Oddknock

I've listened to "Parsecs & Passageways" around 5-6 times now and here are my thought on the overall release:


The production quality was full and crisp. This music definitely needs to be played in a live venue with good sound!


Very nice restraint on sample use. The minimal amount that were used were unknown to me and definitely added to the tracks' composition.


The songs are extremely good! Hearing most of them played live over the past few months has really helped to solidify their memorable appeal in my head.


The album cover is nothing like I've ever seen. A bit busy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm curious to hear about the significance of the image sampling.



Here are my thought on the individual songs:


Starting the album off with "Oddknock Theme" makes so much sense. It's both a strong show opener and album opener. I like how it "introduces" what you're about to hear and then steadily, but carefully builds up its ambiance element by element. It's not boring or pointlessly repetitive and makes me (the listener) want to hear what comes after.


The beginning of "Vector North" could easily be overlapped onto the ending of "Oddknock Theme". And it should. The processing of the vocal samples adds to the otherworldy drone of the dub track. The songs goes along


"Your Highness" picks up the pace in both tempo, melodic sample usage and danceablity. I love how it continually changes, adding workable elements into the mix and bringing back previous ones. At around the 2:40 mark, that's when you can tell that this guy's a huge MBM fan. Around the 3:00 mark we get a sonic surprise ("is my cd skipping?") that wakes the listener up through to it's unrelentless end. Very atypical for this type of music and an unexpected fingerprint for what Oddknock is capable of. Nice!


"Basement Shit" is one of my current favorite Oddknock songs. Whenever I hear it live my blood starts racing in preparation for ridiculous dance moves. Once the repeated chant (what's he saying?) kicks in around the 1:30 mark then I know I've arrived. When the trancey crackling starts at around 4:30, I get that buzzed feeling in my ears. I don't like how it abruptly ends however, leaving me with the unsatisfied sense that someone just turned off the stereo.



Time Is Running Out (For Earth)" mashes up several distinct styles of the heavyweights in electronic music. I'm hearing Depth Charge in the samples and metallic crunchy beats, early Meat Beat Manifesto in the noise bursts, and later-days Aphex Twin in the glitchy cut-ups... especially starting around 1:40 When the beats stop and the ambience buzz bleeds in at the 3:39 mark .

"Mere Clens Desnia" stands as a good lesson in how to make a really good crunchy rhythmic noise song. Industrial in feel, but with a paced-up drive that brings the hairs on the back of my neck to sniff the air. At 1:52 I am reminded why people worshipped the early RePhLeX and Warp Records musicians' heavier tracks... like u-Ziq, Jega, AFX and the pseudonyms, Autechre, etc. At 4:01 I am reminded of the excellent breaks in MBM's "I AM Electro". The sample at the end just seals the deal.


"Laughing At Heaven's Gate" pays homage to the brilliance that is Tino. But... it stands out enough not to be mistaken as being a Tino song. The samples and bloops that come in around the 4:18 mark let you know that Oddknock may have graduated from the school of Tino, but has long moved on it his own style.



"Psycros Anemos" is soooooo damn good! So damn funky and bouncey! I love it when this one's played live - the vocals really make it! Where are the vocals? I want the vocals! It sounds like a repetitive B-Side instrumental with the vocals having been stripped away. I'm still on-the-fence about the outro, but


"Stained Glass Window" is pure big beat heaven. This one does sound like a lost MBM track - maybe a bit more repetitive, but all the elements are still there. Having a live drummer on this would just kill! The scratching that comes in around 3:29 is essential and I can't imagine this song without it. And it's not overdone, being brought in once as a teaser. The ambient bridge you've built in around 4:20 makes me want to hear this song in a more epic form (20+ minutes!).
Note: This one should have been earlier on the cd. At this point it just sounds like we've already heard this one. And it's a shame, because it's one of the more memorable songs.

Again, we have another introduction into noise and experimentation. "End Transmission" is a good album ender, although I think you could have definitely worked it somewhere else (if it were abridged). It's not too long and not pointlessly abrasive. Reminds me a bit of glitchier later-days Coil, but with more anxiety infused into it with the pacing. I really like this piece.


One of my favorite albums of 2007, hands-down. I strongly recommend buying it!
_________________
Christopher Miller
Elec - Chris Miller/Electronic Sub South

Oddknock: Vision and Sound

Words: Ryan Patrick Hooper

It's hard to pass off Oddknock's arsenal of soulful yet digital mayhem as anything less than a modern insurgence through a jungle of large, lily-pad snare drums, deep, resonant bass vines wrapped around tree trunks of tribal funk, and a bright blue sky that calms while reminding you of its ability to change color at any second. Could you paint such a lush, electronic soundscape with any run-of-the-mill DJ's brush? Of course not, but then again, Oddknock considers himself a live musician above anything else.

"I often sample myself and others playing live instruments to create a certain human syncopation in the music I make,"explains Oddknock, a.k.a. Jacob Timmer, a local Gainesville denizen. "I tap into the feelings which make me jump up and dance in my studio, and translate this into something that will make others want to jump up and dance as well."

Cheers to that.

Although Oddknock may sound like a fresh name, Timmer has been a dominant force in Gainesville's blossoming beat-and-glitch scene since ?E5, remixing such heavy hitters as A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys and David Bowie, as well as sharing the stage with the likes of DJ Shadow and the Crystal Method. However, it is not these accolades that separate Timmer from the mixing-board pack so much as his ludicrous outpouring of showmanship and natural presence - another undeniable facet of his unique talent. By teaming up with Pat Pagano, an old friend and professor of theater at the University of Florida, Timmer has been able to bring a whole new dimension to his live shows.?E

I use visuals to bring theater to the presentation,"says the artist. "Not only are we providing the sense of sound, but also the sense of sight to the experience."

http://www.reaxmusic.com/articles/view/oddknock_vision_and_sound-597 - Reax Magazine from volume 03 issue 04 // Scott Harrell

Electronic SubSouth Show 30
W/ Koabra aka Oddknock, Man and Machines, Remote Control
Words: Christian Crider
Photos: Jana Miller

Appeared:
July 27, 2007
The Atlantic, Gainesville

As I settled in at The Atlantic for Electronic Subsouth’s 30th show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Electronic music has always enjoyed a happy life in the suburbs of my mind, but that night a dark cloud was cast over its cheerful existence. As the dubious host, Mr. Spagandy, took the stage, I began to wonder exactly what I’d gotten myself into. With platform boots, a top hat, and an exaggeratedly long prosthetic nose, Mr. Spagandy’s appearance sparked a great deal of curiosity amongst the churning crowd.

The first performance was an industrial act labeled Remote Control. The solo act played clever industrial music reminiscent of early Nine Inch Nails. Good vocals and solid beats made Remote Control someone to look out for in the future. The next performance is best described by the first words from my mouth as they took the stage, “Holy shit! Vampires!” Man and Machines is a trio straight from the crypt with plenty of ultra-dark mixes and larynx-shredding screams. White face paint, fake blood, mohawks, and a black feather jacket made Man and Machines a visually stimulating—if not terrifying—act. Lastly,Koabra AKA Oddknock took the stage to bring the night to a vibrant close. If you’ve never been served heavy electronic beats by a man with a fishnet mask then I highly recommend it. Backlit by impressive graphics, Koabra’s spastic hyperactivity whipped the house into a dancing frenzy. As I left that night with a satisfied smile on my mug, I faced the only thing more gruesome than a rock group of screaming vampires… I had to find a cab.
- Reax Magazine/Christan Crider

Electronic SubSouth Show 30
W/ Koabra aka Oddknock, Man and Machines, Remote Control
Words: Christian Crider
Photos: Jana Miller

Appeared:
July 27, 2007
The Atlantic, Gainesville

As I settled in at The Atlantic for Electronic Subsouth’s 30th show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Electronic music has always enjoyed a happy life in the suburbs of my mind, but that night a dark cloud was cast over its cheerful existence. As the dubious host, Mr. Spagandy, took the stage, I began to wonder exactly what I’d gotten myself into. With platform boots, a top hat, and an exaggeratedly long prosthetic nose, Mr. Spagandy’s appearance sparked a great deal of curiosity amongst the churning crowd.

The first performance was an industrial act labeled Remote Control. The solo act played clever industrial music reminiscent of early Nine Inch Nails. Good vocals and solid beats made Remote Control someone to look out for in the future. The next performance is best described by the first words from my mouth as they took the stage, “Holy shit! Vampires!” Man and Machines is a trio straight from the crypt with plenty of ultra-dark mixes and larynx-shredding screams. White face paint, fake blood, mohawks, and a black feather jacket made Man and Machines a visually stimulating—if not terrifying—act. Lastly,Koabra AKA Oddknock took the stage to bring the night to a vibrant close. If you’ve never been served heavy electronic beats by a man with a fishnet mask then I highly recommend it. Backlit by impressive graphics, Koabra’s spastic hyperactivity whipped the house into a dancing frenzy. As I left that night with a satisfied smile on my mug, I faced the only thing more gruesome than a rock group of screaming vampires… I had to find a cab.
- Reax Magazine/Christan Crider