From Et Pharmacistic Paradoxia Sent Sun, Apr 26th 1998, 21:51
From Et Pharmacistic Paradoxia Sent Sun, Apr 26th 1998, 21:51
On Sun, 26 Apr 1998, Sheila Santos wrote:
> waving AND drowning wrote:
>
> but I don't think I would have ever imagined seing Einsturzende Neubauten
> and James Brown in the same sentance. Excuse my naivety but I'd like to
> hear what the connections with idm and James Brown are.
"...industrial rhythms all around" - Kraftwerk (Electric Cafe lp) with
banging-pipe percussion sounds, who site James Brown as one of their few
top influences. IDM (by definition of the middle letter of the acronym,)
is just abstract deviations from dance music. The abstraction of
traditional dance music is basically what James Brown's bands slowly did
between their blues/r&b/gospel beginnings and their soundtrack-like
mid-70's lps (JB's/LC era stuff). I think that Kraftwerk picked up on
James Brown's thing about hammering down the tight groove and really
locking it down stable for a long time. He used to fine his band members
$5 for their deviations from the groove, but everyone wanted to play for
him, so, even when they'd come out owing him money, they'd stay in the
band...discipline. Bootsy started via the JB's, in fact.
Also, remember there is one JB track ("monorail"..?) in which he
shout-outs stuff about keeping the groove tight 'like a machine' or
something. I guess "Sex Machine" is kinda like this too...
BTW, I'm citing the first JB biography and a JB film archivist/historian
who I'd talked to 5 years ago (can't remember his name now, maybe his
archives are on video now) (see live JB footage if you get the chance!!).
Solenoid
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