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Symphony #2 For Dot Matrix Printers

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The User

 
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Symphony #2 For Dot Matrix Printers

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Avg: 3.5 (25 ratings)

  • We Say...

    The keen-eared hackers of Montreal duo the User rewire a dozen or more ancient dot-matrix printers, churning out an engrossing and keyed-up take on "machine music."

  • They Say...

    Canadian sound sculptors Emmanuel Madan and Thomas McIntosh (aka the User [not to be confused with the techno act of the same name]) offer a remarkable symphony performed entirely by dot matrix printers on the appropriately titled Symphony #2 for Dot Matrix Printers. Yes, believe it or not, these two composed enough text files to automate 14 dot matrix printers powered by PCs from the early '90s and conducted by a file server. They somehow managed to sample their symphony without the addition of other sound sources and with a minimum of electronic manipulation. Granted, the concept seems novel and certainly sounds like a cacophony of primitive printers outputting random text, but it's real and it's surprisingly harmonious. And it's quite a listen, albeit a brief one, clocking in at little over a half-hour (even by this point the novelty wears off). Regardless, you really need to hear this to believe it. Of course, the sounds are not as random as you might imagine. Madan and McIntosh must have labored greatly during the production of this album, because the sampling is meticulous and the orchestration is exact. Again, you need to hear this to believe it. Only a label as daring as Asphodel would release something as brazen as this, just as only the User, the same duo who recorded a "silophone" album, would think to make such a recording. One of a kind, for sure.

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