Fucking “Artists,” you guys…am I right?
I mean, those people think they’re, like, SO COOL — always going around “innovating” stuff…and “shifting” perfectly good paradigms…and “thinking critically” about bullshit like “blending dense high fidelity sound design with rich harmonic material to create a fully immersive composition.” UGH. GAG ME.
And not only that, but they’re just so damn…relentless too, ya know? I mean, take visual artist, sound-spelunker, and Orange Milk Records co-founder Keith Rankin: this dude’s about to release his THIRD ALBUM (following this perfectly-good one and this whole other perfectly-good one!) on September 8. Come on, now. THREE albums? What an ego!
This one’s called Soft Channel, and (surprise, surprise!) finds Rankin “build[ing] on the intricate MIDI notation and sampling of previous works” to push forward his vision of creating extremely intricate (but seemingly free-form) sonic landscapes that call attention to the tension that exists between the tenderness of human emotion and the rigidity of technology. Or, as Rankin himself tells it:
In previous work I used a collage of established musical tropes to highlight the extent to which culture shapes value systems, or to confront the illusion of pure authorship. Soft Channel partly continues that macro view of music as subtext, while also focusing on more personal themes of tension, contradiction, and interruption.
Through highly arranged micro sampling and virtual instrument sound design I tried to create a landscape that shifted between recognizable popular or classical music forms and aleatoric-sounding structures typically created in generative software environments. These sound worlds were paired against an additional orchestral palette to create a sense of simultaneous comfort and unease. When taken as a whole, I wanted Soft Channel to feel like a pulsating or breathing composition, with bursts of sound continuously interrupted by moments of stark quiet or silence.
It’s my hope that the various contrasts at the center of the work are relatable through multiple disciplines in modern music while also representing the natural shift of emotion that many feel on a daily micro scale. Accordingly, the title Soft Channel borrows the tech and military use of the word “soft” to describe a vulnerable or human-centered target or piece of technology.
Where does this dude even GET THE NERVE, you guys?
Still, I guess maybe your KIDS get into this kinda weird bullshit stuff and would wanna pre-order the album from Orange Milk or something? I dunno. If so, I guess I’ll leave the streaming audio for the album track “Soft Channel 007” down below, along with the so-called artwork and full tracklisting. (But confidentially??? I’d give my kids a good slap if I ever caught ‘em listening to Giant Claw and constantly “reevaluating” all their ideas and shit; that’s what I’d do.)
Soft Channel tracklisting:
01. Soft Channel 001
02. Soft Channel 002
03. Soft Channel 003
04. Soft Channel 004
05. Soft Channel 005
06. Soft Channel 006
07. Soft Channel 007
08. Soft Channel 008
More about: Giant Claw
