Is Oval the shape of things to come?

>>Markus Popp's music in the future tense

by SPUNKY BALBOA

Despite the name, a disc by Oval is round enough to fit in any standard player. Do not hesitate, just put it in and let it play. Remember, the sounds you hear are intentional. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy listening pleasure unlike anything you've heard before... but might well hear a lot of in the future.

Markus Popp, 29, proudly upholds the noble tradition of pretentious German knob twiddlers, once again challenging the way we look at music and the process of creating sound. As Oval (accentuate the "a" for true Teutonic effect), Popp uses damaged CDs and the most up-to-date digital technology to produce subtly bizarre tracks that sound like what a science fiction novel might propose as the easy listening music of tomorrow. In 1997 he released his latest album, Dok, on Thrill Jockey, continuing his sonic journey, solidifying his artistic inventions.

"Oval is music that is technically possible," states Popp when discussing his style of ambient noisemaking. And just what the hell does he mean by that? "Oval is just reflecting the type of music that is possible without paying attention to musical conventions." Stroking his chin raw, he remarks that "the structural aspects of things are more important than being a creative musician."

Given all this abstract intellectualizing, the last thing one would expect from Popp would be a track as quietly breathtaking as the dreamlike, 24-minute opus "do while" (off 94Diskont). With that track's tranquil moonlit warmth, Popp demonstrates the beautifully musical possibilities of a distinctly unmusical process. "My records are documents rather than pieces of music or songs," he says. "With Oval, the process is the product. The delicate beauty that results is pretty much a happy accident."

The Oval machine has digested more than just Popp trax. Artists like Tortoise, Pizzicato 5, Ryuichi Sakamoto and DJ Vadim have had the pleasure of being deconstructed and reconstructed by Popp. "I try to pick people whose musical approaches were really remote from mine, like people using musical instruments. I try to make everything an Oval track."

Perhaps soon everything will be an Oval track... or something like it. Popp explains how "any musician can be replaced by a Power Macintosh with the right software." This may scare many purists, stoking the flames of technophobia, but for Popp it is the structure and the creation of that structure that are important. He considers himself more a digital architect than a musician in any traditional respect. When asked about his musical upbringing and how it affects his creations, he says that "any upgrade in the Mac operating system is much more influential than any type of musical influence."

Oval arrives June 18 to share his sonic manipulations in a live venue. This should prove interesting considering the minimal, computerized styling of his music. For his live show, Popp is bringing his entire studio on the road with him (no problem, it fits, in its entirety, on a Power Book) to create an event that is "more a public workspace than a concert." Oval won't be charting any Top 40 pop hits in the near future, but is definitely expanding the periphery of sound, giving us a glimpse of the shape of things to come.

With Tortoise at Cabaret on Thursday, June 18, 9pm, $15+taxes.