Cubist Reggae
October 19, 2014 10:08 PM Subscribe
Cubist Reggae. From the mind of Aaron Funk, aka Venetian Snares, comes an EP of sharply angular, yet weirdly chill, grooves, all in a variety of unusual time signatures (7/4, 5/4, 15/8, and 21/16).
yes, it is!
A-MA-ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!!
posted by raihan_ at 10:41 PM on October 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
A-MA-ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!!
posted by raihan_ at 10:41 PM on October 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ick. Posting a full album that's only been out a few months really doesn't seem OK.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 10:49 PM on October 19, 2014
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 10:49 PM on October 19, 2014
Ever Apparent All Being Shoulder really reminded me of V-Proc by Autechre. If I knew more about music I would probably try to dissect why.
posted by johnnydummkopf at 10:59 PM on October 19, 2014
posted by johnnydummkopf at 10:59 PM on October 19, 2014
Thank you for posting this. I had forgotten about Venetian Snares and hadn't heard from him in a while. I previewed some of the tracks off the new album and they sound good. Will give it a listen.
I always liked his remix of Billie Holiday's Gloomy Sunday. At a time when there was no shortage of mediocre electronic jazz remixes being churned out, I found it a cut above.
posted by ageispolis at 12:09 AM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
I always liked his remix of Billie Holiday's Gloomy Sunday. At a time when there was no shortage of mediocre electronic jazz remixes being churned out, I found it a cut above.
posted by ageispolis at 12:09 AM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sounds like the sun finally came to Winnipeg.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:16 AM on October 20, 2014
posted by en forme de poire at 12:16 AM on October 20, 2014
I think this is like an order of BPM magnitude away from being chill, even weirdly chill, but it is definitely... calmer and less noise-y than the venetian snares I know and occasionally love. I would really like to hear his sensibility with a gentler palette of sounds. Is there a side project or something like that?
posted by feloniousmonk at 1:40 AM on October 20, 2014
posted by feloniousmonk at 1:40 AM on October 20, 2014
I just put up a 5/4 track this morning, although I wouldn't call it cubist.
posted by Wolfdog at 4:15 AM on October 20, 2014
posted by Wolfdog at 4:15 AM on October 20, 2014
> I think this is like an order of BPM magnitude away from being chill
Yeah, a few tracks are using the same genre of samples and patches that are common in chill out, but even the slowest stuff is too off-kilter and surprising to be anything like chill.
Good stuff, though. some of this stuff is genuinely pleasurable in ways Venetian Snares usually isn't (which is to say, even when VS is spot freaking on, the operating method is not necessarily pleasing).
posted by ardgedee at 5:09 AM on October 20, 2014
Yeah, a few tracks are using the same genre of samples and patches that are common in chill out, but even the slowest stuff is too off-kilter and surprising to be anything like chill.
Good stuff, though. some of this stuff is genuinely pleasurable in ways Venetian Snares usually isn't (which is to say, even when VS is spot freaking on, the operating method is not necessarily pleasing).
posted by ardgedee at 5:09 AM on October 20, 2014
I always liked his remix of Billie Holiday's Gloomy Sunday.
I can never decide whether that one or Második Galamb is my favorite, but that whole album really just blows me away.
posted by Foosnark at 6:13 AM on October 20, 2014
I can never decide whether that one or Második Galamb is my favorite, but that whole album really just blows me away.
posted by Foosnark at 6:13 AM on October 20, 2014
feloniousmonk: "I think this is like an order of BPM magnitude away from being chill, even weirdly chill, but it is definitely... calmer and less noise-y than the venetian snares I know and occasionally love. I would really like to hear his sensibility with a gentler palette of sounds. Is there a side project or something like that?"
Poemss is a joint effort with him and Joanne Pollock: Here's "Gentle Mirror" off that album.
You can find the whole album on Spotify if you want to listen (I imagine you can sample it all on youtube) and if you like it - buy it off bleep. This one and Head on Heads are my two faves off that album.
posted by symbioid at 6:44 AM on October 20, 2014
Poemss is a joint effort with him and Joanne Pollock: Here's "Gentle Mirror" off that album.
You can find the whole album on Spotify if you want to listen (I imagine you can sample it all on youtube) and if you like it - buy it off bleep. This one and Head on Heads are my two faves off that album.
posted by symbioid at 6:44 AM on October 20, 2014
I'm glad to see more love for Vsnares. I wrote a lot about him previously, with brief notes on the styles of each release. He does have a nice, quiet side, but I still wouldn't call any of his stuff particularly "chill."
posted by filthy light thief at 8:28 AM on October 20, 2014
posted by filthy light thief at 8:28 AM on October 20, 2014
I'm learning that my understanding of adjectives is highly subjective and warrants further explanation. I'm a hyper-active listener of music: if a song is playing I find myself unconsciously "conducting" along its various rhythmic lines, and I find myself dancing in public more often than sometimes seems appropriate. So, for me, music that usually gets described as "chill" gets me incredibly agitated, because there's nowhere near enough for me to latch onto.
This EP's been a bit of a godsend for me lately — it's paced at a speed that calms me down, with enough layering to it that I can get myself really absorbed in it, and with notes sharp and jagged enough that I can react to them on a more detached, cerebral plane, which is what I want when I'm in a mood anyway. I actually find a lot of Venetian Snares incredibly soothing, his latest album included; I latch onto the structural progression of music more than anything, and most music either progresses extremely rapidly/shallowly (most pop) or not at all (most dance-or-rave-related music that I've encountered). Vsnares, on the other hand, has a lot of development in his music, to a point that sometimes approaches a rigor that reminds me of classical music (which I have a hard time getting into unless it's very rhythmic and forceful). His work gives me a lot of room to wander mentally, while still having a shape to it that allows for a meaningful progression.
I can't tell if my feelings for him are entirely subjective on my part or if he's really playing at something deeper than his peers are, but I've generally felt that he's an honest-to-god genius who's doing something very unusual and fascinating, especially on works like this which are just a slight bit atypical. He's got a real mind for music, which your post, filthy light thief, helps to explain quite a bit. So thank you very much for that!
posted by rorgy at 10:25 AM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
This EP's been a bit of a godsend for me lately — it's paced at a speed that calms me down, with enough layering to it that I can get myself really absorbed in it, and with notes sharp and jagged enough that I can react to them on a more detached, cerebral plane, which is what I want when I'm in a mood anyway. I actually find a lot of Venetian Snares incredibly soothing, his latest album included; I latch onto the structural progression of music more than anything, and most music either progresses extremely rapidly/shallowly (most pop) or not at all (most dance-or-rave-related music that I've encountered). Vsnares, on the other hand, has a lot of development in his music, to a point that sometimes approaches a rigor that reminds me of classical music (which I have a hard time getting into unless it's very rhythmic and forceful). His work gives me a lot of room to wander mentally, while still having a shape to it that allows for a meaningful progression.
I can't tell if my feelings for him are entirely subjective on my part or if he's really playing at something deeper than his peers are, but I've generally felt that he's an honest-to-god genius who's doing something very unusual and fascinating, especially on works like this which are just a slight bit atypical. He's got a real mind for music, which your post, filthy light thief, helps to explain quite a bit. So thank you very much for that!
posted by rorgy at 10:25 AM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is a great idea. The Identification Circles is very pleasing, in a malfunctioning robot on its side walking in a circle kind of way.
posted by umbú at 10:59 AM on October 20, 2014
posted by umbú at 10:59 AM on October 20, 2014
rorgy, if you like musical progression you should check out Squarepusher if you haven't heard him. Some of his music takes me to heights when it ascends scales that not a lot of other music does.
posted by symbioid at 12:33 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by symbioid at 12:33 PM on October 20, 2014
Ick. Posting a full album that's only been out a few months really doesn't seem OK.
Wait - isn't this from 2011?
posted by en forme de poire at 5:14 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Wait - isn't this from 2011?
posted by en forme de poire at 5:14 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think this is like an order of BPM magnitude away from being chill, even weirdly chill...
Ooooh, have you listened to the Forest Swords' "Engravings" record that came out last summer? It scratches that itch for me, and the dub-ish hints aren't so full forward. They come through in little waves now and then.
I especially like The Weight of Gold for the smoothness of its influence-checking (especially the little beat that rises up a few seconds after this point near the end, which I suspect is drawn from field recordings of an american indian tribe I'm not sophisticated enough to distinguish).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 5:56 PM on October 20, 2014
Ooooh, have you listened to the Forest Swords' "Engravings" record that came out last summer? It scratches that itch for me, and the dub-ish hints aren't so full forward. They come through in little waves now and then.
I especially like The Weight of Gold for the smoothness of its influence-checking (especially the little beat that rises up a few seconds after this point near the end, which I suspect is drawn from field recordings of an american indian tribe I'm not sophisticated enough to distinguish).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 5:56 PM on October 20, 2014
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posted by rorgy at 10:08 PM on October 19, 2014 [1 favorite]