DOCSLIB.ORG

A Cross-Genres (Ec)Static Perspective on Contemporary Experimental

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Cross-Genres (Ec)Static Perspective on Contemporary Experimental digital processes (R. Ikeda), hypnotic repetitive clusters best regarded more as a comparative method than simply A cross-genres (ec)static perspective on contemporary (minimal-techno and basic channel styles), immersive a taxonomic description. Therefore, this study aims to experimental music multi-channels soundscapes (B. Labelle), and exploratory provide a qualitative classification method with which to sound resonances (J. Kirkegaard). These approaches identify comparable musical events in a list of composi- maintain certain common features such as non-narrative tions. This analytical process was applied to a set of Riccardo Wanke development and a particularXXXXXX focus XXXXX on the perceptual as- compositions and revealed a large number of similarities Centre of Musical Sociology and Aesthetic Study – CESEM, pects of music. xxxxxx – xxxxx, that then led to the definition of nine musical attributes. University ‘Nova’ of Lisbon. Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Indeed, both of these twoxxxxxxxxxxx, broad musical currents have the shared desire ‘[to] create works that seek to engage Av. de Berna, 26 C, 1069-061 Lisbon, Portugal. xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx 3.2 Selection Of Pieces the listener in a stimulating listening experience’ [5]. This [email protected] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx listening experience is characterized by a new vision of For the purposes of this study, compositions character- time in music, space (i.e. multi-channels diffusion and ized by an absence of overt sociocultural references and sculptural musical design), musical evolution (non- popular and alternative music towards more advanced containing only a small number of real-world sounds ABSTRACT narrative and extended) and repetition (generation of and sophisticated forms, e.g. experimental rock, drone were opted for. Musical works containing narrative voic- hypnotic effects and a listening “in accumulation”). The- This paper presents a particular perspective, shared metal, basic channel style, IDM, among others [1, 3, 4]. es or representational musical elements would have been se characteristics form an (ec)static listening environ- across various currents of today’s music that focuses on This process of sophistication within different genres of ill-suited to the premise of starting with sound itself: ex- ment, where the musical material is static (atemporal, sound itself as a complex entity. Through the analysis of popular music, often accompanied by more specialized tra-musical traits are more often related to social and cul- non-narrative) and the listening attitude is ecstatic (free to certain fundamental musical elements and sonic charac- though smaller audiences, lead to a shift of perspective: tural themes than to the sonic characteristics of a piece. explore and move through the dimensions of sound) [6, teristics, this study explores a new method for comparing from music as entertainment and distraction to being However, the background and context for each piece 7]. different genres of music characterized by a similar ap- something deserving contemplative home listening fo- should be examined [10], allowing the influence of a The variety of the cross-genres area makes a useful proach to sound. Taking benefit of theoretical and per- cused on the sonic experience.[3, 4]. composer’s poietic intention to be acknowledged. Thus, comparison difficult: how is it possible to examine the ceptual examinations, this strategy is applied to post- Currently, these different areas of musical exploration this approach should be able to decode and interpret di- complex composition for 24 instruments in vain by Haas spectralist and minimalist compositions (e.g. G. F. Haas, consider similar sonic materials and arrive sometimes at together with the indefinite drone of Kesto#4 by the elec- verse musical works and be able to identify similarities B. Lang R. Nova, G. Verrando), as well as glitch, elec- equivalent results. Common practices are found across tronic duo Pan Sonic? In my recent paper [6], I try to among them. tronic and basic-channel style pieces (Pan Sonic, R. distant styles: such as a flexible approach to harmony, the approach at this musical material focusing the attention The following pieces were analysed: • G. F. Haas Ikeda, Raime). Nine musical attributes are identified that enormous extension of timbric range, the creative use of on the primal musical elements and the current study String Quartet nº2 and In vain; • B. Lang Differ- help trace a new outlook on various genres of music. The new technologies, and, above all, the sculptural approach seeks to approach different genres from the side of per- enz/Wiederholung (selection); • R. Nova Eleven; • G. study's contribution lies in its revealing of a shared musi- to sound as a matter to mould. This paper looks at a ceived musical components rather than through compari- Verrando Dulle Griet, Triptych #2; • Pan Sonic Kesto; • cal perspective between different artistic practices, and in cross-section of contemporary music and examines their son of any writing method or theory. Current methods Ryoji Ikeda +/- ; • Raime If Anywhere Was Here He the establishment of new connections between pieces that use of fundamental musical elements in order to highlight approaching analysis from perceptual aspects are mostly Would Know Where We Are, Quarter Turns Over A Liv- belong to unrelated contexts. this shared perspective across different genres of explora- applied to electroacoustic music [8] and focus attention ing Line, and Hennail. Keeping with the topic of the conference, this paper at- tory music. tempts to deal with several questions, such as (i) the on the nature of sound within a specific genre [9]. How- This selection reflects a great variety of styles but all ever, an effort to extend these approaches to a more gen- pieces display a common focus on the precise use of var- “splendid of isolation” of genres of experimental music, 2. AREA OF STUDY (ii) the development of new cross-cultural methods of eral level capable of comparative studies across different ious spectral characteristics of sound. The range of styles analysis and (iii) the future of music education and di- This study considers those genres that approach sound as styles is currently a subject of great interest among schol- represented allows this study to demonstrate that the dactic approaches. a sculptural material, considering it as a complex, dense ars [10], and is the aim of the study proposed here. common perspective that emerges goes beyond any spe- and tangible entity. This description is admittedly fairly cific instrumentation or genre as the pieces cover acoustic 1. INTRODUCTION generic and vague but allows going beyond a specific 3. ANALYTIC PROCEDURE (i.e. Haas and Lang), electronic (i.e. Ikeda, Raime, Pan instrumentation: as this paper is drawn to identify com- Sonic), electroacoustic, mixed and real-world sounds (i.e. The field of contemporary experimental music, consid- mon approaches to sound irrespective of the medium 3.1 Method Nova, Verrando, Lang and Pan Sonic), and span from ered in its broad sense, is enormously diversified [1, 2], used, musical practices are considered whether they are contemporary classical music to experimental alternative but distant genres of music have in common some char- The first step of this study is the definition of general electroacoustic, purely acoustic or electronic. music genres. acteristics even if they are part of distant cultural and categories to classify those musical events that seem typi- On the one hand, contemporary composers such as Haas's pieces represent prime examples of contempo- social environments. Georg Friedrich Haas, Fausto Romitelli and Bernhard cal of our area of study. This framework should consist of th rary instrumental music that explore various sonic char- Throughout the 20 century, certain currents within fundamental guidelines that can be adapted to different Lang have advanced their artistic practice by exploring acteristics through a minute exploration of instrumental exploratory music can be seen as moving progressively new possibilities within instrumental music, each accord- styles (e.g. acoustic, electroacoustic, electronic…) and spectra and a large use of microtonality. Highlighting this towards a more explicit interest in the intrinsic properties ing to his own aesthetic, considering sound as a complex, have the potential to describe the characteristics of sound approach, in vain (2000) includes lighting instructions for of sound [3]. Within this frame of reference, one can almost tactile substance. Another characteristic common itself. live performance, denoting shifts from darkness to fully identify that starting from the mid-twentieth century cer- to these composers is their unconventional vision of time Thus, each piece is divided up according to either a tain trends (i.e. non-teleological and acousmatic perspec- in music. Through their particular use of repetition and narrative partitioning or a separation based on musical illuminated, driving the audience’s attention towards the perceptual aspects of sound. tives; the fusion of electronic, acoustic and concrete their exploration of sound spectra, their work induces a textures or events [8]. Each episode is analyzed and de- The B. Lang project, Differenz / Wiederholung, is sounds; and the extended use of sound spectra) were sim- kind of temporal dilation: sound is treated as an almost scribed using a combination of four categories: time, dy- ultaneously developed and established as the cardinal
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Cross-Genre Analysis of the (Ec)Static Music
    Proceedings of the Electroacoustic Music Studies Network Conference The Art of Electroacoustic Music, Sheffield, June 2015 www.ems-network.org A cross-genre analysis of the (ec)static music Riccardo Wanke Centre of Musical Sociology and Aesthetic Study – CESEM, University ‘Nova’ of Lisbon Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Av. de Berna, 26 C, 1069-061 Lisbon, Portugal [email protected] Abstract This paper looks over a selection of pieces belonging to distant genres of today’s music, in order to identify common practices to approach sound. Through audio, spectral and score analyses, this study examines essential musical elements (e.g. pulse, spectral properties, dynamic contrast, spatial arrangements) their characteristics and effects. This method has been applied to post-spectralist and minimalist compositions (e.g. Georg Friedrich Haas, Bernhard Lang, R. Nova, Giovanni Verrando), as well as glitch, electronic and basic-channel style pieces (Pan Sonic, Ryoji Ikeda, Raime). The analysis reveals nine musical attributes that are common within the selection of pieces. These attributes indicate parallels, similar perspectives and a common affinity among different genres. The study contributes essentially by minimising artistic distances and establishing shared musical conceptions. Introduction During last century, various currents of experimental music progressively moved toward a more explicit interest to sound and its characteristics: some scholars refer about a timbre’s evolution to the exploration of sound (Bériachvili, 2008; Solomos, 2013). Starting from the mid-twentieth century, several musical elements (e.g. non-teleological perspectives, the fusion of electronic/acoustic/concrete sounds, the extended use of sound spectra) were simultaneously developed across distant genres of music.
    [Show full text]
  • UIS - Unrock Import Service 2005
    UIS - Unrock Import Service 2005 Juli / August (203) LP (551) |___ 0-9 (4) |___ A-D (145) |___ E-H (94) |___ I-L (60) |___ M-P (112) |___ Q-T (94) |___ U-Z (42) CD (673) |___ 0-9 (4) |___ A-D (192) |___ E-H (112) |___ I-L (76) |___ M-P (113) |___ Q-T (114) |___ U-Z (62) 7"/10"/12" (226) |___ 0-9 (7) |___ A-D (59) |___ E-H (36) |___ I-L (23) |___ M-P (40) |___ Q-T (42) |___ U-Z (19) SALE (221) |___ 7"/10"/12" (77) |___ CD-Singles (16) |___ CD´s (99) |___ LP´s (29) Crypt Records (77) DVD (21) SUBLIME FREQUENCIES (15) Page 1/322 UIS - Unrock Import Service 2005 : Juli / August 7 Year Rabbit - Wind Machines LP Free Porcupine Society ***Free Porcupine Society schätzt sich glücklich diese absolute De-Luxe Edition von 7 Year Rabbit´s - Wind Machines zugänglich zu machen. Angeführt vom früheren Deerhoof Gitarristen Rob Fisk und seiner Streiterin Kelly Goodefisk (ebenfalls von Deerhoo) mit Miya Osaki und Steve Gigante von Brother Jt und Gaststar Jamie Stewart von Xiu Xiu, liefern 7 Year Rabbit 10 Tracks brutalster Improvisation und glühenden Vocals, geeignet jede Komposition zu skelettieren. 140 g. Vinyl gepackt in wunderschöne, handbdruckte Jackets mit Artwork von Herrn Fisk. Limitierte Ausgabe von allerhöchstens 500 Kopien. 18.90€ Acid King - III Small Stone ***Mit "III" kommen ACID KING der Idealvorstellung dessen, was man gemeinhin unter "Stoner Rock" versteht, gefährlich nahe. Gemeinsam mit Produzenten Legende Billy Anderson (MELVINS, MR.
    [Show full text]
  • SPECTRALISMS 2O19
    SpectraliSmS 2019 dition international conference e nd nd 2 edition 2 – Wednesday 12th – Friday 14th June, 2019 S Paris, France m S IRCAM: Salle Stravinsky, Studio 5 Spectrali http://spectralisms2019.ircam.fr Paris, France 14th – Friday 12th Wednesday 2019 June, ORGANISING COMMITTEE ■ Sylvie Benoit (IRCAM) ■ Nicolas Donin (IRCAM, STMS) ■ François-Xavier Féron (CNRS, STMS) ■ Eric de Gélis (IRCAM) ■ Grégoire Lorieux (IRCAM, L’Itinéraire) SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ■ Jonathan Cross (University of Oxford) ■ Nicolas Donin (IRCAM, STMS) ■ François-Xavier Féron (CNRS, STMS) ■ Joshua Fineberg (Boston University) ■ Robert Hasegawa (McGill University) ■ Gascia Ouzounian (University of Oxford) ■ Ingrid Pustijanac (University of Pavia) ■ Caroline Rae (Cardiff University) Organised by the Analyse des Pratiques Musicales research group, STMS Lab (IRCAM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université) With the support of Société Française d’Analyse Musicale, and the Collegium Musicæ SPECTRALISMS 2019 “Vous avez dit spectral?” In March 2017, the Faculty the specifics of significant musical works that empha- of Music at the University of Oxford, in association sise both the organological and analytical properties with IRCAM, organised Spectralisms, a conference of spectralism in a broad sense (from Scelsi to Criton devoted entirely to the discussion of issues in spectral by way of Rădulescu and Grisey). music (http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/spectralisms/). The wide range of ideas engaged over the two days of Over the two years of preparation, we have been the conference reflected the
    [Show full text]
  • Channelisation of Noise Through a Rhythmic Grid: Brutalist Mechatronic Sound-Sculpture
    Channelisation of Noise through a Rhythmic Grid: Brutalist Mechatronic Sound-sculpture by Mo H. Zareei A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington 2016 Supervisory Committee Dr. Ajay Kapur Prof. Dale A. Carnegie Dr. Dugal McKinnon ii “There is no order that does not contain disorder within itself, and undoubtedly there is no disorder incapable of creating order.” Jacques Attali iii Abstract The aim of this thesis is to provide accessibility and appreciation for sounds that are conventionally perceived as non-musical or “noise”. Ordering the noise on a grid of metric rhythms, and underlining its materiality through an audiovisual mode of expression are the two main strategies employed. Using the medium of mechatronics, mechanically generated sonic by-products of technological developments are chosen as the focus sonic material. As a result, the output of this research extends what is known as glitch music outside the territory of amplified sound, to a realm where noise is created physically and acoustically. Based on these objectives, and following an investigation on the use of mechatronics in contemporary sound-based art, an ensemble of mechatronic sound-sculptures is designed and developed. Varying in terms of material, sound-generating mechanism, and sonic quality, the ensemble is divided into three different instrument-types, each of which is introduced, thoroughly described, and sonically evaluated. Next, three new audiovisual works are developed and realised utilising the mechatronic sound-sculptures, in order to turn into practice the ideas explored in this research.
    [Show full text]
  • Vážení a Milí Čtenáři, Jak Se Píše Na Jednom Místě Tohoto Čísla: „Blázni Jsou Ti, Kdo V Hudbě Vnímají Jen
    editorial obsah Glosář Matěj Kratochvíl 2 Pan Sonic Aleš Stuchlý 4 Supersilent Karel Kouba 5 New Music Marathon Matěj Kratochvíl 6 aktuálně Music Unlimited Petr Vrba 7 Mauricio Kagel Matěj Kratochvíl 8 Herci hudby Jozef Cseres 10 Hermann Nitsch Alex Švamberk 12 Vážení a milí čtenáři, jak se píše na jednom místě tohoto čísla: „Blázni jsou téma Handa Gote Petr Ferenc 14 ti, kdo v hudbě vnímají jen zvuk.“ Každý koncert je svým způsobem divadelní představení, i ten, který se snaží jím Skupina A Viktor Pantůček 16 vůbec nebýt. Jakmile je na jedné straně hlediště a na druhé kdosi cosi předvádí, vstupují do hry kromě znějící Hudba, skromnost, teatralita Tomáš Vtípil 19 hudby i další prvky: vzhled a pohyby hudebníků, prostředí, světlo atd. Každý žánr má svá pravidla, někde se s diva- delními prvky pracuje cíleněji, jinde méně. V tomto čísle Giacinto Scelsi Jaroslav Štˇastný 20 sondujeme některé případy, v nichž divadelní složka hraje vetší roli. John Cage, jímž začíná svůj článek Jozef Cseres, James Tenney Jaroslav Štˇastný 24 patřil k prvním, kdo v hudbě (mimo operu) začali zdůraz- ňovat prvky herecké akce. Na opačném konci časové osy Klangspuren Petr Bakla 25 můžeme najít třeba české divadlo Handa Gote, o jehož koncertně-divadelních projektech píše Petr Ferenc. A kde- Vinko Globokar Petr Bakla 26 si mezi tím se nachází Hermann Nitsch a jeho Divadlo orgií a mystérií. Alex Švamberk měl to štěstí, že se takové mon- Litevská hudba Vítězslav Mikeš 28 strózní akce zúčastnil jako hudebník, a podává tak zprávu současná kompozice z první ruky. Do historie domácích snah o „jinou prezentaci jiné hudby“ nás zavede Viktor Pantůček.
    [Show full text]
  • Glitch Music and Digital Minimalism
    The History of Rock Music - The Nineties The History of Rock Music: 1995-2001 Drum'n'bass, trip-hop, glitch music History of Rock Music | 1955-66 | 1967-69 | 1970-75 | 1976-89 | The early 1990s | The late 1990s | The 2000s | Alpha index Musicians of 1955-66 | 1967-69 | 1970-76 | 1977-89 | 1990s in the US | 1990s outside the US | 2000s Back to the main Music page (Copyright © 2009 Piero Scaruffi) Glitch Music and Digital Minimalism (These are excerpts from my book "A History of Rock and Dance Music") Glitch Music, 1994-2000 TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. In the second half of the 1990s, a new style was born in Europe that employed digital events (such as the "glitches" of defective compact discs) to produce disconcerting ambient music and even "dance" music. Glitch music originated from Germany (Oval) and Britain (Autechre). Markus Popp's Oval (1) had the idea of applying the avantgarde technique of musique concrete to the static, droning, ethereal fluxes of ambient music. Systemisch (1994) "composed" tracks by using the "glitches" of defective compact discs as an instrument (an adaptation to the digital age of the ideas of Czech artist Milan Knizak), thereby inventing a whole new musical genre ("glitch music"). The "mechanical" effect of compositions such as the 25-minute Do While (1996), off 94 Diskont (1996), was akin to the aesthetics of Futurism. Oval's Popp and Mouse On Mars' Jan Werner pursued a similar strategy of accident-prone electronic music under the moniker Microstoria on works such as Init Ding (1995).
    [Show full text]
  • The Early Stage of Perception of Contemporary Art Music: a Matter of Time
    The Early Stage of Perception of Contemporary Art Music: A matter of time VINCENZO SANTARCANGELO and RICCARDO WANKE University of Bergamo, Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy. Email: [email protected] CESEM – Centre for the Study of the Sociology and Aesthetics of Music, NOVA University, Lisbon, Portugal. Email: [email protected] By way of a multidisciplinary approach, this article advances kinds of music practices should take into consideration the idea that our listening to certain practices of contemporary the complete set of characteristics elicited in our auditory art music (electroacoustic, classical contemporary, and system. The auditory system processes stimuli focus, in electronic music) relies on precise connections to the early stage a first phase, on frequency and pitch distinction (Hyde, of perception. These styles of music are characterised by Peretz and Zatorre 2008), spatio-temporal indications essential sound configurations that evolve in time, thus eliciting a sensorial impact which transcends features regarding sound (Schönwiesner and Zatorre 2009) and music/speech rec- 2 sources and affective responses. Listeners grasp what Scruton ognition (Peretz, Vuvan, Lagrois and Armony 2015). calls ‘pure events’ in a ‘world of sound’, being able to distinguish, The focus on the physical characteristics of sound is a separate and sort acoustic stimuli. The article establishes a key key feature of many genres of contemporary and electro- parallel among seminal works of Bregman, McAdams, Kubovy, acoustic music practices, and the perception of this type Bayle and other authors, highlighting a fundamental agreement of music may operate differently in so far as it confronts of perceptual studies in psychology, neurophysiology and the listener with a wide range of sound types as against musicology for the understanding of the early stage of sound the more restricted set of conventional musical sounds.
    [Show full text]
  • Electroacoustic Music and Popular Culture Interacting: Aesthetic And
    Proceedings of the Electroacoustic Music Studies Conference, Sforzando! New York, June 2011 www.ems-network.org Electroacoustic Music and Popular Culture Interacting: Aesthetic and musicological implications of GRM Experience by Christian Fennesz, Mika Vainio and Christian Zanési Frédéric Dufeu Laboratoire Musique, Équipe d’Accueil EA 3208 – Arts : Pratiques et Poétiques Université Rennes 2 – France [email protected] Abstract Created on October 11th, 2003 at the Maison de Radio France in Paris, GRM Experience is a work signed by three composers coming from different electronic-related musical horizons. Whereas both Christian Fennesz and Mika Vainio usually perform in popular spheres of diffusion – the former’s processing of instrumental sources by digital means being largely marked by the aesthetics of pop and rock music, the latter’s analogue methods inheriting from his experiments among the techno duo Pan Sonic – Christian Zanési’s art belongs to electroacoustic music as it has been produced in the Groupe de Recherches Musicales since 1977. Their collective creation was based on a first session of individual work from preliminary exchanged sound material, followed by a confrontation stage which led to the final composition, performed live in several European concerts and edited on CD. Although many musical events attempt to bridge the gap between electroacoustic music and popular culture, actors from these two general spheres most often play jointly rather than through intimate collaborations. Furthermore, if musicology provides a wide range of approaches to technology-based creation made inside institutions, popular electronic music is generally regarded as a global phenomenon and few detailed studies have aimed at particular works or artists yet.
    [Show full text]