Cornelius: Classic or Dud?

Many of these tracks seem to be a minute or less. I'm really hoping it's heavy on the ambient sound collage type stuff.

but it's a soundtrack to something isnt it?

Soundtracks are people too.

I'd like to hear this. I've never totally like anything he's done, but I think he could eventually do something I like, or I could eventually like something he does. Point was really close.

Can't wait.

that said I'll take anything new from the guy - I'm reviewing his old stuff now, kind of shocked how damn good Doctor's Head World Tower and 69/96 really are

okay, just heard it for the first time - it's all shorter pieces, with a lot of vocals, very minimal, but it's clearly him. it reminds me a bit of the Hosono Monad stuff, in that there are only a few sounds going on at once, but there are still a lot of unexpected twists and he draws resonance in odd ways. don't think i'll listen to it as much as his other albums but you can't really complain about new stuff at this point.

Since 2011 Cornelius has been musical director of a kids' TV show about design broadcast on the NHK network early Saturday mornings. He's invited guests and composed his own jingles for items intended to teach children about design. Here's a clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgwxdRnxBK0

it reminds me a bit of the Hosono Monad stuff

well, you just said the magic words...

Speaking of kids' shows, here is on Yo Gabba Gabba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDcouGIvDi4

Wow i had no idea. That is the coolest!

i saw him live at Matador's "Everything is Nice" 10 year anniversary show in NYC.
I was just thinking about this show, I believe. Prompted because I saw a guy who looked like Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, who were also on the bill.

No, show I saw was called Music Against Brain Degeneration. Also featured Sebadoh and Robyn Hitchcock.

so, this new one is pretty great! I've never been a huge fan but I'm liking the turn away from maximalism he's been on with this and salyu x salyu

I guess that must be Migu on drums on the HGG clip, that's very cool, her solo record is great.

Yeah i saw that tour too! Blew my freakin' mind. I had never heard of a theremin before and I eagerly bought one that week.

So what is this album called, is it "Design"? Or is it a soundtrack to the show?

Oh, OK, "Design Ah". LOL. Not as good a pun as "Fun9" (Fun Ku) but ok!

I'm finally going over his page in English. Man, "CM4" was just released. I haven't heard one of his remix albums since "CM2".

I wasn't a big fan of CM4 but CM3 has astounding remixes of Sketch Show (Hosono/Takahashi's group), Denki Groove (Twilight) and James Brown (Call Me Super Bad)

man, "Tone Twilight Zone" still gives me chills. part of it is because it has a deep connection to my life but also because of those harmonics. such a simple trick to put them in a song like this but it seems like nobody else really thought of it.

No, show I saw was called Music Against Brain Degeneration. Also featured Sebadoh and Robyn Hitchcock.

that was a good tour. saw it at Cat's Cradle in NC. I remember Cornelius' drummer had big giant headphones on giving them the metronome timing to sync with a really fast movie projected behind them.

Anyone watch Cornelius on HBO's Reverb? That's how I discovered him. Was a pretty important step in my taste maturing at 14.

That was my first exposure to Cornelius, the Reverb show. Unbelievably, I can't so much as find a clip from it online.

Aw crap, i had that Reverb show taped years ago, and now it's lost for good.

Those videos were AMAZING. There was a Fantasma remaster that came out a year or two ago and one of the videos i found posted online in connection to the release was the video they projected during "Count 5 or 6", which had this amazing shot of Keith Moon which cut to an accidents from a demolition derby.

he's definitely a phenominal live performer. I think that gets missed considering how tightly controlled the albums are. there was (still is?) a video of him playing "Monkey" note for note on the guitar at about the same tempo. When I saw him they did stuff like "I Hate Hate" flawlessly and were able to play perfectly in time with the videos, even "Fit Song" which isn't that complex of a tune, but still requires a ridiculous level of precision to get it to match the video.

now that i'm listening to this again and again I think it really is a lot like the Cornelius version of Hosono's "The Endless Talking", but a little brighter and not as frightening. I'd be surprised if that wasn't a huge influence on this album. It's really quite good - very brainy and just the right amount of fun, with the pieces acting more like ideas than songs, with a really refined sound palette (some of the old sounds crop up though). Probably better than Sensuous, really.

This is really great! A little spotty at times but the good stuff is goooooooood. Like it much more than anything I've heard since "Point."

What's exactly is everyone's problem with Sensuous?

This is incredible! I watched the show and holy crap is it amazing. This record is probably my favorite since "Fantasma".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_xLFOg2gTQ

This is an episode with some really amazing video sequences.

Sensuous is fine but IMO it's a little too stripped back at times, it doesn't have any of the real enjoyable moments that Point did. Like it doesn't let loose, even Gum sounds way too tightly controlled and structured to be a lot of fun. Its still a good album I'd say and probably one that's going to look better with time. This new one though puts a lot of the fun back even in it's sterile little world of sound, maybe because the melodies are a lot more all over the place and the pieces are short enough that you don't get bored of them. I'm on my 8th listen in the last seven days and it's still sounding very good.

Sensuous is okay - the charitable case could be made that it threads the needle between Fantasma and Point, but I feel it doesn't have either the hooks of Fantasma or the pristine atmosphere of Point. Really excited about the new one but need to track it down first.

still loving nhk design ah. frogbs' comparison to the endless talking strikes me as a good one, but yeah, this is much more upbeat. still, both albums are very crisp and clear and move through a wide range of musical ideas quite quickly. and there are chopped up vox all over both of these albums.

but the modern production and slight techno edge on some nhk tracks is pleasantly bringing the hosono worship of the atom/masaki sakamoto collabo lp alien symphony to mind - particularly the parts miharu koshi guests on. I'm strictly talking about production here because alien symphony is DENSE music, but if you haven't heard that one, it is very much worth hearing and available in full on soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/sublimerecords/atomtm-masaki-sakamoto-alien-symphony

I hear what you guys are saying about Sensuous. I might be a little too in love with the overall sound/production; really think it's one of the best sounding albums of its time. Excited to hear the new stuff from everyone's descriptions!

btw apparently he's doing the new ghost in the shell soundtrack!

thanks for that one Alan - listening now and its defintely a good modern take on Hosono's S-F-X sound

and yeah it is a lot like this NHK album

awesome, glad you're digging it

i'll give it another listen tonight. I've always been curious about Atom Heart but he's that odd combination of A) prolific, B) obscure, and C) releases material under a zillion different names that makes it difficult for me to really get into him

My cat loves this. I bet he likes the bird song.

xpost yeah, I'd be curious of you find more "hosono-ey" atom material. much of what I've heard has had a 90s ambient techno vibe (which I also like)

new compilation out - Constellations of Music, partly a remix comp like the others but there is a decent amount of new stuff there, some with salyu x salyu. The Bird and Bee remix is of a song I haven't heard before. Flows a lot better than the CM albums. Check it out!

oooh, new salyu x salyu! thanks for the heads up, will be checking that out.

also, haven't checked out the new ghost in the shell ost but I do like the opener (which he produced):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7DuRYkthjU

I have the ost, it's very good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQZNSOUkI7w

original backdrop vid for "Free Fall" from "Fantasma"! they have the one from "Mic Check" up as well. so cool....

https://media.giphy.com/media/puE3RO6CeBKfK/giphy.gif
i see some John Whitney at the beginning. a lot of amazing 80s vector CGI stuff. anyone know what ^this is from?

http://i.imgur.com/sNxf2AA.jpg

last night the Cornelius instagram posted a weird black and white animation with minimal sounds (alternating drum machine kick and snare) then the following info:

0426 FIRST SINGLE
0524 SECOND SINGLE
0628 NEW ALBUM

!

CLASSIC

And why's it taken him so long to release another proper album? But I'm glad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efJp-0GHKp0

I missed the Penguin Cafe/Cornelius EP.