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DEFINITIONS for EARTH-BASED MUSIC:

E
(Earth)

EARTH- Music that is textural (as opposed to smooth), rough, raw, rich and grainy. This is music that is rougher and more invasive to listen to, and corresponds with the sensation of texture.

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EA
(Earth with Air)

Mixed with Air, Earth music becomes smoother, cooler, and more relaxed, with its texture becoming more accessible and less harsh. Often acoustic instruments or soulful vocals paired with minimal instrumentation finds itself in this category, as long as it has a dry and emotionally subtle feel to it. This becomes the sub-element of SOIL.

Images I associate with soil music tend to include, obviously, soil; but also other natural materials like driftwood, bark, and smooth-textured stones, gently eroded by fresh water.

A good example of "soil" music is Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car". This song has earthy vocals (as opposed to smooth or breathy vocals) and acoustic instrumentation. The slow pace and the echoing voice effect create a sense of atmosphere. In the chorus, the song kind of picks up emotional steam and passion, but Tracy's vocals maintain a mature, cool and collected feel that keep it separated from the "water" classification, as well as its arrangement, which is "dry" rather than "fluid". If someone didn't know the lyrics, the deeper feelings of the song don't come through as strongly. At least in my opinion. Therefore this song would be tagged EAWf (earth - air - water - fire).


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EF
(Earth with Fire)

Mixed with Fire, Earth music amplifies its noisy, grittiness. This type of music is brash and rough-edged, and has a lot more energy than music with the "soil" classification. This type of music is usually separate from most genres of rock, in favor of more folky styles, like droning neo-folk or rootsy hip-hop. There's usually a raw quality to this music, and it can be somewhat dark.This becomes the sub-element of CHAR.

Images I tend to associate with Char music are things like fire burning charcoal, sparks, ash, embers, dark browns, deep reds, and sooty blacks- the kinds of colors and textures left over from being burnt, or the less-intense carbon offshoots of a fire.

Woven Hand is a good example of the kind of music I tend to associate with this overall feel; very rough, gritty, and passionate, but the emotions are delivered with subtlety, as opposed to outright emotional expressiveness. It would be tagged EFWa (earth - fire - water - air).



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AW
(Earth with Water)

Mixed with Water, Earth music becomes more sensitive, emotional and accessible, but remains rough-edged and heavily textured. Earth and water together are visceral and expressive, the most inwardly felt, rich and soulful music of all the classifications, but unlike Soil or Blaze music, it includes the element of emotional expression. A lot of a capella music- in its fluid exuberance and expressiveness- tends to fall into this category, which I call the sub-element of MUD.

Images I tend to associate with Mud music are rich browns and brownsih tones, leathery textures, and deep, luxurious shades of warm reds, blues and purples- images that coincide with rich, soulful feelings.

Bobby McFerrin's music is a good example, which I have tagged as EWA (earth - water - air).




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