Electronic Music

[Mandryka]

There's a really unexpected moment, and very effective for me, about three minutes before the end of the first track, Pentes, on this CD.



Some of the music isn't heterophonic/polyphonic, which is not what I'm used to (I like many simultaneous voices with "cross relations" as they say about renaissance masses.) Slowly I'm accommodating myself to just a collage of nice sounds -- but it's not where my heart is.

[Bryn]

So good they played it twice.

Shame about the Tom Service style talk-over of the presenter each time but beggars can't be choosers.

[Mandryka]

I’ve started to listen to The Hafler Trio - immersive music, not unlike Radigue’s Trilogie de la Mort, in 9 Great Openings, less pretty. And psychedelic in Inoutof. Those are the only two recordings I have.

I like what I hear and they’ve recorded a lot of stuff - so suggestions about their high points appreciated.

It’s amazing how much droney music there is, I mean drone and overtones, acoustic and electronic. I blame Scelsi and Tony Conrad.

[Quarky]

I’ve started to listen to The Hafler Trio - immersive music, not unlike Radigue’s Trilogie de la Mort, in 9 Great Openings, less pretty. And psychedelic in Inoutof. Those are the only two recordings I have.

I like what I hear and they’ve recorded a lot of stuff - so suggestions about their high points appreciated.

It’s amazing how much droney music there is, I mean drone and overtones, acoustic and electronic. I blame Scelsi and Tony Conrad.

The Hafler Trio - very difficult to research:: https://simplysuperior.org/index.php

[Bryn]

The Hafler Trio - very difficult to research:: https://simplysuperior.org/index.php

Ah yes, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Mckenzie

[Richard Barrett]

It’s amazing how much droney music there is, I mean drone and overtones, acoustic and electronic. I blame Scelsi and Tony Conrad.

I don't hear any drones in Scelsi's music, but anyway I think you might do better to blame La Monte Young, without whom there'd be no Tony Conrad in his familiar form. It's a fascination with music which is closer to "being" than "becoming", and used by many as a relatively easy way of using music to attain a contemplative or meditative state, although I would say that fundamentally this has more to do with how one listens than with what one listens to. What fascinates me is the threshold between perceptibility and imperceptibility of change, whether something is changing almost too slowly or almost too subtly to perceive, drawing the listener in to sensitivity to the most microscopic variations in the interior of a sound - the musics of Radigue and Kayn are good examples of this, whereas I find a lot of drone-related music seems to arise from (and encourage in the listener) laziness rather than active engagement.

[Mandryka]

I don't hear any drones in Scelsi's music, but anyway I think you might do better to blame La Monte Young, without whom there'd be no Tony Conrad in his familiar form. It's a fascination with music which is closer to "being" than "becoming", and used by many as a relatively easy way of using music to attain a contemplative or meditative state, although I would say that fundamentally this has more to do with how one listens than with what one listens to. What fascinates me is the threshold between perceptibility and imperceptibility of change, whether something is changing almost too slowly or almost too subtly to perceive, drawing the listener in to sensitivity to the most microscopic variations in the interior of a sound - the musics of Radigue and Kayn are good examples of this, whereas I find a lot of drone-related music seems to arise from (and encourage in the listener) laziness rather than active engagement.

Excellent, I shall listen to some Kayn -- a new name for me.

The Scelsi I was thinking of is Quattri pezzi, especially the last of the four. But it's not like you describe -- it's not slow changes.

I like La Monte Young but I'm a bit infatuated by Tony Conrad at the moment because I just got Early Minimalism. There's a fabulous performance for string trio of Composition 1960 No. 7 on youtube.

Tell me, Richard. Have you ever used drones in your music?

[Richard Barrett]

Don't get me wrong, I'm quite interested in Tony Conrad myself. You can listen to plenty of Roland Kayn on Youtube, though not all of his enormous output is drone-like. Youtube has a few sections from his 6 CD album Tektra which I think is a high point.

Have you ever used drones in your music?

At the moment I'm quite interested in exploring extreme differences in rates of change and activity, from almost static to frenetic movement, especially in electronic music, as in disquiet which is I guess the closest approach to a drone-based music, or luminous which contains both extremes in different ways. Both of these are on my Soundcloud page in stereo (they're originally 8-channel pieces) and on the album Strange lines and distances in binaural form.

[Padraig]

Indeed - see the Bargains thread.

Welcome Mandryka!

Correct Dave and S_A.

What a coincidence! 2 Mandrykas! That beats Banagher.

And one of them is 'right' - ??

[french frank]

I think this is a different one (the right one!).

Correct, as far as the 'management' is concerned There might equally have been more than one 'Cavaradossi' or 'Papageno'.

[Richard Barrett]

And one of them is 'right' - ??

Rightness is generally considered to be a feature of men called Mandryka. The previous one, however, was an egregious individual, as those who encountered him here will remember.

[Mandryka]

Don't get me wrong, I'm quite interested in Tony Conrad myself. You can listen to plenty of Roland Kayn on Youtube, though not all of his enormous output is drone-like. Youtube has a few sections from his 6 CD album Tektra which I think is a high point.



At the moment I'm quite interested in exploring extreme differences in rates of change and activity, from almost static to frenetic movement, especially in electronic music, as in disquiet which is I guess the closest approach to a drone-based music, or luminous which contains both extremes in different ways. Both of these are on my Soundcloud page in stereo (they're originally 8-channel pieces) and on the album Strange lines and distances in binaural form.

I will listen to Strange lines and distances

Re drones, are you aware of this new book?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/10/drone-music-ancient-modern-history-monolithic-undertow-harry-sword

[Richard Barrett]

Re drones, are you aware of this new book?

Yes, I don't think I'll be reading it though, on the basis of that article! "In search of sonic oblivion"? No I'm not, thanks.

[Mandryka]

It’s one of those strange things about life, the way some people can confuse things which are polar opposites. So concentration and heightened attention become confused with oblivion. Meditation becomes confused with relaxation.

Here’s Harry Sword on Radio 3, promoting the book.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000rwn3

Listening, reasonably attentively amazingly enough, and with great pleasure, to Eliane Radigue’s Adnos this afternoon - the first CD. It’s bloody cold in London . . .

[Quarky]

A degree or two warmer than I expected here in Hertfordshire.

I'm just amazed by the amount of electronic music that has been composed and of which I'm not aware. Programmes like New Music Show and Late Junction do broadcast quite a bit, and Resonance / Resonance Extra, but otherwise independent rooting through YouTube etc. is required. I don't think there is an Internet Station devoted to electronic music ?

Trilogie de la Mort/ Radigue is one of my favourite works. Inspired by an imaginary pilgrimage around Mount Kailash, I usually switch to a meditational state of mind while the music is playing. However I listened last night in my "normal" listening mindset, and it worked just as well, the very subtle incremental changes in the sounds hold one's attention.