TubularBelle
Group: Members
Posts: 1487
Joined: April 2004 |
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Posted: Oct. 06 2005, 00:21 |
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I think an important point here as mentioned by Salamanda is that it is not only the album that is creating discention amongst the fans but Mikes own words, he is confusing the issue. As I said somewhere else, in his first interview at mikeoldfield.org he talks so glibly about the album, all the comments mentioned in Salamandas post, I just pushed a button, I did this one in 3 days, I named this one after my horse or bike, I didn't use real voices, this one is a demo from the machinery I bought, and then there are the covers, and unfortunately, not Mikes fault, the 3 or 4 tracks that some of us have already heard from Tres Lunas II which he has used. But in the more recent interview translated by Maria in another thread, Mikes spin on this album sounds completely different. He says it took 4 weeks to put together most tracks, that he recorded real singers and experimented with their voices, and that the album took a very long time to make. Not the impression he gave us from that first interview. Is he trying to sound so cool and relaxed about it all that he sounds like he just doesn't care. There is no doubt that something is amiss with this new album, even though I have not even heard it yet so am trying to reserve my judgement, but in the eyes of most of his fans. It is NOT the use of machinery, most of us agree that TSODE is one of his finest works, and even though he use to say he hated people who were recording music when they couldn't even play real instruments etc we all know he has used synthesizers since the very beginning. The vocaloids are obviously a big issue, can't wait to hear them. BUT I believe the REAL problem here is Mikes exclusion of any input from anyone else, he seems void of a producer, other musicians, singers, any outside influence to the point that he doesn't even seem to know what is current out there and what isn't. Whether we want the old Mike or the new Mike is irelevent, it's himself that seems confused about what he is doing. Even the dance tracks which I love are still stuck in the 90's, he hasn't noticed that the best dance artists like the Chemical Brothers and others are moving on themselves because they know that this genre is limited and has reached saturation point. It seems like Mike is so into himself right now that he wants to be better than the best in all fields of music and yet is not even listening to what is out there. Like even when he talked about his inspiration for using the Light and Shade 2cd concept, he mentioned some French band I think that I have never heard of when other more well known artists have used this concept in recent times as well which he seems to be unaware of, I have a few in my own collection, the most recent being Mobys new album 'Hotel' which has an ambient cd and a dance cd.
Mike, take direction, listen to other artists, take the very best that you can find and use it to your own advantage, and then do your own thing with it, but don't lock yourself in a time warp and rely on your own imagination without even knowing what is going on in the world. It doesn't work for you anymore. All of us, when we are young, are aware of the current trends whether we choose to follow them or not and we tend to remain influenced by those same trends from our youth as we age. In our 40' and 50's we are no longer being influenced by what is new and trendy, and say a classical musician can carry on writing and playing classical music without those new influences and Mike could carry on writing and recording in his unique original style if he chose to (most of us believe that would be the best thing), but if he wants to keep up with the youth market he has to venture outside once in a while, expose himself to the lifestyles of the common man. He isn't 20 anymore and he can't think like a 20 year old. Most of us don't even want that but he doesn't care. Even his interviews don't seem to give a clear understanding of what he is trying to achieve with his music at this point in time. In fact, it seems like he is being more influenced by outside trends than even HE knows without even exposing himself to them, it is very strange and weird and I will stop now because I am confusing myself.
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I hate getting up early. I didn't even realise there were two 6 o'clocks in one day!
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have been developed further.
