I'm on the fence with this one. I like some of his stuff but he seems to use the same techniques and sounds over and over... I think he is pretty overrated in general, but will still go with the Not Crap, high waffle factor.

I'm crazy about him, I don't mind admitting that I think Endless Summer a masterpiece. Maybe even better is the Live in Japan disc and the more muted Venice is good too. Hell! I like pretty much everything he's done.

And while it's true that he has recycled a lot of ideas and processes he’s one of the few people that manages to make something solid and convincing with those de-bitted, pixelated buzzing sounds which often seem grafted on and superficial on other people’s tracks. I think his approach is genuine and he makes beautiful records.

No. I can't think of much good to say about this guy.

I still haven't heard Live in Japan...isnt' it super minimal, almost pure drone?

Totally NOT CRAP

If you like him, I recommend the newest record by Alog, Miniatures, and also the Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto album, [i[Insen[/i].

wes9 wrote:I still haven't heard Live in Japan...isnt' it super minimal, almost pure drone?

Well, it starts off a little like that maybe - the first ten mins possibly have a lot in common with some of the more greyscale pieces from plus forty degrees but then there's a real sea-change and there's fragments of untreated guitar, whole sections from Endless Summer and some fantastically involving noise. It's surprisingly well structured, again - he knows what he's doing.

I'm a little curious to hear the collaboration w/ Jim O'Rourke he did a few years ago. Perhaps you Fennesz heads could shed some light on this....

mattw wrote:I'm a little curious to hear the collaboration w/ Jim O'Rourke he did a few years ago. Perhaps you Fennesz heads could shed some light on this....

There are two of them.

>There are two of them.

Aye, they're collaborations between Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke and Peter Rehberg (Pita) - The Magic Sound of Fenn o'Berg and The Return of Fenn o'Berg. They're both good but differ a bit from the usual Fennesz releases - tracks are generally shorter, scrappier, more playful, almost skewed pop in places (not to mention a bit of the Moonraker score).

I'm guessing from your avatar you've heard Jim O'Rourke's I'm Happy and I'm Singing...? now *that* is a cracker!

cjh wrote:>There are two of them.

I'm guessing from your avatar you've heard Jim O'Rourke's I'm Happy and I'm Singing...? now *that* is a cracker!

Actually, I've not yet heard it. I'm still trying to catch up w/ everything else...

Thanks for the recommendation!

mw