Out from Yonder

[ThunderCurl]

This review really interested me. And given the other thread about samples, I went to CDBaby to listen to clips of her stuff.

5,4,3. Average 4. I almost didn't even read the reviews. But they were very interesting. No real criticisms that went beyond sheer taste. And yet...no one could "agree" on a rating. And no one quite knew how to react.

I listened to her stuff, and i gotta say, it's awesome. Really cool stuff. Engaging, harmonically and compositionally cool while keeping a stylistic and cultural simplicity that achieved her goals. Many things repeated over and over again, which I found hypnotising and fun. And energetic. Something we don't see.

Her music has this soul that "contemporary a cappella" doesn't have. None of it. Not even the Bubs, where it's awesome but just because of a performance factor. This was awesome because it was awesome in and of itself. Very little production magic. Little "studio" arranging (it seemed). Little flash and smash. It was all voices, it all sounded like voices, and it had a tone and energy all it's own.

The Question. This doesn't fall into the categorization of "contemporary a cappella" like most collegiate groups, for example, do. How do we react to something with which we're not very familiar? We don't have a checklist of things to see whether it's awesome or not...and in some ways, the reviews troubled over taste and preference rather than quality and objective. If someone tries something different, is it bad? Is it a preference judgment? Are we shocked into indifference or anti-preference? How can we drag ourselves out of our bubbles to really appreciate something different?

I wouldn't put this on my Top 40 playlist, but it's cool music, and definitely worth regarding. It just interested me how the reviews didn't know...what to do with the album.

[erstedame]

[Mnemosyne]

[erstedame]

my projects are pretty much nightmares for audiophiles. anyone have any good tips for me?

-l

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[Brojo]

i just want to point out that we are all cooler now that lilli lewis has joined our forum.

[RnBMrE]

[erstedame]

it's fun to know a geek like me can still boost cool points...at least by some people's standards... ;-)


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[billhare]

[erstedame]

thanks so much. that was really great. the we shall overcome track was taken from a copy of a radio interview i did in fort collins and i didn't really know how to fix it with the tools i had (or what tools i'd need for that matter).

the project happened fairly spontaneously while i was living in the middle of nowhere in CO and was never really considered for marketability. that being said, when i went in to start cleaning it up a bit, i did find that the "spirit" of the project started to dwindle, so i, just going on my gut and not really having any knowledge on the matter, tried to split the difference.

i really appreciate what you have to say bill, and admit that as an amateur, i never would have expected such an answer. i always long to have the budget and access to "commercial" solutions to audio problems, but it's nice to hear that that's not always necessary...though i swear, one of these days i'm gonna have an authentic, glossy, sheeny project...one of these days....

-l


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[tekay]

[ThunderCurl]

Oh yeah, lilli, i think your stuff IS great. it's organic and gets at the heart of music, which is rare nowadays, imo.

And yeah you can quote me, haha, as long as you can make me sound more awesome by maybe substituting "awesome" with a word slightly more...well...you know. ;)

I hope if you ever get the money to make something with more sheen, you opt for more creativity instead. sheen is overrated. i mean, seriously, charlie is just past his time.

[erstedame]

[kevin47]

[RnBMrE]

[vandre]