A beautiful album from Venetian Snares

Advantages: Beautiful . Innovative . Intelligent
Disadvantages: None whatsoever!

...(no lifting, similarities are coincidential - past experience in reviewing) MY DOWNFALL Every single music critic has branded My Downfall as a companion piece to Venetian Snares' 2005 release Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett. Technically, this is correct but it doesn't really do much to aptly describe the album either. Ever since his 2001 album Songs About My Cats, Aaron has been using the kind of operatic and avant-garde tones found in this particular release. The artist obviously has a deep-rooted interest in modernist music, and in My Downfall this resonates more than anything else. I do not mean to sound snobbish, but I think that many of the fans do not recognize these elements and subtleties, so much that when My Downfall came out, it was immediatly percieved as "soft" or "too classical". You really have to know a bit about...

gantzgraf 26.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of My Downfall - Venetian Snares

The cult album from the master of snares

Advantages: Unique, Disturbing, Abrasive, Intelligent, Technical
Disadvantages: None

...Aaron's follow-up to Songs About My Cats. Doll Doll Doll is the third album that Venetian Snares released in 2001. Considering his Printf album under the Isolate Records label, this is the man's fourth album. Songs About My Cats was a 14-track masterwork and the artist's first John Cage-esque exploration in sound. You could say that Doll Doll Doll fits somewhere in between the best moments of Making Orange Things (Planet Mu, 2001) and Songs About My Cats, while exhibiting some new ideas. D.D.D is an uncompromising serving of gabber / breakcore. Do not let that "genre tag" fool you; this album is extremely good. If you are familiar with Venetian Snares, you will know what I mean. If not, simply put: V. Snares is not your average electronica. Aaron Funk is one the most important voices on the experimental electronica scene. D...

gantzgraf 13.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Doll.doll.doll - Venetian Snares

Miaow!

Advantages: Genius. Amazing.
Disadvantages: None.

...2001 was a significant year for Venetian Snares. He would release a total of 3 albums under Planet Mu and Hymen Records. After a string of self-released cassettes back in 1998, Aaron Funk would give birth to his first oeuvre Printf("shiver in eternal darkness/n") under Isolate Records in 2000. This would be a typical gabber release. Nothing terribly inventive... still worth a mention though. This would very much lead him into a collaboration with UK gabber artist Speedranch in 2001, with his highly disturbing Making Orange Things (Planet Mu). Although, M.O.T isn't a particularly skilful oeuvre, it does however contains some distinctive Venetian Snares-esque moments; very satisfying ones too. Then, Songs About my Cats came out. S.A.M.C is a hugely important release by Aaron. It showcases the full-blown genius of Aaron Funk...

gantzgraf 15.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Songs About My Cats - Venetian Snares

Doll Doll Doll remixed

Advantages: Intense. Technical. Diverse.
Disadvantages: None

...Find Candace is the 8th album by Venetian Snares. It was released after Winter in the Belly of a Snake (Planet Mu, 2002) under Hymen Records in 2003. W.I.T.B.O.A.S was a vastly ingenious oeuvre, Aaron's masterwork of calculated ping-pong-ish breakcore and untamed sequencing. This album was however criticized by many as being too "approachable". W.I.T.B.O.A.S is extremely far from being anywhere near "approachable", believe me. These assessments could be partly due to Aaron Funk's 2001 Doll Doll Doll album (Hymen Records), a release that had created a huge fan base for Aaron Funk's music. W.I.T.B.O.A.S was the apex to Aaron's intelligent sound expansion that took off with Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits and it's companion piece 2370894 in 2002. Maybe it is because of the huge impact of the Doll Doll Doll era, that...

gantzgraf 16.08.2006 (23.08.2006) · Read review
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Review of Find Candace - Venetian Snares

Infinately superior to a chocolate kettle

Advantages: Technically bewildering, funny, and a great workout (if you can keep up!)
Disadvantages: He's released 30 albums...and you WILL want them all!

...Canadian Aaron Funk, a.k.a Venetian Snares, is certainly prolific, totting up 30 albums in his relatively short career. Often when artists are so prolific, the end results are either uniformly appalling, or hit and miss, with some notable highlights and a lot of "filler" albums that seem more about getting another release on the shelves rather than getting another GOOD album on the shelves. Not so with Venetian. Whilst there have been a few less than classic albums, generally his output has been at the pinnacle of electronic music, constantly pushing the boundaries of "extreme" and "dance" music in a style that is imitated by many, but matched by few (if any!). This release is no exception. This is a breakcore album from start to finish, twisting and turning more violently and unpredictably than a tornado, and with the same...

Azran 20.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Chocolate Wheelchair Album, The - Venetian Snares

A unique album by a unique artist

Advantages: A work of undisputable influence, fresh and sharp
Disadvantages: None

...A work of pure innovation. This is Aaron Funk's 7th release. 2002 was an extremely exciting year for the Venetian Snares lover. First of all, we had Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits, then the great little companion piece 2370894, and finally Winter in the Belly of a Snake. Many people have critized W.I.T.B.O.A.S for being too approachable. This is nonsense. W.I.T.B.O.A.S is so far removed from the appelation "approachable" that it almost becomes shocking to hear someone categorize it as such. W.I.T.B.O.A.S is a mature piece of work that stretches over 16 tracks. The whole album has a running time of 59 minutes approx. The disturbing front cover signals the comeback of artist illustrator Trevor Brown, who had also designed the cover and inlay of Doll Doll Doll (Planet Mu, 2001). Dad is the first track. I have heard...

gantzgraf 13.08.2006 (05.09.2006) · Read review
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Review of Winter In The Belly Of A Snake - Venetian Snares

Interesting but flawed

Advantages: Some interesting tracks, absolute sound control
Disadvantages: One of Venetian's weakest efforts/collaborations

...Venetian Snares / Speedranch - 2001 Aaron Funk, a.k.a Venetian Snares, is an absolutely fantastic experimental artist. Many consider him to be "glitchcore" or "gabber" in approach but he mainly uses those senseless tags as a means to convey greater music. In fact, his music bears similarities with Jazz and Avant-Guard music. The artist seems to be have a feel for John Cage too, which is no big surprise. Sadly, people like Aaron are often misunderstood. Making Orange Things is not his first album, to dispell a myth you may have came accross on the Web. It is in fact his 2nd CD release. His first ever release on the CD format was an album with the obscure title: Printf ("shiver in eternal darkness/n"). Making Orange Things is not a particularly good album but it does have some very interesting sections. The problem with M.O.T is...

gantzgraf 12.08.2006 (06.09.2006) · Read review
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Review of Making Orange Things - Venetian Snares/Speedranch

The Venetian Fortezza

Advantages: Brilliant View, Never Crowded
Disadvantages: Can be Very Hot, Quite A Steep Walk

...Description ---------------- The construction of the Rethymno fortress (or Fortezza), by the Venetians, started about 1571 and continued until about 1600. It was built for the protection of the local inhabitants from the Turkish threat, i.e. the usual reason a castle is built on a Greek island. It is appears to be star shaped, with three gates and six bastions, and dominate the town below. In the middle is the church of St Nicolas which was turned into the Mosque of the Sultan Ibrahim Han by the Turks during their occupation of the island of Crete. There were the Commander' s house, the Counsellor' s house, barracks, stables, ammunition - storehouses, a cistern and houses which were later destroyed and are just ruins now. There does not seem to have been any systematic excavation on the site. There is evidence of the odd...

Wanchai05 09.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Venetian Fortezza, Rethymnon, Crete

Aaron's best 2002 release

Advantages: Masterwork, Original, Groundbreaking
Disadvantages: None

...You're Selling Nails is a classic Venetian Snares track. It features nutty operette singing from a certain Jo Apps. The style is somewhat different from Doll Doll Doll; subtle breakcore collides with a strange fanfaresque setting, conjured in the strangled saxophone played by Mark Kaminsky. The main theme is twisted is all possible directions; even into some kind of medieval chamber music at one point. This kind of layout has more in commun with Songs About my Cats than it has with Doll Doll Doll. Banana Seat Girl is a flourishing and upbeat jazz experimentation. This doesn't stop it from being exceedingly technical. The third track is very much a short introduction to the following pieces (a quick noise experimentation). Tracks 4 to 7, Make Ronnie Rocket, Vokeheads, Deadman DJ and Cobra Commander, are all very Doll Doll Doll...

gantzgraf 13.08.2006 (09.09.2006) · Read review
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Review of Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972-2006 - Venetian Snares

Great sounding snare

Advantages: Amazing sound
Disadvantages: Tuning pegs have a tendancy to fall out

...I've had a free-floating 5.5"x14" maple snare for around four years, in that time, I've always been impressed by the drums great sound, and amazing rim shots, it's got such a crack. There are often debates in drumming circles as to whether free floating shells actually make any difference, if this snare is anything to go by, I'd say they make a significant difference, as the sound is superior to most normal maple snares of these specifications. The drums resonations are audible, but not unpleasant, and are easily kerbed to a really sweet, and much more desirable level with little tuning effort. With the head at different tensions, this becomes a really versatile snare, it really cuts through, but without losing any depth. As you can see, I have no negative comments about the sound of my snare, it's one of the best I've heard, but I do...

thecb 30.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of Pearl Free Floating snare