Lauren Bousfield : and I feel ‘seen’, as the young ‘uns put it.

Svetlovska

Came across this by chance:

https://laurenbousfieldanyev3r.bandcamp.com/

There’s just something about hearing someone who is being taken seriously as an artist (by some, at least) and as a ‘real’ contemporary composer, making noises in a way that I can relate to that, ahem, does indeed make me feel ‘seen’.

Also: song titles like ‘Organized Abandonment Bird Migration Patterns Relentlessly Bureaucratic Violence’ have a certain ring to them.

Also: I can relate to her process:

Also also: she is Trans.

Just sayin’. 😀

raindro

i love Lauren’s music. that track you posted is from waaay back. i was bumping that album like 15 years ago. my favorite album of theirs is Avalon Vales. i’m suprised they never got more popular.

Svetlovska

@raindro : Yup, I am slowly making my way through her back catalogue. It is inspiring to see how she develops as an artist, whilst retaining a unique take on making noise. Her defiantly left field sound puts me in mind of other one offs like Bjork and Anohni. Only ever herself, even when the music becomes more, ahem, ‘commercial’.

Paulieworld

I was just taking my first sip of morning coffee when suddenly…

I’m now wide awake. Very “interesting” concept. The second half reminds me of John Cage’s 4’33”. A bit like Finnigans Wake. I can take it in small doses, but don’t think that I could listen to for more than a minute. I will look into some of her other works this morning.

I can visualize Björk doing something like this… and getting away with it. I think I may be distantly related to her. There is a theory that all Icelandic people are descendants of Erik The Red. He was popular with the ladies.

Edit - Just listened to Headstone Prices On Credit, and Cracknight. Cool stuff.

raindro

@Svetlovska said:
@raindro : Yup, I am slowly making my way through her back catalogue. It is inspiring to see how she develops as an artist, whilst retaining a unique take on making noise. Her defiantly left field sound puts me in mind of other one offs like Bjork and Anohni. Only ever herself, even when the music becomes more, ahem, ‘commercial’.

did they get more commercial? (i think they literally do make commercial or similar music for money now). salesforce is still freakin crazy. they’ve gotten better at the technical craft OPN daw sound collage part i reckon. and even better at piano perhaps. i agree that their artistic signature is still going strong and evident from the Nero’s stuff until now. Lauren’s got a melodic gift.

Svetlovska

@raindro : ‘’Commercial’ only in the sense that a breathless young female human voice is now a regular part of the mix, which helps the pieces sound more like more conventional pop music. Apparently it even now fits into something of a genre, which she has helped define, of ‘hyper pop’:

’ “…characterized by an exaggerated, maximalist take on 21st-century pop music tropes, blending elements of electronic, dance, hip-hop, rock, and avant-garde music. The genre is known for its brash synth melodies, heavily processed Auto-Tuned vocals, excessive compression and distortion, metallic percussion, pitch-shifted sounds, and surreal or nostalgic references to 2000s Internet culture…closely tied to LGBTQ+ culture and queer identity, often exploring themes of gender fluidity, digital selfhood, and emotional intensity. It embraces a "post-internet" aesthetic, where the artificiality of pop music is pushed to extreme levels, creating a chaotic yet catchy "wall of noise" that feels both futuristic and nostalgically retro.”

Charlie XCX (who even I have heard of!) is apparently one of the more famous exponents of the style.