Wat Dong Moon Lek

Carl Stone, who has been composing with electronics since the 70s and performing live computer music since the 80s, has turned his attention in recent years to...hyperpop!? Stone (from LA, now based in Tokyo) was developing sampling techniques in parallel with early hip-hop DJs, and while his early work was mostly connected to New Music and academic circles, his newer pieces are closer to blasted dance workouts than CCRMA recitals. On his use of the pop samples that underlie most of his newer pieces: "I’m taking something, I’m breaking it, I’m shattering it—I’m allowing myself the use of the production values that give the samples a sound, but I’m destroying everything else, in terms of the rhythm and the harmony, the melody, the structure of the song itself" (interview with Tone Glow, 2020). I think this characterization is an overstatement, as it's definitely possible to identify his sources. But it's exciting to see someone rounding seventy and making the most exuberant, mind-bending music of his career. RIYL Sophie, Charli XCX, PC Music, The Books, Negativland. Favorites: 1, 3, 5. No FCCs detected.

1. *(6:37)—Mid-tempo. Starts with chopped-up voice, digital Baroque counterpoint. Gradual build with many key changes. Cruising beat enters around 2 minutes. Gets shoegaze-like at points.
2. (8:28)—Beat that switches between slow dub and agile double-time. High, watery organ. Lots of digital voice modulation.
3. *(4:20)—Medium-fast, light-footed beat. Bright synths, sax soloing. High, jittery voice.
4. (4:35)—Medium-slow. Described by Stone as "acid bop," which is accurate.
5. *(5:35)—Slow, pretty, western-inflected string-band music with lots of transposed pieces. Funhouse mirror effect.
6. (4:18)—Slow. Lots of wobbly sounds and static.
7. (3:30)—Rolling mid-tempo beat. Droning, slightly muffled in feel.