Electronic Music

The Mechanics of Destruction. An analysis of authorship and political engagement in the work of Matthew Herbert

by Melle Kromhout

MA-thesis Cultural Analyis, University of Amsterdam; 2008

An analysis of the politically engaged music of electronic musician Matthew Herbert, through tracing different... more An analysis of the politically engaged music of electronic musician Matthew Herbert, through tracing different contradictive aspects of his author position and the way this translates in his work.

Shamanic diffusions: A technoshamanic philosophy of electroacoustic music

by Jon Weinel

Forthcoming in Sonic Ideas/Ideas Sonicas

Electroacoustic music affords the possibility of creating journeys through non-realistic or illusory spaces, through... more Electroacoustic music affords the possibility of creating journeys through non-realistic or illusory spaces, through the use of sonic materials.  This article proposes the application of the concept of ‘technoshamanism’ as a principle for composing and performing electroacoustic works of this type.  I shall commence by examining the use of the term ‘technoshaman’ in relation to psy-trance culture.  Through consideration of Rouget’s (1985) definitions of ecstasy and trance, I will discuss the relationship of psy-trance culture to Rouget’s definition of trance.  From this position I shall then propose the use of electroacoustic music in relation to Rouget’s definition of ecstasy.  This will enable me to define ‘shamanic diffusions’ as an opposing technoshamanic approach to that which is used in psy-trance.  Under this discussion, electroacoustic music will be considered as an ecstatic technology.  I shall then conclude with some comments and speculation regarding how this concept may be useful as an approach for the composition and performance of electroacoustic music.  For example, in various composed works I have used altered states of consciousness and hallucinations, as a principle for the design of sonic materials and musical structure.  Through the course of this article then, I will describe a conceptual model through which to consider electroacoustic composition and performance.

Altered states of consciousness as an adaptive principle for composing electroacoustic music

by Jon Weinel

PhD Thesis

The aim of this research was to use altered states of consciousness (ASCs) as an adaptive principle for composing... more 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 processes in detail, and it is hoped that it will be of interest to other creative practitioners dedicated to exploring this theme in music and other mediums.

I'm the Operator with the Pocket Calculator Some Reflections on Pure Data.

by Harald Wiltsche

The Springboard: The Joy of Piezo Disk Pickups for Amplified Coil Springs

by Eric Leonardson

Breaking Down the Breaking down the breakdown, the use of timbres in contemporary music subgenres

by barry hill

When making music in the style of contemporary
Trance and Drum n Bass, a composer/producer does
not need to... more When making music in the style of contemporary
Trance and Drum n Bass, a composer/producer does
not need to have a theoretical understanding of Traditional
Western European musical principles to compose
interesting music. The basic working material is
no longer pitch, but timbre. Using an analysis of specific
musical works within these genres, this paper will
demonstrate that while western melodic and harmonic
forms are still evident in these musics, timbre is foregrounded
as the basic working material of the composer.
In these musics, Timbres are being manipulated to
create sonic textural variations and sequential structures
that in this discussion are referred to as Timbral
Cadential cycles.

The notion of at Timbral Cadence,
or a movement from musical instability to stability, is
a good starting point for an analysis of the compositional
forms of Trance and Drum and Bass. This paper
will present transcriptions of Drum N Bass and
Trance music works accompanied by a simple graphic
analysis based on ‘Reason’ and ‘Cubase’ software arrangement
windows.

Bellino_AAJI_Esotismi allIRCAM

by Francesca Odilia Bellino

Art After New Media: Exploring Black Boxes, Tactics and Archaeologies (LEA)

by Garnet Hertz

forthcoming in Leonardo Electronic Almanac, MIT Press

This paper discusses three methodological themes employed by contemporary media artists who reuse obsolete information... more This paper discusses three methodological themes employed by contemporary media artists who reuse obsolete information technology hardware in their work. Methodologies include the exploration of the hidden “blackboxed” layer of technology by circuit bending artists like Reed Ghazala, the tactical use of technologies to bring social change by artists like Natalie Jeremijenko, and the archaeological use of outdated technologies to intervene in history by artists like Tom Jennings. These themes are presented as useful tools to construct a language of reuse which serves a valuable function in a culture increasingly confronted by electronic waste and assists in critiquing assumptions of obsolescence, technological progress and understanding digital culture primarily within the framework of “new media.”

LA REMISE EN CAUSE DE LA LEGITIMITE DE L'ŒUVRE-ÉVÈNEMENT PAR LES NOUVELLES TECHNOLOGIES

by Anthony Papavassiliou

Nascent Desire: Building Rapport with Juliana Hodkinson and Niels Rønsholdt's Fish & Fowl

by Danielle Sofer

"Ночные танцы с ангелом истории. Критические культуральные исследования пост-социализма."

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

in: Культуралные исследования. под. ред. Александра Эткинда. Санкт-Петербург: Европейский университет, 2005.

"Night Dances with the Angel of History: Critical Cultural Studies of Post-Socialism," in Russian Cultural Studies. Alexandr Etkind, ed. St Petersburg: European University Press, 2005.

"Ночные танцы с ангелом истории. Критические культуральные исследования пост-социализма."

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

in: Культуралные исследования. под. ред. Александра Эткинда. Санкт-Петербург: Европейский университет, 2005.

"Night Dances with the Angel of History: Critical Cultural Studies of Post-Socialism," in Russian Cultural Studies. Alexandr Etkind, ed. St Petersburg: European University Press, 2005.

The Effects of Polyphonic Technology on Electric Guitar Performance

by Richard Graham

As part of the annual SMI post-graduate conference - Dublin, 2010.

This paper contends there are several causes of
timbral homogeneity in contemporary electric
guitar... more This paper contends there are several causes of
timbral homogeneity in contemporary electric
guitar performance: 1) the acoustic origin of the
instrument; 2) the traditional performance practice
of timbral constancy, whereby “the player will
have been schooled for many years to maintain
timbre constancy in many musical situations”
(Erickson 1975, p. 12); and 3) the monaural nature
of the instrument, in terms of the single-feed audio
output found in most electric guitar pickups. The
second and third causes are arguably a direct
result of the first. Such timbral homogeneity is
problematic because it limits the electric guitar
performers’ ability to utilise “timbre as a distinct,
dynamic feature of music” (Fales 2005, p. 157).
Instead, timbre is placed in the traditional role of
nuance. As a form of remediation, this paper
argues that modern polyphonic pickup technology
provides an opportunity for timbral structure to
become a more central part of contemporary
electric guitar music by encouraging a practice
whereby the performer consciously investigates
perceived relationships between common pitch
structures and timbral and spatial parametric
change in a reflective manner in real-time music
performance. The proposed approach maintains
the potential to facilitate a new performance
practice in contemporary electric guitar music
whereby the performer utilises musical stimuli
which exploit their similarities to environmental
“regularities” (Bregman 1993, pp. 10-36).

The Archives of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center

by Nick Patterson

Music Library Association. Notes, 67(3), 483-502

This article presents a brief history of the Columbia-Princeton
Electronic Music Center (CPEMC), and an overview... more This article presents a brief history of the Columbia-Princeton
Electronic Music Center (CPEMC), and an overview of its archives. The Center was one of the earliest and most influential centers of electronic music in the United States, especially during the decade or so after its founding. The Center was active in supporting the work of many domestic and international composers wishing to work in electronic media, and was the locus for the composition of many important and influential works of electronic music. The archives of the Center consist of roughly 80 percent sound recordings, principally reel-to-reel tapes, including original recordings of the concerts of the Composers’ Forum from 1951 to the mid-1970s. The remaining holdings include documents; manuscripts; technical manuals and blueprints, music manuscripts, sketches, and scores; bibliographies and discographies; photographs; slides; a small amount of correspondence;administrative records; and ephemera.

ELECTROACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE INTERFACES THAT LEARN FROM THEIR USERS

by John Levack Drever

2005: 'Electroacoustic Performance Interfaces that Learn from Their Users', collaborative paper with Andrés Melo & Geraint Wiggins, Proceedings, International Computer Music Conference, 2005, Barcelona, ICMA, San Francisco. (refereed)

Goldsmiths Electronic Music Studios: 40 Years

by John Levack Drever

2008: ‘Goldsmiths Electronic Music Studio: 40 Years.’ Young, M., Drever, J., Grierson, M., Stonehouse, I., Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference 2008. ICMA, San Francisco, pp.315-318.

Deathpile: G.R.

by Jennifer Wallis

IN PRESS Published in Goodall, Mark (ed.), Gathering of the Tribe: Music and Heavy Conscious Creation (London: Headpress, 2012).

Power electronics isn’t generally celebrated for its eloquence, yet much of it follows a highly successful formula... more Power electronics isn’t generally celebrated for its eloquence, yet much of it follows a highly successful formula that constitutes an almost ritualistic experience, as the sheer volume and visceral aggression of the music demands total immersion in the experiences and messages it offers.

The key elements of power electronics are seamlessly charted in Deathpile’s G.R. (2003), an unrelenting onslaught of noise charting the crimes of Green River killer Gary Ridgway and his murderous crusade against Washington prostitutes.

Despite, and in fact because of, its subject matter, albums like G.R. represent a uniquely attractive ritualistic experience: it is impossible to listen to the album in any way other than total immersion, in which the listener joins Deathpile's Jonathan Canady in carrying out Ridgway’s crimes. In G.R., Canady draws upon Ridgway’s own statements to introduce the genuine voice of ‘evil’ into the proceedings, whilst waves of sound convey periods of calm before the storm and gloating reflection. In doing so, Canady and Ridgway become indistinguishable, the same person: Canady performs his own ‘ritual’ to become someone else.

Power electronics is undoubtedly also a ritual for the listener. As a consciousness-altering experience, power electronics is a strong contender, utilising noise akin to a sonic attack to deliver experiences to the listener that are ‘off limits’ yet hold perverse fascination.

Obsolete systems

by Laurie Spiegel

Retrospective audio cd including music I composed on various historic electronic and computer music instruments and systems. My notes and observations on the technologies used and the experiences of composing with them are here:

http://retiary.org/ls/obsolete_systems/

The actual cd is available here:

http://www.cdemusic.org/Laurie-Spiegelbr-iObsolete-Systems-i-p697.html

Tiny Jungle: Psychedelic Techniques in Audio-Visual Composition

by Jon Weinel

Forthcoming, proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2011).

Tiny Jungle (duration 7:10) [1] is a psychedelic audio- visual montage, with a soundtrack based upon electroacoustic... more Tiny Jungle (duration 7:10) [1] is a psychedelic audio- visual montage, with a soundtrack based upon electroacoustic music and late 1990s drum and bass. This work forms part of my research regarding ‘Altered states of consciousness (ASCs) as an adaptive principle for composing electroacoustic music’. According to Heinrich Klüver [2] and Timothy Leary [3], ASCs such as those induced by mescaline may commonly result in the perception of visual patterns of hallucination, cryptic symbols, perception of cellular or atomic forms, and strange journeys or narratives. Tiny Jungle uses these ASC features as a basis for the composition of sound and video. Visual material for this piece was created through a montage of animated hand-drawn artwork, 3D graphics and material created using a specially designed Max/MSP/Jitter tool that produces stroboscopic visual material in real-time. The combination of music and moving images is intended to construct a narrative that conveys psychedelic experiences. In this paper I will discuss the development of Tiny Jungle from concept to realisation, with emphasis on the development of visual material and a brief overview of the soundtrack. It is hoped to thereby stimulate thought for audio-visual practitioners on compositional techniques based upon ASCs and audio-visual montage techniques involving hand-produced artwork and real-time methods.

Uroskie - From Pictorial Collage to Intermedia Assemblage: Variations V (1965) and the Cagean origins of VanDerBeek's Expanded Cinema (Animations)

by Andrew Uroskie