...We assume you already agree that the 'cheep cheep' tones of Nokia, Ericsson and the others leave a lot to be desired. (Jon Wozencroft, 2001)
Full the track listing:
touch33.net/catalogue/tone-14-touch-ringtones.html
From 2001 CD release text: "The process of transferring made-to-measure Ringtones to your mobile phone is, at present, a fixed casino... Chart hits, 'celebrity' voices, action heroes, lame keyboard melodies... so the likelihood of hearing one of these on the 07.34 from Carshalton is, at present, remote, although the J range of Sony mobiles promise better things. However each of these has been composed with exactly this eventuality in mind. All the compositions included here are in one way or another intended to be experienced as isolated, personal interventions: low-res loops, creature calls, in low-res environments, with the branding of surprise. In whichever form you find them here, do sample and employ these humble suggestions...We assume you already agree that the cheap 'cheep cheep' tones of Nokia, Ericsson and the others leave a lot to be desired. But there is huge commercial possibility here, not least with the fact that these selections have not been motivated by database usage... this is far cooler, and the contributors have responded accordingly... With New Order, Fennesz, Ryoji Ikeda, Gilbert & George, Mika Vainio, Mark Van Hoen, PITA, Hazard, Oren Ambarchi, Graham Lewis, Bruce Gilbert, AER, Zbigniew Karkowski, Hecker, Ake Hodell, Main, Chris Watson, Regina Lund, Elgaland-Vargaland, Francisco Lopez, Disinformation, Bigert & Bergstrom, People Like Us and many many others, this release shows what is possible and how far behind the phone companies actually are.... despite their desperation to uncover new ways of selling the next generation of phones to an already saturated market."
released November 30, 2001
Liner Notes – Atau Tanaka, Jon Wozencroft & MSCHarding
Artwork & photography by Jon Wozencroft
With thanks to Shawn Splane
The Big Chill (UK):
Here’s a truly barmy, unrepeatable project. Anticipating the day when more people have mobile phones with a DIY ringtone facility – ie. the kind that enable you to record anything at all as your ringtone – Touch commissioned a number of composers, actors, musicians and fruitcakes to come up with their own ringtones. The results are hilarious, and hugely diverse: 177 different sound samples for you to play with. It’s hard initially to think of them as ringtones, as they vary from tiny snatches of techno or classical to verbal samples, marching feet, machine noise, you name it. Tucked in amongst the 99 different contributors you can find New Order, Gilbert and George, Bruce Gilbert and Ryoji Ikeda. And things like DJ Guacamole’s ‘A concise history of Californian rock music in under 5 seconds’, which sound a whole lot better than they really are. Many are simply noise. My favourite have to be Chris Watson’s contributions (the chap who works as David Attenborough’s sound recordist for his BBC progs). His selection of animal sounds, from African fish eagles and tawny owls to golden plovers and spotted hyenas, bring a welcome touch of the natural to what might otherwise just be another annoying gimmick. It will be interesting to see whether anyone takes up the challenge thrown down here by Touch – to make our technology more sonically stimulating. [Freddie Baveystock]