so this pair was posted at the beginning of august or end of july. i can't remember. thankfully this month has been summer holiday time over at good old Connexion Bizarre, so not much action going on and zero turnover for new reviews. but that is soon set to change! anyway, check it.
Together, producers Jonathan Uliel Saldanha (a.k.a. HHY) and Nyko Esterle (a.k.a. Ripit), having purportedly sequestered themselves in a mountain studio in Portugal, engendered an unforgettable exegesis of post-hip hop norms (if such exist) and pushed the envelope for this genre with startling ferocity. "Landform" won't disappoint.
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Utilizing the requisite field recordings, found sounds, CD/tape/vinyl manipulations, etc., Violet presents listeners with an album both disquieting in its peacefulness and jarring in its white noise banality. It is not so much mentally invasive as vaguely irritating, lacking the essential cohesion necessary in an experimental/drone record and likely far more interesting in terms of creative process than actual listenability.
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yoww it's been awhile. i'm the one to blame for a spate of abnormally lethargic turnarounds, especially on this last review, and it's even already been posted over at Connexion Bizarre for more than a week. stuff happens. but hey, i know these guys so go ahead and check out the goods.
A multifaceted album that confronts listeners with pop tendencies, taking inspiration from the sharp beats, brimming bass and lyrical delivery of indie rock's more electronic leanings, and similarly finds substance with a blended new wave versus old industrial feel. Flatline Skyline overall benefits from its oddly familiar genre-bending forms and passionate articulation.
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read them at your leisure, for your pleasure. all this wonderful stuff and more available this week on Connexion Bizarre.
Tonikom's sophomore release on Hymen Records, "The Sniper's Veil", is a wholly satisfying exercise in breakbeats. Most everything appearing on Tonikom's latest shows fantastic cohesion, simplicity, musicianship and, it must be said, an intriguingly feminine essence.
"Amesha Spenta" as an album is relentless, even in its ambient passages, and however sedate the bpm might be. It is dense, secretive, and part of a floating realm, suspended between the occidental and oriental with chime-like melodies and shivering tones, supported by spine tingling beat structures.
I was listening to a This American Life podcast from a bit ago, part of which discussed amnesia. The story was interesting, though wasn't really about amnesia per se. But it got me thinking about it in role playing game terms (I'm working up to GMing my first adventure soon, so I'm thinking of just about everything in terms of gaming possibilities).
It occurred to me that amnesia is used in all kinds of fiction, sometimes to comedic effect, sometimes to more dramatic effect, but that I hadn't ever thought about using it in a role playing game. It seems like potentially a pretty good and fun trope to use in a game, either with a character who forgets who they are for some time, or with NPC's or any number of other ways. This would probably work particularly well in a pulp themed game, where these sort of outrageous ideas make perfect sense.
I've also been reading Gnome Stew (a great GMing blog) a lot lately, and as I was thinking about this I also read this article, in which the author talks about the fun of having secrets from the other players, and generally cutting down on meta-game thinking at the table. These two things started to churn in my head and I got the following ideas...
I also started to think about the idea for PC's with amnesia. Role playing it could be interesting but difficult for a player if their PC is supposed to have lost their memory partway through the game, or if they've written a background for the character, that they then have to "re-discover." This could be a lot of fun, but might be difficult to role play properly for the player, since they'd know what the background really was.
It might also unfairly focus attention on the one character if they were the only one with amnesia (again this isn't necessarily a problem, depending on the player and the groups, but is a potential problem). Of course this could be solved by having everyone start with amnesia, and have to slowly learn about/try to remember their backgrounds and histories. But again, you still have the problem of a PC who knows the real background, but has to pretend that they don't for the purposes of role playing.
One solution would be for the GM could write up a background for a character, or all the characters, and start the game with that characters, or the characters with amnesia, and they could slowly learn who they were as the game went on. This could be a lot of fun, and might work really well with the right group. But might lead to some players feeling like they don't have enough real investment in their character, or that they are being railroaded some.
Then an interesting idea popped into my head. What if all the players wrote a background for another player's character? This could lead to all the players really feeling like they had some investment in the game, but would also leave them not knowing what their own background was. The players could either write the backgrounds specifically for one other players character, or they could all write a background in secret and turn them in to the GM who would then assign them to different players and make any adjustments to make them all fit together. The GM would get tons of plot hooks, and would be able to really involve the players ideas in the game and center it around the characters, while still haveing the freedom to determine quite a bit (like how they got amnesia, and why they are together etc.). The players would get to start the game with a clean slate, and then have the fun of figuring out who they were and how they got to where they are.
I think this is a pretty fun idea for an interesting game. I'm not planning on using it for my upcomign adventure, as I'm not sure I feel like I'm quite experienced enough as a GM to run something like that (at least not yet), but I think it sounds like a pretty fun game for the players and for the GM (though probably a lot of work for the GM).
So what do you think? Would you consider running a game like this, or playing in one? Do you have any fun ideas for how to us amnesia in a game?
Cross posted on my LJ
I made a skirt for Jaclyn a few days ago (see photo below for a photo of the fabric) and she sent me this in my thank you email and it makes me smile:
I was feeling a bit down and out
To my mailbox was the route
Small and brown, I did see
A package waited there for me
Carefully I cut a rift
My eyes beheld a glorious gift
A luscious sheath, ahoy ahoy!
Reminded me of Ode to Joy
Next time my spouse is in a nap
I'll play the tune that's on my lap!
a pair of fine releases have been reviewed for your reading pleasure and, one hopes, musical curiosity. at times heavy, playful and psychedelic, albums like these are what keep this business interesting. posted this week on Connexion Bizarre...
With "Area Keloza", French hardcore/gabber artist Lingouf joins the ranks of the Ant-Zen catalogue. Recognized for his unique sound within hardcore and breakcore categories, Lingouf's Vincent Ingouf is a competent visual artist as well, reflected both in the subversively cartoonish and imaginative album artwork, and in a fascinating website full of clever animations and hidden puzzles.
Read more... or try this.
Kibuka is a new project from sound mastermind Dean Dennis, formerly of Clock DVA and, more recently, Nohno. A logical successor to the latter's "Metropolis" (2006), Kibuka's "Dystopia" takes the sumptuous bass and retro-electronic, tech-ambient feel of that pithy release and articulates it further. Kibuka delivers nostalgia with a 21st-century twist, and fans of early IDM and electro-industrial are advised not to let this one slip by.
Cool.
whoops. forgot to post this one. plus i'm behind on my current reviews. stuff happens.
(an IDM beat record, aka random playlist interlude fodder)
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I've actually completed a few things, which in my book is pretty darn good. The shirt's fabric is way more awesome in real life. It looks a little silly in the photo. I learned how to shirr last night, which turned out to be super easy. My other long dress is finished, but doesn't look really flattering. Not sure how I'm going to manipulate it yet. I might just make it short. Last but not least, I finished up Ella's dress. She came to visit us in Texas for two weeks (with her parents) and she couldn't be more adorable. Yea for finishing things!
I tweet (uhm, therefore I am??)...you can follow me as KelarSkye.
I have a Facebook page...I am easy to search.
I am LinkedIn.
I post photos at Flickr.
I have another blog where I am trying to make myself write and churn out some interesting thoughts...to date very little is interesting. But hey, you can see what I am doing sometimes so I suppose that is comforting on some level.
I am rather bored in general right now and I feel that is reflective in everything. That and I feel like I don't have any time, but I am not sure why because I don't know what is taking up my time (I supposed 11+ hours at work or commuting is a time suck).
