Is Devin Townsend Experimental?

[PureImagination]

Would you say he is?

Please include examples if you could.

 

[GRUNTKOR]

I guess the Hummer could be called experimental

 

[hairychris]

To a certain degree, some releases more than others...

 

[SkullCrusher]

http://youtu.be/_441wv4FKm4

 

[coreysMonster]

I knew what that was going to be before even clicking it

 

[jonajon91]

yeah i'd say so






This is his most experimental stuff, but he is always messing around with new things. The four (current) DTP albums all sound completely different because he was aiming for different things with them.

 

[DLG]

yeah i'd say so

 

[The Hiryuu]

Moderate resemblance, but still pretty decently different. Cool song, though.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

GOOD LORD IT'S A CHEESEBURGER


...A DOUBLE



On topic, I'd say depending on the release, Devin can be pretty experimental. For example, Addicted! is a lot more straight-forward than Deconstruction.

 

[Skyblue]

I wouldn't really call him experimental... Yes, Deconstruction is wacky, but I won't call that experimental. His music is very eclectic, but to me being experimental means breaking limits and exploring uncharted areas, and he doesn't really do that.

He is, though, an AMAZING musician. Devin

I'll admit to not listening to Devlab and The Hummer though, so my comment is not relevant to them.

 

[abandonist]

Experimental is one of those words kids have devalued into nothing. The very fact you might consider Townsend experimental is the proof of concept. I mean, shit, Wold isn't experimental.

Don't devalue words.

 

[MrPepperoniNipples]

nope

 

[Korbain]

Wouldn't any good musician that tries something different be called experimental then

It's just solid metal with his own touches to say the least lol Made me realise i haven't listened to any townsend in a while!! *cries*

 

[The Mirror]

Since Casualties of Cool is a experiment to combine Folk, Rock, Ambient, Country, the Bastion Soundtrack and pure awesomeness I'd say: Yes, he is experimental.

 

[Skyblue]

Since Casualties of Cool is a experiment to combine Folk, Rock, Ambient, Country, the Bastion Soundtrack and pure awesomeness I'd say: Yes, he is experimental.

That's the thing, though- if a random musician decides to try and combine new genres, that doesn't necessarily make him "experimental". Also, the combination of rock, folk and country isn't really a new thing I think. Devin puts his own twist into it, like in everything that he does.

 

[The Mirror]

So what's experimental than? Basically the notes are there since humanity first began to create instruments. Experimental is nothing different than using what's there in a new way.

I'll be honest. I don't think anyone will ever come up with music that's totally "different" from what we have now and is actually listenable.

A lot of the music that is called experimental these days is Avantgarde stuff that I would rather descripe as sound and noise than music and guys like György Ligeti are just the tip of the iceberg.

I think it is experimental if you do some stuff that is not at all in the mainstream and is likely a huge risk. CoC could have been a huge flop for Devin and that's why he didn't want it to be released by a major label and chose to pledge it.

If you make music for the sake of music and not for the sake of the people listening to it I'd call it somewhat experimental. If it's in the end listenable that's a bonus for me.

 

[guitar4tw]

Sometimes I feel he definitely is.

What he is most importantly, though, is consistenly awesome.

 

[Skyblue]

So what's experimental than? Basically the notes are there since humanity first began to create instruments. Experimental is nothing different than using what's there in a new way.

I'll be honest. I don't think anyone will ever come up with music that's totally "different" from what we have now and is actually listenable.

A lot of the music that is called experimental these days is Avantgarde stuff that I would rather descripe as sound and noise than music and guys like György Ligeti are just the tip of the iceberg.

I think it is experimental if you do some stuff that is not at all in the mainstream and is likely a huge risk. CoC could have been a huge flop for Devin and that's why he didn't want it to be released by a major label and chose to pledge it.

If you make music for the sake of music and not for the sake of the people listening to it I'd call it somewhat experimental. If it's in the end listenable that's a bonus for me.

Personally I don't like to use the term "experimental" at all. But still, if you want to be considered "experimental" you have to stray pretty far from the path, IMO.

I never really listened to country. But when I listened to CoC I instantly felt like "oh, this sounds like country, but with devin's twist on it". It wasn't "mind blowing" in it's innovation- it invoked my curiosity, but not in a "I have never heard anything like that", so I find it hard pressed to call it experimental.

Schoenberg saying "fluff tonality" in the beginning of the 20th century- I can accept that as being experimental. Meshuggah's new approach of extreme focus on rhythm and polyrhythms? I can call that experimental as well.

people can write pop for the sake of music and not money, but that won't turn it into experimental music- It'll still be pop.

Oh, and while avant garde music can be daunting a lot of the time, not all of it is. I personally listen to Ligeti, for example, from time to time, and I know of several others who do so. Sometimes it is noise, but you can't always make pleasant music when trying to push the borders of music.

 

[brycegoertzen]

He definitely just does whatever he want, which is really admirable considering it resonates with so many people

 

[celticelk]

I think of Devin as progressive, but not particularly experimental. "Experimental," for me, means the kind of players featured here: guitar moderne | The Zine for Adventurous Guitarists

Or perhaps this guy: