Sounds from Innerspace

innerspaceboy · 05-16-2019, 05:20 AM

To continue the conversation, I'll share a few excerpts kindly compiled and offered by a musical peer on mine. Several of these were immediately familiar as I have copies of the complete essays in my music library. He shared:

JOHN CAGE

Quote:

New music: new listening.

Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating.

...one may give up the desire to control sound, clear his mind of music, and set about discovering means to let sounds be themselves rather than vehicles for man-made theories or expressions of human sentiments.

The other day a pupil said, after trying to compose a melody using only three tones, “I felt limited.” Had she concerned herself with the three tones — her materials — she would not have felt limited, and since the materials are without feeling, there would not have been any limitation. It was all in her mind, whereas it belonged in the materials.

My work became an exploration of non-intention.

I was intent on making something that didn't tell people what to do.

Many people taking a walk would have their heads so full of preconceptions that it would be a long time before they were capable of hearing or seeing. Most people are blinded by themselves.

The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.

There are people who say, “If music’s that easy to write, I could do it.” Of course they could, but they don’t.

BRIAN ENO

Quote:

Honor thy mistake as a hidden intention.

Since I have always preferred making plans to executing them, I have gravitated towards situations and systems that, once set into operation, could create music with little or no intervention on my part.

...I realized that this removal of context was an important point in the magic of music. One of the things I’ve been concerned with quite a lot is to deliberately dismantle or shift contexts around so that something comes from a certain area where you didn’t expect it, or something appears and it has a certain mysteriousness to it.

Some sound comes so heavily laden with intention that you can’t hear it for the intentions.

Repetition doesn't really exist. As far as your mind is concerned, nothing happens the same twice, even if in every technical sense, the thing is identical. Your perception is constantly shifting. It doesn't stay in one place.

I think if something doesn’t jolt your senses, forget it. It’s got to be seductive.

I like it [the piano] because of the complexity of its sound. If you hold the sustain pedal down, strike a note and just listen... that’s one of my favorite musical experiences. I often just sit at the piano for an hour or two, and just go “bung!” and listen to the note dying. Each piano does it in a different way. You’ll find all these exotic harmonies drifting in and drifting out again, and one that will appear and disappear many times. They’ll be fast-moving ones and slow-moving ones. That’s spellbinding, for me. [He noted that he had done this with the piano many times -- and that it made him smile when he came across this passage!]

Retaining my lack of proficiency to a certain extent allows me to make interesting mistakes.

Most music chooses its own position in terms of your listening to it. Muzak wants to be back there. Punk wants to be up front. Classical music wants to be another place. I wanted to make something you could slip in and out of. You could pay attention or you could choose not to be distracted by it if you wanted to do something while it was on... Ambient music allows many different types of attention.

I want to make things that put me in the position of innocence, that recreate the feeling of innocence in you.

STEVE REICH

Quote:

What I'm interested in is a compositional process and a sounding music that are one and the same thing.
Listening to an extremely gradual musical process opens my ears to it, but it always extends farther than I can hear, and that makes it interesting to listen to that musical process again. That area of every gradual (completely controlled) musical process, where one hears the details of the sound moving out away from intentions, occuring for their own acoustic reasons, is it.

I begin to perceive these minute details when I can sustain close attention and a gradual process invites my sustained attention. By "gradual" I mean extremely gradual; a process happening so slowly and gradually that listening to it resembles watching a minute hand on a watch - you can perceive it moving after you stay with it a little while.

MORTON FELDMAN

Quote:

All I ask is that composers wash out their ears before they sit down to compose.

What I tried to bring into my music are just a very few essential things that I need.

There is a suggestion that what we hear is functional or directional, but we soon realize that this is an illusion; a bit like walking the streets of Berlin — where all the buildings look alike, even if they’re not.

What I am after is somewhat like Mondrian not wanting to paint bouquets, but a single flower.

ARVO PÄRT

Quote:

I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence, comfort me. I work with very few elements — with one voice, with two voices. I build with the most primitive materials — with the triad, with one specific tonality...

ELIANE RADIGUE

Quote:

It's like looking at the surface of a river. There's an iridescence around the reefs, but its never completely the same. According to the way in which you look, you see the golden flashes of the sun or the depths of the water. In a swimming pool you can see the reflection of the ripples on the bottom. Or have a vision of the whole and let yourself be carried away by what I call "dream gazing," or fix on a detail and make your own landscape. There you can make your own soundscape.

But what I appreciated most was his sharing of a thought piece he'd penned himself which he's kindly permitted me to share here with you:

THE PRESENCE OF PURE SOUND: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON AMBIENT COMPOSITION BY JOSHUA SELLERS [2004]

Quote:

A meditative soundscape does not re-present anything other than sound. It does not function as a medium for expressing an idea or an emotion. Rather, it becomes nothing more than the pure presence of sound itself.

A soundscape does not inherently possess a definitive, fixed meaning. It certainly may evoke various emotions or ideas—but such things arise from the listener’s own co-creative participation in the unfolding process of sound events. The listener quite literally makes sense out of sound.

Must music always require a specific teleological structure? Must music always fulfill the need for mere psychological expression of the composer’s ego?

The concreteness of actual sound I find fascinating of itself, not necessarily because a sound might always fulfill a teleological goal or a psychological intention. To do so merely transposes the actual unfolding of sound events into the abstract.

The emphasis on physical sound should not be misunderstood as mere reductionism. Listened to attentively, soundscapes can function as a meditative bridge.

In this way, a soundscape transcends not the physical world, but rather the anthropomorphic concepts we superimpose on the world.

The unfolding of sound events then function as a temporal ikon, inviting the listener to step into the unsayable being of the world itself.

He noted that, with the idea of ambient music functioning as an ikon, he specifically had the color fields of Mark Rothko in mind.

rostasi · 05-16-2019, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

You’re really touchy about Stockhausen. I think it’s because he was kind of adopted by fans of Can who didn’t really go any deeper into the genre or learn anything about his contemporaries.

Well, the above statement concerning my feelings about Stockhausen somehow
being influenced by the ways that other people feel about Can is just downright weird.
It’s not about being “touchy” about Stockhausen. Rhetorical fripperies are of
little service when it comes to attempts to explain any composer or his work.

OccultHawk · 05-16-2019, 01:33 PM

I mean a lot of the things I’ve read about Stockhausen were written by people who wouldn’t know who he is if it weren’t for Can. Like in NME and Melody Maker way back the names Stockhausen and Can floated around together a lot. It’s good that he got that extra exposure but it also means that if you’re reading about Stockhausen it’s less likely to be really on point than say Ussachevsky, for example. My theory is this may have gotten into your subconscious.

innerspaceboy · 06-13-2019, 06:07 PM

Just a quick post with some exciting news at Innerspace Labs -

The decor project of my new office after my promotion at work is in its final stages! I loved my bronze Beethoven bust headphone stand so much that I had an identical one cast (with a slightly larger base) so I would have one for both home and for the office.

I'd originally planned on commissioning a custom rosewood stand from an artisan in Poland but the bronze classical piece fits better with the Victorian theme of my work space and makes it feel a little more like home.

The bust in my listening room will be used for my ORA GrapheneQ flagship wood-cupped circumaural headphones once production is complete, (hopefully by Christmas). The one at work will be used for the liquid-wood circumaural semi-open AudioQuest Nighthawk series cans pictured to the right. Presently I'm using my original bust for my trusty Sennheisers.

I promise to share an album of the fully-decorated office once the final piece of artwork arrives from England later next month!

Zhanteimi · 06-13-2019, 06:13 PM

I covet the earphones on the right.

innerspaceboy · 06-13-2019, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhanteimi

I covet the earphones on the right.

Just added the model specs for that pair to the original post. Glad you dig 'em!

innerspaceboy · 06-24-2019, 06:46 PM

This is a wonderful 14-minute talk about my most impassioned life’s work.

Charpentier shares a fascinating tale about a record digger discovering an unknown independent artist’s music in a dusty flea market - an artist who had never experienced fame in his time. This discovery and the determination and passion of the digger directly led to the artist’s music being reissued by a major label and inspiring the artist to begin performing again for the first time in decades. This is the magic that can come of crate digging and cultural curatorship.

And he describes how our collections become an autobiographical legacy meant to be passed on to future listeners.

He says, "Beautiful art deserves to be cherished, shared, and rediscovered."

"We are alternative voices to the mainstream music channels, digital or otherwise. Go beyond the algorithm."

"This music will change your life."

Watch this short segment and understand my motives and my passions just a little better. <3

Zhanteimi · 06-25-2019, 12:54 AM

"Go beyond the algorithm."

Man, you said it!

innerspaceboy · 06-30-2019, 04:03 PM

When I learned that Oxford University Press had just published a volume of its Keynotes series wholly dedicated to examining Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music For Airports, I raced to secure a copy.

The keynote was written by John Lysaker, the William R. Kenan Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department. Researchgate.net reports Lysaker’s project goal with the book was to provide “a 30,000 word study of Eno’s seminal album. This short study will explore the nature of ambient music, situate the album in 20th century avant garde music practice, and consider multiple forms of listening.”

Lysaker outlines the origins of this exploration in the Acknowledgements:

Quote:

I test-drove some early thoughts at a meeting of the American Philosophies Forum. This was a great prod in the right direction, and comments from other participants proved useful as the project developed, as did the opportunity to concretize those remarks in an article, "Turning Listening Inside Out" which appeared in the Journal of Speculative Philosophy.

(He also acknowledges) the writings of Geeta Dayal, David Sheppard, Cecilia Sun, Eric Tamm, and David Toop (and included) the titles of their books alongside others in the section called Additional Sources for Reading and Listening. (He also thanks) the tireless laborers that maintain two websites: MORE DARK THAN SHARK and EnoWeb. Each has gathered numerous interviews that are resources for scholars and fans alike.

The Introduction quickly frames the tasks undertaken by the book:

Quote:

This short study is for listeners who want to think and reflect on what Eno's LP has to offer, and in a way that deepens future listening rather than replaces it with scholarly prose.

…

Five chapters and an afterward follow. They blend musical and historical analysis with occasional philosophical reflections on what "music" means in a context as provocative as the one convened by MFA.

Chapter 2: Music for Airports and the Avant-Garde touches upon a number of pivotal composers and works which paved the way for MFA. David Toop’s Ocean of Sound is discussed, as are Debussy, Ives, Schoenberg, Luigi Russolo, Pierre Schaeffer, Edgar Varèse’s Poème électronique, Michael Nyman, La Monte Young, Steve Reich, Alvin Lucier's I Am Sitting In A Room, David Tudor, Cage, and Riley’s In C. Lysaker demonstrates how each of these predecessors provided an environment for Eno’s composition and he concludes the chapter by succinctly identifying the properties and musical concepts embraced by Music for Airports:

Quote:

...in a short book, one is forced to make choices, and I elect to provide what I consider MFA's most immediate context... ...Rather, I've been marking conceptual, technological, and sonic shifts that helped make a record like MFA possible, and we've encountered several.

Music can be built around something other than a motif, or basic musical phrase.
Microtones and the dissonances they introduce can be musical.
Traditional harmony (and even harmony altogether) neither exhausts nor is required for a musically legitimate arrangement of sounds.
Any sound is suitable material for a musical composition.
New technologies for the generation and reproduction of sound are not only welcome but necessary.
The presence of unintended sounds, i.e. noise, is an acceptable (and inevitable) part of a musical work.
Musical works can productively interact with the sonic environment in which they are produced.
Single tones and chords are musically complex and interesting, particularly when sustained for lengthy periods of time or subjected to extended repetition.

Chapter 4: Ambience explores the nature and function of the general umbrella of various ambient musics. Satie's musique d'ameublement ("furniture music") is examined, as is divertimenti music of the eighteenth century. Lysaker goes on to contextualize Cage, La Monte Young, Pauline Oliveros and the Deep Listening album, Moby, Aphex Twin, Thomas Köner, Wolfgang Voigt, Robert Scott Thompson, Max Richter's Sleep, William Basinski, Stars of the Lid, and FSOL, as well as a brief history of Muzak and the 1950s Capital Records "Moods in Music" series.

Lysaker quotes Eno's description of MFA's movement "away from narrative and toward landscape" and says that "MFA's somewhat amorphous and discontinuous sonic material seems to suspend its listeners somewhere in the space between hearing and listening."

He describes the state of reverie induced by MFA, and suggests that it "enters life differently - obliquely, gently, but nevertheless, at least on occasion, transformatively."

The final Chapter 5: Between Hearing and Listening – Music for Airports as Conceptual Art effectively summarizes the conceptual nature of MFA:

Quote:

At one extreme, futurists like Russolo tried to humanize those sounds, creating compositions that strove to translate the sounds of the world into an expanded but nevertheless fully realized musical idiom. At the other extreme, Cage sought to let sounds be sounds through compositions that removed as thoroughly as possible his taste, judgment, and skill as a composer.

When interpreted conceptually, the approaches of Russolo and Cage create an opposition: either (a) art absorbs nature in the self-enlarging process, versus (b) art exposes nature in a self-effacing one. The former offers us culture over nature, whereas the latter labors to displace human activity from an emerging culture-or field-of sounds. MFA eludes this opposition, seeking neither a denatured culture nor an ascetically cleansed field of sounds. Instead, it enacts itself as one aspect of the world operating on another. By working with its world, and by clarifying itself with theories that naturalize the human desire to make art, it presents itself as nature unfolding, taking nature, cybernetically, as a dynamic system of interactions that includes its (and our) own efforts.

Lysaker presents and describes various forms of listening, including background listening, foreground or performance listening, aesthetic listening, adequate listening, and regressive or narcissistic listening. He then offers a metaphor for the reader to consider the type of listening warranted by MFA through a different "lens" of prismatic or immersive listening.

He goes on to observe the subtle differences between listening to MFA across different media formats, from compact disc to vinyl, and then explores the vastly different texture, spaciality, and sonic palette offered by the instrumental realization of the album by Bang on a Can which displaces the monochromatic character of "2/2," effectively enlivening and humanizing the track.

The book concludes with an Afterward framing the enduring influence of MFA, and the author closes with a brief list of further reading and listening materials. Additionally, Oxford University Press created a website to accompany the bookthat features audio clips of many musical passages discussed over the course of its chapters.

The short text was a delightful and engaging read, and the philosophy explored by the author is never lost to overly-academic pomp. The book is a thoughtful and knowledgeable reflection on a critically influential work of music which continues to influence and inspire musicians and listeners alike over forty years after its release.

innerspaceboy · 07-03-2019, 04:09 AM

Supplemental Note:

On June 11th I shared the sheet music for MFA which I'd reworked into a 10" x 13" framed piece for my new office, and shared it to a Brian Eno group on FB along with the newly-acquired Oxford Keynote book by Lysaker.

A fellow member of the group by the name of Kirk McElhearn thanked me for putting the book on his radar, and ended up contacting Lysaker for a 30-minute interview session for his podcast, The Next Track.

That interview is now live and listenable here: https://www.thenexttrack.com/156

05-16-2019, 01:33 PM	#723 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	I mean a lot of the things I’ve read about Stockhausen were written by people who wouldn’t know who he is if it weren’t for Can. Like in NME and Melody Maker way back the names Stockhausen and Can floated around together a lot. It’s good that he got that extra exposure but it also means that if you’re reading about Stockhausen it’s less likely to be really on point than say Ussachevsky, for example. My theory is this may have gotten into your subconscious. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

06-13-2019, 06:13 PM	#725 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	I covet the earphones on the right. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic

06-25-2019, 12:54 AM	#728 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	"Go beyond the algorithm." Man, you said it! __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic