TheDreamthinker
Headphoneus Supremus
Welcome to
Noise, Reverb & Dissonance
'Noise':
'A sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance.'
- Oxford Dictionary of English -
Welcome to Noise, Reverb & Reverb, the thread where we would like to discuss musicians which, throughout the 20th and 21st century, have embraced such 'unorthodox' elements into their music. Also this thread should serve the discussion as to which headphones best reproduce these genres
The use of Phasing, Distortion and Feedback has been part of the musical landscape since the late 19th century with the advent of electric instruments into the musical landscape. Use of low-fidelity was inescapable reality for many early musicians when recording their music throughout the first half of the 20th century.
But with the emergence of psychedelic music in the 50s and 60s, began an age of experimentation which would deeply influenced the course of musical development for the decades to come.
Geographically the West-Coast of the U.S, the United Kingdom and Ireland are generally considered the incubators of these 'noise-embracing' genres. Although the mainstream prevalence of such genres has somewhat declined over time, they have found their way to Japan, where they have evolved to form distinct character not previously seen in the West.
Nov 11, 2016 at 3:59 PM
Post #3 of 4
Nov 12, 2016 at 12:17 PM
Post #4 of 4
Thanks for dropping by.
I completely agree with you. Like books and movies, certain genres of music also have times of year where they seem more 'inviting' than others. (in some parts of the globe more than others).
I also feel, although the genres have obviously never died, they are somewhat experiencing a revival as of late. There are many smaller bands which tap into the concept of noise and make it their own. And as a person getting into this scene, there is a vast backlog to go though.
Some very nice links you posted. Planning to explore more into this direction.
What I am currently also gradually exploring is Mogwai.
Contemporary Post Rock:
The understanding of which genres share this fascination with noise is vast and varies from person to person.
Something that many of these genres have in common, aside from the heavy use of electronic/artificial modification, is their vocal presentation. Often singers (both male and female) are distorted and treated as another 'layer' in the proverbial wall of sound. Often this results in lyrics (if present) altered to the point of incomprehensibility.
Some prominent flavours are:
[This list is to expand as more genres are discussed and covered]
------ Head-fi Gear related ------
Some prominent flavours are:
- 50s & 60s Psychedlic Rock
- 80s & 90s Shoegaze
- 90s & Contemporary Math Rock
- Contemporary Dream Pop
- Contemporary Post Rock
- Contemporary Japanese Shoegaze
- Contemporary Japanese Post-Rock
- Contemporary Japanoise
[This list is to expand as more genres are discussed and covered]
------ Head-fi Gear related ------
Most Head-fi'ers can agree that some pieces of gear (incl. headphones) are best suited to a certain type of music.
I personally have found these 'noise-genres' to be very hard to pin down and thus find headphones which suitably reflect the character of these musical genres.
In my experience, this difficulty can be traced back to a clarity vs. character conundrum within this type of music. On one hand these genres demand warmth and emphasised lower frequencies to properly reflect the 'dreamy, cosy and introspective' character of the music. At the same time, it also demands a fairly high degree of technical proficiency in both detail and separation to stop the music from degenerating into an unordered mess and keep the artist's vision coherently apparent. Genres like Math Rock rely on highly complex and unusual chord progressions and metra to carve out their identity.
Equipment I have found to have been proficient in both regards (to varying degrees):
Full-Sized Headphones:
In-Ear Monitors (IEMs):
[This list is to expand with your contribution]
--------------
Again, welcome and thank you for dropping by.
Make yourself comfortable and join the discussion.
- TheDreamthinker
Equipment I have found to have been proficient in both regards (to varying degrees):
Full-Sized Headphones:
- Grado Labs Reference-series
In-Ear Monitors (IEMs):
- Ocharaku (entire line-up)
- Shure KSE1500 (!)
[This list is to expand with your contribution]
--------------
Again, welcome and thank you for dropping by.
Make yourself comfortable and join the discussion.
- TheDreamthinker
Davey
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2002
- Posts
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Wow, there's been some really nice shoegaze/dream pop releases the last couple years, one of my big favorites right now is the shoegaze split with Presents For Sally & 93MillionMilesFromTheSun on An Arms Reach Away/Darkness Inside, with 4 songs from each. I already knew 93MillionMilesFromTheSun from the pretty great Fall Into Nothing full length last year, very recommended for heavier shoegaze fans, but sometimes the best thing with these splits is the chance to hear a new band you knew nothing about, and it's usually one that has a close association with the one you do know. So the Presents For Sally side of this split is the big highlight for me, even though I love the 93MillionMilesFromTheSun side too, both sides highlighting different facets of each band. Even comes on a 2-sided LP, with what they are calling pink and yellow "fruit salad" vinyl... I just got the cheapo flac download from bandcamp this time, but the vinyl is pretty inexpensive too ... An Arms Reach Away/ Darkness Inside, by Presents For Sally/ 93MillionMilesFromTheSun »
Got a feeling this is gonna be a lazy hazy weekend coming on, this is the real shoegaze time of year for me, and there's a bunch of good psychedelic stuff that's been coming out all year under the psych/shoegaze/dream pop banners, and some of it I'm just beginning to explore, and a ton from the last coupla years I'm just catching up to as well ...
Below are the two title tracks ...
Got a feeling this is gonna be a lazy hazy weekend coming on, this is the real shoegaze time of year for me, and there's a bunch of good psychedelic stuff that's been coming out all year under the psych/shoegaze/dream pop banners, and some of it I'm just beginning to explore, and a ton from the last coupla years I'm just catching up to as well ...
Below are the two title tracks ...
TheDreamthinker
Headphoneus Supremus
Thanks for dropping by.
I completely agree with you. Like books and movies, certain genres of music also have times of year where they seem more 'inviting' than others. (in some parts of the globe more than others).
I also feel, although the genres have obviously never died, they are somewhat experiencing a revival as of late. There are many smaller bands which tap into the concept of noise and make it their own. And as a person getting into this scene, there is a vast backlog to go though.
Some very nice links you posted. Planning to explore more into this direction.
What I am currently also gradually exploring is Mogwai.
Contemporary Post Rock:
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