![\"Earnest](\"https:\/\/www.ambientblog.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Earnest-Tub.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nKILOMETRE CLUB \u2013 EARNEST TUB<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\nLong-form ambient tracks often explore a basic idea, which then is developed\u2026 or even just repeated in a loop. This remarkable album by Kilometre Club (Daniel Field<\/em><\/strong>, from Toronto, Canada) does the opposite: it presents just those basic ideas. 103 (One-Hundred-And- Three!) of them, to be exact, each of them 80 seconds (more or less), with a total playing time of 131 minutes.
Why 103? That\u2019s simple: \u201cBecause that\u2019s a very unaesthetic number. It\u2019s the second prime number above 100. It\u2019s not overly memorable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cOne of the biggest lessons I\u2019ve learned when making ambient music is that the longer one spends on a track has absolutely nothing to do with its success, with some of my most streamed songs ones on which I dwelt the shortest amount of time\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\nIn his extensive liner notes, Field<\/em><\/strong> elaborates extensively on the album\u2019s context. The title, for instance, refers to country singer Earnest Tubb<\/em>, who died on September 6, 1984 \u2013 the day Daniel Field <\/em><\/strong>was born. But: \u2018it has absolutely nothing to do with him\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\nBefore creating electronic\/ambient music as Kilometre Club<\/em><\/strong>, Field<\/em><\/strong> used to make folk music too. After releasing his first album and finding out that it garnered more listeners than his folk music ever received (\u201c50 different listeners in total!\u201d)<\/em>, he further explored the genre.<\/p>\nThese liner notes are worth reading for the ironic self-deprecating tone, but there are also more serious remarks about the music and its place in society these days:
\u201cHere\u2019s the thing. I may be talking like this whole thing is a bit of a joke, but I actually think it\u2019s a pretty great album. The short and simple tracks are like vignettes, and they don\u2019t require much from listeners. [\u2026] At the same time, I want to be very transparent that this is an album also designed for algorithms on streaming services. These are short and inoffensive songs that fit the mold of many playlists and stations and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s worth pretending that they\u2019re something else. [\u2026] I am sure I will get some flak from others, but this is music as a product; as \u2018content\u2019, as some might say. Does it cheapen its effect? I think that if it finds ears of listeners on a meditation or reading playlist, it has done its job as music. [\u2026] At what point is there just too much? Can we be satisfied with what we have? This album doesn\u2019t answer that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nEarnest Tub<\/em><\/strong> is released on the Imaginary North <\/em>label (Fields\u2019<\/em><\/strong> own label) as a limited (24) double cassette as well as a digital release.
Oh, and it may be good to know that \u201cat least three songs are performed in part by dishwashers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Why 103? That\u2019s simple: \u201cBecause that\u2019s a very unaesthetic number. It\u2019s the second prime number above 100. It\u2019s not overly memorable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest lessons I\u2019ve learned when making ambient music is that the longer one spends on a track has absolutely nothing to do with its success, with some of my most streamed songs ones on which I dwelt the shortest amount of time\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n In his extensive liner notes, Field<\/em><\/strong> elaborates extensively on the album\u2019s context. The title, for instance, refers to country singer Earnest Tubb<\/em>, who died on September 6, 1984 \u2013 the day Daniel Field <\/em><\/strong>was born. But: \u2018it has absolutely nothing to do with him\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n Before creating electronic\/ambient music as Kilometre Club<\/em><\/strong>, Field<\/em><\/strong> used to make folk music too. After releasing his first album and finding out that it garnered more listeners than his folk music ever received (\u201c50 different listeners in total!\u201d)<\/em>, he further explored the genre.<\/p>\n These liner notes are worth reading for the ironic self-deprecating tone, but there are also more serious remarks about the music and its place in society these days: Earnest Tub<\/em><\/strong> is released on the Imaginary North <\/em>label (Fields\u2019<\/em><\/strong> own label) as a limited (24) double cassette as well as a digital release.
\u201cHere\u2019s the thing. I may be talking like this whole thing is a bit of a joke, but I actually think it\u2019s a pretty great album. The short and simple tracks are like vignettes, and they don\u2019t require much from listeners. [\u2026] At the same time, I want to be very transparent that this is an album also designed for algorithms on streaming services. These are short and inoffensive songs that fit the mold of many playlists and stations and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s worth pretending that they\u2019re something else. [\u2026] I am sure I will get some flak from others, but this is music as a product; as \u2018content\u2019, as some might say. Does it cheapen its effect? I think that if it finds ears of listeners on a meditation or reading playlist, it has done its job as music. [\u2026] At what point is there just too much? Can we be satisfied with what we have? This album doesn\u2019t answer that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Oh, and it may be good to know that \u201cat least three songs are performed in part by dishwashers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n