Any Cornelius fans here?

Sometimes his music tends to veer off into repetitive trance-like ambient music but it's so innovative and the sounds/samples he uses are so damn cool that I can't stop listening. Anyone else here like his stuff? My favorite is Fantasma but the other two albums still have some brilliant sonic moments.

 

Yes. I started with "Sensurround" DVD-A, oddly enough. The "Sensuous" album is a sonic marvel, and I plan to start working backwards from there.

 

Those single acoustic guitar notes with the super long reverb tails are absolute sonic brilliance!

 

I'm a huge fan of Fantasma. Great album. I love the different influences. Everything from Brian Wilson and My Bloody Valentine to electronica and hip hop. My favorite song is probably Star Fruits, Surf Rider.

I didn't like Point as much when it came out. I think I was missing the randomness of Fantasma, as Point felt more stylistically coherent. However, over the years, the album has grown on me and I find myself enoying it more and more.

I like what I've heard from Sensous, but I haven't heard the whole thing. I really need to get off of my rear and get this one. I've been slacking on buying it for quite awhile now.

 

I enjoyed Fantasma a lot. I didn't like The Point that much, but I haven't listened to it recently. These two albums might need to be listened to again. He also does some great remixes. I'm not always a fan of remixes, but his are usually pretty interesting. I really like his remix of the Blur song "Tender".

Also, if you're a fan, you might pickup the new issue of Tape-Op. It has an interview with him.

 

That's a great interview. I like the part about him downloading the midi code for a Bach song, changing the key to a minor, and using that as a song. It was kind of a variation on Lennon's process for writing Because. I need to listen to Fantasma again to find that song. I can't think of which one it is off of the top of my head.

 

Ron Cornelius? Cornelius Bros. and sister Rose? Cornelius "Cornell" Gunter?

 

I think the song is "2010".

 

I enjoy Cornelius's work, but he occasionally wavers too far towards the kitschy end of the spectrum for me. That said, his production work (and various contributions) on El-Malo's "The Worst Universal Jet Set" is phenomenal; if you've never heard the record, there're always several cheap copies on eBay.

 

Actually, I think he named himself after the Planet of the Apes character.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_(musician)

 

I'll have to check that album out.

I agree about the kitsch aspect. Some of the tracks on Fantasma just go a little overboard with the samples. Like he's trying to cram too much into one track. I think he works best when he holds back a bit, especially on the opening track "Mic Check".

 

or.....Cardew

 

Mos def. It also includes an intriguing reworking of Cornelius's own "Volunteered Ape Man" under the title "Volunteered Jet Man (Disco)." Same basic track, radically different effect.

 

When I saw this thread I thought you meant Don Cornelius.

 

I haven't listened to Sensuous as much as Fantasma and The Point, but it seems less "song" oriented and more "idea" oriented - sort of like Smile, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

Cornelius is AWESOME!!

'Brazil' being particularly stunning.....!!

T.

 

I can't believe this thread just popped up. My kids are into this show Yo Gabba Gabba. Long story short, is that it's a pretty decent show to help kids get into music. So I try and watch each episode at least once. This popped up on one of them:

http://jezebel.com/gossip/clips/cornelius-rocks-out-on-yo-gabba-gabba-327074.php

I totally dug it !!

So ... where should I start?

 

If you can find it, there's a Japanese CD single of 'Breezin' which has as its bonus tracks an amazing cover of 'Cue' (originally by Yellow Magic Orchestra) and a 30+ minute recording of wind chimes, which is either wonderful or infuriating, depending on your mood!

Also, my Japanese copy of Sensuous came with a bonus 3" CD. Anyone else got one of those?

I love Sensuous. Fantasma I find hit & miss, but Mic Check is amazing. His production skills are phenomenal.

 

Yeah, I cant believe he was featured on a kids show! What a great track, my kids totally dug it. I love his cover of Brazil and am also a fan of Mic Check. I love the kitschyness but am maybe turned off a tad by his music being too "tight" and perfect. A little lack of warmth and heart, too precise. Brilliant either way.

 

Me too!

So does my daughter!

 

I did a search here and I couldn't find anything on him, but I knew there must have been other fans out there besides me.

 

LOL! I was going to say... I lost touch with Cornelius' career after he left Soul Train! LOL!

 

Went digging deep and found this little instrumental piece you can only hear on this advertisement... so good:

 

Here's a nice free sample-looping app by Cornelius. You choose and activate Cornelius-curated samples at different positions in the loop.
http://baobaoisseymiyake.com