100% agree with your intro and I love Pritchard for that eclecticism.
"To be eclectic in music is to be fundamentally inefficient." – That rings true and in the age of the personal brand, it also seems to apply to music journalists. I always felt I would have been far "better off" career-wise to just focus on and push one sound rather than following my genuine curiosity. Even with newsletters, many readers seem to prefer us writers sticking to a very specific genre/style/niche, which I just can't seem to do for the life of me.
Another great list. You mention it in the second part, but we've been ripping off "Le Soleil et la Mer" by Reload since it came out (https://ireless.bandcamp.com/track/cleanliness) ... also there's a special place in our heart for the Global Communications remix of Rollercoaster by The Grid with it's warm and fizzy undercarriage.
Such a fab opener!! Like Stephen Kunze, I also very much resonate with "To be eclectic in music is to be fundamentally inefficient." This applies to visual artists too! Mos def a bit of a flâneur as an artist and the wealth of learning and building of intuition this way-of-being brings has made life a dynamic, always fascinating adventure of constant education, the world as a university and parkour course! I too was encouraged to focus and specialise and most likely have affected my career badly by rambling and not following suit! And yet, to be engaged and feel alive and truly connected to what one does is such a gift. Personally, I think some forms of efficiency expertisms are simply capitalist conditioning and divisionary tactics to severe mind-body community rapport. To be relaxed and open and trusting one's interests is where it's at. So healthy for the longterm. The wealth of openness is felt and intuited and folded into all. Can sense it when ppl do interesting things, brings a fab patina of insight. I don't think one can really appreciate and see things if one focuses TOO much. Blinding! Maybe and maybe not, to be on the outside looking in at something new newer newest is such a view! Pattern spotting, organisation etcetera is a matter of distance. Thank you for another awesome article !!
Hello, I am an "acshully" guy saying things you know but did not write!
"Just close your eyes and listen" has the voice of Kirsty Hawkshaw, not credited for some reason, who would collaborate with Pritchard later.
"Alpha Phase" is I think the only track in Pentamerous Metamorphosis that does not really sample anything from the Chapterhouse album. There were successors to the ambient shoegaze sound, well, there is one who has millitantly carried over the flag of ambient shoegaze who is Ulrich Schnauss, a guy that was even playing with Chapterhouse (and Kirsty Hawkshaw) in a Chapterhouse reunion tour where they did Blood Music (and I guess parts of the Global Communication mixes).
My favourite parts of 76:14 are actually the you can say dated ones, the ones with rhythm loops and samples. 9:25 is absolutely wonderful and I feel they are both ashamed of those funky wah wah guitars and kind of Sade melodies but I think they were nailing that stuff (they never played it live when I saw them, or 7:39 which plays with the syncopation so well. I love those echoy drums. There is a lot of this in "A collection of short stories" which I guess you will cover in part two, as well as Pulusha, "Chicago", "Out in the streets", and maybe you won't cover another of my favourites but one that makes my brain melt whenever I listen to it, Troubleman's "Lullaby", that monstrous bruk athem.
100% agree with your intro and I love Pritchard for that eclecticism.
"To be eclectic in music is to be fundamentally inefficient." – That rings true and in the age of the personal brand, it also seems to apply to music journalists. I always felt I would have been far "better off" career-wise to just focus on and push one sound rather than following my genuine curiosity. Even with newsletters, many readers seem to prefer us writers sticking to a very specific genre/style/niche, which I just can't seem to do for the life of me.
Haha! Me neither. I am all over the shop. But more power to you for doing so Stephan!
Another great list. You mention it in the second part, but we've been ripping off "Le Soleil et la Mer" by Reload since it came out (https://ireless.bandcamp.com/track/cleanliness) ... also there's a special place in our heart for the Global Communications remix of Rollercoaster by The Grid with it's warm and fizzy undercarriage.
you have good taste!
Such a fab opener!! Like Stephen Kunze, I also very much resonate with "To be eclectic in music is to be fundamentally inefficient." This applies to visual artists too! Mos def a bit of a flâneur as an artist and the wealth of learning and building of intuition this way-of-being brings has made life a dynamic, always fascinating adventure of constant education, the world as a university and parkour course! I too was encouraged to focus and specialise and most likely have affected my career badly by rambling and not following suit! And yet, to be engaged and feel alive and truly connected to what one does is such a gift. Personally, I think some forms of efficiency expertisms are simply capitalist conditioning and divisionary tactics to severe mind-body community rapport. To be relaxed and open and trusting one's interests is where it's at. So healthy for the longterm. The wealth of openness is felt and intuited and folded into all. Can sense it when ppl do interesting things, brings a fab patina of insight. I don't think one can really appreciate and see things if one focuses TOO much. Blinding! Maybe and maybe not, to be on the outside looking in at something new newer newest is such a view! Pattern spotting, organisation etcetera is a matter of distance. Thank you for another awesome article !!
Hello, I am an "acshully" guy saying things you know but did not write!
"Just close your eyes and listen" has the voice of Kirsty Hawkshaw, not credited for some reason, who would collaborate with Pritchard later.
"Alpha Phase" is I think the only track in Pentamerous Metamorphosis that does not really sample anything from the Chapterhouse album. There were successors to the ambient shoegaze sound, well, there is one who has millitantly carried over the flag of ambient shoegaze who is Ulrich Schnauss, a guy that was even playing with Chapterhouse (and Kirsty Hawkshaw) in a Chapterhouse reunion tour where they did Blood Music (and I guess parts of the Global Communication mixes).
My favourite parts of 76:14 are actually the you can say dated ones, the ones with rhythm loops and samples. 9:25 is absolutely wonderful and I feel they are both ashamed of those funky wah wah guitars and kind of Sade melodies but I think they were nailing that stuff (they never played it live when I saw them, or 7:39 which plays with the syncopation so well. I love those echoy drums. There is a lot of this in "A collection of short stories" which I guess you will cover in part two, as well as Pulusha, "Chicago", "Out in the streets", and maybe you won't cover another of my favourites but one that makes my brain melt whenever I listen to it, Troubleman's "Lullaby", that monstrous bruk athem.
and this is all very welcome!