Ambient, noise, drone, field recordings, electro-acoustic experiments

[Old San Antone]

I may be wrong, but I couldn't find a thread for the kind of music described in the Subject.

Some artists that characterize the kind of music I am hoping to discuss on GMG:

Machinefabriek is the musical nom de plume of musician/sound artist and graphic designer Rutger Zuydervelt from the Netherlands.

Lawrence English is a composer, artist and curator living in Brisbane, Australia. His work is broadly concerned with the politics of perception, specifically he is interested in the nature of listening and sounds' capability to occupy the body.  He is the director of the imprint Room40, started in 2000.

Taylor Deupree is an American electronic musician, photographer, graphic designer and mastering engineer. He is most known for the founding of the 12k record label, along with his work as a member of Prototype 909, and his collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Marcus Fischer, Stephan Mathieu, Savvas Ysatis, Christopher Willits and others. In 2008, Taylor Deupree was the Président d'Honneur of the Qwartz Electronic Music Awards 5th in Paris (France).

Stephen Mathieu is a self-taught composer and performer of his own music, working in the fields of electroacoustics and abstract digitala. His sound is largely based on early instruments, environmental sound and obsolete media, which are recorded and transformed by means of experimental microphony, re-editing techniques and software processes involving spectral analysis and convolution; it has been compared to the landscape paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, the work of Painters Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Ellsworth Kelly.

William Basinski is an American avant-garde composer based in New York City. He is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound artist, and video artist. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album The Disintegration Loops (2002–2003), constructed from rapidly decaying twenty-year-old tapes of his earlier music.

Thomas Köner is a multimedia artist whose main interest lies in combining visual and auditory experiences. The BBC, in a review of Köner's work in 1997, calls him a "media artist," one who works between installation, sound art, ambient music and as one half of Porter Ricks dub techno.  A noted characteristics of Köner's dark ambient style are low drones and static soundscapes evocative of desolate, Arctic places.

Here's a sample clip

https://www.youtube.com/v/oculcquowGk

Please post about others you enjoy working in these genres.

[T. D.]

I know next to nothing about this vast (seriously, loads of work out there) area, have only dabbled slightly, can't add any value.
But thanks for mentioning Mathieu, of whom I hadn't heard. I'm a former quant, and find the description of his work, esp. experimental microphony, re-editing techniques and software processes involving spectral analysis and convolution extremely interesting!
[Aside: I sometimes visit (well, not these days) a photography gallery; similar things go on in that field. I was originally highly skeptical, but have been impressed by some artists.]

[some guy]

I, on the other hand, know next to everything about this area, and Old San Antone's list makes me think that I, too, have been only dabbling for the past twenty years or so. Almost fifty years counting electroacoustic.

Makes me think I should familiarize myself with his list first before venturing on any offerings of my own, but "hey," maybe I can make a list, too, that will make San Antone feel like a dabbler. The temptation is simply too great!!

I cannot supply the background details as San has done, however. I don't listen like that. Which makes my contributions less useful, I'm afraid.

I thought first of Maryanne Amacher. Her work was primarily confined to live presentations. Apparently, the recordings are pale and even deceptive presentations, but if like myself, you have never heard her work live, then recordings are all you get. I have to say, with nothing to compare them to, that they are startlingly fascinating.

When I read the entry for Basinski (whom I have heard of), I thought of a couple of people. Francisco Meirino, who has worked extensively with various machines that are old and failing, Yasunao Tone, who has spent a long and happy career running damaged CDs through players that cannot handle them,* and Andrew Hosch, who made a spectacular mashup of six recordings of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, and even managed to out-spectacular his own work with a half-hour piece called "Ghosts of Spring," which he describes as "electronic trailings of the conglomerate." 

*He ran into a hitch, as it were!, several years into his concert career--newer CD players, with more and more sophisticated error correction, could play his damaged CDs without, um, a hitch. He had to find early CD players in order to do his work!

[T. D.]

..., Yasunao Tone, who has spent a long and happy career running damaged CDs through players that cannot handle them,* ... 

*He ran into a hitch, as it were!, several years into his concert career--newer CD players, with more and more sophisticated error correction, could play his damaged CDs without, um, a hitch. He had to find early CD players in order to do his work!

That touches on why I never got past the dabbling phase with electronica. Years ago I purchased the OHM: Early Gurus of Electronic Music set (3 CDs). Certainly a wealth of interesting work and things to follow up on...But I concluded that between the diversity of composers and the inevitability of technological progress constantly rendering devices and methods obsolete, I'd never be able to listen enough to get any kind of grasp of the subject. (Quoting Anatoly Karpov from a chess book I once read: As Koz'ma Prutkov said, "it is impossible to comprehend the immensity".  )

[some guy]

Immensity is indeed incomprehensible. And I feel very stupid and ignorant when I'm on the "ihatemusic" site, which is almost exclusively composed of professional musicians. The guy who runs (who used to run? I don't know) the site is a brilliant producer. His albums on Erstwhile, which he founded, are sonically impeccable.

I don't know if this will at all be useful, but I can report not being all that impressed by the OHM set. I had been listening to electroacoustic music for many years before that came out. And I even had several of the sub rosa a-chronology series before I got a copy of the OHM set. (The OHM set came out in 2000. The a-chronology set of anthologies started up in 2002.) Probably not useful. That sub rosa set (7 sets, so at least 14 CDs) is pretty intimidating. At least it has much more interesting music on it, I think.

The Bourges festival and GRM also put out tons of CDs, as do the Metamkine (recently renamed--I don't remember the new name) and the empriente DIGITALes labels.

The world may indeed be immense, but it is inarguably a whole lot of fun, too. (I'm half-listening to a documentary--in German--of Luc Ferrari as I type this. Luc Ferrari was a giant among giants.)

[Old San Antone]

Thomas Köner – Firn

https://www.youtube.com/v/5Ej_CB7aghQ

[T. D.]

I soured on the OHM set after making further explorations and sold it after a few years. After a few hearings I found it, let's say, a bit dry/archival/not forward looking.
Years ago, I regularly perused the inventory at Forced Exposure (they were, maybe still are (?) a big US dealer in the sector), bought a few things, was bewildered by the variety and never got too far.
Had a chance to buy the Pauline Oliveros Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music box cheaply a couple of years ago...I like Oliveros and she was semi-local (HQ Kingston, NY), but 12 discs for a one-decade (60s) chronicle of a single composer's work was too daunting.
I'll look around for interesting surveys.

[Old San Antone]

Frozen Fountain · Ryuichi Sakamoto and Taylor Deupree

https://www.youtube.com/v/RBB9jqq2s14

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Very interesting tread, here some stuff you might like or not?

https://erebus3.bandcamp.com/album/ultrasonic-abuse-various-experiments

Brewed in Montréal by Deprofundis, beware fainted heart and sensible ears, it's harsh, have a nice day or night  take care .

[Mandryka]

I wonder if improvisation CD this fits with the other stuff here. I just happened to be exploring it today.



Here's a good example

https://youtube.com/v/Zs6HzLrTx2I

[some guy]

When I first heard the Baron Von Blood clip, I thought of Brutum Fulmen.

https://soundcloud.com/noisician/scraping-barnacles-off-the

Not this clip, particularly, but just Brutum Fulmen generally. Then I saw Jeff's description of himself as a "noisician," and I knew that I had been correct in assuming that Brutum Fulmen was what Baron Von Blood was going for. (Dominique describes himself, predictably enough, as a "noizecian.")

[MusicTurner]

Knud Viktor, a Danish emigre in Provence. At least, there's something romantic about the artist living in the Luberon mountains & doing field recording work in the world of sounds, close to nature and all its tiny creatures.
From the 60s onwards.

https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/institute-danish-sound-archaeology-knud-viktor/


((http://www.artwiki.fr/wakka.php?wiki=KnudViktor, https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knud_Viktor))

[some guy]

The cafeoto link you gave us includes a "you may also like" section. The first entry is to a concert in June of music by Beatriz Ferreyra, one of the dearest (and most talented) people I know.

I wish I could be there.

https://soundcloud.com/editionsmego/beatriz-ferreyra-medisances

[Carlo Gesualdo]

When I first heard the Baron Von Blood clip, I thought of Brutum Fulmen.

https://soundcloud.com/noisician/scraping-barnacles-off-the

Not this clip, particularly, but just Brutum Fulmen generally. Then I saw Jeff's description of himself as a "noisician," and I knew that I had been correct in assuming that Brutum Fulmen was what Baron Von Blood was going for. (Dominique describes himself, predictably enough, as a "noizecian.")

Cool thanks for observation you're correct whit it.

[some guy]

Yeah, Brutum Fulmen is some pretty nice stuff! You've done well to emulate him.

[T. D.]

Years ago I heard some works by Pamela Z on a compilation CD, thought she was pretty good.
Happened to catch the tail end of "Bang on a Can Marathon 2020" Sunday (6/14) night, and she performed a really impressive (to me) piece.
Don't know what the critical consensus is, but I like her music and she uses devices that come across well in live performance.

[some guy]

I think Pamela Z is pretty highly regarded.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

So who beleive  my SKRONK band actually heavier than early Skronk of past NyC bad boys  early (SWANS), how loud can someone get , droning , brutal, loud

Please listen to WRECKAGE my Sludge medecine purist therein of skronk ala SWANS , the first song shredded in loudness but is it more melodic than swans in 1984 an Orwellian year. Please listen to this tracks tell me what you think of Schonbergian atonal sludge & skronk meal, yet very tonal ala Godflesh, garage but purposefuly so?

Influence also by noise & rolls metal heaviness of GORE legends of Venlo The Netherlands or more so there alter ego band HOER.

https://erebus3.bandcamp.com/track/wreckage-heavier-mi

Wreckage modus operandi is  Heavy Droning dark sludge and skronk ambient mix. May I says reckless experimental bands fragments of other bands..

https://erebus3.bandcamp.com/track/sorrow-grief-plague-the-world-now



You like merky muddy Skronk & sludge, noise & rolls,  chew on this

https://erebus3.bandcamp.com/edit_album?id=499106559

You don't get muddier than this doom-noise /sludge UFO

This is art Skronk/Sludge & doom laden, all instrumental



This other track I  real dig and like too, noise  ambient  space out track track

https://erebus3.bandcamp.com/edit_album?id=499106559

What about these 3 track of non punk non metal  pure sludge skronk , noise & rolls, I Personnaly like it Listen to it plenty time.Please Enjoy!!!

[some guy]

So I had to replace my forgotten bandcamp password, which I hadn't had to use since I bought the (at the time) complete Lionel Marchetti collection. "At the time" because he hasn't stopped making music by any means.

And I went to Doug Theriault's page to see what he's been up to recently.

A lot.

Today my contribution to the "Ambient, noise, drone, field recordings, electro-acoustic experiments" thing is "Doug Theriault." Superb music and the nicest guy, as well.

Also to note that Lionel Marchetti is a worthy personage for top billing in this thread. Superb music and the nicest guy, as well.

It's all true.

(Old San Antone, do you recall a guy who froze a microphone into a block of ice and made a recording of all the noised the ice made as it melted? I have this buried somewhere in my collection, but everything is catalogued by composer name, and I can't remember his name. I know, I know, Google. But I'd rather do it this way, first.)

[Old San Antone]

So I had to replace my forgotten bandcamp password, which I hadn't had to use since I bought the (at the time) complete Lionel Marchetti collection. "At the time" because he hasn't stopped making music by any means.

And I went to Doug Theriault's page to see what he's been up to recently.

A lot.

Today my contribution to the "Ambient, noise, drone, field recordings, electro-acoustic experiments" thing is "Doug Theriault." Superb music and the nicest guy, as well.

Also to note that Lionel Marchetti is a worthy personage for top billing in this thread. Superb music and the nicest guy, as well.

It's all true.

This is a pretty good Lionel Marchetti compilation of works since 2015:  PLANKTOS ​​/​​ 2015 - 2020 ~ composition de musique concrète (bandcamp)

(Old San Antone, do you recall a guy who froze a microphone into a block of ice and made a recording of all the noised the ice made as it melted? I have this buried somewhere in my collection, but everything is catalogued by composer name, and I can't remember his name. I know, I know, Google. But I'd rather do it this way, first.)

I've heard of people wanting to do this but didn't know someone had done it, and was famous for doing so.  If you find a link to it, please post, since I'd be interested in hearing some of that.

I used to be way off into this music and Dominique Bassal was someone I interviewed about his work.  Here's a link to one of his things.

Btw, that electrocd site is good for electronic and acousmatic music.

Kelley Sheehan is another interesting composer sometimes working in electronic mode, but also in convention chamber settings. 

As I said, I used to be much more in touch with the folks working in this area - but not for a few years now.