oval - o (2cd)

O is the first new Oval album in nearly a decade, a striking 70-track double- CD (and double-LP) and the follow up to May's sold-out Oh EP (Thrill 12.44) by electronic pioneer Markus Popp. Popp is often credited as the creator of what was later dubbed the "glitch" or "clicks & cuts" style. Popp's mid-'90s albums Systemisch (Thrill-032) and 94Diskont (Thrill-036) took the world of electronic music and turned it on its head. He went on to create sound sculptures that were exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. Now this genre defining artist is putting forth the musician that was hiding behind the technician. The result is a celebration in delicacy and detail: handcrafted polyrhythmic phrases, riffs and structures, bristling with tiny resonances. Named for a new beginning, (ground zero if you will), O is just that: fresh and new. (The EP title of Oh was a playful word game based around the album title.) Popp lives and works in Berlin. He took time off after his last release in 2003 under the moniker So, wanting this new material to be a radical departure from his old concepts and methods on all levels, to essentially be a new "debut" album. For O Popp's creative process shares nothing with his creative process for prior Oval albums. Previously, Popp focused on the creation of the programs that would process sound and effectively create the music, a process that was more theoretical in nature. For O, Popp uses an instrument that is very common, a stock PC outfitted with stock sounds and plugins. He no longer uses or creates a custom platform, but instead utilizes a readily available instrument. Popp spent years woodshedding with his instrument and worked diligently to push the instrument beyond its normal sonic boundaries. What he has done with this instrument highlights Popp's musicianship, perhaps for the first time. On the 2xCD version of O, Disc 1 features 20 relatively longer pieces that range from delicate, sophisticated pop to brutally torn, electro-acoustic riffing full of angular, colliding guitar sounds. All of the songs are peppered with expressive and open drumming. Disc 2 features 50 concise, highly detailed pieces that are a conscious nod to the culture of instant gratification. These tracks represent Popp's personal challenge to create pieces within a constrained framework that addresses this aspect of music culture. Popp has even referred to these pieces as ringtones. These one-minute tracks have a melodic finesse and associative power that are unexpected under such constraints and are ripe for future sampling projects. For the 2xLP, the first 20 tracks from CD1 are spread out over Sides A - C, and Side D features 6 Vinyl-only bonus tracks. The vinyl version includes a coupon to download all songs on the vinyl, plus the 50 tracks from CD2, 76 tracks in all. The CD and LP covers will come in four different-colored editions.