Systemisch

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).

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.

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...

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