A side project featuring members of Cologne, Germany's Mouse on Mars, and Rome, Oval is a distinctive recipe of CD-scratched rhythms, obfuscated sample collages, and endless, cyclical structures. Suggesting vintage musique... more » concréte, the French IRCAM collective, Krautrock progenitors like Neu and Kraftwerk, and what you imagine your computer might do if left to its own devices, Systemisch is both amazingly boring and incredibly fascinating; the aural equivalent to a Chuck Close tableau or the architectural sculptures of minimalist Sol LeWitt. Utterly impersonal, devoid of musical gesture, and downright John Cage-ian in its unspoken declaration of nonauthorship, it's the kind of music that plays with your programming; where are we, what and who is this, and, darnit, why? --James Rotondi« less
A side project featuring members of Cologne, Germany's Mouse on Mars, and Rome, Oval is a distinctive recipe of CD-scratched rhythms, obfuscated sample collages, and endless, cyclical structures. Suggesting vintage musique concréte, the French IRCAM collective, Krautrock progenitors like Neu and Kraftwerk, and what you imagine your computer might do if left to its own devices, Systemisch is both amazingly boring and incredibly fascinating; the aural equivalent to a Chuck Close tableau or the architectural sculptures of minimalist Sol LeWitt. Utterly impersonal, devoid of musical gesture, and downright John Cage-ian in its unspoken declaration of nonauthorship, it's the kind of music that plays with your programming; where are we, what and who is this, and, darnit, why? --James Rotondi
"the only reason i am writing this review is to point out the factual errors in the editorial review. this is NOT a side-project of mouse on mars. as a matter of fact, the only thing that this cd or oval has to do with mouse on mars is that they're on the same label. what the EDITOR was reffering to is a side-project called microstoria, which IS a side-project of mouse on mars AND oval. to summarize; oval is one guy, markus popp. mouse on mars is 2 guys, jan st. werner and andy toma."
This is a great disc
jabreel | Houston, TX | 02/03/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Oval reveals the seams of the digital medium that they use to make and distribute their music. They have taken the often unfortunate and undesirable phenomenon of a CD scratch and subverted it to create strange and beautiful soundscapes. Oval manages to turn the CD scratch, often a sharp and alarming event, into something subtle that recedes into an ecology of syncopation and tones. Their imagination blends organic transformation with electronic refuse and leaves us with what amounts to an imaginative contribution to contemporary music. A great disc I would reccomend to anyone."
The Politics of Digital Audio
DAC Crowell | 04/04/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"...that's a title on "Systemisch", and it fits as a title for this review. Oval's work generally concerns itself with deconstructed digital sound, and on this full-length effort, the trio deconstructs with a vengeance. Constantly tick-a-tick-a-tick-a-ticking along with a sound often not unlike a severe CD player malfunction, the often-tense content here falls into a strange gap between ambient and New Music, providing a rickety post-technoid sound that is both infectious and irritating. In fact, that's where the missing star on this review went; the 'CD-damage' sound here gets a little wearing when it's drawn out across the entire length of the CD. Still, this is important stuff, although I would suggest dipping your toes into Oval's datastream first with "Diskont" and "Dok" before encountering this somewhat-overwhelming effort."
No, the cd is not defective
yam child | 01/11/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The music incoporates the sound of cd's skipping. The members of Oval once joked that they made the album with an defective Aphex Twin cd. But after a while, the rhythm of the cd "skipping" gets downright infectious. For those who want a low-keyed, suble groove."
Glitchy and distant, for ambient fans
michael soule | chicago | 04/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"if you enjoy the detached flavor of warm synthesizers and glitched-out micro-beats, this is definitely a must-have. a college roommate of mine made off with my first copy of this album and i bought it again after he apparently "lost" it. i had to have it back as it's one of my favorite albums. here's why:
i find aural soundscapes entrancing and have always enjoyed the way that oval sets up their blocks of sound on this album. they are true to the balance of form and space that is fundamental to all ambient electronica: they create forms but there is also sufficient space and time alloted to each form to allow them a chance to flower and exist as aural entities. and if it seems they cut a module short, it often reappears for a second viewing later on in the track which gives some of the tracks an interesting feel because you come back to look at a form after it has already been presented once and interrupted with another form. interesting to see how the interrupting forms change the way themes are percieved in the pieces.
i realize this is abstract, but it is the best way to sum up their work. for those of you who like what you read, i assure you you'll like what you hear on systemisch."