ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS AS AN ADAPTIVE PRINCIPLE FOR COMPOSING ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC PhD Candidate: Jonathan Weinel KEELE UNIVERSITY Research Institute for the Humanities Department of Music March 2012 CONTENTS Contents ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 3 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ 4 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1 - Hallucinations and Music ........................................................................................ 8 1.1 Varieties of ASCs .......................................................................................................... 8 1.2 ASCs in culture ........................................................................................................... 13 1.3 ASCs as an adaptive principle for composition .......................................................... 21 1.4 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 2 - Mimetic Techniques in Fixed ASC Compositions ................................................ 27 2.1 Background ................................................................................................................. 27 2.2 Night Breed (6:23) ...................................................................................................... 30 2.3 Surfer Stem (7:09) ....................................................................................................... 34 2.4 Night Dream (8:00) ..................................................................................................... 36 2.5 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3 - Entoptic Phenomena In Audio .............................................................................. 42 3.1 Background ................................................................................................................. 42 3.2 Entoptic form constants ............................................................................................... 43 3.3 Software: The Atomizer Live Patch ............................................................................ 48 3.4 Entoptic Phenomena (5:44) ......................................................................................... 55 3.5 Swamp Process (7:35) ................................................................................................. 59 3.6 Entoptic Phenomena in Audio (20:00) ........................................................................ 60 3.7 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 4 - Bass Drum, Saxophone and Laptop ...................................................................... 64 4.1 Background ................................................................................................................. 64 1 4.2 Software: Bass Drum, Saxophone and Laptop ........................................................... 68 4.3 Performance ................................................................................................................ 74 4.4 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 78 Chapter 5 - Tiny Jungle ............................................................................................................ 80 5.1 Background ................................................................................................................. 80 5.2 Audio Composition ..................................................................................................... 83 5.3 Visual Composition ..................................................................................................... 85 5.4 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 6 - Nausea ................................................................................................................... 91 6.1 Concept ....................................................................................................................... 91 6.2 Compositional Features ............................................................................................... 91 6.3 Compositional Structure .............................................................................................. 95 6.4 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 99 Chapter 7 - Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 101 7.1 Altered states of consciousness as an adaptive principle .......................................... 101 7.2 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 107 Appendix ................................................................................................................................ 109 Works Cited – Texts ............................................................................................................... 112 Works Cited – Sound Recordings .......................................................................................... 115 Works Cited – Film and Video .............................................................................................. 115 Works Cited – Websites ......................................................................................................... 116 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements are due first and foremost to Rajmil Fischman for his support, wisdom and inspiration over the years. Also to Mike Vaughan, Oliver Harris, Miroslav Spasov, Diego Garro, Sohrab Uduman, Cliff Bradbury, Robert Ratcliffe and everyone else who I have worked with in the Music Department and Research Institute of the Humanities. Sol Nte for the conversations and performing on the Bass Drum, Saxophone and Laptop project. To Ryan Winderknecht and Lyall Williams for our discussions of philosophy and video game culture respectively. Additionally to Laurent Mialon and Z’EV for the inspiration their music provided for this research and for their correspondence with me. Thanks is also due to the Arts & Humanities Research Council, who provided funding for this research. Finally, to Jennifer Pickles and all other friends and family who supported me in this endeavour. 3 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Fischer’s varieties of conscious states. Roland Fischer, ‘A Cartography of the Ecstatic and Meditative States’, Leonardo, 6 (1973), pp. 59-66. ......................................... 11 Figure 2. Timothy Leary’s seven levels of energy consciousness. ..................................... 29 Figure 3. Entopic form constants. Various images from Bressloff and others .................. 45 Figure 4. Entoptic phenomena and rock art comparisons. Reproduced from Lewis- Williams and others, pp. 206-207. ....................................................................................... 47 Figure 5. Atomizer Live Patch user interface ..................................................................... 52 Figure 6. Matrix sequencer from the Atomizer Live Patch. ............................................... 53 Figure 7. Performance notes for Entoptic Phenomena in Audio. ........................................ 62 Figure 8. Bass Drum, Saxophone and Laptop user interface. ............................................. 73 Figure 9. Flowchart showing the operation of Bass Drum, Saxophone and Laptop. ......... 74 Figure 10. Jonathan Weinel, Untitled DMT painting, acrylic on board, 2005. ................... 81 Figure 11. Atomizer Visual software user interface. ........................................................... 88 Figure 12. Diagram indicating the compositional structure of Nausea. ............................. 96 Cover image is an untitled painting by Jonathan Weinel, 2010. 4 ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to use altered states of consciousness (ASCs) as an adaptive principle for composing electroacoustic music, in which common features of the ASC experience provide a basis for the design of sonic material and inform the structural design of corresponding musical sections. Various cultures throughout history have sought to undergo visionary journeys using hallucinogenic plants and drugs. In many cases these experiences have been used as a basis for the creation of art, literature and music. Informed by a survey of relevant work, this practice-led research develops a compositional process for creating electroacoustic music that is based upon hallucinogenic perceptual states. Though situated within the electroacoustic idiom, the work also draws significantly upon Western psychedelic culture and electronic dance music. The output is a creative portfolio containing a series of musical compositions, software and video. This supporting commentary describes the compositional