Get down with your art school self!
Want a literary description of what you can expect from this here 'coolcomp'? Well, it goes a little like this:
.Fttzzz.... Blip-blipeblipblipppp.... Ghbv-a snioa dh. Eeek... Blim-blim-bummm. Blip-bliipeblipblipppp... Ghbv-a snioa dh. Eeek...
And then in with some soothing and honey-laced saxophone... A break... And then a beat to the above, with a funk bass and a really grating sample vocoda along with kettle-steam female 'ahhhhs'. Repeat to fade. Live to die. Or at least that is how you will be feeling after you've listened to this track opener called 'Absentminded' by Spanova, because despite all it's genius technical wizardry, there is something that instantly clashes with the soul. And it is also an ideal figurehead for this collection and to express what is, at the core, wrong with it
It's because of writing like this that people hate some journalists. But it's because of music like this that journalists hate some music and need to tell the people, no matter what the cost. So take this and run with it... The following compilation isn't shit , but it is extremely temperamental with some god awful stuff that just cannot make the jump past a CD or a multitrack, posh and expensive studio with a bunch of guys with too much time on their hands. In other words, every track is CLEVER in every which way, bounding along with jumbled audio and nice drum samples, but it can never be transposed live and it will never go further than the arthouse deep thinkers or trend followers.
However, artists likes these reach their optimum moment when they are the most ridiculous and lavish and can almost sit back and laugh at themselves. What should be recognised as the greatest in this selection is also the most fun – notably 'Compose the Beat' by Plus Device, where a robotic Prince gets low down and dirty with overly-eighties beats and break-dancing, snap-neck tendencies. It's purely outrageous, but it works better than other songs that sound like a broken kettle making love to a slightly crushed beetle.
Something about these songs is rich. Regardless of class and creed, those that partake in these lavish mixes need time, devotion and most certainly the right combination of equipment. The songs are layered and layered, they are polished until metallic, and they are crafted and curved until everything is in its right place. This is why it sounds rich and also why, even though all music requires time and money of sorts, is an expensive and almost snobby project.
It would be great to get stoned to. And equally great if you're an avant-garde piece of bohemian aristocracy (the juxtaposition hasn't gone unnoticed but it's bloody true, so there) with expensive tattered trousers and a love for fashion design. Not so great, however, if you don't like the synthetic, the laboriously layered lush of samples and scraped beats and computer vibes. After all, we've been there a thousand times before; we know that the capabilities of the machine are greater than that of a human and can be used to a great advantage if you have the patience. Boards of Canada and the like would be tipping a hat or giving a wink of appreciation in the collection's direction, but that doesn't make it right .
History Is Bunk is just too big for its own flashy digital shoes, and with so many predecessors, it's hard to see what the future will hold for this genre.