Penguin Cafe

[bob32116]

Any fans of this ensemble, or their predecessor outfit Penguin Cafe Orchestra?

Interesting music that's hard to describe, you just need to seek it out and listen for yourself. It won't be everyone's cup of tea. Kind of unstructured, but I find it rather enjoyable to listen to.

I see Penguin Cafe have a new album coming out soon, and a single released on-line:

https://youtu.be/I_FsjLoyz90

 

[John Watt]

Well, bob32116, I did listen to Penquin Cafe-Contorum,
and I can understand your comments, about not everyone's cup of tea,
but you finding it rather enjoyable to listen to. I watched it up to two minutes.

I'm surprised you said that. It's predictable for me, mellow, new age, probably self-recording.
It's got a soft intro, has a beat, not a rhythm, so I'm seeing it as listening music.
The video was just the same photo, so they're not a video band, here.

I was watching a new purchase, an as new "frozen planet", a three disc set,
the original UK series narrated by David Attenborough. $1.
There were lots of penguins, in fact, the biggest colony on earth was there.
So I had to look here.

No penguins. In fact, it's a photo of a tropical lagoon, a small one, but no penguins.
It's not even black and white, like penguins, and there aren't any birds or animals at all.
It's even too white, not naturalistic as a graphic, looking artificial.
That's just the artwork I'm seeing, and that's all they're showing.

Okay, if they were showing penguins on arctic ice, too tired to swim away any more,
and those orca are underneath, tipping up the ice so they fall into the water,
flapping their little flippers, making little penguins sounds, that would have been way better.
No, if it was the musicians, too busy staring at their fingers,
making lots of percussive, background sounds, no lead, fills or solos involved,
for over two minutes,
maybe the players could have posed on the ice, and cantorum on the ocean bottom.
I'd put my headphones on for that.

 

[JHC]

I have the Penguin Cafe on a CD but it is a classical CD I can't find it now but I know its there.

 

[John Watt]

Did the penguins care?
I'm starting to think the penguins were there,
but before the photo shoot they took off looking for the nearest refuge of refuse,
formerly called garbage dumps, now containing over 15% of North American food production.
Picky pickers want to know.

 

[bob32116]

I have the Penguin Cafe on a CD but it is a classical CD I can't find it now but I know its there.

I assume you mean a classical compilation CD? I guess "classical" is as good a label as any. I've seen them compared to modern minimalist classical composers such as Philip Glass.

 

[John Watt]

no... no... Philip Glass... no... definitely not... Glass being closer to Schoenberg, experimental sound,
and just down the street, a small gallery featuring original sheet music compositions, some spiral,
some meant to turn on a record player, some formerly featured as soundtrack for some penguin movies.

Penguin Cafe is groovier, a mild rhythm, with mild, if high-contrasted out graphics.
I only listened up until over two minutes, because there weren't any lead instruments,
and watching a band or seeing cinematic themes is too easy compared to one graphic.
About twelve seconds in, I can see myself pulling up some double octaves, deep double octaves,
and move some melodic fore-thought up front, before anyone has a chance to sing.
That could be floaty, like "Third Stone from the Sun" or strident, like "Giant Steps".

I'm sure everyone else would still be looking around, with no-one wanting to solo,
so I'd keep playing, muting three or four strings to make tubular sounds, doing that in 1966,
always liking muted vibes and trumpets, would could be like "Every Breath You Take" now.
It's easy for me to mute the strings. I custom ordered a left-handed tremolo unit,
so it better be. It's nice to have a tremolo arm to hang onto, and a smooth bridge,
with just a little bit of allen screw on top, so it's nice as a wrist grip.

That's when I'll find out why you don't have leads and couldn't use the video.
The injuries, the fighting, what happened after the bassist was caught moon-lighting,
when it really was about the echo e.q. being on eight instead of six.
The pet penguin stepped on it. Even I know that.
I'd be saying that you've got so many friends who want to keep your music with them,
when you hit the copy button, somewhere, the lights went out in Georgia,
and that song came on in a jukebox in Niagara Falls, Canada,
while "Another Rainy Night au Mont Royale" flowed down the St. Lawrence,
in both languages.

Minimalist is a nice art term, but in music, it really can't apply.
If nothing else, look at all the efforts it takes to record, and everyone's a pro now.
Is a DJ with a drum machine, a minimalist band, considering some new wave used drum machines onstage?
yes... yes... it just came to me...
I can hear Pat Methany and Lyle Mayes playing along, french horns, the hottest synth sounds,
and they always had tasty artwork, even if I never believed in their New Chattaqua.

Some shore sounds wouldn't hurt. eeee eeeeee eeee eeeeee