What's in a name? Being under-appreciated.

[gravious]

[bassrael]

i have a stupid name

[nousd]

yeah that's wot I was on about

& bassreal
I always think of you as a Mossad agent cos I see the (I)sreal
this is actually the first time I've recognized your name as being made from bass + real ...strange eh?
each word is relevant & strong in itself but they seem to dilute each other
but when I start mucking around with it, ass starts standing out
maybe my prob is with the conjunction of s & r

[ambinate]

actraiser is the name of a video game for the snes

not really a big deal but it gives his name choice a little context, i think

[Cervix]

People with first name and then random word after tend to fall short.

Instra:mental is one that grates on me, as much as I love them. Singling out mental and the name itself is too cliché. Names that reference what they are too much don't work. Its like people that put dub and step in their names. It presume because it tells you what it is before you listen so you feel like you've already heard it. A Made Up Sound is horrible as well. Purposefully didn't listen to it until I found out it was 2562.

One the other hand you have names like Actress, Shackleton, Sandwell District (Female, Function, Silent Servant and crew, Kassem Mosse, dBridge are all brilliant names. Not overtly referencing themselves, vague, make you curious as to what the music will sound like and all are institutions in themselves. There was probably a lot thought put into the names you can presume a lot thought was put into the music.

[actraiser]

yu mean like apple gewze?
a few posters have thought I'm having a shot at them or friends
I'm actually trying to promote the exploration of the music of producers whose name doesn't immediately appeal
exactly like the Shreddex & V.I.V.E.K. examples

but I've gotta admit that I am so more prepared to listen to someone with a cool name
call me shallow but it's like the phoenetic equivalent of lasagne vs boiled brussel sprouts...both good
but one gets the juices of expectation flowing.
(notice I'm not saying which, cos in the end it's a matter of taste & we have some avowed cabbage-lovers on here)

like Be-1ne defending the name Actraiser
(& I deliberately mentioned that name cos I love his tunes & mixes)
so I'll explain why that name doesn't resonate with me:

first, it seems visually unbalanced & of awkward length,
whether spelt with a capital, in which case it's front heavy
or lowercase, when it becomes constrained vertically.
Contrast with Artwork or artwork which is marginally better

second, it's sounding is strong at first with Act
but then trails off for too long with raiser
in contrast with the shorter Actress

third, the disjunction of what looks like & sounds like two component words
act + raiser
to act ... be active & positive...yes
or an act...as in a performance...or a pretence?
then raiser...someone who raises...positive too
but, together, do they mean someone who is raising an act?
not a strong idea imo.

four
(I know I'm micro-analysing this & the next bit could be hurtful but I'm hoping it's useful)
the lack of depth, or humour, or twist
&, most importantly, for the producer's benefit,
lack of energy & power.
i.e. the word actraiser doesn't induce in me an emotional response like actraiser's dubstep can.
without the nomen sharply signifying the creative impetus
my identification with it's will is fraught.

Which is fine if that is the intention of the person behind it,
like, say, they themselves want to stay detached from what they're making
but that, in turn, can suggest lack of confidence or diffidence
relying on rare listener impartiality to probe beyond a shy persona.

Geez dude, you look into things far too much.. I chose Actraiser as its my favourite action / god game on the super nintendo from 1990 and I liked the sound of it..

[nousd]

Mate, if you don't get some resistance to your name
because people don't share my aesthetic reaction
or even if they do, but you don't care,
then, truly, I'm glad.

[Ayatollah]

i have a stupid name

do you make jewstep?

[skimpi]

Best/worst name for band ever: !!!
You can't google them, talk about them, or ask for their record in a shop. Well done lads

dont you pronounce their name 'chk chk chk' or are they some other band? haha

[nousd]

yeah they're chk chk chk alright & were pretty good live
case in point...they became popular with an unsayable name
partly because it implied that their music might be similarly creative
partly because it was memorable.

ultimately I'm amazed at how suited dark garage/ds producer's names have been to their music,
even when they've adopted their nicknames or real names
because, generally, when they're made up, they haven't been psychedelic like psy-trance
egotistic like hip-hop or laidback like house

and yet they seem to come from so many directions:

F, T_!...minimal
Hyetal, Phaelah, Geiom, Geeneus, Loefah, Coleco...simple sounds but ambiguous spellings
Clarity, Pangaea, Cogent, Distance, Vision, Marginal, Egoless...big ideas distilled in a single word
Boot, Sook, Mr Lager, Wizzbit, Eek-a-Mouse, Boomstix, Wascal...whimsical, self-efacement
Droid Sector, Killeralien, Zomby, Sukh Knight, Kromestar, Frozen Space, Lord Skywave, pulsar...fantasy/science fiction
Darqwan, Headhunter, Armour, Guardian, WAR, Malice....martial images
High Rankin, Skrewface, Cluekid, Dubchild...natty
Akema, Spherix, Djunya, Loxy, Ylem, Sigha, Phrex...straight out neologisms
then there's the uncategorizable: Throwing Snow, Cyrus, Wrexile, DoneO

and they're just the ones that stand out!

[Soiree]

...repost...

It's a marvelous name!

[aeolho]

half serious,
cos I don't know how you derived what I'm now eidetically hearing as halo
I can only try to clarify in my own mind what you are saying about yourself/your music with a name that seems airily amorphous.
What does it actually mean to you?

It's also interesting listening to your track Sun of a Bitch, a title that suggests harshness & big themes whereas the music is restrained & finely detailed.
Maybe you just dig paradox.

i can´t say it any better than this:

Geez dude, you look into things far too much..[...]

[nousd]

^not sure Cern would agree

[gravious]

Best/worst name for band ever: !!!
You can't google them, talk about them, or ask for their record in a shop. Well done lads

dont you pronounce their name 'chk chk chk' or are they some other band? haha

Yeah. Imagine saying that in a shop though. You'll sound like BIll Oddie doing the mating call of the lesser spotted chuff warbler on springwatch.

[butter_man]

@sd5

would you listen to a tune or a mix by butter man?

[skimpi]

@sd5

would you listen to a tune or a mix by butter man?

i dont think i would really, to me it sounds like a kind of jokey name, and id think you do some harsh dubstep haha. i dunno why, i think its the butter part, and maybe the man, but then like oneman is sick, so i think its the combination of butter with man. and i just imagine a man made of butter, which is a bit shit haha no offence to your name though you may have your reasons behind it.

[nousd]

Yeah I'd have to agree with skippi on this one:

butt(er) man sounds too much like you could be one half of ass2ass
&, if you've ever seen Last Tango in Paris, butter has another anal implication
sorry if that's a bit flippant, but no, I wouldn't be attracted to listen.

I thought, of your ideas, mortl was on the way to being intriguing
because it's about something weighty & without the a,
to my mind, ends prematurely &, so, has a twist.
But mortal is taken if I remember rightly.

Obviously I could be totally wrong & your music might perfectly suit your name & be the next big thing.
After all, any name we adopt has to be transcended, so we are not confined by it.
That's why some of the great names reach beyond the person, into their future.

[butter_man]

mortl sounds like dark DnB.

but thankyou for your response. It comes from "I am but a man" or I am just a man which may tie in with mortl.
I dont make harsh dubstep, I make sound at the moment no particular specific genre cos that would mean having to learn the rules to said genre and would also mean Id have to pass it off as that genre and fear the ridicule by fans of said genre.

cheers though, sum of your poetry has caught my attention. very cool!

[butter_man]

oh and the homosexual undertones could be a way to get access to other untapped markets, gay is the new straight and all that ji.. I mean jazz.

[Ayatollah]

sd5 is on to something, you totally should team up with someone to make ass2ass... the production duo that is