49 minutes, 43 seconds

Société Anonyme
SA 123

Apologies to Philippe Fichot, but Société Anonyme has to be the ugly duckling of all Die Form side projects. Dull and unimaginative, this CD just seems to plod along using the same tinny drum-machine rhythm for each track. It's worth noting that this is the only album he's recorded under this moniker. Never again, Philippe. Never again. Je vous en prie.

Anyway, today brings Part 3 of my series on artists who use total time in a creative (or, like me, anal-retentive) way on their CD releases. Yesterday I posted the contents of my e-mail conversation with Jan from X-Fusion, and Monday I published comments by Der Blutharsch mastermind Albin Julius. Today I bring you Joep Smaling, the man behind the Dutch ambient-industrial-neoclassical project Foundation Hope, whose most recent release, The Faded Reveries, came out late last year on the Cold Meat Industry label.

"I've noticed a time-related curiosity in both CDs released by Foundation Hope," I began, "and I was wondering if I might ask you about it and post your response on my blog. It seems that both A Call to All Redeemers and The Faded Reveries are mastered to exactly the same total time--51 minutes, 42 seconds. Can you tell me, was this by design, or just by coincidence? If by design, what is the significance of this running time? Should listeners read something important and meaningful in it?"

Alas, an answer proved elusive. "Remarkable site!" Joep responded. "In a perfect world everybody is owning and comparing my two releases. I suggest you puzzle a little further. What's the point in telling you? That's no fun."

Hmm.

Dear readers, it's a testament to my love for you--even though you're merely figments of my imagination, and I have the Web site traffic data to prove it--that I pored over Foundation Hope's Web sites and CD inserts to find the answer to Joep's "puzzle." However, I came up empty. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I wrote back to Joep: "Thanks for your response--and for the kind words about the site. To answer your question, yes, the site is a testament of sorts to my obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Music rules my life in many ways, and so the site is also a tribute to the artists whose works I've collected and enjoyed over the years. I must admit, I'm clueless about the 51:42. I notice that the A Call to All Redeemers CD is cataloged as DC042, but surely that can't be the connection. Can it? I've looked at your Web site, your MySpace page, and the artwork on both CDs, and I can't find anything that would indicate the significance of 51:42. Perhaps you can offer me a small hint? I'm looking forward to your next release. Will Tunes for the Wounded also be mastered to the same total time?"

I'm still waiting for his response, but it's been several days now, and hope is waning. If I get one, I'll post it. In the meantime, anyone have any ideas on how to solve the puzzle?

Also today:

49:41 Koda, Movements
49:41 Monolith, Sub-System
49:39 Nurzery [Rhymes], Injection
49:38 Kayno Yesno Slonce, Chakruk
49:36 Mediavolo, Soleil Sans Retour
49:35 Snow in China, Electromensch
New arrival! 71:48 Panzer Division, From Normandy and Beyond
49:33 Darkwood & Chaos As Shelter, Lapis
49:32 Prager Handgriff, Maschinensturm