Lost Glitch Classics

connect_icut

Well-known member
Back in the early '00s, I was heavily into the whole glitch thing but there was a lot of it going on and it was hard to keep up. I was working in a record store at the time and distinctly remember a time when Mille Plateaux seemed to be putting out something new on a weekly basis. Much of this stuff seems to have disappeared into the dustbin of history. My question would be: Is any of it worth rediscovering?

(For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of a lot of the lesser known acts affiliated with the label, especially Farmers Manual and General Magic. )
 

michael

Bring out the vacuum
I was somewhat into the glitch thing, probably more interested in the quieter, more ambient aspects and my general feeling is not much stands up that you wouldn't already know about. But yeah, I was always into the more traditionally tonal / softer end of stuff, like Fennesz and Oval, rather than stuff like Farmers Manual.

I've kept up with Pita / Peter Rehberg, and would recommend checking in on his more recent releases if you haven't heard them. 2005's 'Fremdkoerper' is probably my favourite.

Microstoria’s ‘Model 3, Step 2’ (or vice versa, I forget) still sounds superb to me.

Trying to think of stuff beyond the obvious (for someone who cares about glitch) …

Sigma Editions? I thought a lot of their catalogue was good and holds up well. But I’m not sure if you'd consider that glitch or just slightly abstruse ambient stuff. It certainly sounds more glitch than, say, the Kranky school of mooshy ambience with some crackly bits on top. They released Vladislav Delay’s first album (2 out of 3 of the huge tracks ended up on the first one on Mille Plateaux) which is a fair indication of the territory they operated in. Generally very lo-fi, hardware-based material, often pretty lean and restrained. Minit was a highlight – they also had a release on Staubgold.
 

zhao

there are no accidents
i think you understand the output of the 90s "glitch" movement well enough, have grasped the main ideas and are familiar with most if not all of the best artists.

instead of rummaging through that pile for over looked but worthwhile recordings, i think your time will be better rewarded diving into the deeper end of the pool: electro-acoustic, modern classical electronics, tape music, computer music, musique concrete, improvisation involving computers, sound art, etc.
 
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drilla

Well-known member
if you know FM you probably already know these, but if not check out CD Slopper, gcttcatt, and pxp - while(p){print"."," "x$p++}
 

nochexxx

harco pronting
if you haven't already, check out 'Plux Quba' by Portugeuse sound artist Nuno Canavarro. first released in 1988 and sounds like a contempoary Mego record. not quite 'glitch' though! amazing stuff.
 

nochexxx

harco pronting
more contempary choices from me would be Ekkehard Ehlers 'Heroin' and 'Plays' of perhaps some of the Akira Rabelais stuff but i guess you know that.
 

Stuntrock

Active member
instead of rummaging through that pile for over looked but worthwhile recordings, i think your time will be better rewarded diving into the deeper end of the pool: electro-acoustic, modern classical electronics, tape music, computer music, musique concrete, improvisation involving computers, sound art, etc.

Second that, big time.

Oh, and the Nuno Canavaro LP is brilliant indeed!
 

bruno

est malade
glitch was/is a terrible label as it flattens an otherwise very rich and rule-less sonic landscape. if you worked at a record store at the time this could include zero gravity/nagata (all over the place), sachiko m (sinewaves), bits on mille plateaux such as tobias hazan (not glitch), philus (finn-medical), farmers manual, the mego output, which is pretty anarchic, anything expansive or interesting about the time is erased by this reductive label. for the record i like and still do have 94 diskont, i'm not opposed to glitch except in the case of my pitted cds, which glitch unrecoverably.
 
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zhao

there are no accidents
true glitch is always about indetermincy and working with the process of systems breaking down. when the associated palette of sounds are simply sampled and put into a drum machine to make beats it's just "unconventional" dance music. death to false glitch! :D
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
Thanks for the recommendations folks (although I am indeed already familiar with most of them).

One thing that's interested me recently is that a few very minor characters from the first wave of gl*tch are still active and producing great work. For example...

Mokira/Andreas Tilliander - Type put out a pretty good Mokira album last year

Andreas Berthling - Performs with awesome Swedish post-rock trio Tape and runs the consistently excellent Hapna label

Can anyone recommend earlier releases by these folks?
 

Oss

Member
You're probably aware of these but anyway... Some of John Wiese's stuff is really excellent. I love Soft Punk especially. Also Curtis Roads' Point Line Cloud and Microsound.
 

Stuntrock

Active member
Favorite Glitch records from the 90ies and onward, both Crank CDs on Mille Plateaux. Phoenecia and SND being the other big faves.

But my current favorite glitch music is from Cuba in the 70ies/early 80ies, guys like Juan Blanco or Carlos Farinas... It will probably be different next week though ;)
 

Stuntrock

Active member
I'm interested to know more about those.

Crank is (was) Danny Zelonky. He studied with Morton Subotnick, collaborated with Derrick May (if memory serves right), was in Trash Aesthetic, did the first Shadow Huntaz 12", released 3 incredible LPs under the Low Res moniker. The Crank CDs were his most abstract material.
 
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michael

Bring out the vacuum
^ Yagya's Chain Reaction style techno. Zero glitch. Pretty good, but I don't think it's what you're after.

I picked up various Mokira / Tilliander releases along the way, but wouldn't recommend any of them.

Zelonky (Crank / Low Res) has another alias again now, Suite Crude Review. Haven't heard that.
 

connect_icut

Well-known member
I picked up various Mokira / Tilliander releases along the way, but wouldn't recommend any of them.

I feel a big affinity with Tilliander because he makes abstract electronic music but is clearly very influenced by late '80s/early '90s avant rock/dreampop (he has an album called "Sueismine" and a song called "Ode to Ode to Street Hassle"). The one album I have (Mokira - "Persona") is good but not great.

Also, I tend to think of Basic Channel/Chain Reaction as a kind of more dancefloor-centric glitch. No?
 

michael

Bring out the vacuum
I feel a big affinity with Tilliander because he makes abstract electronic music but is clearly very influenced by late '80s/early '90s avant rock/dreampop (he has an album called "Sueismine" and a song called "Ode to Ode to Street Hassle"). The one album I have (Mokira - "Persona") is good but not great.
Yeah, there's an album called I think 'Hateless', which takes a whole lot of song / album titles and changes "love" to "hate". 'Hand in Ghate' being the strangest example. Plenty of distortion and so forth, definite nods to the kind of music you're talking about.

But to be clear, the first few releases, which I was saying I wouldn't recommend, show none of that influence. Much, much more just following the lead of acts like SND, maybe Pole to some degree.

Also, I tend to think of Basic Channel/Chain Reaction as a kind of more dancefloor-centric glitch. No?
There's definitely crossover there - even if just socially / audience-wise - but there was also a lot of techno that followed that line away from grainy noise / murkiness / glitches and was more focused on just synths with dub fx over drum machines. I'll admit it's been a few years since I listened to it, but I'd put Yagya in that camp.
 

bruno

est malade
if you haven't already, check out 'Plux Quba' by Portugeuse sound artist Nuno Canavarro. first released in 1988 and sounds like a contempoary Mego record. not quite 'glitch' though! amazing stuff.
goodness, what a find! it's lovely. it brings to mind formations by mileece, and jocy de oliveira, oddly, but really it's unique and unexpected. thank you.
 
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