From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V1 #33 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Saturday, April 18 1998 Volume 01 : Number 033 Today's Subjects: ----------------- "Three people in a Room" ["charles / wmo" ] Re: [#rciscon ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 07:42:39 -0700 From: "charles / wmo" Subject: "Three people in a Room" >I think the process of "The First Letter" has been well descibed. It >was put together like "Manscape" only without Robert, but also crucially >it was done in a programming suite not a rehearsal room. By that point >both G & B had their samplers. Basicly G & B's performances were >recorded and edited or Colin's pieces were recorded and G & B had to jam >over them. Colin did most of the editing but he wasn't really very >pleased with the mixes. > >(A)ndrew Westmeyer >qwerty@cmu.edu Colin and Paul Kendall didn't see eye to eye on mixing the First Letter. Kendall, though a personal friend of the band, was brought in by Miller to "insure" that Mute would get a result. Colin's opinion of the matter is the three should have recorded and mixed the whole album themselves - thereby insuring a way to work with each other for future projects. Trial by Fire so to speak. Their contract with Mute expired shortly after in 1992, and since they were involved in other projects, they never resigned to Mute. Now, did we all forget the excellent Wir Vien CDS recently put out by Touch? Recorded in 1992, it takes the direction of the First Letter and continues - a little deeper, a little darker, a little longer... Given the right impetus (i.e. Recording Advance) I thnk the three (or four?) would attempt another album. There is a huge logistical problem here - Colin's got Swim and his family, Graham's got a family too and is living in Sweden. Would it stick is another question! charles/wmo - -------------------------------------------- wmo@earthlink.net http://wiremailorder.com/ catalog@wiremailorder.com updated: April 07, 1998 - -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Apr 98 14:46:34 -0500 From: #rciscon Subject: Re: >Hi all, > >OK a few words on the Manscape thing and MIDI in general. The first >Wire record to use sequencing and sampling was "The Ideal Copy". Most >of the drums came from drum machines playing back samples of Robert with >live hi-hats. Tracks like "Ahead" and "Madman's Honey" had complete >sequenced rythmn sections. The sounds were more like "live" instruments >so as not to make it so obvious that they were still at least nominally >a "rock band" at that point. > >Athough those that know can quite clearly see the machines at work in >"The Ideal Copy", in fact "A Bell Is A Cup" is more sequenced! Only >"Boiling Boy" was played as a "band" number. Tracks like "The Queen Of >Ur", "Pieta", "Follow The Locust", "Freefalling Divisions", and even >"Kidney Bingoes" to an >extent, were made inside the sequencer and fleshed out by individual band >members. > >Up to "Manscape" the computers and modules were seen as part of the >recording process. Then they started to write directly into the >sequencer as a band. The system became G & B acccesing with Casio Midi >guitars and Robert programming on a sequencer. A lot got lost in >translation with Manscape. Dave Allen was a fine record producer, but >his brand of confusion added to an already complex situation. > BTW, is the Dave Allen who produced 'Manscape', the same Dave Allen from 'Shriekback', 'Gang of Four', and who now runs World Domination records? Dave Allen is/was an EXCELLENT bass player.... I just LOVED those 'Shriekback' albums from the 80's! >I think the process of "The First Letter" has been well descibed. It >was put together like "Manscape" only without Robert, but also crucially >it was done in a programming suite not a rehearsal room. By that point >both G & B had their samplers. Basicly G & B's performances were >recorded and edited or Colin's pieces were recorded and G & B had to jam >over them. Colin did most of the editing but he wasn't really very >pleased with the mixes. > >(A)ndrew Westmeyer >qwerty@cmu.edu >www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~qwerty > >"What a blessing that so much of humanity is able to >be alive at the same time as myself." -Cecil Adams > ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V1 #33 ******************************