Moderators: Aesthetics, Drones, Hexagon Sun
Revelation chapter 13:Den wrote:Reporting back from the first New York session. I loved how they stamped all of our hands with a hexagon for seemingly no purpose other than to stamp our hands with a hexagon.
I agree absolutely. The acoustics were a bad fit for the session, at least for the particular configuration they used. Vocals are an important element of this album relative to their other work, i was seated right in what should have been the sweet spot in the middle of the audience (just left of the aisle in the center) and I struggled to make the words out most of the time.Buckie High wrote:Firstly, the listening environment was shocking, but not in a good way. The system sounded overpowered and poorly time-aligned for the space. The mid-room delay speakers appeared to introduce comb filtering and localization problems rather than improving coverage, while the church’s reverberant architecture exaggerated the lack of clarity. For music where texture, stereo field, and subtle spatial detail are central, the presentation felt fundamentally compromised. I look forward to listening to the digital, vinyl, and cassette versions of Inferno on my hi-fi systems once released before concluding on the overall sonic quality and mix of the album.
Here, I respectfully disagree. I thought it was great, it set the mood, and I hope they release it at some point. It’s not for everyone, I’ll grant you, but I’ve attended drone music fests a few times, and they draw a decent turnout. If released, that piece will find an audience.Buckie High wrote: Secondly, the Circle-esque, muffled noise that played before the album began was torturous. In fact, at the volume it played at in New York, it was essentially a sonic weapon deployed against the listeners for 30+ minutes. The excessive low-frequency, distorted "hum" could easily cause vestibular and/or psychological distress. I read someone's earlier comment who asked a Warp employee regarding the pre-show audio who confirmed it was created by BoC specifically for these listening sessions. Subjecting fans to this intentionally is sinister.
Again I disagree. The brothers pay attention to detail. If they subjected us to an hour of flaming hexagons, that was to get people to focus on LISTENING, and if they changed it up for “You Retreat in Time and Space”, that suggests to me that that track in particular, in context, is key to understanding the album. It’s entirely possible those are Sandison family home movies. To me that part was a welcome, beautiful moment in a fairly heavy experience.Buckie High wrote: Thirdly, I would have preferred no visuals rather than the "flaming, rotating, Hexagons of hell" for 60+ minutes. When they changed the visual to the nostalgic "life flashing before your eyes" film clips, it felt lame.
I disagree that the vocal samples were “overused”. Was the music unsettling at various points? Absolutely! But I didn’t find it to be unsatisfying AT ALL. It’s different from their earlier work. That isn’t a bad thing. I’m glad that Mike and Marcus continue to grow and keep their music fresh. I’m sorry the event wasn’t more to your liking, and I agree the acoustics sucked, but other than that, I give the event and the album a big thumbs up.Buckie High wrote: With respect to the album itself: It is impossible to have a properly informed opinion after only one listen in a problematic acoustical environment on a wretched PA system. However, there were only a few fleeting moments that really hit me in a way that their best music over the years has.
The overuse of vocal samples throughout was curious. The drums and synths on many songs were far too harsh and "in your face". The overall soundscape was cold, digital, compressed, and generic. Virtually every chord progression and melody ended in a bizarre, unsettling, and unsatisfying manner. Deep Time (aka "Tape 05") is one of the few examples where a melody resolves in a semi-satisfying way.
I know that many other fans who listened must have had similar thoughts. Many are not willing to allow themselves to admit it, though.
It has some apocalyptc vibes. First half much closer to Geogaddi (but also different), but 2nd half has some moments that resembles Tomorrow's Harvest and (2nd half) of Campfires Headphase before the last tracks.PurpleFlurp wrote:How is the overall feel/vibe different from Tomorrow’s Harvest? Does the music match the visual style hinted at on the album art?
The excitement is REALLY starting to hit me!
Fantastic, mate—those luscious Southern California trees have me on tilt. Is that venue in Hollywood? I lived in Venice Beach for three years or so, but didn’t have a car so I rarely went east of like Lincoln Boulevard hahaGoiter Sanchez wrote:LA was a fantastic experience, attended the 7:30 listening. The mix on this record really blew me away. Inferno sounds more 'mature' in a sense... Like, the more overtly IDM elements are absolutely there as with past work, but they are more subtle and nuanced. The atmosphere of it is so dense and tribal. There are moments of heart rending beauty as there are genuinely disturbing sections. It's just so ambitious. Loved it.
Interesting, this was one of my favourite parts of the night, it must have been a PA issue in NY as the drone at the start sounded great in Glasgow, no distortion at the low end. It just felt like a foreboding drone with a filtered down pulsing kick drum beneath, giving it a tribal feel. I understand Mike made it quite recently specifically for the shows, I'd love to hear it again.Buckie High wrote:Secondly, the Circle-esque, muffled noise that played before the album began was torturous. In fact, at the volume it played at in New York, it was essentially a sonic weapon deployed against the listeners for 30+ minutes. The excessive low-frequency, distorted "hum" could easily cause vestibular and/or psychological distress. I read someone's earlier comment who asked a Warp employee regarding the pre-show audio who confirmed it was created by BoC specifically for these listening sessions. Subjecting fans to this intentionally is sinister.
The acoustics were not great in New York (this seems to be true across some of the other venues), so there was a lack of clarity in the mix overall. There are a few songs that are led by vocal parts though - people speaking full sentences, singing, chanting. It all sounded inspired to me. The way they sampled the mahā-mantra on Naraka made me feel a sense of, "BOC were born to make this." There actually is a song too with vocals that are arranged in a way that explicitly evokes Telephasic Workshop.writetomhatcher wrote:I’ve read people commenting on the mix being bad because the voices weren’t clear… I wouldn’t expect the vocals to all be clear with headphones either! Like what are the voices saying on Telephasic Workshop eh?
I do not, although I wish I did, thank you.Omikron wrote:Beautifully worded. Do you write for a living? Also, 342 posts in 6 weeks must surely be a new record! (Not the vinyl kind…)Den wrote:Reporting back from the first New York session. I loved how they stamped all of our hands with a hexagon for seemingly no purpose other than to stamp our hands with a hexagon. The merch table was visibly empty - the people working were wearing the shirts themselves, and the cassettes weren't physically present. No atmosphere of aggressive commerce (also, it was great to meet Lincolnshire Poacher while waiting in line). You could walk around the church freely.
The lights shifted to announce the beginning without fanfare. Cue disclaimer that we were about to take part in MBI’s mass behavioral initiative. In a sense, the session felt like an experiment because, unusually, we weren’t listening to the album alone, or with a few close friends, but with hundreds of people.
I was sat behind a wanker that kept using his phone and talking over the music. I immediately questioned my decision to sit a few rows back (to avoid being too close to the PA). I want to say that witnessing people in a state of ‘checking’ as the album played felt profoundly sad and uncivilized. While caught in this internal narrative throughout Prophecy At 1420 Mhz, I thought about my own apathy to the way that screen addiction has become normalized in my life and how I am not willing to accept this as a path forward.
Instead of taking vengeance, I dropped the tension, closed my eyes for almost the entirety of the session, and opened up to the music without holding onto any expectations. I’d occasionally open my eyes - glasses off - and look into the electric candle on the floor, which produced astigmatic light effects. I thought there was a bit of a lack of clarity in the PA, or this was just the acoustics of the space. The bass and drums sounded massive.
The session itself - and this also relates to the experimental nature of hearing the album in this setting - had an oneiric effect on my listening experience (I learned this word from a BOC interview). There is a unique shape to the album that I cannot yet articulate.
Here are my impressions from memory.
The vocals throughout Age of Capricorn and Father And Son are insane. There was also a vocal part somewhere that shockingly sounded like clear singing.
I had to restrain myself from laugh-crying during Naraka. Astounding.
I agree with edgbf, I’m always wanting more Mike right hand keyboard moments. I think they established their approach to the melodies on Inferno with Prophecy At 1420 Mhz - they’re still fully formed, there’s just so much space in every phrase. Another example of this is the song with the sitar melody. It stunned me. The way everything comes to a rest, and then returns from the top, and cycles around again and again is so powerful. I was hit with a totalizing feeling of - and I think there will be a moment like this for everyone here on the record - “this was made for me as a listener.” I felt tuned into my instincts too because I’d predicted a few weeks ago that we’d hear some Hindustani instruments.
There was a track with guitar that felt like a call to Mogwai. I loved it.
The description above of Arena Americanada as a “flex” of harmony is so on point. An apt title because one can hear this playing in a stadium.
I did not think the Tape 05 music would be on the record because it didn’t feel at home sequenced early - it clicks in its position as Deep Time. I still think there is a mixtape quality to the album, although it’s not as collaged as I’d expected initially after hearing Prophecy At 1420 Mhz.
There are a few tracks that come to total silence beautifully.
After one listen You Retreat In Time And Space sounded like a Japanese Bonus Track for The Campfire Headphase to me. Or a song they made for Campfire that didn't quite fit on the album. Before the song began, I felt lost in the dark. I wanted one more moment of wide open music before the album's end, and out of nowhere the fire inside the hexagon cut to an intimate Super 8 montage of a family in the outdoors. The effect of the melody and instrumentation (chimes, vibraphone/marimba, bass guitar) in contrast to the music that precedes it is extremely moving. I thought of the question they’re always asking, “how can things be different?” Then, I Saw Through Platonia.
Biznasty wrote:off to the pub... /// --- ..-. ..-. / - --- / - .... . / .--. ..- -... .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.-
Lucky you remembered. Upon getting up it must have felt a monumental moment and experience. At least you don’t need the screen to listen to the usic.saturdayindex wrote:Oh, I forgot to mention. When I was getting up after the session in Shibuya, my phone fell in the seat. The seat snapped up to close, and practically punched a tiny hole in my phones screen in the bottom right hand corner.
The crazy thing is that the result is a tiny brilliant turquoise-bluish star about 1.5mm wide, blocking the “m” key on my keyboard, that looks a lot like the star at the end of the Prophecy video.
I might take a screwdriver and try to carve it into a hexagon…
Imagine we all chipped in to get ‘m a new engraving tool.davey0110 wrote:I’m going to vote you don’t take a screwdriver to your damaged phone screen!
:^0 When you’re able to remember please describe what it sounded like. Any detail will be appreciated (and hopefully stored here permanently).novayshun wrote:I asked a Warp employee and was advised it was a piece made by BOC exclusively for the listening event.bungler666 wrote:Not to derail this thread but:
They played Circle before the show? o_O
I love the contrast between 13 year preparation for a physical release but also making an ephemeral track in the lead up to an event (although the event and accompanying interventions could have been planned 13 years in advance too [or come to think of it even most likely more] I suppose…).outhudd wrote:Nicenovayshun wrote:bungler666 wrote:Not to derail this thread but:
They played Circle before the show? o_O
I asked a Warp employee and was advised it was a piece made by BOC exclusively for the listening event.
lol there is garb that goes along with this (I hesitate to call it merch but, you know, the long flowing robes, beads, lack of hair, etc, etc) we need photos!Den wrote:I'm glad to be reading everyone's dispatches. I'm writing mine now. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.
