Clark - Playground In A Lake

[thumbass]

He posted this yesterday, what could it be?

Edited January 19, 2021 by thumbass

[auxien]

i think that’s a vinyl album (record). they’re pretty outdated but still popular for some reason.

curious to hear what he’s doing next, especially with the ‘new sound’ hint.

[brian trageskin]

christopher clark - clark kent - christopher reeve 

mind: blown

 

[DavieAddison]

Glitch-hop record full of diss tracks directed at Warp

[jules]

 

[thumbass]

Lol here we go again

[Soloman Tump]

16 hours ago, thumbass said:

He posted this yesterday, what could it be?

Looks like a 10" record? Or maybe not.

[thumbass]

Idk just hope it's an albooom

[Staadrengen]

Playground in A Lake (Throttle/Deutsche Grammophon)

Edited January 19, 2021 by Staadrengen

[thumbass]

34 minutes ago, Staadrengen said:

Playground in A Lake (Throttle/Deutsche Grammophon)

 

I'm seeing the name pop up on multiple sites, no warp release but it looks like an album.

Release date seems to be 26-03

Edited January 19, 2021 by thumbass

[Nil]

Deutsche Grammophon ? Classy.

[thumbass]

This is the art i see pop up

 

Tracklist???: 

LOVELOCK
LAMBENT RAG
CITRUS
FOREVER CHEMICALS
MORE ISLANDS
SMALL
DISGUISED FOUNDATION
SUSPENSION RESERVOIR
ENTROPY POLYCHORD
AURA NERA
ALREADY GHOSTS
EARTH SYSTEMS
EMISSARY
COMFORT AND FEAR
SHUT DOWN
LIFE OUTRO

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by thumbass

[jules]

50 minutes ago, thumbass said:

This is the art i see pop up

 

Tracklist???: 

LOVELOCK
LAMBENT RAG
CITRUS
FOREVER CHEMICALS
MORE ISLANDS
SMALL
DISGUISED FOUNDATION
SUSPENSION RESERVOIR
ENTROPY POLYCHORD
AURA NERA
ALREADY GHOSTS
EARTH SYSTEMS
EMISSARY
COMFORT AND FEAR
SHUT DOWN
LIFE OUTRO

 

Man, that art looks awfully close to a dude in a wheelchair...

[sidewinder]

Hope new sound is good sound.

[toaoaoad]

Maybe this one will actually be good   

 

But no seriously, I tried listening to Death Peak the other day and had to turn it off a few tracks in. I've barely touched the last couple of soundtrack albums, so to give the benefit of the doubt they might not be all bad - one day I'll check and see. But my issue with Clark is that he'll get off to a great start but then throw in some element (usually a human voice of some kind) that just shits it all up. Weird moaning noises and stuff like that, or just pitchy bullshit. I don't get it, it sounds like he doesn't ever bother to get an outside opinion on his tunes and just follows a whim. He has so much potential, and when he's good he's really good, subforum-level good, but man he just makes some cringey choices. Maybe this is why Warp dropped him? 

 

Edit: lol after posting this I went and read the Death Peak thread. Looks like everyone here loved it so  Also it was interesting to read his own commentary on the process of making the tracks. Still, it's kinda sad when you have to read a composer's manifesto to be able to enjoy and appreciate something that otherwise sounds like shit (my same issue with a lot of avant-garde academic stuff). But reading it did make me want to give the album another chance. Every once in awhile I go back and give his newer stuff another listen. I honestly think I'd dig it all if there were no vocal elements; nine times out of ten that's what ruins it for me. Example: Sodium trimmers. What a banger, what a thick-ass beat, but then what the hell is that noise?  

Anyway, tl;dr. On topic: here's hoping the new album is decent! 

 

Edited January 20, 2021 by toaoaoad

[thumbass]

2 hours ago, toaoaoad said:

Maybe this one will actually be good   

 

But no seriously, I tried listening to Death Peak the other day and had to turn it off a few tracks in. I've barely touched the last couple of soundtrack albums, so to give the benefit of the doubt they might not be all bad - one day I'll check and see. But my issue with Clark is that he'll get off to a great start but then throw in some element (usually a human voice of some kind) that just shits it all up. Weird moaning noises and stuff like that, or just pitchy bullshit. I don't get it, it sounds like he doesn't ever bother to get an outside opinion on his tunes and just follows a whim. He has so much potential, and when he's good he's really good, subforum-level good, but man he just makes some cringey choices. Maybe this is why Warp dropped him? 

 

Edit: lol after posting this I went and read the Death Peak thread. Looks like everyone here loved it so  Also it was interesting to read his own commentary on the process of making the tracks. Still, it's kinda sad when you have to read a composer's manifesto to be able to enjoy and appreciate something that otherwise sounds like shit (my same issue with a lot of avant-garde academic stuff). But reading it did make me want to give the album another chance. Every once in awhile I go back and give his newer stuff another listen. I honestly think I'd dig it all if there were no vocal elements; nine times out of ten that's what ruins it for me. Example: Sodium trimmers. What a banger, what a thick-ass beat, but then what the hell is that noise?  

Anyway, tl;dr. On topic: here's hoping the new album is decent! 

 

I dont mind the vocals at all actually, i always fe like Clark geta too much hate here these days, i remember everyone disliking Clark and death peak when they came out but i loved them. Sometimes it feel like some watmmers cling to the favorite periode of their artists and then reject any change or development in sound that artist tries to make. Like everyone saying they prefer Chris Clark music over the music under the Clark moniker. Of course everyone is entitled tot their opinion! But i feel like some you the people saying that stuff cant accept that an artist like Clark evolved and changes his sound over time. I remember reading somewhere that he fucken hated creating ETBOY, het everyone here wants him go go back to that sound. Why? If he doesn't enjoy or didn't enjoy making the album i don't want him to return to that same sound and or working method.

[toaoaoad]

6 hours ago, thumbass said:

I dont mind the vocals at all actually, i always fe like Clark geta too much hate here these days, i remember everyone disliking Clark and death peak when they came out but i loved them. Sometimes it feel like some watmmers cling to the favorite periode of their artists and then reject any change or development in sound that artist tries to make. Like everyone saying they prefer Chris Clark music over the music under the Clark moniker. Of course everyone is entitled tot their opinion! But i feel like some you the people saying that stuff cant accept that an artist like Clark evolved and changes his sound over time. I remember reading somewhere that he fucken hated creating ETBOY, het everyone here wants him go go back to that sound. Why? If he doesn't enjoy or didn't enjoy making the album i don't want him to return to that same sound and or working method.

I hear ya. I wouldn't consider myself someone who thinks he should stick to his earlier style tho. I am all for artists changing and evolving as they see fit. And I actually quite like a lot about the aesthetic of his recent stuff, minus certain elements. My issue is primarily with the vocal sounds/other elements he tosses in that just ruin the flow/vibe for me personally, and how frequently it seems to happen. It's so close to being awesome but there's always something that ruins it. I'll admit I might have a personal bias against vocals anyway, not "on principle" but just as what naturally vibes with me. And I mean some of these sounds are really ridiculous and unnecessary, they don't add anything of value to the music.

I read that bit about him hating the process of writing ETBOY too (probably somewhere on this forum). It's interesting to learn stuff like that, but sometimes it's better not to know. Our perception as the listener can vary so much from the intention/experience of the composer and that's just a fact of music making. I personally love that album, probably more than anything else he's done, but I would never say he "should" return to that style or that nothing he's done since is any good just because it's different. Rather my issue is that he's always so close to nailing it but then makes a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Personal taste of course.

Edited January 21, 2021 by toaoaoad

[thumbass]

2 hours ago, toaoaoad said:

I hear ya. I wouldn't consider myself someone who thinks he should stick to his earlier style tho. I am all for artists changing and evolving as they see fit. And I actually quite like a lot about the aesthetic of his recent stuff, minus certain elements. My issue is primarily with the vocal sounds/other elements he tosses in that just ruin the flow/vibe for me personally, and how frequently it seems to happen. It's so close to being awesome but there's always something that ruins it. I'll admit I might have a personal bias against vocals anyway, not "on principle" but just as what naturally vibes with me. And I mean some of these sounds are really ridiculous and unnecessary, they don't add anything of value to the music.

I read that bit about him hating the process of writing ETBOY too (probably somewhere on this forum). It's interesting to learn stuff like that, but sometimes it's better not to know. Our perception as the listener can vary so much from the intention/experience of the composer and that's just a fact of music making. I personally love that album, probably more than anything else he's done, but I would never say he "should" return to that style or that nothing he's done since is any good just because it's different. Rather my issue is that he's always so close to nailing it but then makes a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Personal taste of course.

Of course it all comes down to personal taste. Everyone just always has to bring up that they want another ETBOY though, maybe not you but enough people want him to go back to those days. Its come to a point at which im like yeah we get that you dislike clarks new sound and want him to go back to his old 2003 sound but do we really need every thread to turn into a discussion on how ETBOY was his best work and that it will never be topped?

[Amen Lare]

9 hours ago, thumbass said:

I dont mind the vocals at all actually, i always fe like Clark geta too much hate here these days, i remember everyone disliking Clark and death peak when they came out but i loved them. Sometimes it feel like some watmmers cling to the favorite periode of their artists and then reject any change or development in sound that artist tries to make. Like everyone saying they prefer Chris Clark music over the music under the Clark moniker. Of course everyone is entitled tot their opinion! But i feel like some you the people saying that stuff cant accept that an artist like Clark evolved and changes his sound over time. I remember reading somewhere that he fucken hated creating ETBOY, het everyone here wants him go go back to that sound. Why? If he doesn't enjoy or didn't enjoy making the album i don't want him to return to that same sound and or working method.

Well, i remember him writing (in Myspace days) how painstakingly he built that album trying to make it the absolute best he could, so it says nothing that he hated the process (especially in hindsight) while people may be right in accessing it as his best.

Regarding every discussion returning to that album, i haven't seen anything of sort, i suspect you're hyperbolizing -- perhaps it's your own favourite? One i saw regularly praised was Body Riddle. Personally, i think he mellowed out considerably post-2009, around Iradelphic.

[thumbass]

7 minutes ago, Amen Lare said:

Well, i remember him writing (in Myspace days) how painstakingly he built that album trying to make it the absolute best he could, so it says nothing that he hated the process (especially in hindsight) while people may be right in accessing it as his best.

Regarding every discussion returning to that album, i haven't seen anything of sort, i suspect you're hyperbolizing -- perhaps it's your own favourite? One i saw regularly praised was Body Riddle. Personally, i think he mellowed out considerably post-2009, around Iradelphic.

I think i read that he didnt like creating etboy in an interview somewhere, if i come across it ill post it here. Actually my favorite album of his is totems flare  such an underrated project

Maybe i am hyperbolizing a bit, I havent visited every clark thread for this argument to be honest. I just remember it coming across the way i described it in my post above to me

[jules]

I think his more recent stuff is really great at first but then the albums just fizzle out for me, personally. I really enjoyed Death Peak and self-titled at first but I never go back to them at all. They just seem too clinical or something. Sort of lifeless. I'm not sure really what it is for me. I have such nostalgia from when Clarence Park was announced on Warp. The run from Clarence > Ceramics > ETBOY > Throttle Furniture > Body Riddle > Dragon > Totems is 10/10 stuff. Totems Flare is just perfect to me. Just amazing. He kept varying his sound and developing it along the way from when he first came up. Iradelphic is like a one-off, but after that, he has basically stayed in the same kind of 'clubby' area. Feast/Beast has some of my fav Clark stuff, however. I do hope this new album is a legitimate change in style and direction. Im not asking him to make ETBOY part 2, but all of those prior mentioned albums have a flair, swagger and general creativity to them that are missing for me on the stuff that came after. I realize that is over 10 years of material and maybe that doesn't interest him at all anymore. He obviously enjoys creating the soundtrack stuff but we shall see what he does on this one. I don't have high expectations, but I am also not being negative about it either.

[thumbass]

It just got announced officialy, pre-order link: https://bleep.com/release/218924-clark-playground-in-a-lake

"

This album started in 2014. I came up with the title enjoying a daydream on a tram in Leipzig and I think it made me miss my stop.

My intentions were murky then, but gradually clarity began to percolate and do its wonderful hatching thing, I knew I was onto something. It just took 6 bloody years and a pandemic to finish it. It’s been a brutal old year, away from loved ones. I literally had nothing to do but try not to get Coronavirus and heal myself through an isolated time of pure devotion to finishing this music.

I worked manically on it, pruning it down to the bare essentials, writing deleting selecting refining. It kind of felt like all I had. It healed me, helped me tease out something to find beautiful and worthwhile in a fraught time. What an odd, joyous pursuit music making is!

I want it to be a sonic portal, a refuge, an anchor for people, like a slab of subjective musical truth I submit to the deception machine, which is what the internet seems to have turned into over the last 10 years.

‘Small’ is a bit of a sea shanty in a way, ha. Hope you all enjoy it. Much love.

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by thumbass

[Rubin Farr]

On 1/13/2021 at 12:16 PM, auxien said:

i think that’s a vinyl album (record). they’re pretty outdated but still popular for some reason.

curious to hear what he’s doing next, especially with the ‘new sound’ hint.

I heard they’re tires for skinny cars

[thumbass]

Beautiful track!

[Rubin Farr]

On 1/21/2021 at 9:57 AM, jules said:

I think his more recent stuff is really great at first but then the albums just fizzle out for me, personally. I really enjoyed Death Peak and self-titled at first but I never go back to them at all. They just seem too clinical or something. Sort of lifeless. I'm not sure really what it is for me. I have such nostalgia from when Clarence Park was announced on Warp. The run from Clarence > Ceramics > ETBOY > Throttle Furniture > Body Riddle > Dragon > Totems is 10/10 stuff. Totems Flare is just perfect to me. Just amazing. He kept varying his sound and developing it along the way from when he first came up. Iradelphic is like a one-off, but after that, he has basically stayed in the same kind of 'clubby' area. Feast/Beast has some of my fav Clark stuff, however. I do hope this new album is a legitimate change in style and direction. Im not asking him to make ETBOY part 2, but all of those prior mentioned albums have a flair, swagger and general creativity to them that are missing for me on the stuff that came after. I realize that is over 10 years of material and maybe that doesn't interest him at all anymore. He obviously enjoys creating the soundtrack stuff but we shall see what he does on this one. I don't have high expectations, but I am also not being negative about it either.

I think if Clark and Alexi collaborated, they could make a pretty innovative dance album.