first off- i went to the same high school as mic (the guitarist). he was a few years ahead of me and i never really knew him, but knowing that he went to the same high school as me somehow makes me feel cool.... hehe.

secondly- orthrelm is nuts!! but i guess that's been said. they played new haven last year (and are playing here again next week). one of the best parts of the show was watching people's reactions. the people that "got it" were laughing the whole time at the craziness. the people that didn't get it were leaving the room very upset. one guy behind me was kept saying things like "this is the worst music i've ever heard in my entire life!"

thirdly - yes, they do have a 99 song cd. it's really very funny. i bought it when it came out awhile back at newbury comics in boston. when i picked it up another customer shopping there went out of his way to let me know it was the worst thing he'd ever heard in his life and he highly recommended that i didn't buy it. i bought it anyway, of course. the songs are all 1 to 10 seconds long. i think there's a 30 second song on there somewhere.

lastly! (and slightly unrelated) - mic's old band is called crom-tech, which, in my humble opinion, is the best thing he ever did. another guitar and drums duo (different drummer) with a very similar aesthetic to orthrelm. the two main differences are: mic sings, and there's actually songs (1 minute songs with parts that even repeat.... almost!). it's almost like a punk rock version of orthrelm. i highly recommend it. the lyrics are half english and half made up language (although, you can never quite hear them anyway). but it's great stuff. they have a cd on gravity records and a christmas 7" out there somewhere. but anyway... if you like orthrelm check out crom-tech too. crom-tech is one of my favorites of all time.

orthrelm blew me away when i accidentaly saw them supproting the locust in birmingham when visiting a few years ago..the drummer was awesome, his grey t-shirt SOAKED after 5 mins. i mean, they started, i was at the bar-soon i was at the front watching in awe. the guitarist made me feel sick...i didn't bother with the locust. but i did shake the drummers hand afterward in a vain attempt at talent transfer. i do this alot. i am sad.
i emailed them a few times since about coming back to th euk but it never happens...whyeeeeee?

YO31 wrote:I also love the way it's sonically 'old school' - like 80s death metal or something.

Word. It's a perfectly logical arranging decision: a lot of classic electronic minimalist music features quick, even, and repeated treble tones. What does that sound like on an electric guitar? Ian Malmsteen.

I'd really like to catch Orthrelm live. I've only heard OV and I must confess, I hated it - but something tells me it makes more sense in a live setting.

i liked it better live. i like it better with the guitar lower and the drums higher in the mix -- so just position yourself on the drummer side. i sat on the edge of the stage and the drummer was pointed in such a way i could see from behind the kit -- his technique was very interesting to watch, very unusual. he used a double kick pedal, not for speed, but for endurance, so his right foot wouldn't wear out:

LL RR LL RR LL RR

his drumming on this ov song is really great, very african-influenced.

Just saw them up here in Seattle. Orthrelm was absolutely amazing. Imagine doing the math and cycling a slightly off-time rhythm through it. Remember trying to sync two unsynced electronic rhythms? They did it live, as a two-piece. I quit.

ipecac-news wrote:The bearer of bad news here! Sorry to say that after the show on Friday March 10th Orthrelm is being forced to cancel the rest of their tour dates. One of the guys has a lingering health issue that needs to be addressed. Very sorry to those of you that were hoping to get your noise on with the boys. I highly recommend loading up on redbull putting their latest Cd "OV" on grabbing a tennis racket, disrobing, and get a neighborhood air band contest going. The next best thing to having the band there live.

Fuck.

I'd kill to see this band.

I would, really.

Saw them at the Beat Kitchen tonight...

Nonplussed.

It was pretty amazing, literally. For a few minutes. Then it was like "okay, enough with the Etudes, bust into something different!"

And they never did.

It was the same thing, the same amazing thing, over and over and over, until it was no longer amazing but became tedious.

After the first maybe 10 times they changed from one part to the next, there had been a couple moments of "woah!". But then they just kept doing it.

Over and over and over.

They took something that was seriously amazing, and made it boring.

Like SNL, only SNL isn't really ever actually amazing.

But the same idea.

The same thing over and over.

Kinda like this message, but times a million.

Nonplussed.

Goto 10




The highlight of the show was when I realized the guitarist was playing through two YSP-1's. NOBODY plays those! Ever! And his sound was good. So kudos to him for that.

The Traynor YSP-1, not the Yamaha YSP-1.

phildotidiot wrote:mic's old band is called crom-tech, which, in my humble opinion, is the best thing he ever did. another guitar and drums duo (different drummer) with a very similar aesthetic to orthrelm. the two main differences are: mic sings, and there's actually songs (1 minute songs with parts that even repeat.... almost!). it's almost like a punk rock version of orthrelm. i highly recommend it. the lyrics are half english and half made up language (although, you can never quite hear them anyway). but it's great stuff. they have a cd on gravity records and a christmas 7" out there somewhere. but anyway... if you like orthrelm check out crom-tech too. crom-tech is one of my favorites of all time.

This is the number one reason why I never bothered to check out Orthrelm. The only reason I wanna see them is because they're playing this new thing that I've heartd is kind of like Terry Riley.