A couple of weeks ago, on a long drive, I found myself listening to a show called Radiolab. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a radio show in which two musically passionate hosts discuss what interests them in contemporary music – styles, artists, or individual pieces.
This particular episode* featured a group called Dawn of Midi. They play acoustic music, contrary to what the name might suggest. As the hosts played bits from the album ‘Dysnomia’, they marveled at the sound – it was very electronic, yet was created entirely with acoustic drums, bass, and piano. I think I heard a guitar in there, too, but it’s hard to be sure. The longer it played, I, too, felt increasingly like I was listening to a modern electronic piece.
One of the hosts noted that machine-like music is clearly part of the group’s aural aesthetic, but what really sets the music apart is that it’s both electronic and ‘human’ at the same time. I’m paraphrasing, but he commented that…