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"math" rock bassists

V

vade700

Guest
Jan 12, 2012
130
3
#1
hey I'd just like to share some audio/video of some bassists in this genre who are in my opinion very talented.

I'd love to see if anyone has any clips/videos/audio of their favorite math rock bassists or even better of your own riffs/songs

anyway here are some of my favorites:

 
#3
it's a genre that I dig a lot, I don't really hear much about it on talkbass but I think there are a lot of exceptional bassists within this genre. the base of math rock is the changing of time signatures, there are also certain characteristics that define it as there for most other genres. (Examples: varying time and tempo changes, guitar and bass tapping, frequently very busy drum lines etc)

anyway the point of this thread was to see if there are any other bassists who are into this genre or perhaps share it with some who may not be familiar with it
 
#6
pfox14 said:
What is "math" rock anyway?
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Unless I am mistaken, "math rock" is Prog. Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Dream Theater, etc. Prog is nicknamed math rock because of odd time signatures, frequently changing time signatures, heavy use of Theory, Classical, Jazz (or both) influences, and complex lines, parts, and solos.

At least that's my understanding.
 
#7
The terms are blurred. There is far more to prog than simply unconventional meters. Roundabout is in 4, but is it not prog? 21st Century Schizoid Man is in 4 w/ the solo section in 6; hardly unconventional meters.

I wrote a tune on my previous band's last CD with the following construction:

Opening and verse in 4
Interlude in 6
Back to verse in 4
Switch to 7 for "Chorus"
Guitar solo in 13
Solo outro in 7
Back to verse in 4
Interlude in 6
Final verse in 4
This creates a palindromic 4 6 4 7 13 7 4 6 4, which I decided was too contrived, so I tagged an outro in 7. How original. ;)
 
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#8
ProgRocker said:
Unless I am mistaken, "math rock" is Prog. Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Dream Theater, etc. Prog is nicknamed math rock because of odd time signatures, frequently changing time signatures, heavy use of Theory, Classical, Jazz (or both) influences, and complex lines, parts, and solos.

At least that's my understanding.
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Partially correct IMO. Math rock is an extension of prog rock. Like bebop and smooth jazz are both extensions of the jazz tradition
 
#10
vade700 said:
I'd love to see if anyone has any clips/videos/audio of their favorite math rock bassists or even better of your own riffs/songs
Click to expand...

Is it me or have there been a lot of math rock threads lately? Anyhow, here's a video of my old band. We called it instrumental prog, but there were definite moments of math-rock and post-rock. This one is probably our "math-iest" tune.

 
#11
Bassist4Eris said:
Is it me or have there been a lot of math rock threads lately? Anyhow, here's a video of my old band. We called it instrumental prog, but there were definite moments of math-rock and post-rock. This one is probably our "math-iest" tune.

Click to expand...


Very good, love the tone you get from that Carvin.

I also agree with Menno, Animals As Leaders are fantastic, I've been playing that CD quite a bit lately.
 
#14
As this, and noise rock, are my favorite genres, I'm just gonna clear a few things up.

Math rock is a rhythmically complex, often guitar-based, style of experimental rock and indie rock music that emerged in the late 1980s, influenced by progressive rock bands like King Crimson and 20th century minimalist composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), counterpoint, odd time signatures, angular melodies, and extended, often dissonant, chords.

Some Important Math Rock Bands:
Don Caballero
Polvo
Slint
Hella
Piglet
Nomeansno
Redneck Manifesto
Toe
Battles
Shellac
Drive Like Jehu
Shudder to Think
June of 44
Hoover
Faraquet
Maserati
Sleeping People
No Knife
90 Day Men
Adebisi Shank
Black Pus
Craw
Lightning Bolt
Daughters
El Ten Eleven
The Dismemberment Plan
Fall of Troy
The F**king Champs
Giraffes? Giraffes!
Keelhaul
Holy F**k
Ghosts and Vodka
Minus the Bear
OXES
Rumah Sakit
So Many Dynamos
Turing Machine


The list goes on...

Tituscrow said:
Dillinger, Tesseract, Periphery, AAL...all good stuff, but really it's just Meshuggah-lite :)
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That's not Math Rock, it's tech metal.
 
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#16
Tituscrow said:
^aaaah.....Talk Bass....the fine art of semantics, pedantics and splitting hairs :)

I'd never in a million years class NoMeansNo as 'math rock'.

Surprised to see no Jesus Lizard or Converge on your list.
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Well, I got tired of typing.
Honestly, I love love love The Jesus Lizard, but they're not really that mathy.
And Converge, how to classify the unclassifiable? With the visual art of Jacob, they're like some sort of multi-media art project. They're so incredible.
 

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