The Making and Placing of The Escalators Kynan Robinson (BA, BMus, Grad. Dip. Ed.) QUT Creative Industries Master of Arts (Research) 2009 Key Words The Escalators, Kynan Robinson, sampling, stasis, minimalism, David Lynch, structured improvisation, memory, rule based composition, Australian music, improvising music, linear composition. ii Abstract The band The Escalators together with the music uniquely composed for it and a subsequent CD and DVDs was the work that emerged from my period of research. The areas of interest that were investigated were sampling, minimalism, stasis, the work of David Lynch, as well as a desire to produce new and innovative music. The above concepts defined the bands composition and makeup. While each may be regarded as a discreet concept with its own boundaries in my work they seamlessly intermingle resulting in that which is unique to The Escalators sound. The research methodology used for this work was practice led research. iii Contents List Of Illustrations 2 List Of Supplementary Works 3 Statement Of Originality 4 List Of Acknowledgement 5 1. Introduction 6 2. My Work Now, The Making and Placing of The Escalators 7 2.1 Sampling and Memory 8 2.2 Minimalism, Clock Time, Stasis and Repetition 13 2.3 Rule Based Composition/Structured Improvising 17 2.4 Creation of the Atmosphere/Ideas Generated From Investigating David Lynch’s Film and TV Work 20 3. The Process 25 4. Historical Context of My Work 28 5. Conclusions and Moving Forward 33 6. Appendixes 1 Explanation and Evaluation of the Individual Pieces 37 2 Performance Evaluation 40 3 Personal Composition Diary 43 4 Mixing and Recording Notes 46 5A Log Lady 48 5B Uncle Bob 50 5C Blue Fire 51 5D James Boy On A Motorcycle 53 5E The Great Northern 56 7. Bibliography 57 8. Discography 60 9. List Of Works 61 List Of Illustrations 1.0 The Escalators Stage Plan 2 List Of Supplementary Works 1. CD Wrapped In Plastic 3 Statement of Originality To Whom It May Concern The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signature: Name In Full: Kynan Robinson Date: 4 Acknowledgement List I would like to thank the following people: My principle supervisor Professor Andy Arthurs for his continual support, encouragement, direction, tuition and belief in me. My associate supervisor Dr. Robert Davidson for your advice and tuition. My family Michelle Robinson and Kalani Robinson for your inspiration, patience and support. My father and mother Dr. Stuart Robinson and Margaret Robinson for your advice and belief in me. The members of The Escalators Joe Talia, Lawrence Folvig, Edrian Hakim, Michael Meagher, Marc Hannaford, Lawrence Folvig for your dedication, hard work and your amazing skills. Kiron Robinson and Annabelle Warmington for your participation in the project. Andrew Williamson for his support. 5 The Making and Placing of The Escalators Masters Candidate Kynan Robinson Supervisors Principle Supervisor: Professor Andy Arthurs Music, Creative Industries, QUT Associate Supervisor: Dr. Robert Davidson Music, Creative Industries, QUT 1. Introduction The band ‘The Escalators’ together with the music uniquely composed for it emerged from a key area of research, sample-based music and its relationship to memory. The strategy of triggering memory with the use of existing musical recordings has been the dominant determining factor of the music. Additionally a number of other interests have been influential. These include: 1. Aspects of minimalism. 2. Structured improvisation. 3. The film and TV work of David Lynch and the atmosphere it generates. 4. A desire to compose in a style radically different from anything I had produced previously. 5. The possibility of creating an ensemble and a recording that would enable me to reach a wider audience. The above concepts defined the ‘bands’ composition and makeup. While each may be regarded as a discreet concept with its own boundaries in my work they seamlessly intermingle resulting in that which is unique to The Escalators sound. The Escalators’ distinctive identity is a consequence of crossing once-sacred style boundaries. In using samples, a composer can create hybrids that were previously unthinkable. This has the capacity to produce new, unique and personalised musical identities. The research methodology used for this work was practice led research. 6 2. My Work Now – The Making and Placing of The Escalators Concept development, writing the music and choosing the musicians for the Escalators commenced in 2007. There are two reasons for the name. Firstly, for me the name elicits the feeling of a constant returning to the same place, likewise, in my opinion, sample-based music also seems to have this effect. It creates memory confusion and a sense of return. The second and less obvious reason was Escalators starts with the letter E. All my jazz/improvisation groups have had names starting with the letter E (En Rusk, Escargone, The Electricians, so now the Escalators). Doing this creates a sense of uncertainty in those who have followed my career, as well as a slight confusion when talking about one band compared to another. The state of minimal uncertainty or subtle confusion is something that has always interested me. The music of The Escalators is permeated with these attributes. The ensemble consists of Pat Thiel playing trumpet, Mark Hannaford playing piano, Joe Talia playing drums, Mick Meagher playing electric bass, Lawrence Folvig on electric guitar, DJ Element playing turntables/sampler, and myself on trombone. All these musicians have strong improvisational skills developed through years of training and professional practice. This is important to me as a composer. Joe Talia has worked with many of Australia’s top jazz musicians and is a regular member of multiple Aria award winner Andrea Keller’s quartet and The Adam Simmons Toy Band. He is also a strong voice in Australia’s sound art scene. Marc Hannaford is a piano player who works across a broad spectrum of improvisational music including being a founding member of The Antipodeans, a group which focuses on developing their own improvising language. Lawrence Folvig and Michael Meagher move freely between Melbourne’s avant-garde and pop scenes. They play in bands that include The Black Arm Band and Melbourne pop outfit Near Your House. Pat Thiel is well known in Melbourne’s jazz scene and DJ Element is a prominent turntablist/DJ in Melbourne’s Hip Hop community. He is also a sound sculpture having exhibited in many festivals and galleries around Australia. The diversity of these players’ communities also added to the distinctiveness of the Escalators’ sound. The strong link between them all was their ability to improvise. At the early stages of development the shared improvising/compositional language that the players possessed allowed me to rapidly explore concepts. It helped me decide what to keep and what to discard. It freed me up from having constantly to produce physical written work that might or might not be kept, thus saving me time in decision making and allowing for a more flexible, responsive approach to the final pieces. The distinguished clarinettist Anthony Pay states “I am the sort of player who is more disposed to start off from the accuracy point of view rather than starting off from the musical point of view. You can with some modern music start off and say ‘I’m not going to pay any attention to the notational aspects of it, but initially I am going to decide what the music is about, 7 the gestures – and language – the sort of thing, if you are improvising, you have to deal with.’ Now, I tend when I’m approaching a modern score, to start off by trying to get, as accurately as I can, what he’s (the composer) actually put down on paper.” (Bailey 1992, 67-68) That premise is precisely what I wanted to avoid. 2.1 Sampling and Memory The sampler/ turntablist was the key position in The Escalators and in many ways his sound was the most important in the ensemble. Broadly defined, turntablism is a musical practice in which prerecorded phonograph disks are manipulated in live performance. DJ Babu a member of the DJ crew the Beat Junkies introduced the term in 1995. The name distinguishes the turntablist from the traditional DJ, someone who plays records but is not traditionally thought of as a musician. Although turntablists consider themselves musicians their originality is sometimes questioned because they perform on machines designed for automatic playback. The use of the term “ism” therefore, lends weight to the practice, suggesting an art form with a cohesive doctrine. It confers a seriousness that demands respect. (Katz 1970, 115-116) John Oswald described the art in this way: "A phonograph in the hands of a 'hiphop/scratch' artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced -- the record player becomes a musical instrument." (in Cox and Warner 2004, 132). The choice of a turntablist DJ Element was ideal. He had developed a great number of technical skills through his years as a “battling” DJ 1 but he also had a wide appreciation of art and art practice, sensitizing him to the need for collaboration. Many of the DJs I had previously worked with had developed their own sound and technique or set of DJ tricks and were unwilling to adapt to new ideas presented to them. He was a turntablist that had the capacity to develop new techniques depending on the sounds required from him.