minimal is more than music…
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...:::...perhaps it could be interesting to focus on the idea of minimalism outside of music for a change. it’s always interesting to see how other types of thinkers approach the same subject…looking at the idea from different disciplines, collapsing perspective so that the thing that is left over is familiar, but vague in form...an excerpt from “fail better! samuel beckett’s secrets of business and branding success” by stephen brown published in this month's harpers:

...2. Whereas tenacity may have been Samuel Beckett’s principle personality trait, his aesthetic trademark was brevity. His works were short and his language was compressed to the point of collapse. Truly he was the minimalist’s minimalist.

Minimalism has its place, to be sure, but many might maintain that the marketplace isn’t it, that we live in a world where countless identical products compete and each has to shout ever more loudly in order to be heard. Sometimes, however, the most effective way of selling a product or service is by not selling…

...6. The crucial issue Beckett faced, the aesthetic dilemma that drove him to the depths of despair, involved in narrativity. Beckett was writing at the tail end of the modernism movement when every conceivable literary experiment had been tried. He abandoned established narrative conventions and replaced them with abstraction, evasion, austerity, enigma, abrogation and equivocation…”

...and geeta has an article she wrote for groove up on her blog about ryuchi sakamoto and the yellow magic orchestra that is worth a read. it looks at the development of his work outside the more encompassing spectrum of electronically constructed sound. an excerpt:

"There were only three members of the band, but the arrangements were sort of symphonic orchestral, of course with the disco beats," says Sakamoto. "I arranged the tracks. My background is in classical--Stravinsky, Bartok, all that. I studied in a conservatory. I knew harmony, counterpoint, how to write a sonata, a fugue, all of that. My nickname in YMO was 'Professor.'"

...and as the discussion on mp3’s and file sharing ping-pongs around…as technologies develop and laws stay static or accordingly are re-examined and respond, dj ripley has some interesting thoughts about it up on her blog.

...today...a zip file 060719-modyfier containing all tracks listed below. it's a bit beastly in size, so be patient in downloading...let me know how this works out..:::...

phresh n’ low – body2beat (alex smoke remix) : july 2006 on deep freeze records
argenis brito – yerbabuena : mar 2006 on junion
pier bucci – danielle’s dream : jun 2006 on cocoon recordings
tensnake – around the house : may 2006 on mirau musik
girgio gigli – i can’t breathe (lee van dowski remix) :jan 2006 on dumb unit
martini bros – spoonful of lovin’ (exclusive vox mix) : jun 2006 on poker flat recordings
dondolo – dragon (shit robot remix) : may 2006 on tiny sticks
turner – my aeroplane mania (martinez remix) : feb 2006 on tiny sticks
douglas greed – delicate : mar 2006 on combination records
audion – kisses : may 2006 on spectral sound
i-wolf - fallin' (losoul remix) : mar 2006 on klein records