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 Forum index » Reviews, Editorials and Commentary » Reviews, Reports and Interviews
Jan Jelinek - Kosmischer Pitch
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dogmatik



Joined: Nov 04, 2005
Posts: 5
Location: Belgium

PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:08 am    Post subject: Jan Jelinek - Kosmischer Pitch
Subject description: Review of CD
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For more reviews look on our site Dogmatik

Artist : Jan Jelinek
Title : Kosmischer Pitch
Label : ~scape
Format : CD
Review Date : 9/Oct/2005
Release Date : 17/Oct/2005


Upon the first tones Jan takes you along for a ride on his magic carpet. Floating on this amazing aerial device that belongs in Scheherazade’s garden you are gently laid down and carried around as a floating spectator over many worlds and sceneries. It kicks off with the summer-breeze on the shores of an idyllic island by night as "Universal band Silhouette" spreads from my speakers. This faint image of a band that could be just some trees in the night, gently moving as the soft breeze breathes its summer spirits across their leaves. A band made up of waves, leaves in the wind, insects, a remote rumba band playing in some tourist resort and some more noises typical for the island. This however becomes more intriguing and repetitive as the insect get excited, instinctively incited and more nervous by the minute. Wild swarms of naturally aroused minuscule creatures spread and circle around you : "Lemmings and Lurchen Inc". Then aliens land and what seemed to be a natural phenomenon could now well be a consequence of the extra-terrestrial interference. As these visitors from a remote world land the planet seems to put on a coat of protective silence. All you hear eventually is a droning alien sound of a flying saucer like object, still making acquaintance with the terrestrial soil. As "Im Diskodickicht" passes and "Vibraphonspulen" takes over, you can see these 'Martians' leaving their saucer and heading in all directions at the same time without ever leaving. They take over the swarming behaviour of the insects they themselves actually made go wild. And you can see they like it here, they enjoy exploring and immediately they engage into some ritual dance of shared joy and excitement : "Lithiummelodie". Then the master alien, the Top-ET, the Martian Leader leaves this metallic cocoon of theirs to wander around on the newly discovered world. He quietly scans the area in a serene way as the dignity of a leader prescribes on “Planete in Halbtrauer” and then shares his judgement : he approves of our world. As his approval falls upon our worried souls during "Western Mimikry" we overcome our initial fears and start interacting with them... Nature celebrates along and life seems to return to a state of beauty and stability. But maybe the last few hidden tones of "Morphing Leadgitarre Rückwärts" do contain a different message ?

I am sure other trips can be made upon listening to this album, but the one I had seemed appropriate for an electronic album and contemporary version of a Krautrock album. Can, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Amon Duul, Popol Vuh and many other, legendary bands come to mind upon listening to this album. It holds the same imaginative qualities, the same references to space and technology, the same aspiration to overcome boundaries and borders, the same conception that time should no longer be approached merely as a linear phenomenon. No formal constraints on this album full of loops, layers and pops, cracks, ticks to bring in the variation that never follows any normal, linear pattern. It never becomes nervous though. It is an album that is calm while none of its tracks are obvious. The structure of songs is complex, the sounds range from organic to highly digitized and the musical logic and patterns of for example dance music are put to every possible test. The tracks can be distinguished though they do float into each other. They could have been longer or shorter ; it does not make a difference. Time is irrelevant, atmosphere takes over. Full immersion rules over the standard distance that rules the listening experience. In that way it is like Sun Ra's jazz. A definitive winner for early autumn 2005!!!

Link to lable: http://www.scape-records.de/site/front/forums.html



[moderator: made a few cosmetic changes. Added a link to the label's website. --mosc]
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periurban



Joined: Dec 08, 2005
Posts: 13
Location: Scotland

PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

A trip indeed!

A more technical description of the music might be helpful to some potential listeners.

Kosmicher Pitch reminded me of the kind of tape loop collages that early electronic pioneers like Berio, Cage and Mimaroglu experimented with, but given a modern legitimacy by dint of repetition and melodic development. Kind of like a Teutonic version of the Aphex Twin?

It's certainly very trippy music (if you are into such psycho-sonic adventures), but also provides a nice backdrop to the technical complexities of modern life. Ideal for listening to whilst surfing or posting on forums.

It is modern electronic music, which of course means it sounds as though it could have been recorded at almost any point in the last twenty years. Electronic musicians of all persuasions, and even post-prog wave riders like the Mars Volta and Tortoise, are now supremely comfortable with the whole range of sonic texture, using everything from radio static to LP crackles to enrich the sonic spectrum.

Such techniques would have seemed like heresy only a few years ago, when hi-fi was the only goal. We've come so far from the elysian fields of Dark Side of the Moon that we've returned to the beginning in many ways.

All of the "noises off" that were so painstakingly eliminated from the musical world have now returned and can be used as part of the palette of sounds. Hiss, distortion, wow and flutter )once the demons that we sought to exorcise) are now our friends.

The music in Kosmischer Pitch is sensitively done, without being laid back or sloppy. Each piece is based on one or two loops, each of which is developed over the piece. There are no cuts or jump edits, with one track melding smoothly into the other.

I like the length of the tracks. I should say here that there's no such thing as a track that's too long, but there are many examples in music of tracks that don't make the best use of the space they have. Jelinek gets around this problem by considering the audience, and curbing any temptation towards overindulgence.

This is an album that I already feel growing on me. As I write about it I can't wait to hear it again, which is always a good sign.

It won't be to everyone's taste though. To some more conventional ears it will be little more than an meaningless disturbance of the air, but that would overlook the charm and simple elegance of the ideas on show here.

If you like the idea of looped and noisy Krautrock, then this album should be right up your sonic alley.

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dogmatik



Joined: Nov 04, 2005
Posts: 5
Location: Belgium

PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:15 am    Post subject: I understand... but do I agree ? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hi,

I agree with most of what you say, but I strongly object to one thing : the fact that I "SHOULD" say more about the technical side of the album... I personally do not want to focus on the how of things, but on the essence... Music to me is an experience, an emotion, an adventure... I try to pass on the emotions that music might evoke (personally off course) and I never ask anyone to agree with my vision but I sure hope that it can intrigue and invite others to experience the same music. I understand the need for technical details, especially from listeners and editors who prefer to actually demonstrate and share their technical knowledge (this is not a personal remark, nor meant offensive). I personally try to avoid going into details as I write for an as broad audience as possible. I would prefer people who do not know electronic music to listen to it... Or to give it a try at least. For this technicity, I am currently doing an interview with Jan and I will go into technical details there... But I have to admit your analysis was correct and your technical knowledge was up-to-speed... But I also hope you enjoyed it intensely and that you love it for its beauty, artisticy and emotion as much as for its technical brilliance. To me this is crucial, most important and the only thing that can bridge the gap with "anti-electronic" listeners who do not freak out at all on production details. But I think that you completed the review very well for those interested in the technical details. So let me elaborate some more :

Jan prefers to use as a main musical source the sampler. He samples his personal collection of old records (mainly soul, jazz, funk...) which he then alters by processing it intensely through analog and digital circuitry... It becomes unrecognisable and a sound of its own. This is then looped and the loop becomes the basis for the track. As loops are only intriguing for 3 hours (because of the state of trance they then induce) he feels the need to add variation as tracks are off course shorter and otherwise repelling to a lot of people. HEre he then adds an additional loop or sounds from his collection of analog and digital gear... He adds colour, he makes the figure visible and stand out from the ground that surrounds it.

I guess this sums it up as far as technique of production is concerned.

Joeri
www.dogmatik.be
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periurban



Joined: Dec 08, 2005
Posts: 13
Location: Scotland

PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I enjoyed your review enormously, and have no problem at all with your style or the content. It was very informative and some of the imagery was brilliant.

I saw what I wrote only as a compliment to yours. There was no intent on my part to belittle what you said. Sorry if it came over that way.

All the best.

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mosc
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Joined: Jan 31, 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Yes, excellent review. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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