Customer Reviews

Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this CD is it for me, i love everyting by venetian snares, but i have to say that this is favorite, it doesnt even sound like someone is composing it, it just sounds like it is happening on its own, that it just exists. to the closet miriah carey fan who gave it one star, why dont you get a synth and put a 2 year old in front and see what you get, better yet, if it is so rnadom, why dont you just pound on keys and see if it sounds anything like this. the mathematics behind aarons work are very complex, it all just works together even though it may seem a little random, you find it is not random at all, it is just more complex the 4/4 beats most are used to, it is a shame you are missing the beauty and the genius of his work.

but I'll try.

This is the most personal, introspective work Arron Funk has ever done, and it is beautiful beyond words.

First of all, if your are expecting "look at me, i'm a badass" hardcore noise you won't find it here. The breakcore fanatics will not be satisfied by the energy of this album. This album is actually closer in sound to the work of "autechre" than "fanny," but it has what their albums have always lacked: PURE. MUSICAL. GENIUS. This isn't just music by numbers.

Here you will find the enveloping use of texture that made the earlier Venetian Snares albums so damned spooky that they actually broke through your cool and affeted you on a personal level. However, this time, the soundscapes are used to a much more meaningful effect than fear or discomfort. Still, this isn't some pansy, tweet tweet music. There is chaos and urgency in every song, and, while more e-music fans might dig this release, it would take a very special kind of grandma to appreciate these songs.

Still, this is the point in his career where the professors and bonk-fest snobs will begin to really examine Aaron's work beyond it's status as a "pop music peculiarity." There may even be chapters in college text books a few years from now dealing with "the use of arrythmic hardcore to lend aspects of horror to a composition." This album is "mature" while still remaining playful. It borrows the sound of his contemporaries more than any other album he has produced, but it still manages to push boundries. Basically, he's decided it was time to dominate yet another realm of electronic music, and that's exactly what he did. It's freaking fabulous. Venetian Snares just refuses to get tired. In the past, his music could have been described as "diversely violent," but his latest releases show him to be a bit closer to "violently diverse."
Personally, I don't care just so long as it stays this good.

That's the initial impression you'll get from listening to this recording from Aaron Funk, otherwise known as Venetian Snares, a project which picks up on the innovations of experimental techno artists/groups like Aphex Twin, Autechre, and Sqaurepusher and combines them in hitherto underheard ways. The 14 tracks on "Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding" goes into the same areas of 'microscopic' sound structure that was brilliantly achieved on Autechre's "Confield" and to a lesser extent Squarepusher's "Go Plastic". But beyond the influences Funk has an original voice in the digital sound minefield...while sounding like (at the risk of bringing up a tired old phrase) "sonic terrorism", Funk brings a much more melodic underpinning in his tracks that is lacking in the work of his predecessors/contemporaries, even though those melodies are at best faintly heard behind the cathartic torrent of digital beats Funk stirs up. Like "Confield", "Huge Chrome Cylinder Box Unfolding" is the music that sentient robots will be dancing (or at least bobbing their heads to) in the near to far future, a true cutting edge release of rhythmic electronica and one of 2004's very best in its field.

I read a review that went something like this:
"Hold your horses before accepting Aaron Funk as the next big thing. One, he has no concept of even basic melody. Two, his rhythmic vocabulary is monophonic, not polyphonic; there is a difference."

This individual lacks any sense of rhythm that strays from the general backbeat(4/4 time) that one will hear on the radio. While Aaron Funk is himself quite familiar with jazz rhythms and time signitures, his music reflects this. The music that he is making is years ahead of both Jenkinson and Richard D. James, though each of these relics have quite impressive histories, respectively. It is upsetting for someone who appreciates experimental, forward-thinking music to hear luddites complain about progress. If you dont like experimental electronica that actually demands your attention, go buy a Jock Jams CD. Funk has been involved in the art of making interesting music for over a decade now and his experience shows. "Huge Chrome Box" is probably his most complex and enchanting album. Though I do appreciate the old days of simple Drum'n'bass and Acid, I think that electronic music has recently been taking a more complex shape, which is very nice.

first there was aphex twin's SAW 85-92. Then there was Squarepusher's HARD NORMAL DADDY. Some important releases by Warp went by but without a doubt the third milestone of electronic music has come from the iron clad cortex of venetian snares aka aaron funk in the form of HUGE CHROME CYLINDER BOX UNFOLDING. Those who believe this to be a copycat of Autechre's LP CONFIELD need to sit through this album AS A WHOLE a few more times. In the words of u-ziq, believe.

what can I say, aaron funk is continuously brilliant. This album is not "the best" but its most certainly not the worst either. thats why I gave it 3 stars. Its good, mid paced vsnares. and in its own way previews what he would later do with pom poms and hospitality.

bottom line, you wont be let down unless this is your intro to vsnares, in which case go with meathole or higgins ultra low.

I am yet to hear more VS so I can't know if this is my favorite Aaron Funk release. However, this album inspired me in my music substantially. HCCBU is an overwhelming blast of the most detailed rhythms I've ever heard buffered with ever changing melody....from start to finish (with the exception of 'Aaron'). Although the tracks have distinguishable themes (probably wont seem like it after your first listen), there are very few loops. The rhythms and melodies that tend to repeat I would rather define as "patterns."

The sounds used for the rhythms range from the talking calculator to Pac Man. They all seem to be digital, though. This album is quite vibrant in content. So much that it is easy feel discouraged by Aaron's lack of sympathy to formulaic music. As a result, it might seem to have emotion (more robotic). But for those of us who enjoy the sound of complex perfection, this album is bliss. I listen to it when I'm in my most alert state of mind. If you're having trouble digging this, try it with some coffee! 8]

And is it just me or does it seem like the songs get more and more difficult to swallow as the album progresses?

My favorite track is undoubtedly Li^2CO^3. Others are Vida, Cardium Lung Jacket (awesome name!), and Nineteen 1319.

Be patient with this album. It grows on you. Still growing on me.

I recently purchased this album and absolutely love it. Aaron Funk is pure genius, and I would highly recommend this album if you are a snares fan. It's definitely a little more mellow than most of his stuff and very beautiful, especially bonivital and bent annick, amazing melodic genius mcgee....yea I have a man-crush on Aaron Funk, so...geez.