RIP SOPHIE

[version]

Is that the same thing? physical modelling synthesis seems like a form of sonic skeuomorphism but I think what that person is talking about , and what im talking about is 'sound objects', sound design thats so crisp that it evokes a visceral visual form, a physical thing in the minds eye

Aphex and Autechre did stuff like that prior to Sophie and there were probably people who did it before them too. I really like some of her tunes and the sounds she made were brilliant, but I think her death's leading people to make sweeping, superlative statements which ignore history. Her combining of that sort of sound design with pop felt much more groundbreaking to me than the sounds themselves.

 

[shiels]

wouldn’t really argue with any of that on purely factoid basis but thankfully we aren’t writing music history were talking about what we liked about an artist who just died

 

[shiels]

I’m laughing at the idea of you jumping into a twitter thread full of grieving fans “actually.....”

 

[mvuent]

i have nothing against her but let's not suddenly pretend this 'breaking out of representational form' line of thinking isn't modernism 101.

the reason i think it's important isn't that it's an utterly original perspective. quite the contrary, i like that quote because i think she articulates a kind of frustration with how most DAWs etc. are structured that a lot of us have felt. it's not purely a matter of aesthetic judgement, it's also a matter of identifying vestigial tech constraints.

 

[DannyL]

Aphex and Autechre did stuff like that prior to Sophie and there were probably people who did it before them too. I really like some of her tunes and the sounds she made were brilliant, but I think her death's leading people to make sweeping, superlative statements which ignore history. Her combining of that sort of sound design with pop felt much more groundbreaking to me than the sounds themselves.

When I listened to her album, I was struck by how odd, extreme even, the sounds were for what I was thinking would be a pop album. Noticeably so. Quite disorientating, a bit of a "what am I listening to?" moment

 

[version]

wouldn’t really argue with any of that on purely factoid basis but thankfully we aren’t writing music history were talking about what we liked about an artist who just died

History's being written all the time. This stuff becomes received wisdom as people repeat it online and elsewhere.

 

[luka]

History's being written all the time. This stuff becomes received wisdom as people repeat it online and elsewhere.

thats true which is why the collective memory only seems to extend back about 5 years and is full of exactly these kinds of distortions.

 

[shiels]

Yes but the use of space is different with the weirdest stuff in that it feels lke rather than listening to a certain time and space, or interaction of musical elements, rhythm texture etc .... all the spaces is sucked out and it’s this serving up of these gross tacky and thrilling fetish objects. Extremely defined things contrasted against a void in a very knowing precise camp way

actually I don’t want to overhype I really really loved bipp.... but yes i do think the sound design was a cut above

 

[luka]

'sound design' always rings alarm bells

 

[shiels]

why?

 

[subvert47]

Aphex and Autechre did stuff like that prior to Sophie and there were probably people who did it before them too. I really like some of her tunes and the sounds she made were brilliant, but I think her death's leading people to make sweeping, superlative statements which ignore history. Her combining of that sort of sound design with pop felt much more groundbreaking to me than the sounds themselves.

She always said Autechre were huge influences on her. And yes it's about combining that with bubblegum pop. Which is why I never liked much of her stuff. (The two tracks I posted aren't really pop.)

 

[luka]

why?

becasue it means the music is shit

 

[luka]

if someone says cinematography it means the film is shit if someone says sound design it means the song is shit. this is a cast iron rule. theres no exceptions.

 

[DannyL]

There's a couple of direct early rave references on the album. I can't place the samples exactly but somehow with better recall than me would be able to. Another one of those nice jarring moments

 

[DLaurent]

I always called myself a sound designer meaning I'm not a musician.

 

[luka]

im not a musician either but it would never occur to me to call myself a sound designer

 

[DLaurent]

I have a few soft synths. Howard Scarr uses soft synths. Logic dictates, I'm a sound designer, although not a very good one.

 

[Leo]

When I listened to her album, I was struck by how odd, extreme even, the sounds were for what I was thinking would be a pop album. Noticeably so. Quite disorientating, a bit of a "what am I listening to?" moment

that's why I respect it, it's pretty extreme for a pop artist.

 

[Leo]

if someone says cinematography it means the film is shit if someone says sound design it means the song is shit. this is a cast iron rule. theres no exceptions.

true, but it only matters if all you're into is "songs". music made up of interesting sounds can be great in its own right. the noir jazz you highlighted in the other thread isn't necessarily songs, part of the reason why they are cool is because they have a great sound.

 

[shiels]

all these idiotic takes that the music and presentation invites are crucial to the appeal