I was listening to a podcast the other day detailing the story behind db drag racing, a competition where people seek to create the loudest sound inside a car. The contests, which attract thousands of competitors, require the car be drivable (otherwise it would be one big immovable speaker) but don’t allow anyone to sit in the vehicle when the sound test is done for fear of injury. The sound used to determine the loudest car is an electronic tone called a burp, which is released in short blips.
Upon the third listen of Improvisations, the recent three-track release from Zomes (the musical pseudonym for one Asa Osbourne), my mind went straight to db drag racing. Why? Because after wading through this half-hour of repetitive keyboards and basic looping drum patterns, the only purpose I see for this “music” is two-second bursts inside a sealed car — at least then it would be useful.
I don’t know, there’s the real possibility I simply don’t get this, and I can accept that. Electronic music has its many genres and movements (could I pick a proper dubstep out of a lineup? Probably not), and since I’m not steeped in the culture, I can’t claim to own any expertise knowledge. But Improvisations sounds like a cat fell asleep on the keys and someone decided to push record. I simply don’t know what to do with this.
No lyrics, guitars, bass, bells, whistles, horns, triangles, oboes, cymbals, pan flutes — it’s an album you keep waiting to start until you realize it’s over. The simple arrangements never go anywhere — fine for a minute or so but after 30 minutes it becomes daunting and dour. THE SONGS DON’T EVEN HAVE TITLES. Meditative music has subtle variations — but this is a dry landscape of thudding redundancy.
But yeah, maybe it works for db drag racing. Everything has at least one merit.
