Systemische

systemische

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A side project featuring members of Cologne, Germany's Mouse on Mars, and Rome, Oval is a distinctive recipe of CD-scratched rhythms, obfuscated sample collages, and endless, cyclical structures. Suggesting vintage musique concréte, the French IRCAM collective, Krautrock progenitors like Neu and Kraftwerk, and what you imagine your computer might do if left to its own devices, Systemisch is both amazingly boring and incredibly fascinating; the aural equivalent to a Chuck Close tableau or the architectural sculptures of minimalist Sol LeWitt. Utterly impersonal, devoid of musical gesture, and downright John Cage-ian in its unspoken declaration of nonauthorship, it's the kind of music that plays with your programming; where are we, what and who is this, and, darnit, why? --James Rotondi

Systemische,Oval,Thrill Jockey,Experimental,Glitch,IDM,Indie Electronic,Pop,Popular Music,Post-Rock/Experimental,Rock,Soundtrack,Techno

Systemische

Average customer rating:

glitchy and distant, for ambient fans
This isn't 94 Diskont
Systemisch
Aero Deck vs. Unison
actually...

Systemische
Oval
Manufacturer: Thrill Jockey
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

IDM | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Electronic Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music

IDM | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Aaltopiiri
Init Ding
Polygon Cities
Microstoria: Reprovisers

ASIN: B000004B32
Release Date: 1996-06-25

Tracks:

Textuell
Aero Deck
The Politics Of Digital Audio
Schnoer Wissen
Catchy DAAD
Mediaton
Tonregie
Oval Office
Compact Disc
Post-Post
Gabba Nation

Amazon.com

A side project featuring members of Cologne, Germany's Mouse on Mars, and Rome, Oval is a distinctive recipe of CD-scratched rhythms, obfuscated sample collages, and endless, cyclical structures. Suggesting vintage musique concréte, the French IRCAM collective, Krautrock progenitors like Neu and Kraftwerk, and what you imagine your computer might do if left to its own devices, Systemisch is both amazingly boring and incredibly fascinating; the aural equivalent to a Chuck Close tableau or the architectural sculptures of minimalist Sol LeWitt. Utterly impersonal, devoid of musical gesture, and downright John Cage-ian in its unspoken declaration of nonauthorship, it's the kind of music that plays with your programming; where are we, what and who is this, and, darnit, why? --James Rotondi

Customer Reviews:

glitchy and distant, for ambient fans.......2006-04-02

if you enjoy the detached flavor of warm synthesizers and glitched-out micro-beats, this is definitely a must-have. a college roommate of mine made off with my first copy of this album and i bought it again after he apparently "lost" it. i had to have it back as it's one of my favorite albums. here's why:
i find aural soundscapes entrancing and have always enjoyed the way that oval sets up their blocks of sound on this album. they are true to the balance of form and space that is fundamental to all ambient electronica: they create forms but there is also sufficient space and time alloted to each form to allow them a chance to flower and exist as aural entities. and if it seems they cut a module short, it often reappears for a second viewing later on in the track which gives some of the tracks an interesting feel because you come back to look at a form after it has already been presented once and interrupted with another form. interesting to see how the interrupting forms change the way themes are percieved in the pieces.
i realize this is abstract, but it is the best way to sum up their work. for those of you who like what you read, i assure you you'll like what you hear on systemisch.

This isn't 94 Diskont.......2004-02-05

Having been blown away by 94 Diskont, on first listen I wasn't sure how I felt about this cd. It is definitely more stark and minimalist and I agree that some tracks come close to their 'use by' date before the next track kicks in. For a more even dark/minimalist glitch album (the 'darkness' though remarkably brings much warmth), the Pole CD1 from the glitch-master Stefan Betke is an excellent buy - not one note or rhythm wasted!

That said, this is another excellent introduction to 'glitch-musik-culcha'. Listening to it on the same evening as the 'Clicks and Cuts 1' cd anthology, which puts glitch through its paces in its many and varied guises, I realise how much Markus Popp is at the forefont of this style.

Well worth the outlay and a great addition to a darker electronica catalogue. Headphones is the way to truly appreciate this cd (and indeed the Pole 1 mentioned above).

Systemisch.......2004-02-04

Before you buy the CD, you can get a vague idea of the material on Systemisch, even if you're unfamiliar with Oval's trademark CD-skip experimentation. With its monochromatic steel-gray cover and Mouse On Mars's odd brand of Germanglish used for track titles, you might guess that Systemisch is detached, minimal, and generally inaccessable. You'd be pretty spot-on with that initial analysis, and these attributes serve as both the disc's saving grace and its greatest folly.

Oval is one of those refreshing groups who not only situates itself on the cutting-edge of music, but manages to offer something different and new with each release. In other words, each disc has a personality. For example, 94 Diskont is cerebral, tense, and emotional; Ovalprocess is beautiful and challenging, balancing cacaphony with lush washes of sound. Systemisch has a personality much colder than these two. The arrangements are sparse and minimal. The songs keep their distance, never veering off wildly in any direction. Granted, this was most likely the goal for Oval, and keeping that in mind, Systemisch succeeds for its coolheadedness and minimalist sense of restraint (appreciated by electronica fans who prefer their music without a heavy dose of emotion.)

Yet this turns out to be Systemisch's biggest bugaboo. 94 Diskont (which followed Systemisch) was a masterpiece because, for all of its apparent weirdness, listeners could connect with it and feel its depth. Systemisch makes no such personal connection with the listener. Its inaccessability (a common Oval trait) is made worse by its icy and standoffish approach. It becomes almost impossible to FEEL the songs; they can only be listened to from an intellectual and technical point of view.

That said, there are a number of excellent tracks on Systemisch ("Gabba Nation" and "Aero Deck" among them). Such pieces take the CD-skip format and the source material to create moderately engaging and progressive soundscapes. But for every stellar track, there's another that's hopelessly devoid of substance. Schoner Wissen is as boring as they come: a quasi-ambient piece of anti-song that sits and sits for over five minutes as the "melody" (two notes total) remains stuck in neutral and the clicks become ever more grating.

Oval has never made a subpar album (although Ovalcommers came dangerously close) and Systemisch will give Oval fans their money's worth, especially considering the dearth of musicians willing to experiment so radically with the techniques of music-making. In truth, however, there are plenty of records that do the CD-scarification thing better and satisfy the listener more deeply in the process (try Oval's 94 Diskont, or Nobukazu Takemura's Scope). Systemisch is chock full of good ideas and undoubtedly has more than its fair share of brains, but what it lacks is the breath of life to turn conceptual mold-breakers into dazzling and wondrous pieces of music.

Aero Deck vs. Unison.......2003-09-16

one hand loves the other
so much on me

born stubborn, me
will always be
before you count 123
i will have grown my own private branch
of this tree

you : gardener
you : discipliner
domestically
i can obey all of your rules
and still be : be

i never thought i would compromise
i never thought i would compromise
i never thought i would compromise

let's unite tonight
we shouldn't fight
embrace you tight
let's unite tonight

i thrive best

hermit style
with a beard and a pipe
and a parrot on each side
but now i can't do this without you

i never thought i would compromise
i never thought i would compromise
i never thought i would compromise

let's unite tonight
we shouldn't fight
embrace you tight
let's unite tonight

one hand loves the other
so much on me

let's unite tonight
we shouldn't fight
embrace you tight
let's unite tonight

let's unite tonight
we shouldn't fight
embrace you tight
let's
ahhh...

u n i s o n

actually..........2003-01-25

the only reason i am writing this review is to point out the factual errors in the editorial review. this is NOT a side-project of mouse on mars. as a matter of fact, the only thing that this cd or oval has to do with mouse on mars is that they're on the same label. what the EDITOR was reffering to is a side-project called microstoria, which IS a side-project of mouse on mars AND oval. to summarize; oval is one guy, markus popp. mouse on mars is 2 guys, jan st. werner and andy toma.

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