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How do you listen to an album?
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nobody_3
Inactive User
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1177
Posted : Dec 9, 2003 21:25
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Hi Seb 
I tend to skip from track to track when i first get the CD but eventually I listen to the whole thing from start to end. To me it's important to get the whole story just as I want people to get the whole story on my releases. The "big" problem for me is that I have a "sickness" called "analysing". I just can't stop analysing music when I hear it and it sometimes ruin the joy of listening. But I am getting better at not analysing the music and just enjoy ity
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nobody_3
Inactive User
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13
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1177
Posted : Dec 9, 2003 21:29
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Quote:
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On 2003-12-09 20:44, Seb wrote:
Another thing regarding this subject is how the ”hitpotential” of each track can be good or bad for the full album. If you have too many hit tracks or to many very special tracks on an album it easily happens that you don’t appreciate any of the tracks so much.
Often you need tracks between the really good ones that aren’t so typical or superb … then you appreciate more when the next really good one comes. This can also be compared to a dj set … some djs just want to play the hit monster track from start to end but then all the tracks gets a little bit boring. It’s much better if you get some good but not too special grooves in between the tracks that make you freak and scream!
Like eating candy from morning to night …. Get’s a little bit untasteful after a while even thou each candy would have tasted just lovely if you ate one a day!
So when you just take out your favourite tracks and put them together with all your other favourite tracks you’ll probably loose this middle tracks that may be the key to get the perfect experience of the album.
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To me it's most important that the album tracks are connected to eachother. I dont really care about hits. They can be released on "12's and compilations in my opinion. An album is to me a very personal thing and should show all sides of the artist and hopefully contain what the artist feel is his/her/their best work at the moment.
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duodenumz
IsraTrance Junior Member
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15
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116
Posted : Dec 9, 2003 21:35
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i don't really have time to listen all the way through often. i listen to the whole album the first time, note which tracks are my favorite, then make a point of listening one by one during future sessions. most of my home trance listening comes during mix sessions, so you see the problem!
i also have a basic rule- i listen all the way if the album forces me to if it's sequenced properly, and has some nice (light intro/outro mixing) transitions, then i have trouble pressing STOP. check out The Hive by LSG, or his earlier album Rendezvous In Outer Space. brilliant albums as a whole.
"Often you need tracks between the really good ones that aren’t so typical or superb … then you appreciate more when the next really good one comes."
you lost me here... i think artists should always be trying for the best tracks, unless it's a DJ mix. as the people buying the music, we don't deserve anything less. i think it can be VERY nice to break up an album with ambient or breakbeat sections (Scorb album, Ticon - Aero, LSG again, etc..), but not weaker full 4/4 kickdrum tracks. i love it when you hear breakbeats for a while, and then a pounding kickdrum drops
anyway, i'll be seeing you in about 10 days here in NYC! can't wait... |
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Anak
Anakoluth
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108
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2395
Posted : Dec 9, 2003 22:41
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getting a new cd is actually a very magical moment. you come back home from the cold outside, wear comfty clothes, cook coffee, roll a phattie (or not) and press that play button. the first listen to a cd for me goes from the first second to the end, i dont skip small parts of boredom or things i dont like. in this first time of listening, i usually think the disc is awesome. after the second round, which is pretty the same as the first as described above  , i usually dont like it that much as before. its like the excitement about a new product you've been waiting for takes your sight for things. the third round goes back: i like the trax again i liked in the first round.
this feeling happens when i'm really sure what i want and dont get it. u have to listen to a cd without expecting anything.
basicly, i listen cd's from the beginning to the end. or i just listen to particular songs (mostly compilations). when i clean my room here or do some school stuff i feed my 5disc changer and play in random mode.
 Anakoluth A Pebble in Your Eardrum's Shoe since 2001!
http://www.myspace.com/anakoluth
http://www.ektoplazm.com/profiles/anakoluth/
http://cronomi.com |
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manu
IsraTrance Junior Member
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19
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635
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 00:36
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1st Stage: Well.. when i have whole album in my hand for the first time I listen to it from Start to End. (Couple of times)
2nd Statge: If i find any track(s) extremely good and suitable at certain time i skip them next time i listen to the same CD. I mean i Preserve them. Some tracks are like treasure , i open them on right time
3rd State: Normally I dont listen to all the tracks in order unless its something like last psydrop or protoculture album. In some cases although all tracks of are good (1200 Mics could be the best example) , i feel free to choose any track without any need to think about order.
4th Stage: Selected only
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nth stage : i hear it somewhere and its great feeling
Music never dies .. Boom !!
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aje
IsraTrance Full Member
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99
Posts :
1145
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 00:39
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"I too usually play a new CD from start to finish, at least for the first few listens. That often involves a nice smoke during the first track."
I totally agree, just that it would probably be more than one smoke.
However, i usually buy vynil so i listen to the track i liked the best in the store first and then the second best...but i listen to ev ery one.
then i mix all my new stuff with a couple of other tracks and listen to the mix and give it to friends.
Lately, ive been buying some cd's as well, and then i listen to the whole thing without having to move my lazy ass to the turntable all the time
Btw, the best listen to a new cd i ever had was your Ooze CD that i had bought at the voov last year. I came home, feeling how one feels after 3 days of hardcore partying, and i put on that CD when i went to bed. What a trip!!!!! I remember feeling weightless and floating through colourful landscapes, i really felt the music around me. And the next day i played the CD, all the tracks so familiar like i had heard them a million times, like old friends.
Check out my album: http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/gay-satanic-hippie-tiefenrausch |
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technoid
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
230
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 00:51
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Play twice before listening.
No, seriously I usually listen to a new album the whole way through from start to finish on the first listen, but if a track particularly blows me away I'll sometimes listen to it again straight away. Once I get used to an album I'll sometimes listen to it on random play so I don't know which track is going to be next. They usually work best in the order they're put in by the artist though.
By the way Seb, saw you guys play for Psytribe in LA last September, excellent stuff, really enjoyed it, keep up the good work. Looking forward to the new album...
"One nation under a groove". |
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DETOX
Moderator
Started Topics :
296
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6194
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 04:15
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Ok first of all i always but always listen to new music (album or compilation) using my discman and my headphones,as you probably all know with headphones you listen all the details of a track plus you get more into it and feel its atmospheres better.
First listen i leave the whole album to play except if a track is really bad and i have to skip it.
Then the next day i give it a full listen for a second time,i also choose a different time of the day,for example first listen i hear it at night and second listen at morning or afternoon,i believe that every music is designed for certain time of the day.
I write down the tracks that really impress me,the tracks that i find average and the tracks that i dont like at all.
The tracks that i find average or that i am not sure that i like them or not i give them a third listen and see if i finnaly like them or not.
The tracks that i like i copy them to a new cd and put them in my 'special cd case' like i call it where i gather all of my favorite tunes.Usually before going to sleep every night i hear one of those special cds hehe.Music helps me to sleep
The tracks that i dont like i will probably hear them again after 5-6 months when one night i will find the cd accidentally in front of me and decide to give it a third full listen.
Also i have special files on my pc with review for every cd that i listen to and with seperate comments for every tune.Its really helpfull sometimes
I am a very organised person as you can see,at least for whatever has to deal with music hehe.
Toodaloo Motherfuckers!!!!! |
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cubensis
Started Topics :
5
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94
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 06:02
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I always try to listen to an album from start to finish, but sometimes time does not permit. Then I will try to pick up exactly where I left off.
One thing I think is very important for an ""album"" is for the track ordering to make some sense, and for the tracks to fade into each other. This makes for much more of a journey.
Someone cited some LSG albums as good examples of ""albums"". I haven't heard those two, but I have heard "Volume 2" and "The Black Album". Fucking amazing! 2 of the best journeys I own! The feelings conveyed by the tracks slowly shift over the course of the CD, and it is obvious that Oliver Lieb was trying to make an album, not putting together random tracks.
Some other good examples of ""albums"":
Cosmosis - Cosmology
Cosmosis - Synergy
Darshan - Awakenings
Creamcrop Records - Liquid Levels (it is rare that a compil. feels like a journey!!)
Another one that gives me a journey feeling, even though the tracks are not mixed, is Shiva Chandra - Auricular.
Best way to experience a journey is with ganja and headphones, or even better, late at night in the car in a desolate area with ganja =))). I haven't had a journey in over a year, I think it is time... |
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Vicky
IsraTrance Junior Member
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50
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709
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 09:15
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its always the whole album frm start to finish for the first time
then next time only selected tracks
nd seb - about the flow of the album u mentioned some super tracks and some oks types - imo this is not a good idea - i think the album has to have all the super tracks - in a dj set - u r rite - u cant eat a candy for 12 hours - but an album is small - not tht long tht u need to taste something bitter in btwn and then again start eating the candy again
it has to be a all kick ass tracks album
------------------------------------
Beyond Logic!
Euphoric Meditation n' Beyond...
vicky@beyondlogic.net
http://www.beyondlogic.net/
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-Abatwa-
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
42
Posts :
1087
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 09:50
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I also try not to press the forward button and listen to the album completely. One thing I have noticed, when your alone you listen to the album and there are some tracks that stand out, and you think you must share the track with your mates. but my observation is, sometimes as they dont get the feeling the album is trying to give, the track I share with them does not leave the feeling it left on me.
on the other hand, while listening to sets I think this is an important issue as well. for me the dj should not play a set formed of really different tracks. a wholeness in its own sense must be formed to guide the listener throughout the set. thats what a trance voyage is all about.
`Bottomless wonders spring from simple rules, which are repeated without end` Mandelbrot |
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Seb
Son Kite
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47
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207
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 11:51
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Nice that so many of you really listen from the start of the albums. Let's take the question to another level ... what do you think is the average way to listen to albums? Are most people doing like you (listen from start to end) or do you think that most people are skipping thru the tracks even the first listen?
I also want to clear up some misunderstanding regarding middle tracks on an album. I understand that I expressed myself very bad saying that I think there should be tracks on an album that aren’t as good …. What I ment is that I think that some tracks should be more simple but of course as good in its way. As many of you know I’m one of many people trying to hold to the philosophy “less is more” … and this is a very good example of that. I personally think that an album, like everything else in life, should be variated and dynamic. It have to have differences to make you enjoy all the moments of it … if you have tracks in between that don’t stand out as much but still are very good you create a dynamic in that way.
There are extremely many ways to create dynamic in music … the hard thing with a dance album is that you’re stacked to some rules since there are certain things that make people dance or not. Still I’ve always seen this as one of the great things with dance music …. You’re stacked to some rules … how to overcome them and make people feel that there are no rules.
Time to make some mastering … at the moment it’s Christmas time in the High – Hat studio … if you’re gear freaks check out our new mastering equipment.
Weiss DS 1 – Digital Compressor/limiter (http://www.weiss.ch/ds1/ds1.html)
Weiss EQ 1 – Digital EQ (http://www.weiss.ch/eq1/eq1.html)
Cranesong HEDD 192 – Analogue simulation for digital recorded music (http://www.cranesong.com/hedd192.html)
Cranesong IBIS – Analogue EQ (http://www.cranesong.com/ibis.html)
Cranesong STC-8/M - Analogue Compressor/limiter (http://www.cranesong.com/stc8.html)
Smile! |
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pr0fane
Moderator
Started Topics :
418
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Posted : Dec 10, 2003 13:36
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The average way to listen to an album?
Hmm... guess it depends on a lot of things. If we ignore the whole mp3-mafia thingie, I think that the majority of people that purchase their music, spend a lot of time listening to what they buy.
On the other hand, I think the leechers have a tendency to quickly skip through albums. Hell, that's what I'd do if I had all the newest releases - there's only 24 hours a day.
Looks like some sweet equipment by the way, heard some of your new stuff last weekend in Århus last weekend, and can't wait to hear the album on my new AKG headphones
DJ pr0fane (Iboga Records) | Multiphase
www.sunrisesupplies.com | www.iboga.dk | www.soundcloud.com/pr0fane |
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Hg
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
73
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1076
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 14:44
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To tell you the truth mate, sad but true, I would say that in our scene if someone is willing to pay for an original copy of a cd, he or she will definately hear it from beginning to end at least once! I would say this with almost 100% of certainty... So the average buyer would listen to to the whole cd.
... and it better be good!  really yummy!
cna't find it |
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Seb
Son Kite
Started Topics :
47
Posts :
207
Posted : Dec 10, 2003 14:45
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I would be really happy if everyone who is buying cds are listening from the beginning to end at least a couple of times. Acutally I also belive this ....
Smile! |
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