MAUXUAM: Viceversa (Interchill Records)
Posted on Apr 27th 2009 09:32 pm
Filed in Albums | Tags: Interchill Records, Mauxuam
Comments (26)
MAUXUAM
Viceversa
ICHILLCD033
Interchill Records 2008
10 Tracks. 73mins06secs
The world is getting smaller: just ask an electronic musician. True, the concept of “world music†is nothing new, but attempts at harvesting non-Western musics in bite-size pieces for white people to listen to has generally been fraught with (un)intentional exotification and misappropriation of said musical cultures. Good intentions, certainly, but as the saying goes, there leads the path to hell; listen to any of the dime-a-dozen compilations with yawning beats over tambura loops from the mid-nineties and tell me I’m wrong.
The past few years have seen an upset in this formula for the positive, however, as increasing Internet speeds and ease of access to digital media has fostered a more universally collaborative global musical realm. Rather than sampling music from some far-off, vague land, it’s easily possible for the average listener to log on to a blog from, say, São Paolo, and hear selections of local talent. The effects of this cross-pollination can be heard in the electrified lekimbes played by surprise-sensation Konono No.1 (not to mention that Congolese act’s collaborations with Björk, a singer from halfway around the world). We’ve also seen the advent of world-hopping DJs and producers, whose craft revolves around seeking out unheard sounds, and attempting to co-opt them on even terms. New talents like Diplo and Filastine have made a name from this, and, with Viceversa, Mauxuam delivers from a similar mindset.
Mauxuam’s Maurizio Liguori isn’t new to this, having released world-minded recordings from his base in Italy for the past couple decades. Now, however, seems to be a perfect time for him to take a larger spotlight, and Viceversa does a decent job of presenting his cultural blender. The productions here lean towards a dub-glitch hybrid, with granulated voices screaming out over punchy beats, with plenty of bass to go around. Rounding things out, there’s what could best be described as world music flotsam – a flute trill here, some mallets there. Viceversa apparently represents three years of work, during which time I can only imagine Liguori inhaled as much culture and psychedelic/blunted experience as possible, only to shotgun it back to listeners.
There are times when the weight of Liguori’s global ambitions weighs Viceversa down; Stone Of Gaza wears its political message on its sleeve, but a quest for something more dark and penetrating results in a piece that’s hard to sit through without an eye-roll or two. The vaguer the metaphors and/or targets, the better: Extended Body samples dialogue about the right tools in the wrong hands, without pointing specific fingers. It’s a more subtle criticism of the proliferation of antisocial technology (I think), and it serves to better enhance the sci-fi feel of the crisp pops and stutters of the percussion.
Musically, Viceversa ends up somewhere between Orbital circa-Middle Of Nowhere, a car commercial (appropriately, as Liguori’s credits including scoring for Volkswagen), the dead-serious cross-cultural ambitions of an act like Muslimgauze, and the psytrance/new age set. Thankfully, we don’t get any overly lengthy excursions in new age synth wankery, though the influence is there. The one major issue with Viceversa is that, for all the promotional materials, liner notes, and track titles accentuate that these are the reflections of a world traveler amongst foreign cultures, in many ways I feel as though I might enjoy the album more without these added concerns on its philosophy and sonic structure. There are moments when hand drums just aren’t necessary. Perhaps, in this new era of global musical collaboration and cross-pollination, it’s best to just let the music speak for itself.
3/5
Mauxuam | Interchill Records
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26 Responses to “MAUXUAM: Viceversa (Interchill Records)”
I actually quite like this record, although I see what you mean about the political aspect (in it’s widest meaning here). I think I tend to ignore that a bit usually. Maybe I instincly do focus on the music. I think you’ve made some interesting and valid points though, and when I hear it next it might alter the way I percieve it.
On a purely musical level, I found quite a lot of Orb influences on there, and to a lesser extend, FSOL too, but I guess they both have used a fair amount of ‘world music’ influences in their respective work.
I just like the way the tracks on this album flow pretty well. It is an enjoyable record.
this review was a rather transparent attempt at trying to sound clever. at the expense of the artist and the readers interest. what i really want to know is though, how this person listens to music. obviously he is so caught up in his intellect he spends all his time when listening to music wondering about the political implications instead of appreciating the music and actually ‘hearing’ it. by hearing i mean HEARING. as an artist i know track names and concepts have little affect on the listeners enjoyment of the sound waves because the perfect listener has transcended the intellect in that moment as anyone who concentrates on something will attest. music is not intellectual, but a lot can be said intellectually about it. just not by this idiot.
my review of this review. this guy. does not know what the hell he is talking about and ive no idea why he is allowed to write about music. what world music does this man know about ? ill tell you. NONE. i am also a british arrogant person but hell, at least i have something to be arrogant about in my chosen field.
i will go on to say that this album was obviously a direct attempt to copy my own musical output from 20 years ago as the astute man above says. thankyou for listening.
That can’t actually be a comment from Kristian “Thrash” Weston. That guy is supposed to be a genius. There’s no way he’d have such pathetic sentence structure [“just not by this idiot” and “at the expense of the artist and the readers interest” are not complete sentences], grammar [not a capital letter to be seen, space before a question mark, “thankyou” is two words, “arrogant” should come before “british”] and weak insights [“music is not intellectual?” I think John Cage and Pierre Boulez among millions would disagree], nor would he be so arrogant about his chosen field since he’s done nothing notable musically since 1995. Nice try, but epic fail.
Of course, if it actually is you, I’ve just lost all respect for everything you’ve ever done, but since The Orb is still making good music without you to this day and nobody knows or cares what you’re doing, that’s no big loss to me.
that youre an idiot is no big loss to me. millions of people like you around all over the world (mostly in the US). if id ever heard of anything youve ever done, which i havent, i would have lost any respect i had for you, which was none. i can see you are a man of knowledge and discerning taste being still into the orb and their gay rapper they have now. as for what i was saying, which is that this man dunt know what hes on abart and that appreciation of music goes on mostly on the right side of the brain which is the more ‘emotional’ less logical side excepting in the case of hearing vocals in your own language i guess. i am right and boulez, cage and the rest are dead.
you should give up any thoughts of arguing with me about music because i clearly know more than you, whether i use capitals or not.
Kris Weston
“review of daves review”
themilkfactory
may 2009
I quite like this review of a review, the intro is direct and goes straight into the point , nice chunky breakdown and concise ending. there are rumours that this was not actually written by kris, which the lack of general obscenities and vapid turgidity attests to, however i do not belive this.
post-ironically, kris did release a single frame of silence , which was then remixed by several people (myself included), around 2005.
the original frame of silence was available for sale (at £40000 i believe) which could then be experienced by the buyer in a specially constructed booth.
ostensibly this was a response to john cage suing somebody (and winning) for copyright infringement after they released a cd of silence.
also intersingly kris is also once rumoured to have bottled one of his farts and sent it to pierre boulez mother with the words “put that in your concrete mixer you cunt” attached.
going futher back, to 2000 , kris delved into the ethics of sound when he constructed a piece of music from the recordings of insects getting fried in an insectocutor.
the track, entitled “goddam flies” explores the issues of sonic morality.
sadly this track was lost when kris and the label owner ate all of the master tapes in a drunken game of swiss roulette.
more recently kris had the honour of being the first artist ever to be banned from their own fan forum after repeatedly telling his fans they were “a bunch of deaf cunts”.
a refreshing ray of light in an otherwise drab mediocre world.
keep up the good work x-e
gx
Whatever point you were trying to make got slightly lost after the first insult there. Your second post was actually rather pointless I’m sorry to say, very much for the same reason. Quite a shame you felt you couldn’t make your point any other way, but it’d be more interesting if, instead of attacking constantly, you provided your opinion to get a debate going. But what do I know…
I never said that this album was copying The Orb, but was influenced by it, which is a rather different thing I think, and something that would probably be looked as something positive by the interested party. I have had my ups and downs with The Orb over the years but am quite glad to see Alex pretty much back on track, even if I tend to find his work with Thomas Felhmann more interesting that his work with Youth. The Kompakt stuff was especially good although perhaps not to the taste of every old Orb fan.
why argue serious points with fools ? pearls before swine n all that….
ignoring that the orb, thomas and youth etc are a complete joke these days – what i said about mau copying me was a joke. me and mau are good mates and we had a good larf over it…. :) bye now!
that’s funny….I usually describe my music as “diary free”
first of all thanks for the attention to all of you…
I really appreciated such a long and detailed review full of cultural isness and global understanding….even one year after this album has been released….and I am actually surprised and truly pleased that my music arrived to your ears.
after having inhaled deeply your words I feel it’s time to shotgun it back to you
I honestly fail to see the “world flotsam” elements that disturbed you so much…and that I really hate too.
are you sure that you listen to my album and not to Gaudi or some Six Degrees ???
Yes, there is a flute (recorded in london/kings cross) and there is a djembe (recorded in amsterdam) both played by white ppl…but I thought that this ones are nowadays just “normal” instruments and already lost their etnic tag long time ago.
(sorry…no hand drums…not even sampled…listen carefully).
This is more a review of the press kit and of my carrier instead of the music itself……and you haven’t read it well (I am born italian..thanks god I don’t live there anymore…I don’t have a base and I spent last 10 years as a nomad…and I vomit on my past “commercial” carrier)…
so I guess you deserve a review of the review…like my guru and lovely friend Kris Weston already did…
(btw..Orb is really shite from quite a while…and it looks that even if you try to sound clever…Kris sense of humor is out of the range of your limited capabilities)….
sorry if I sound rude…but I think that you really sound full of “that” british arrogance…and I don’t think that you are in the position to define the borders of contemporary electronic music….and please stop to talk about “world” music…a really irritating tag used to describe all the non british music from Fela Kuti to Kraftwerk, from Manu Chao to Ali Farka Toure…
and I know that you assume that all white men speak english…but actually there are few milion of latins and germans and many others out there all doing lots of “world ” music…and I reckon that the first kind of electronic music ever produced was not the Doctor Who soundtrack but the experiments made by the italian futurist movement (excuse me a thin slice of nationalism).
Your description of the music creation during the internet era is pretty naif too and shows that you know very little more than the usual stereotypes…even if you sitting in front of it probably most of your day…..
and it looks that you might know very little also of this wide real world out of your little electronic routine full of coolness and intellectual foam….and I reckon that sometime you should take some psychedelics too…you know…to open up some doors….and maybe travel a bit more…discover that not because you are indian you play tablas…and not because you are german you play Ableton….it’s a mess of code and symbols….and we swim in it.
for example now I am living in the australian bush but instead of recording dijeridoos and the call for love of the koalas, I am now doing music on internet with a white australian born man who now lives in Brighton…who was also involved in the Orb once…(no…not Kris).
and the fact that you got touched so deeply by the stones of gaza is a bit suspicious too…
I know that it is totally uncool…and I am happy that you confirm that….btw thanks for the reference to Muslimgauze…very much appreciated.
You have a very intellectual approach but you deny and dislike the political references….mmm….a bit unlogic…and in contradiction.
I instead totally agree with your last statement (you like to contradict yourself)…it’s best to let the music speak for itself…(like to say…this review is useless)…
infact to discover good music I rather prefer going through a huge list of links in a torrent site or online music shop than reading such essais.
thanks for writing anyway…and I say it without being sarcastic.
ps. I actually think that insults are a very noble form of communication…and that you should feel honored to be cleverly insulted by a genius….
…but you never know….maybe it was me myself writing under Kris name…or maybe I was dictating his post to him on skype…which might explain the errors….who is the genius ?
“i am right and boulez, cage and the rest are dead.” A: Right about what? That a reviewer “dunt know what hes on abart?” Sorry, but yes, he does. He does this thankless horsesh!t a lot, as do I, and he’s actually quite good at it. He’s a consummate professional, and your conduct here indicates you are nothing of the sort. You simply disagree with him for some inane reason and you can’t express that like an adult. B: I hate to argue with someone who clearly knows more than me about music – obviously people who know everything about music should only talk to people who already know everything about music – but Pierre Boulez is alive and well, and still conducting. He just released an 8 album box set of the complete Bartok on one of the world’s biggest classical labels, Deutsche Grammophone, in September [When was your last album? 10? 13 years ago? I honestly don’t know]. The fact is an 85 year old French conductor is more relevant today than you ever have been. Plus, being dead doesn’t make someone wrong.
I’m still not convinced it’s actually Weston, though. I’m sure, if it was him and he was so omnipotently smart, he would have known Boulez was still alive and, indeed, a billion times more knowledgeable about music than everyone on this comment board put together (yes, including me). I’m sure the actual Weston would have heard of that whole “Intelligent dance music” genre before too, so he wouldn’t make such a blindly narrow-minded argument about music only being “emotional” and nothing else. I’m sure he would have heard of Venetian Snares by now.
“millions of people like you around all over the world (mostly in the US).” I wouldn’t say millions of people like me, that’s a pretty bold estimate. The people that like me probably number in the thousands, and mostly in Canada. I hear I’m big in Japan, though. Thanks for coming out.
I do like this album, personally, but it doesn’t seem to matter much…
What? Now Mauxuam and Greg Hunter are here? I guess it is them. You guys should probably be working on improving your music rather than arguing with critics over banal points in a positive review [of all the reviews to bitch about, you pick one that recommends your music]. It’s utterly pathetic, truly unprofessional, and generally insane.
David did you a favor by writing this review. It’s called press. You should be thanking him. At the very least, if you have a problem with a critic, it’s best to send them a private email with a professional tone instead of spewing poorly worded, uninformed opinions on a comment board. You both look like complete a$$holes.
Then again, a continued lack of capital letters among Weston/Hunter/Mauxuam posts certainly suggests it’s just one douchebag out there flooding this board, which is the most pathetic thing of all. Get a life, buddy. Have the balls to state your opinion under your real name like David and me.
to the milkman:
tnx ! … it does matter to me instead…honestly.
…you should have wrote that review then ;-)
there! now you got it ! your last line is correct. let the music speak for itself, not what record company PR evil have written about it. (or journalists) mau get your english right man when youre pretending to be me! arfarf.
hi alan :) i dont care whether or not i am percieved by you to be worthy as an artist. thats why i purposefully left the public eye – to get away from people judging and generally sticking their nose in when its not wanted. i dont care about being famous or appreciated. all i care about is the art i create. if you havent heard it thats good.
in fact i didnt care whether or not too many people hear it all up until quite recently where i decided im now good enough to write something decent.
A: Right about what?
right that youre an idiot.
right thats it pointless arguing with me because i know more than you.
right that music (NON VOCAL MUSIC) is appreciated non-intellectually.
just damn right and youre wrong and you dont like it.
im not aware of whether the composers you mentioned ever said that instrumental music is appreciated on the left side of the brain, but if so that would be weird.
as for boulez, sorry that was just an offhand comment, ive no idea who he is really.
i know i dislike bartok though. yuk.
cage though. he rocked.
i prefer bernard parmigianni though…
That a reviewer “dunt know what hes on abart?†Sorry, but yes, he does.
‘sorry, but he doesnt know jack about world music as he has just told me on a private email’ so, sorry. he doesnt. sorry.
He does this thankless horsesh!t a lot, as do I, and he’s actually quite good at it. He’s a consummate professional, and your conduct here indicates you are nothing of the sort.
how do you know ?
my profession is art not a flea on the back of an artist.
this is just fun baiting yanks.
You simply disagree with him for some inane reason and you can’t express that like an adult.
so this is very mature is it ?
B: I hate to argue with someone who clearly knows more than me about music – obviously people who know everything about music should only talk to people who already know everything about music – but Pierre Boulez is alive and well, and still conducting. He just released an 8 album box set of the complete Bartok on one of the world’s biggest classical labels, Deutsche Grammophone, in September [When was your last album? 10? 13 years ago? I honestly don’t know]. The fact is an 85 year old French conductor is more relevant today than you ever have been. Plus, being dead doesn’t make someone wrong.
yes it does.
i am not trying to be relevant and ive never heard of boulez and i dont care.
im sure though i can reel off many names youve never heard of. so what.
i have nothing to prove son.
what have you done that has EVER been relevant in art then ?
‘I’m still not convinced it’s actually Weston, though. I’m sure, if it was him and he was so omnipotently smart, he would have known Boulez was still alive and, indeed, a billion times more knowledgeable about music than everyone on this comment board put together (yes, including me). ‘
yes, obviously firstly you :)
i didnt say i was omnipotent although thats true
i just said im clearly more knowledgable about music than you.
if you want to argue that go ahead.
mebbe you can mention boulez again like its relevant to anything.
are you a musician even ?
hey wait a minute…. is this that idiot alan whathisface…
youre missing the point of what i said about music being non-intellectual
but youll get it one day when you actually listen to it or make it instead of trying to think of clever things to say about it.
one more point.
should be be thankful for this ‘horseshit’ alan ?
we didnt ask for it. i wouldnt bother if i was you…
alan..pls read my post with more attention…
i said thanks at the beginning and at the end….i’ve been very polite….
(sorry but assholes like us are somehow allergic to capital letters)
anyway…tnx for the compliments…
i am proud to be unprofessional…since professionals are killing music
but you got a point and i can reveal u that me and greg are going to release some of our silly music pretty soon…watch out….
i think that if you write a review in a blog it is normal and healthy that someone actually reply to it…maybe even the author of the music that has been critisized….
like you said…david did me a favour…and instead of having reverence for the holy press…i even dare to reply to it ?…this is internet m8…not press…
quoting david …the world is getting smaller: just ask anyone.
Okay, there are a few things that need to be addressed here:
Mauxuam – to begin with, I’d like to reiterate that I didn’t _dislike_ your album. I scored it 3/5, which is far from a bad score, and the review reflects that. I’ve had a few emails back and forth with Kris since his initial comment, and I encourage him to share my insights from those with you. The press material for this album has since been bashed by both you and Kris. In this case, let me suggest that you have a beef with your PR firm. This is how music reviews work – I receive a release (or it comes to my attention and I ask for it), listen to it, do a little research, and check out the materials provided. I wasn’t reviewing your press sheet, but nor did I assume it contained untruths about what led to the creation of this record. If that’s the case, than I don’t think your issue is with me, but rather the man who wrote your press document. And, with regards to your past commercial career which you “vomit” on, your press sheet only mentions that you’ve done it (and prominently so), without any regard to this being a shame to you. Lastly, yes, I’m familiar with Luigi Russolo, and while I’d argue that someone like Stockhausen was the first to make what was classified as electronic music (well before BBC Radiophonic), Russolo’s ideas are certainly important to this day.
Kris – Perhaps it’s an attempt to be cheeky and then laugh at the people who take it seriously, but it looks ridiculous when you talk about the Orb and its “gay rapper.” Obviously, ones enjoyment of the Orb’s output at various stages is subjective – personally, I was quite fond of the Kompakt work and The Dream, not to mention Bicycles & Tricycles. Still, it just ends up looking petty. I don’t intend this as an overt insult, but rather a perspective, that’s all.
And Alan is correct; I do this a lot. He’s a colleague of mine at another media outlet. Kris, I understand a little bit better from our emails that you generally don’t like people who try to intellectualize instrumental music. But that is how press works, and if it’s something you disagree with fundamentally, I’m not sure what the ‘right’ answer is here?
Someone like themilkman has dedicated a great deal of time and effort towards establishing himself and his site as a reliable source for insightful writing about music that, for many writers, defies such analysis. Personally, I appreciate this for the skill that it is, and think it’s pointless to spit at people for trying. In fact, much of the music that the milk factory covers is made by people who don’t normally get a whopping ton of press, but who are doing fascinating things.
In any case, I appreciate Kris, Greg and Mauxaum taking the time to share their thoughts; this kind of dialogue, harsh though it may seem, is ultimately helpful as its own odd form of discourse.
i was under the impression people did electronic music before stockhausen was born. stockhausen is a total mentalist. see that book with his theories in ? the guy is a complete loon! amazing.
Kris – Perhaps it’s an attempt to be cheeky and then laugh at the people who take it seriously, but it looks ridiculous when you talk about the Orb and its “gay rapper.†Obviously, ones enjoyment of the Orb’s output at various stages is subjective – personally, I was quite fond of the Kompakt work and The Dream, not to mention Bicycles & Tricycles. Still, it just ends up looking petty. I don’t intend this as an overt insult, but rather a perspective, that’s all.
i like the way you never intend to insult – thats nice
refreshing even from an american on the internet.
i respect that.
i think your taste is awful though.
when people mention the orb i just say what i think simple as that.
and i have zero care what people think :)
and zero care about what journalists write about music.
anyway want to do a review of my new stuff ?
LOL!
the orbs rapper is ahem *quite clearly* gay
in fact their music is just a shitpile these days. so what!
whats petty about that?
just because i used to be in the band doesnt cloud my ears with cotton wool does it ?
this page is becoming an artform in itself.
And Alan is correct; I do this a lot. He’s a colleague of mine at another media outlet. Kris, I understand a little bit better from our emails that you generally don’t like people who try to intellectualize instrumental music. But that is how press works, and if it’s something you disagree with fundamentally, I’m not sure what the ‘right’ answer is here?
the press are everything that is wrong with this world. the media – the bullshit – the brainwashing – peoples stupid opinions and agendas shoved down our throats till its hard to tell wrong from right and which way to turn. there is so much information coming in, we are just not built to deal with it all. its not that i dislike people trying to talk about music its that the moment of appreciation is not intellectual and thats a very important point. and one i stand by.
after having another read of this page i have realised im completely insane. when im not out in my bentley picking up yo gal or slappin yo mammas ass with some chicken wings im chillin in da broadway massif riding me lawnmower up and down da road innit, goodbye.
David
tnx again for your addresses….and for that 3 points out of 5 !!!
(I didn’t see the scoring before…since I never care about those numbers).
…I am very thankful for any horseshit you going to say about my work…
as much as I need to have a chat with my PR (who hopefully is reading all of this by now)…you might need to have a coffee with your editor here…since he disagree with your review and kindly corrected it by himself with a comment much before all this conversation…. ;-) (i think this a chekmate)
then…I think that you are very lucky to have the chance to discuss such interesting topics with the ppl who are actually DOING IT (the music you talk about)….and as much as I have to be thankful for your horseshit….you have to be thankful for our time and attention here…since we actually very busy …doing more music….that eventually will give you the chance to write more horseshit…you see….we need eachother.
one question:
why are you having a private email conversation about this with Kris and not with MYSELF ???
is it this way that professional firms works ?
I understad that Kris is much more famous and interesting target than me…
and you…professor Ranta…you are not entitled to teach me what is a professional attitude…or how to write on internet…
(INTERNET…NOT PRESS…..WAKE UP !!!)
you are the only troll here who has nothing to say more than capitalized letters insults and showing off your bloated musical ego….a clear demonstration that culture is often a mask for frustrated idiots…like you.
Mau, I don’t know where you got the idea that I didn’t agree with David. We may have different ways to write about music, or appreciate it in different ways, it doesn’t mean that I disagree with what he has to say. This said, when I ask someone to write about a specific release, and this was the case with yours, as I’ll explain in a moment, they have entire control on what they will say, and I respect their opinion. If I disagree, or see a different point, I’ll probably discuss it via email with that person, or post a reply here, but I wouldn’t direct them in any way. The point of this site is for me to bring as much good music to the attention of potential readers, and to give the opportunity for a few other people to do the same.. There’s no hidden agenda with it, no big press plan or anything, and while being tarnished with the same brush as “the press” makes me smile, it is, I feel slightly beside the point.
I got the Mauxuam a fair while before the review was published, and I liked it very much but realized rapidly that I wouldn’t get the time to feature it due to lack of time, so I asked David to review the album, because I wanted it on the site, and I respect David’s opinion. That he saw similar points to the ones I did, was not a surprise, we’ve got similar tastes, and that’s why he’s welcome to write about music he enjoys, or not if he feels like it, anytime. I didn’t feel the review was actually negative, and his criticism of certain points was done fairly.
Will I bother tryiing to get a record on the site like this next time? Probably not.
Mauxuam – Kris was the first to comment, and I emailed him very soon after seeing his post go up. You didn’t enter the discussion yourself until later. I’d be happy to go into more details with you on email. The only reason I addressed Kris via email is that I had a lot that I wanted to respond to him about, and didn’t feel like filling up the page – of course, now that these comments have taken off as such, it’s a moot point. It has nothing to do with who is famous, he was just the first one to enter this discussion. My Skype name is Davbrav in case you’re interested.
As to my editor’s opinion on this review, I can only say that reviews are subjective by their very nature. Any editor has to respect the opinion of a writer. I don’t think that whether or not we disagree on a particular record constitutes a “checkmate;” it’s just a difference of a opinion. If you think my take on the album is horseshit than that’s fine and I’m obviously not going to be able to change your opinion. It’s still your music, and I’d suggest that perhaps you not take criticisms as personal attacks – I did enjoy your album, and just because I don’t think it’s perfect doesn’t make the piece a polemic. I should also say that, as a musician myself, I’ve learned that an artist can rarely (if ever) control how his/her art affects those who are exposed to it. Once music is out there, all reactions are valid to those individuals, whether or not they gel with the intended meaning of a piece.
Kris – honestly, I’m not immediately familiar with this apparently gay rapper in the Orb that you are referring to, but the tone of your insult implied that there was something bad about them having a gay rapper. I won’t go down the road of identity politics here, but it just comes of as puerile to frame things like that, as I’m sure a man of your intelligence understands. Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion of the Orb just as is anyone else. I don’t expect you to blindly praise their output simply because you’re an ex-member. I just think that the way you mentioned their “gay rapper” made it sound like a childish insult.
Lastly, do you really not care about what people think and what journalists have to say? Personally, I’ve never seen why it’s a source of pride for anyone to make such claims; we’re all social creatures at some level, and as such it’s human nature to be affected by what others say or do, particularly when it relates to your own actions and outputs. If you really don’t give a rip, then thank you for humoring me in this discussion, I suppose. And yes, I’d love to review your new stuff. Let’s how where the comments go on that one :).
For all it’s worth, I’ve actually lost pretty much all interest in the Mauxuam record at the moment. Hopefully it won’t last, but if it does, that’d be an interesting result, wouldn’t it?
ooopss…it wasn’t a chekmate then….just a bluff…ahahaha….
themilkman:
you lost interest in my music…that’s a shame…for me the difference of opinions is always exiting…I instead gained a lot of respect for you blog during this month….I read it deeply before even daring to post…and since I respect what you doing I am wasting my time into this conversation…I bookmarked it and surely I will follow it in the future….I can give a full 5/5 to it…since we like scoring…..thanks again for your words.
David:
again…thanks for your work…I always hated mediocrity…and 3/5 is mediocre to me…
I am more generous…..I give u a 4/5….
I don’t agree with your point of views but I like your style…you have good ideas and you doing it from the heart…and if this was the review of another album I would probably think that you are right…
thanks for making me discover themilkfactory :-)
Alan is a professor…so I don’t dare to give points to him….
0/5 to Kris..who is more gay than the rapper…
9/5 to Greg…who should write more reviews…
I think it’s time to draw a line under all this. This thread has stopped being relevant some time ago. I am now locking it.