Around the World in a Daze

I didn't see this posted anywhere, but if it's a dupe I'm sorry:

Leading new-music composer Phil Kline debuts a major work, Around the World in a Daze, on a new surround sound DVD released by Starkland (http://www.starkland.com/). The 65-minute studio composition was commissioned by Starkland specifically for high-resolution surround sound and to premiere on DVD.

This formidable project is the brainchild of Starkland founder and one-man-army Tom Steenland. He states, "I love surround sound and think it's an exhilarating format for contemporary composers," adding, "Phil is a wonderful composer, and much of his music is inherently spatial. The idea of commissioning a major work from Phil to premiere on a surround sound recording was compelling and irresistible."

Daze opens with the multi-channel ambiance near Kline's home in New York City's lower East Side, glides into an ethereal Ethel string quartet, peaks with a massive climax presenting hundreds of thousands of super-dense bells, shifts to the soaring violinistics of Todd Reynolds, and concludes with an immersive environment of 15,000 chattering, African gray parrots.


Along the way, listeners are also seduced by swirling, hypersampled Wagner, a weird madrigal about bitterness and bees, a Bach prelude eerily processed into a Zurich train station, and a mournfully multi-tracked "wailing wall."

The main DVD offers Daze in several formats for various playback setups: standard-DVD Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround; higher quality DTS 5.1; highest-quality uncompressed DVD-Audio; and PCM stereo. Playback of the Daze music is accompanied by over 80 images shot by Kline.

http://www.starkland.com/s2015/index.htm

Sounds good to me. I ordered it!

timbre4 said:

Sounds good to me. I ordered it!

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Me too. Not to get off topic (this DVD), but as a newbie to MC and an oldie to the world, I feel it's important to support new/independent efforts in this format. If this is half as good as described, it won't be a waste of money.

All I needed to read was "Todd Reynolds" and I was off to order this. Thanks for letting us know about it!

J. D.

Well i ordered this as well, you have to support the format wherever possible.

Quite nice more bass communion or George Harrison Electronic music in style than i was expecting, but very good though. certainly very full surround.

I listened to about 85% of disc 1 and will have to give it another try. Trouble is I simply cannot ascertain when I will be "in the mood" for this material again.

Sounds like listening to this music might be the new replacement for waterboarding......

The trouble with experimental electronic music is that oftentimes it is a one time listening experiance. You appreciate the artistry, the ideas, and construction of the soundscapes and effects. But you can't hum along with it in your car. Seems like composers sometimes forget to be musical. I like the music of Morton Subotnick (available on quad lps and two DVDAs) and it still sounds like music to me.
I think listening to 15,000 chattering parrots in surround over and over would make me go postal.

Sorry to be so narrow minded.

Man, my copy hasn't even arrived yet and the reviews are in. At least I can still feel good about supporting surround sound.

Speaking of reviews, here's one that sez "Truly a remarkable sonic experience, and one made to order for the curious audiophile" - see for yourself...

http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=5571

I'm ordering.

Sounds interesting, gotta support the format. I'm ordering too.

Mine hasn't even shipped yet, I could cancel if I really wanted. But many times I like things that others don't.

Chiburb said:

The main DVD offers Daze in several formats for various playback setups: standard-DVD Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround; higher quality DTS 5.1; highest-quality uncompressed DVD-Audio; and PCM stereo. Playback of the Daze music is accompanied by over 80 images shot by Kline.

http://www.starkland.com/s2015/index.htm

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And let me tell you it was no end of hassle sorting out those automatic slideshows too!
Still, I think the end result was a well worthwhile project.
Not to everyone's tastes - but it's a double disc set as well with disc 2 admittedly DVD-V only, but with a fascinating detailed docco on how it was all made.

Got mine today from Amazon, I guess it had been shipped. Interesting to note that the bar code is covered with a sticker "Promo Only Not For Sale."

BananaSlug said:

Got mine today from Amazon, I guess it had been shipped. Interesting to note that the bar code is covered with a sticker "Promo Only Not For Sale."

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I just got mine from Amazon too and thought the "Promo" sticker was odd. The packaging itself is unique. I usually don't mind odd packaging, but in this case I'm not sure it will even fit in my shelving unit. I'm looking forward to giving it a listen.

Odys said:

The packaging itself is unique. I usually don't mind odd packaging, but in this case I'm not sure it will even fit in my shelving unit. I'm looking forward to giving it a listen.

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That's odd - my copy is in a straight Armaray type DVD-Video case.

neil wilkes said:

That's odd - my copy is in a straight Armaray type DVD-Video case.

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My copy is like a double-width digipack. The two discs are side-by-side, so it's a very long package. I've never seen a package like this one before. Depending on how I orient it on my shelving unit, my shelves are neither deep enough nor tall enough for it.

Odys said:

My copy is like a double-width digipack. The two discs are side-by-side, so it's a very long package. I've never seen a package like this one before. Depending on how I orient it on my shelving unit, my shelves are neither deep enough nor tall enough for it.

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Same here. I wonder different venues ship different packaging? Mine was ordered from Amazon.

Chiburb said:

Same here. I wonder different venues ship different packaging? Mine was ordered from Amazon.

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Amazon.com and doble digipack style box. Nice package but a bugger to store. Its too big for my DVD shelf and too big for my DVDA shelf. So its in with the CD box sets !!!

OK, here are my thoughts. For what it's worth, I think this is quite good, strange but good. I'm not sure what genre of music you would categorize this in but I think it is a thought provoking work of art with sounds as the medium.

I was first hit with a feeling of aural space and then (as is said on the box) led on a "remarkable musical journey". Some parts were beautifully musical while others have the listener immersed in textures of sounds. "Pennies From Heaven" is cool from a surround perspective and as a whole is very interesting but at 18+ minutes is a bit drawn out . The collection of recordings seem purposely more eclectic than cohesive.

Tim, I agree with your comments from this thread. Not a trip you would want to take often but I believe the trip is well worth the price of a ticket.

As was noted above the case itself is a double wide digipak therefore does not fit on my storage rack with the other DVD-A's but will find a home with the many similar sized box sets in another cabinet.

I will add that I was initially introduced to this disc through Kal Rubinson's column in Stereophile Magazine. Thanks Kal!

http://www.stereophile.com/hirezplayers/music_in_the_round_37/index4.html

Dennis

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. Since I commissioned and produced this surround DVD, I'll respond to a few things you've mentioned.

The genre has been called "alternative classical" or "electroacoustic."

It's interesting to read here the comments about the unusually wide digipak. Since this was a special project, I thought it should have one-of-a-kind packaging. So we spent a great deal of time and significant expense to have the packaging custom-made. While some thought it was cool, others complain about it not fitting on their shelves. Budget-wise, it probably wasn't the best decision.

Yes, Kal's Stereophile column is great. It's the first thing I read in that mag. He also liked our Immersion surround DVD (also commissioned by me, one of the first DVD-Audios):
http://www.starkland.com/st2010/index.htm

Thanks again for taking the time to post your comments.

Tom at Starkland

DennisMabry said:

OK, here are my thoughts. For what it's worth, I think this is quite good, strange but good. I'm not sure what genre of music you would categorize this in but I think it is a thought provoking work of art with sounds as the medium.

I was first hit with a feeling of aural space and then (as is said on the box) led on a "remarkable musical journey". Some parts were beautifully musical while others have the listener immersed in textures of sounds. "Pennies From Heaven" is cool from a surround perspective and as a whole is very interesting but at 18+ minutes is a bit drawn out . The collection of recordings seem purposely more eclectic than cohesive.

Tim, I agree with your comments from this thread. Not a trip you would want to take often but I believe the trip is well worth the price of a ticket.

As was noted above the case itself is a double wide digipak therefore does not fit on my storage rack with the other DVD-A's but will find a home with the many similar sized box sets in another cabinet.

I will add that I was initially introduced to this disc through Kal Rubinson's column in Stereophile Magazine. Thanks Kal!

http://www.stereophile.com/hirezplayers/music_in_the_round_37/index4.html

Dennis

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