Polyphia - potentially the most interesting thing happening in the guitar world at the moment?

Wolfetone

There's no tune

sweepy

Whoever produced those first clips was definitely going after a "Sound" and that was bloody terrible imho, processed to within a nanometer of its life and don't get me started on the drum sound

johnl

...well I like them.

Ddigger

I checked with the milkman.

He couldn't whistle it. 

For blistering, dazzling technique and a tune, I go for Paco de Lucia.

For paint stripper guitar and vocals, I go for Neil Young. 

guitarmangler

No one can hum their tunes?

How about a whole audience singing along?

https://youtu.be/8GP25ZmVqkI 

Jeremiah

There are definitely bits of it I like - but if you're going to make guitars sound like synths, why not use synths?

dindude

Muscle memory 1 - 0 Musicality

The tone is woeful too

Apart from that I quite enjoyed it  

axisus

I like them. Saw them live last year, it was fun but they finished after 70 mins. I saw my fave band last Friday and they played for 2 hours 40 minutes. Now that's a show.

gringopig

.

Blueingreen

carlos said:

Blueingreen said:

Surely the latter is more important.  Art that appeals only to a tiny minority of aficionados is minor art.  

The way we educate kids in music sometimes worries me.  I see highly talented, dedicated kids who've come through the system thinking they are selling out if they play anything other than jazz, at a time when jazz represents a minuscule fraction of the music economy.  Their education has encouraged them to consider the music people actually like beneath them.  Most of them have little or no chance of earning a living as performers, and will likely scrape a living by supplementing their playing income teaching kids in the same way as they were taught, so the system becomes self-perpetuating.

I'm not saying Polyphia is exactly the same thing, but the impulse for it seems pretty closely related.  The danger is that we evaluate this music by analysing it for evidence for the talent it took to produce it, rather than whether it will ever mean much other than to its practitioners.

Two things:
1. This has nothing to do with jazz, it's not even in the same postcode of music genres.
2. As far as earning a living goes, Polyphia are quite popular at the moment - the video above for GOAT has nearly 9 million views. They are making a much better living than your average rock and roll band with vocals.

1. Nor did I claim that it was, in fact I very carefully avoided saying anything of the kind. I said the impulse for it seemed pretty closely related to (some kinds of) jazz: specifically that it was about all about instrumental virtuosity and would not have broad audience appeal. 

For clarity, I’m not anti jazz (the best of which is far, far superior to this stuff IMO). My concern is that highly talented kids are putting in years of work to learn to play music that will only be on interest to a tiny niche audience, which not only reduces their chances of having a career but reduces their chances of making music that matters.

2. I don't dispute any of the points you make here, but nor do I believe it amounts to good evidence that people will be able to sustain careers playing this music. 

thumpingrug

leave me a bit cold to be honest.  

clarke_111

Hmm-not for me. The technical ability is off the charts but I find it difficult to listen to-which may be the point, I don’t know. Having said that the vids got nearly 9million views and they have 350+ YouTube subscribers so they are doing something thing right!! 

ThePrettyDamned

gringopig said:

No singing, no songs? I'm out.

They do have songs with vocals. So strange, for example. I don't much like that, mind. They also remixed la la la, which is super fun to listen to. 

Look but don't touch has vocals, but it's more of a musical joke and doesn't follow a conventional structure.

Obviously it's not to everyone's taste but I'm surprised they're as disliked as they are on this forum. They're making music on their own terms - inspired by modern hip hop, with guitars taking the place of vocals. 

I actually don't find most of it showy at all. Don't get me wrong, it's technical, but there is little that plenty of guitarists don't use anyway technique wise - the harmonics are an interesting addition, and they're very good at hybrid picking. I don't see Paul Gilbert style extreme speed, or insane Animals as Leaders lines. They also mostly seem to stick to a straight 4/4 beat. 

Vibetronic

Usual comments about 'no emotion' when anything slightly technical is involved  Thought I'd see that from reading the thread title, and sure enough.... It's not quite my sort of thing either...I'd prefer it a touch heavier, with vocals, and then it'd be right up my street - but they're really good, and have worked really hard to get to where they are, so fair play to them. The 'emotion' thing is always funny...how do you know what they were thinking when they wrote this stuff? Or how they were feeling? 

Ddigger

Emotions.

The funny thing is, I don't have to think about them at all.  I feel them. 

I don't have to think about what people were thinking about when they wrote music.  If they have done it properly, I feel it.

When my son was not quite two, we listened to Peter and the Wolf. 

Peters tune, happy boy.  Wolf tune, screaming ab-dabs, turn it off!  We went to see a children's concert when he was five.  Peter and the Wolf he went ridgid when the Wolf came on.

I knew music was powerful, but Prokofiev impressed the hell out of me.

I listened to the music and felt tha I should go and do the dishes instead. 

Sorry. 

Dan_Halen

I quite like it. Also, fair fucks for doing completely their own thing. Music does exist beyond rock/blues/pop.

R.e. it being unmusical or whatever. I think there’s real merit in exploring what can be done beyond writing more same old same old melodies over variations on chords I, IV, V.

Nods to a few genres including jazz and hip hop. Not sure about the idea that it’s not in the same postcode as jazz. Plenty of jazz involved setting some sort of groove that is nothing more than a vehicle for the musicians to of explore through improvisation/wank over the top of.

hollywoodrox

tomajoha said:

hollywoodrox said:

Technically excellent  but musically I’d sooner listen to Buck’s Fizz 

Don't be too quick Making Your Mind Up


Sorry...

I was hoping for something along that line 

grungebob

Vibetronic said:

Usual comments about 'no emotion' when anything slightly technical is involved  Thought I'd see that from reading the thread title, and sure enough.... It's not quite my sort of thing either...I'd prefer it a touch heavier, with vocals, and then it'd be right up my street - but they're really good, and have worked really hard to get to where they are, so fair play to them. The 'emotion' thing is always funny...how do you know what they were thinking when they wrote this stuff? Or how they were feeling? 

You don’t need to know what they were thinking. It doesn’t matter with any song or music. It’s what The audience thinks or feels when they hear it. 

That’s music/art in its purest form. Either informing the receiver of the intent or allowing them to form their own opinions. 

This for me does neither. 

Again I’m not saying it’s no good or that they are not talented, only that it doesn’t connect with me 

carlos

@Blueingreen ;
sorry for misunderstanding you

HarrySeven

The Derek Baileys of Math Rock.

Does nowt for me. But then again, neither does much else...