Like a Melody, No Bitterness
| Like a Melody, No Bitterness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 13, 1998[1] | |||
| Recorded | February 1997 | |||
| Studio | University of Technology (Sydney, Australia) | |||
| Genre | Experimental | |||
| Length | 41:14 | |||
| Label | Seeland | |||
| Bob Ostertag chronology | ||||
| ||||
Like a Melody, No Bitterness is the sixth studio album by Bob Ostertag, released on October 13, 1998 by Seeland Records.[2][3]
Music[edit]
The album comprises a single piece of music created by a Ensoniq ASR-10 sampler that slowly builds throughout from quiet abstract atmospherics into a distortion informed counterpoints. The music represented a continuation of Ostertag expanding his art through mixing samples of human voices and chanting crowd noises with purely electronic soundscapes and collaborating with improvisational musical acts such as Fred Frith and John Zorn.[4] It was released to commemorate Ostertag's final improvisations using a sampler, which he had used to create music for over ten years, before switching to compose on a laptop computer.[5]
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
François Couture of AllMusic gave the album two and a half out of five possible stars, saying "although Ostertag shows some nice invention and definite mastery of his art, the piece lacks direction."[6] A critic for Cadence gave it a positive review and called it "a long piece that grows and morphs itself from quiet clicks and rumblings into a complex web of shimmering intensity."[4]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Bob Ostertag
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Part 1" | 4:32 |
| 2. | "Part 2" | 3:01 |
| 3. | "Part 3" | 2:21 |
| 4. | "Part 4" | 6:39 |
| 5. | "Part 5" | 1:22 |
| 6. | "Part 6" | 3:11 |
| 7. | "Part 7" | 9:32 |
| 8. | "Part 8" | 6:55 |
| 9. | "Part 9" | 3:41 |
Personnel[edit]
Adapted from the Like a Melody, No Bitterness liner notes.[7]
Musicians
Additional musicians
Production and design
Release history[edit]
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1998 | Seeland | CD | SEELAND 508 |
| 2006 | DL |
References[edit]
- ^ Barnhart, Becky (2001). "Schwann Spectrum". Schwann Spectrum. 10. Stereophile, Incorporated: 151. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Bob Ostertag: Like a Melody, No Bitterness". The Wire (167–172). Tony Herrington: 71. 1998. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ Cox, Christoph; Warner, Daniel (July 27, 2017). Audio Culture, Revised Edition: Readings in Modern Music. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 575. ISBN 9781501318375. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "Bob Ostertag: Like a Melody, No Bitterness". Cadence. 24 (8–12). David Haney: 10. 1998. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ Ostertag, Bob (July 27, 2009). Creative Life: Music, Politics, People, and Machines. McFarland & Company. p. 222. ISBN 9780252076466. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ a b Couture, François. "Bob Ostertag: Like a Melody, No Bitterness > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ Like a Melody, No Bitterness (booklet). Bob Ostertag. San Diego, California: Seeland Records. 1997.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
External links[edit]
- Like a Melody, No Bitterness at Bandcamp
- Like a Melody, No Bitterness at Discogs (list of releases)