Sounds from Innerspace

innerspaceboy · 09-01-2016, 06:34 AM

For the last two weeks, I’ve been listening again and again to the latest two promo albums from M.Ward's 'Recovered & Remastered' series and the new 10 CD 'X-Series'.

The first specimen I ingested was the monumental 10th Anniversary Overhaul of 4ORBIDDEN MISSION.

Ten years ago, M.Ward’s remix project was privately circulated and limited to an estimated 22 copies. Bootlegs eventually surfaced and were exchanged*for large sums of money, but the originals seldom changed hands and the music was lost for a decade.

This new 2CD edition is unmixed, vastly superior in sound quality, and a fantastic overhaul of the original 4OM recording. The tracks have all been lovingly tweaked, with any quality issues finally resolved, providing a gorgeous listening experience. There was also a 3rd disc with the original 4OM which included a 54-minute mix of 'Huge Ever Growing...'*this mix was only ever meant for that set. There is a possibility that this mix will also get the 10th Anniversary Overhaul treatment and appear somewhere in the future?

The 40M Overhaul is brilliant, and if you’re a die-hard fan, you already know that you need this mix in your life.

But it was the second double-disc promo which intrigued me the most. The set arrived, like 4OM, in a modest cardboard 2CD sleeve, stamped with the title:

THIS IS NOT WHAT SPACE IS ABOUT
FULL-LENGTH UNMIXED 2CD
* PROMO USE ONLY *

As a tremendous fan of the original TINWSIA single CD promo, (cat# KLF MINUS-SIX), I couldn’t wait to survey this deluxe and expanded edition. I set aside some serious time for interstellar travel. No lights, minimal external stimuli, just me and my passive noise cancelling circumaural monitors.

Listening to this expanded edition of Space was like settling in for a screening of 2001. Man has several rituals which must be performed to prepare himself for the journey which awaits him. Secure in my sleep chamber, I slowed my breathing and heart*rate*and engaged the auditory systems which initiated the listening sequence of Disc 1.

Looking back, my memory is foggy from that initial experience. There were so many sensations - moments of elation and of anticipation… but like all of the most gripping and affecting events of our lives, the exact moments blur into a vaporous and intangible haze. But it’s just as well - the incorporeal recollection is befitting of the ethereal magnificence of the recording, and enhances its metaphysical transportive effect.

The printed insert from the TINWSIA 2CD

Upon the conclusion of Disc 1, I opened my eyes, slowly, and reacquainted my body with the sensations and properties of the physical world. I needed a cerebral and sensory palate cleanser after the first leg of the voyage, so I shook off the space dust and had a little walk about the house.

Thirty minutes later, I felt stable and tranquil enough to complete the mission. I returned to my listening pod and initiated Disc sequence 2. This time, the musical events seemed more tangible and distinctly formed. Perhaps Disc 2 was more eventful than the sparse drone openness of the introduction. Or perhaps the human mind simply requires a certain duration of preliminary exposure to adapt to a sensory foray of this nature. Whatever the case, I had a heightened sense of awareness and elucidation concurrent with the events of the second recording and I enjoyed it all the more for this revelation.

To describe the particular events of the album would be unproductive, as the very thing which makes the experience so fantastic is that so much of what transpires will be the conjurings of each listener’s own imagination. The soundstage is filled with curious and distant sounds, as well as familiar fragments from the original source recording. And every bit of it is a thrill.

There have been numerous attempts to re-envision milestone recordings of ambient music as a contemporary response to the vision of the original composer. There have been countless trance and ambient tributes to The Dark Side of the Moon, alternative, remixed, and reimagined scores for classic films like Blade Runner and Nosferatu, and (perhaps most notably), The Black Dog’s Music For Real Airports served as a modern interpretation of Eno’s seminal ambient masterpiece.

The original Space LP (1990)

To speak concretely and critically of this recording, I can say with great certainty that it rivals not only M Ward’s original This Is Not What Space Is About mix, but that it more compellingly captures the essence of interstellar travel than did Cauty, himself in 1990 with Space. Do not misunderstand me - J.*Cauty’s record is, in and of itself, a milestone of both the KLF’s legacy and of the history of ambient music as a whole. For its time, it was the best and defining realization of its genre. But the Full Length Unmixed 2CD Promo of This Is Not What Space Is About is the most effective fulfilment of Cauty’s vision. Every ambient music listener should cash in their worker units and buy a ticket for this incredible cosmic journey.

It's one hell of a ride.

innerspaceboy · 09-03-2016, 09:52 AM

I am in absolute awe.

After a sleepless night, I found myself scouring the web for novel inspiration. I prepared myself a hot cup of caffeine and sugar and filled my headphones with Eluvium’s latest - Life Through Bombardment - a 7LP collection of abstract ambient, modern classical, and experimental drone music clocking in at nearly four hours of meditative bliss.

But as luck would have it, I was a mere quarter hour into the session when my research yielded a most magnificent reward.

FIRST • WE • FEEL • THEN • WE • FALL is a realization of James Joyce’s modernist triumph of literature, Finnegans Wake, transformed into an interactive experimental, and non-linear film.

The project and its film are free to all, and I discovered it thanks to the wonderful educational resource, OpenCulture.com.

I cannot begin to express my exhilaration in learning of this project. And if you’re at all a fan of experimental literature and film, this experience is not to be missed!

(Frown... I'm looking at you.)

grindy · 09-04-2016, 04:31 AM

You had me at "7LP collection of abstract ambient, modern classical, and experimental drone music clocking in at nearly four hours of meditative bliss".
Will seek this out.

innerspaceboy · 09-08-2016, 07:05 PM

It's been an incredibly busy end of the week, and some really fun things have been happening. Not entirely musical, but well-worth sharing.

FIRST! A $5 trinket which warmed my heart and harkened fond memories -

My late father had cleverly paired an official RCA ceramic 1/12 scale "Nipper" with an antique Durham Industries diecast gramophone back in the 90s and I had always admired it on his shelf.
Yesterday I felt nostalgic so I ordered a dollhouse Persian rug with gold metallic accents for Nipper to sit upon.

I miss you, Dad. I'll keep spinning tunes for your pup.

This also reminded me of a funny thing about cameras - I shoot all my featured LPs and this little guy with a Sony DSC-V3 that I received as a Christmas gift in 2005. It had a $700 MSRP when it launched in 2004, and was likely half price by the time it was purchased, but 12 years on it's still proving its value every day.

You can't say that about many products these days.

Spoiler for Enlarged to show texture.:

SECONDLY! LISTEN UP EVERYBODY, 'cos I'm about to make your YEAR.

I've been tracking the extended forecast monthly outlooks for weeks and I am proud to say that THIS SATURDAY is the END of the brutal 80-plus-degree liquid death that has been the daily assault of this ungodly summer.

I’m so relieved to have the humidity relent at last and that the scent of the autumn air shall soon lure me from my darkened sanctum to emerge once again into a world of crisp, fallen leaves, a rich array of colors painting the earth and sky in celebration of the season, and, (most importantly), affording me the opportunity to wear dashing longcoats, 14-foot wool scarves, and layering myself in my favorite fashions which lie in wait all summer to be unleashed upon the chilly streets of my fair city.

Check out the magnificent forecast snapshots below! Together we'll relish the relief of cooler days in the 60s and 70s with brisk evenings in the 40s and 50s all throughout September!

October shall usher in temperatures in the mid-50s to 60s during the day with nights in the upper 30s and 40s and the first appearance of snowflakes!

Join me in a rousing chorus of celebratory jubilation! At long last, our time has COME!

And THIRD! Another successful INTJ PROJECT!

Lately, I'd been experiencing sluggish performance in my task management app - Google Keep, rendering the application nearly unusable. And more than once I lost data due to there being no undo option. I needed a better solution.

At first, I was worried that I'd need to upgrade my phone, but after a few minutes of research I identified the issue: I'd simply entered (waaaay) too much data for the app to handle. I broke Google.

In the last 7 days, I'd created 165 projects and task lists in Keep, many consisting of hundreds or even thousands of words, each with accompanying graphics. Because I am insane.

So last night, in four tireless hours of optimization, I migrated all task data into 183 pages of categorically-themed documents on Google Drive, organized them into a series of related subfolders, and ensured that each document was uniformly typeset and formatted.

While I was at it I thought it was an opportune time to renovate the entire Drive, organizing and purging all archivable data. The result is pictured below.

By 1:30AM, I'd reduced Google Keep to just 31 manageable tasks and its function was fully restored! Best of all, my long-form notes are far better organized using Drive and with greater accessibility than ever before.

Hooray for small victories!

innerspaceboy · 09-11-2016, 10:44 AM

Many years ago, I'd snatched up this vintage Norwegian-made Tandberg TR-2060 receiver (1977 UK, 1981 US) for a few dollars at a junk sale, but at the time I hadn't the knowledge I have today and the 5-pin DIN inputs on the back originally put me off of giving it any further consideration. (I was young... forgive me.)

Digging it out of storage this AM I discovered not only that this was a respectable integrated amp in its day but that for only a few dollars I can pick up 5-pin DIN to RCA conversion cables and put this handsome piece of gear to work in my listening room!
Admittedly, my curiosity of the receiver's performance actually takes a back seat to its aesthetic - (from ClassicReceivers.com...)

Quote:

The TR-2060... has an unmistakable European styling that, even today, looks modern and high tech. The aluminum faceplate, big square push buttons and fat black Tandberg name font all add to its unique look. But, the one thing most people remember about the TR series is the rosewood cabinets. There really isn't any other receiver line with such nice looking cabinets.

My friends know all too well that I am a fanatic for rosewood, and the Tandberg would be a fantastic partner for my Denon DP-60L rosewood TT!

I'm ordering the cables today and can't wait to hear this baby! It'll be interesting to compare it to my current Yamaha CR-840.

Hooray for fun discoveries!

innerspaceboy · 09-11-2016, 10:39 PM

Tonight's showerthought (lifted from Reddit):

Quote:

Have you ever considered how incredibly rare music actually is?

Music is basically organized sound (let's ignore Cage for now...) For sound to travel we need a medium, any matter, gas, liquid or solid. Relatively speaking though, the universe is composed of about 0.0000000000000000000042 percent of matter.

That means that the only places in the universe that contain sound energy is astronomically small. Now we can debate the definition of music all we want, but it basically comes down to one thing; it needs to be experienced by a conscious entity. And of that tiny percentage in the universe that contains matter, how much of it do you think has intelligent life on it?

Furthermore, that intelligent life needs to actually want to express itself in various ways, not just eat, procreate and die. Musical expression can come in many ways, but music is unique in the way that it relies on the rarest of all forms of energy we know of. It not only needs kinetic energy but also matter to create sound waves.

How lucky are we to exist in a point in time, on a tiny blue planet, absolutely filled to the brim with music. And literally in everywhere you look, for millions of miles, it's absolutely dead silent.

So this got me thinking about The Drake Equation, and I decided to run some numbers.

Drake proposes that, given the projected deviation of his equation, there are potentially between 0 and 36.4 million intelligent life supporting planets in the observable universe.

And with at least 200 billion galaxies (and possibly even more), we're very likely talking about a Universe filled with around 10^24 planet in our observable Universe.

Let's be bold and go crazy - we'll say that there are really that maximum potential number of planets Drake's Equation suggests may support intelligent life. As a percentage of our projected total number of planets in the universe, that would mean that at best, 3.64 x 10-15% of the universe's planets could potentially have music.

And finally, let's view that percentage of the original value representing the percentage of the universe which contains matter.

0.0000000000000000364 * 0.000000000000000000000042

which equals

0.00000000000000000000000000000000000015288% of the universe.

That's fifteen thousand, two hundred eighty-eight hundred-duodecillionths of 1%.

At this juncture it is only fitting to cite a wonderfully appropriate Douglas Adams' quote:

Quote:

It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Now I'm going to bed.

innerspaceboy · 09-16-2016, 06:54 PM

The 5-pin DIN to RCA conversion cables landed this afternoon for my Tandberg TR-2060 (Norway, 1977)!

There will be much A-B testing this weekend. I keep a lossless and analog stockpile of test tracks on standby for just such an occasion. (A man's gotta be prepared.)

Of course, I always use Dubnobass as the kick off record for any new piece of gear (doesn't everyone?), but that time-honored tradition will be followed by many of the best-mastered recordings of all time, including:

Bernard Parmegiani - De Natura Sonorum (1975) [DR13]
Feldman - The Late Piano Works Vol. 3 ( Steffen Schleiermacher) (2007) [DR22] (Track 2 DR28)
Jean-Claude Risset - Sud (1985) [DR13]
John Cage - Concert for Piano and Orchestra, Atlas Eclipticalis (1992) [DR24]
Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963) [DR9]
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959) [DR13]
DSotM (1973) [SPECIAL] {Immersion Blu-Ray 2011 2.0 24 bits 96kHz FLAC} [DR10]
Steely Dan - Aja (1998 Steve Hoffman remaster of UK MCA MCLD 19145) (1977) [DR14]

and many of my favorite albums that I know with ever fiber of my being.

What are your go-to test discs? Have I omitted any essentials?

innerspaceboy · 09-17-2016, 03:17 PM

An absolutely brilliant afternoon. I met up with a fellow member of a music community I frequent who is a young prodigy of many fantastic fields of interest.

We had a rousing discussion of milestones and rarities of 20th century, electroacoustic and early electronic sound, East vs West Coast music philosophy, the philosophy of aesthetics, the ever-expanding human understanding of musical possibility, tape and process music, the standardization and democratization of analog synthesizer technologies in the 1960s, the benefits of open culture, the explosion of DIY culture in the digital age, Building Synths For Fun and Profit!, the incredible business potential of his effect pedal design and manufacturing projects, the early days of bulletin board systems, C64 and early computer culture, innovators of typographical illustration and design, dadaist and nihilist art and literature, audiophilia, and the joys of composition within the limits of retro technologies.

One of the most spirited discussions I've had in some time, and subjects which resonate with so many of my own interests.

Many aspects of his knowledge would make for a fascinating interview piece. We began just with the subject of the wonderful experiences he's had growing his hobby of pedal design into a business and the legendary musicians who've supported his work. That in and of itself was marvelous subject matter. But as the afternoon unfolded, it quickly became apparent that there was a far larger story to be explored. Perhaps one of the growing autodidactic culture of hobbyists like himself, empowered by the networking potential and informational accessibility of the digital age.

I'm looking forward to our next conversation and planning an interview for a future write-up. Stay tuned for this one!

innerspaceboy · 09-21-2016, 06:04 PM

LADIES and GENTLEMEN! The vacation starts NOW!

Our new clawfoot bathtub was delivered last night (a gift from a very generous friend).

This evening, we're dressing to the nines in all our Victorian splendor while a lovely lady cohort and her regional guest makeup artist make us look beautiful for our photo shoot. We'll later edit the print to resemble a daguerreotype to be placed in a large ovicular antique frame we've acquired. It should work well with our décor.

Then Tomorrw we'll be traveling to my old hometown of Rochester to meet up with friends from my halcyon middle school days for fun and frivolity, mischief and mayhem.

And we wrap up the weekend with a camping trip to take in all the beauty of the autumn equinox!

Now that's what I can a vacation.

Presently taking advantage of my free day off. I've set myself to the task of creating an Innerspace Hot 100 LPs gallery with descriptions and personal notes for as many as I can. (I confess that it began as a top 30, but quickly became a top 50... and then 75... and now I'm trying to draw the line at a hundred.

But good has come of it! I've now a pile of yet-unlistened Klaus Schulze records which I plan to enjoy this evening.

Cheers!

*UPDATE* The Desert Island gallery is now live! Check it out in the sig below!

innerspaceboy · 09-24-2016, 01:07 PM

Greeting, friends! The past several weeks have been brimming with excitement and activity, and I owe you all an update. Please pardon the informality of this post, as it will be more personal and reflective than structured or academic.

It's been a month of investment in the resources I have neglected in my life. I've enjoyed exploring the sound of the aforementioned vintage amp which I finally put to use after all these years in storage and I'll be empowering my existing gear by upgrading my DAC from a Behringer Ucontrol UCA202 to the Audioquest Dragonfly Red.

I've been forging and developing friendships with intellectual peers and with introverted and reclusive contacts of mine from as long as 16 years ago with whom I never took the time during those chaotic college years. I've found them to be brilliant and engaging ladies and gents with an incredible command of knowledge in my fields of interest. I've had some of the most inspiring conversations of my life with a handful of these friends, and it has filled a void where rewarding relationships were sorely lacking from my social development as an adult.

I've also been developing my virtual relationships with fascinating individuals in faraway cities and countries. These musical friendships have brought me joy and inspiration in the form of musical recommendations of works which would otherwise be off my radar. These are beautiful people who I am grateful to have in my life in any form, virtual or otherwise.

My writing has also reached a critical point in its development. I found a mentor and a publisher for my book, but after thoroughly exploring the consequences of publishing a work on subjects as controversial as mine, it quickly became evident that I must keep the work clandestine, or otherwise risk millions of dollars in litigation, or worse - national exile. (If anyone is interested in the details, please contact me directly, as I would still sincerely appreciate the input of my friends and peers.)

My potential new home, should I publish my book - an outpost in the Arctic.

But on to the music!

The first LP is an unfortunate situation. I was at first thrilled to find that this summer, The Avalanches' unparalleled debut record from 2000 had finally received a proper reissue, making the album accessible and affordable for everyone. My misfortune, however, began with my purchase of the record from a shop in the UK. It arrived damaged from international shipping, and the shop insisted that I ship the damaged copy back to them before they would dispatch a replacement copy. It cost me an additional $40 to return the item, (as I needed to insure the package less I risk losing both the album and the return shipping expense should the copy be lost in transit). Upon receipt of the return, the shop informed me that they hadn't reserved me a replacement and that the album was sold out. They also refused to reimburse me for my return shipping expense. So now I have no album plus a $40 hole in my account. I've ordered a replacement from another seller Stateside and hope to receive it soon.

My misfortune aside, this album is a treasure for any listener interested in sampledelica and in music which pushes the boundaries of copyright. Since I Left You, which comprises an estimated 3,500 samples is, like all good sample-based music, a legal logistical nightmare.

While it is difficult to summarize the unique flavor of this debut, Christian Ward of NME accurately described it as, "a joyous, kaleidoscopic masterpiece of sun-kissed disco-pop."
Whether you're a purist who insists that The Original Australian Zomba Promo Mix is the only proper version or you're just grateful that XL finally released an affordable reissue; Since I Left You is an undisputed classic of the sound of summer.

My next acquisitions were, thankfully, much smoother transactions. I'd recently revisited my copy of the 50th Anniversary edition of John Cage's SILENCE: Lectures & Writings and was greatly inspired. I owned copies of Indeterminacy, Variations IV, Sonatas and Interludes / A Book of Music, and various compilations, but when I spotted a newly-announced reissue of the legendary 1958 25-Year Retrospective Concert box set on vinyl, I didn't hesitate for a moment and ordered a copy straight away.

The musique concrète trend concluded beautifully with a visit to my favorite record shop from my old hometown. The owner knows precisely the sort of stuff I'm after, and many of my 20th-century avant-garde LPs are from his personal collection. The trip was most rewarding, as I took home two essential classics -

The World of Harry Partch (May, 1969)

and A Panorama of Musique Concrete (DTL93090 1956)

Also while I was in the shop, I spotted a collector's dream on the shelf - an original 1970 copy of Rodriguez' Cold Fact with the disc is astonishingly mint condition! It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but I sadly had to leave it behind. If you'd like the copy for your own, he's listed it on his shop's official Discogs page here.

I've two more treasures pre-ordered for this fall -

The Orb's 25th Anniversary concert performance of The Orb's Further Adventures Live 2016 3 colored LP + concert DVD

and Wolfgang Voigt's Gas series complete box set

Happy autumn, everyone! And thanks for tuning in!

09-04-2016, 04:31 AM	#373 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	You had me at "7LP collection of abstract ambient, modern classical, and experimental drone music clocking in at nearly four hours of meditative bliss". Will seek this out. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*