I don't think I've ever heard of Reich, but have just read a few reviews (Different trains) on amazon and sounds interesting. Am I likely to like it? Is this the classical equiv of Squarepusher, Aphex etc? Any other recommendations?
Many electronica acts have learnt / borrowed a lot of ideas from composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Terry Riley, as they have from earlier Musique concrete stuff like John Cage and the pioneering electronics and tape cut-ups of Stockhausen and Morton Subotnik. All is unquestionably worth investigation to any Warp fan, and Reich is as good a place as any to start.
I'll attempt to recommend a few good starting points:
Steve Reich: Music for 18 musicians ââ'¬â€œ out of the Reich that I have got (about 8 albums or so) this is the one I play the most. It gets across perfectly the ever changing repetition thing that he does so well and has a great semi-trance sort of feel to it that sounds very contemporary. I certainly prefer it to Distant Trains, good though that is.
Philip Glass: I only rate his early hardcore minimalist stuff ââ'¬â€œ to be honest I find the later orchestrated works tedious in the extreme. My favs are 'Music in 12 parts part 1 & 2' and 'Einstein on the beach'. Music in 12 parts is great fun to play 'where the hell is the down-beat?' to, he keeps shifting the time signature in the most bizarre yet somehow effortless way. It is one of those pieces that opened a door for me that I'd never have found otherwise.
Karlheinz Stockhausen: 'Kontakt' ââ'¬â€œ try to hear the pure electronic version if you can, the release on Wergo has additional percussion and piano that for me looses some of the purity. 'Hymnen' is a total masterpiece, but is only available as a 4 CD set on the great mans own label costing a insane amount of money ââ'¬â€œ I think I had to pay the best part of 50 quid for mine. It is astounding though, some of Stockhausen's 60s output can make Aphex Twin and Squarepusher sound totally dated.
Morton Subotnik: 'Silver apples of the moon' ââ'¬â€œ another great example of 60s analogue electronica, has some similarities with Kontakt, i.e. mad as a fish and very bleepy.
John Cage: Any percussion ensemble piece - the guy really knew how to hit things. His Musique concrete tape manipulation stuff is also well worth investigating ââ'¬â€œ it is sampling without a sampler.
Edgard Varese: ââ'¬â€œ 'Ionisation' ââ'¬â€œ abstract percussion, piano and siren ââ'¬â€œ a remarkable work that is almost impossible to describe, so I won't.
Tony.
concerts I have booked. When I read the very sniffy Grauniad review of the QEH show, I didn't feel too bad about doing nothing, but after seeing Tony's review I wish I had now. I would particularly have liked to hear the Reich of course! L. Sinfonietta are a top band (I've seen them a couple of times). Sounds like they didn't really try to mesh the two genres though, which is a shame.
