lave

Yowsa. I would say more than a little bit - not to its detriment, it's exploring similar ideas/sound spaces without being overly derivative. It's also more immediate, aside from the 12 minute opener.

He's always sounded like Autechre to a certain extent, just more digital and monotonous. Loved his early EPs back in the Schematic days, but since his debut LP onward I've been bored by him.

I will admit though, Sort\Lave is his best album yet, and has a really amazing tone and texture to it. The reintroduction of pads to his sound palette is very welcome, and the analog tone of the production (which makes sense given his move from digital to modular), is a huge improvement.

Autechre still manage to wring a lot more weird emotion and drama out of their algorithms.

However the podcast he did for RA recently was interesting, especially the parts about doing sound design for electric cars.

bleh

that was my initial reaction as well. the tracks sounded even more digital (than Ae) somehow, polished (like, airbrushed), but that's just the mix / mastering (or my perception of it), i guess. some of the more straightforward tracks have grown on me a bit. it's a bit cluttered, but much of the clutter is mixed towards the background. it still sounds like a weird, polished take on Ae music.. sounds are treated w/more bias, and everything is so even-tempered.

tracks 3 through 11 are worth a gander

Loved his early EPs back in the Schematic days, but since his debut LP onward I've been bored by him.

otm

remember being totally stunned by the density of the beat programming when these came out (and this was in the heyday of drill n bass)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-eV_Mo0UIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y96XlNLDKUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kj11f8SUGs

the tracks sounded even more digital (than Ae) somehow

Definitely avoid all of his albums prior to this one then. Especially Lip Switch. One of the most trash debuts I've ever seen from an artist given the amazing work prior. He ended up doubling and tripling down on that style for a decade. On RISP he finally changed his sounds up but still largely sounds chaotic and uninteresting. This one he finally pulls back from constant, unrelenting ALL CAPS CHAOS to actually adding dynamics back into his beats and evolving more repetitive progressions again with a more diverse sonic palette. The results are closer to Autechre, but Ae do it way better. That said, I'm fairly enjoying this one, and hope he continues to exhibit restraint on his future releases.

does wobbly still post here?