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At 1:18 AM -0400 7/3/97, JFOG10@aol.com wrote: >Hi......new list member here....enjoying the discussion. Recently >someone( I >deleted the post before I got the name) brought up the excellent point >that >many of us seem to assume that looping=ambient/space/new >age/instrumental/...what the heck let's throw jazz in there , too!!!! LOL that was me, glad to see someone joining me in my crusade against the local ambient tyranny....:-) > Well...here's my 2 cents on this issue. > While I'm a big fan of many "ambient" guys ( Torn, Fripp,Michael >Brook), this isn't really where MY muse lies. I come out of a blues, >country, >folk and rock background, I have a different background, but I agree in the lack of ambient muse category. The only Eno I've ever gotten around to listening to is his production work on Bowie's Outside album. (a friend of mine calls Eno "music for yawning") As for Fripp, I've spent almost as much time talking to him as I have listening to his music, oddly.... A lot of loopists come from a folk background. Acoustic guitar soloists seem to make up a strong minority. One person can get a fuller sound and create more complex parts. Phil Keaggy is one example, I think, but there are many others. And don't forget Chet Atkins! And our own Pat Kirtley. Bluegrass players take to looping quite quickly, it seems. I spent a couple of hours at a namm show demoing the echoplex for a couple of bluegrass players, who were sons of a really famous old country star. Can't remember which one, unfortunately...they were great players, and within minutes were looping all sorts of bluegrass phrases and overdubbing stuff on top. Worked great..... I even spent a good half hour with a couple of nice ladies who sang in a country group, explaining how they could loop their vocals for harmonies and such..... Jazz, Blues, sure! especially if you are playing a rhythm instrument. You go to play a solo, and your piece of the rhythm disappears. Why not loop it? Simple application, but works great. If you're in the Bay Area, try to see Fred Marshall's jazz group play sometime. The bass keeps groovin, and Fred's off with the bow.... I see people do that sort of thing quite a bit. Great way to practice too. Also in the jazz vein, there's Tim Weisberg, who's been looping his flute for a couple decades now..... Can rockers be loopers? Well, there's Neal Schon, who used loops all over the last Journey album. I believe its gone platinum...(you laugh, but if you saw his gear collection and studio, you wouldn't! He gets to do anything he likes these days, including a current foray into techno. I'd trade....) And then we get more into my neck of the woods..... I spent a LOT of time in my life listening to heavy metal. Metallica, ozzy, maiden, slayer, exodus, death angel, pantera... the heavier the better! Know what? I still like it! I have no shame, music that's aggressive and powerful makes me happy. Music to be injured by! I broke my foot moshing with primus, and I was darned proud! So what does that have to do with looping? Listen to speed metal sometime if you can. Fast, tight rhythms, long, structured songs, lots and lots of repetition. The amazing thing was that it took so long for someone to make the connection. But someone did, and that was: Al Jourgensen. Ministry's "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" is the definitive industrial album for me. The loops on it are great. In one instant, Al caused metal guitarists and alienated synth geeks all over the world to look at each other and say "maybe you're not the neanderthal/wimp that I thought you were, would you like to jam?" Guitarists bought samplers, synthesists bought guitars and fuzz boxes. Thousands of industrial bands spread across the lands....kmfdm, skinny puppy, nine inch nails... that was my intro to looping.... But what was that stuff the guys down the hall in my college dorm were playing? Don't believe the Hype? I hate rap, why can't I get that tune out of my head? For good reason.... Hip-hop is almost completely based on looping. Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, the beastie boys, Dr. Dre, dj shadow.....loops everywhere. Styles and techniques for creating looped music were pioneered by dj's in the 70's and have spread to all manner of genres all around the globe. The single largest goosebump experience I have ever experienced was PE's Fear of a Black Planet....the rhythmic textures are stunning. If you've never listened to it, you owe it to yourself to try... Those early hip-hop artists were a big influence on the current candidate for Next Big Thing: Electronica. I admit it. I'm on the bandwagon and I don't care. I like this loop happy electronic stuff a lot. Techno, house, ambient-techno, drum n' bass, trance, trip-hop; there's a new one every week. The Orb blew my mind, both on cd and live. Meat Beat Manifesto, dj spooky, fsol, aphex twin, I'm there.... What else? Why are most of my loops created with funk rhythms? How about Dub? What's Matthias teaching to the Brazilians? What's happening in Africa? It's turning up all over the place...... looping=ambient? Not for me! kim ______________________________________________________________________ Kim Flint | Looper's Delight kflint@annihilist.com | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html http://www.annihilist.com/ | Loopers-Delight-request@annihilist.com