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NATIVE INSTRUMENTS
has the mission to develop the most innovative
and inspirational instruments for music producers and DJs of all genres. For this purpose,
logic and creativity have to come together at every part of the process – and within every
person involved.
To further reinforce and grow our team, we are looking for the most forward-thinking
talents in their respective field. If you are ready to fully engage both your left and right
brain in our quest for the Future of Sound, please check out the open positions at:
www.native-instruments.com/careers
D
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CTM 2014
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D I S
C O NT I
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S e l e c t t r a j e c to r i e s i n e x p e r i m e n ta l &
electronic music
CTM – F e s t i va l f o r A dv e n t u r o u s M u s i c & A r t
1 5 th e d i t i o n , B e r l i n 2 0 1 4
0 2 dis co ntinui ty
By J an Rohl f
0 4 Gener atio n Z : R eN oi s E —
Ex periments in Sou n d & E l ectron i c M u s i c i n
Ear ly 20th Centu ry Ru ss i a
By A ndrey S mi rnov & Li ubov Pch e l k i na
1 0 ReNo ise – Recon stru cti n g T h e H i dden
Histo ry Of Revo lu ti on a ry N oi s e M u s i c
By Konstanti n Dudakov-Ka sh u ro
1 4 over lo o ked p rog r ess
By Rober t Mi eßner
1 8 Cosmic Fligh t
Electro nic P o p M u s i c i n th e G DR
By Fl ori an S i evers
22 Er kki Kur en n i em i
By J enni f er Lucy A l l a n
26 Iannis Xena ki s , th e P oly top es &
Musics o f Oth er n ess
By Chri s S al ter
30 Image and Sou n d
By Mi chael van H ooge n h u yze
32 music fo r the f i v e s en s es
By Frans Evers
35 Wo r l ds o f t h e D ron e
By Marcus Boon
38 Co ming to T er m s w i th Sou n d
By Bj örn Gottstei n
40 J’ai r êvé d’ un e m u s i qu e étr a n g e et b el l e q u i
ne so it jamais l a m êm e n i tou t à fa i t u n e aut r e
Thibau t de Ruy ter i n co nve rsa t i o n w i t h E l i a n e Ra di gue
44 CHRONOPOETICS OF TECHNO- ARCHIVAl
MEMORY
By Wol f gang Ernst
5 0 D i g i ta l Au d i o : R e m ast e r i n g a n d R a d i cal
R e v i si o n i sm
By Pa u l Pu rg a s
53 C u r at i n g t he Past, C r e at i n g t he F u t u r e :
DJ as T i m e Lo r d
By H i l l eg o n d a C R i et vel d
5 6 So n i c Cybe r f e m i n i sm a n d i ts D i sco n t e nts
By A n n i e G o h
6 0 10 1 wo m e n i n e l e c t ro n i c m u si c
By A n tye G rei e- R i p a t t i
6 6 t r a n sm i ssi o n s – be a i n i // COHEN: a case study
By Ka t er i n a L ei n h a r t
70 F ro m Fo l k C u lt u r e to O pe n C u lt u r e :
Co n t i n u i t y, d i sco n t i n u i t y, a n d t he m u si ca l hack
By Pet er K i r n
72 T he O u t e r n at i o n a l Co n d i t i o n
By I o n Du m i t res c u
76 T he D e at h o f Wo r l d M u si c
By J o h a n Pa l m e
8 0 d i s co n t i n u o u s spac e s
Ph o t o S p rea d
8 6 Lo o k i n g B e yo n d t he B e at: D i sco n t i n u itie s in
B e r l i n ’ s M u si ca l L a n dsca pe
By H en n i n g L a h m a n n
8 8 A n o n ym o n t h
By Ma t Dr y h u rs t
9 0 D i g i ta l C u lt u r e i n t he A f t e rg low
By K r i s t o f fer G a n s i n g
9 2 D i s- Co n t i n u i t y & P r e se n c e o f M i n d
By A n d rea s L . H o f b a u er
103 c r e d i ts
3
DIS CONTINUITY
By J a n R o h l f
»O u r ta s k is not to lo ca te and mani fest the one greatest music a l
wo rk o r l o cus o f music, a nd pl ant i t l i ke a monument i n huma n
h ist o r y.« – Ada m Ha r per
The radi cal evol u ti on o f m u si c ove r t he pa st h u n dre d ye a rs – m o d ern musi cal hi stor y, i n sh o r t – i s ge ne ra l l y re du ce d t o t h e exc ep t i o n al achi evements of a l imi t e d n u m be r o f » he ro i c« i ndi v i du a l s , wh i c h
p rovi de col our enough f o r mu si c’s cr u ci a l bre a k s a nd t ra n s i t i o n s t o
b e broadl y traced i n br i gh t , bo l d st ro ke s. Ye t w h o eve r co n s t r u c t s
eas ily understandabl e h i st o r i o gra ph i e s a nd ge n e a l o gi e s r u n s a ver y
re al ri sk of f orever margi n a l i z i ng i mpo r ta n t i de a s, di scove r i es , a n d
cultural ex pressi on i n t h e w i ngs o f h i st o r y.
The f abri c of musi cal hi st o r y i s o f co urse f a r m o re co m pl ex; t h e c o n s p ic uous threads l ef t by i t s e sta bl i sh e d l u m i n a r i e s a re i n t er woven
w ith countl ess i ndi vi dua l a n d co l l e ct i ve a chi eve m e nt s t h a t a re n o
le ss i mpor tant and of t e n se r ve t o i nspi re , co m m u n i ca t e , a n d s u p p or t i ts maj or strands. T he y cr i ss- cro ss, f e e d i n t o o n e a n o t h er, o r
run in paral l el , f ormi ng v i ta l n u cl e i o f cha nge a nd i nn ova t i o n wi t h i n
the ir respecti ve comm u n i t i e s a n d n e t wo r k s. I n t h i s va st in t erc o n nec ted f abri c stretchi n g a cro ss t i me a nd spa ce , t h e si m u l ta n eo u s
inve nti on of si mi l ar i de a s i n di f f e re nt l o ca t i o n s, t he l o ca l a p p ro p r i a tion of i deas f orged el sew h e re , a nd t he m u l t i f a ce t e d express i o n t o
w hic h these gi ve ri se a re a s cr uci a l a s a ny di scove r y t r i gg ered by
s ing ul ar chance, synch ro n i ci ty, se re ndi pi ty, a f l a sh o f ge ni u s o r t h e
s low, l abori ous process o f t r i a l a nd e r ro r.
C ountl ess threads l ead n ow h e re , bre a k o f f, o r di sa ppe a r f ro m s i g h t .
D e s troyed perhaps by u n f avo u ra bl e ci rcum sta nce o r dow nr i g h t a n i mos ity, on purpose or by a cci de nt , t he y eve ntua l l y si nk i n t o o b l i vion. They are the f orgo t t e n bra nch e s o n m u si c’s f a m i l y t ree, s tu n ted by sudden, f atef ul bl ows t ha t e na bl e a pa r t i cul a r i nt e r p reta t i o n ,
id e ol ogy, method, techn o l o gy, o r scho o l t o t r i u m ph ove r a l l o t h ers ,
at le ast momentari l y.
Stud i es of the hi stor y o f pl a ne t e a r t h ca r r i e d o u t by pa l a eo n t o l o g is t S tephen J ay G ould h ave show n t h a t o u r t ra di t i o na l n o t i o n o f
p rogress, as a conti nu o u s l i n e a r pro gre ssi o n f ro m si m pl e t o ever
more compl ex states, m u st be rev i se d. At va r i o u s sta ges o f t h e
ear th’s evol u ti on, Gou l d i de n t i f i e d hi gh e r t ha n usu a l a c c u m u l a tions of di versi ty: seed be ds o f a h e i ght e ne d po t e n t i a l f o r d evel o p ment, whi ch he descri be d a s po cke t s o f co nce nt ra t e d » exc el l en c e«.
Goul d theref ore di smisse d t h e i de a t ha t l i n e a r pro gre ss wa s sy n onymous wi th a gradu a l a ccum u l a t i o n o f co mpl exi ty a nd a s t ea d y
inc rease i n di versi ty. O n t h e co n t ra r y: a substa n t i a l re duct i o n i n d i ve rs ity can be seen to have o ccur re d a t ce r ta i n mo me nt s i n t i m e.
Med i a a rc h a eo l o g y, a rel a t i vel y yo u n g b ra n c h o f c o n t em p o rar y m ed i a t h eo r y, h a s rec en t l y c o n s i d ered tu r n i n g p o i n t s i n c u l ture an d
t ec h n o l o g y i n l i g h t o f t h es e s a m e i n s i g h t s , t h ereby b rea k i n g gro u n d
fo r n ew p ers p ec t i ves wi t h a m a r ked i n t eres t i n n eg l ec t ed a p pro ac h es , m a rg i n a l i zed d i s c o u rs es , a n d l o c a l k n owl ed g e p ro du c tio n .
C o n t ra r y t o t h e c o n t i n u o u s p ro g ress m o d el , m ed i a a rc h a e o lo gy’s
res ea rc h ra d a r p ers i s t en t l y h o n es - i n o n m a t t ers o b s o l et e a n d h alffo rg o t t en , c l a i m i n g t h es e a s keys t o fu tu re i m a g i n a t i o n a n d spec u l a t i o n . T h i s i s o n e ver y g o o d rea s o n t o s eek- o u t a n y p a s t m o m en t
l i kel y t o ev i n c e a g rea t er t h a n u s u a l c o n c en t ra t i o n o f va r i ety – an d
m a kes m ed i a a rc h a eo l o g i s t s wa r y o f t h e i d ea t h a t a n y o n e sin gle
c a u s e g i ves r i s e t o a s i n g l e p h en o m en o n .
Ac c o rd i n g t o m ed i a a rc h a eo l o g i s t S i eg fr i ed Zi el i n s k i , t h e m ost pro d u c t i ve p h a s es o f »p ower fu l h et ero g en ei ty« o c c u r wh en ever »th in gs
a n d s i tu a t i o n s [a re] s t i l l i n a s ta t e o f fl u x , [a n d ] t h e o p t i o n s fo r devel o p m en t i n va r i o u s d i rec t i o n s [a re] s t i l l wi d e o p en «. Ph a s es th u s,
wh i c h h o l d t h e s eed s o f a n a rc h y, s u c h a s t h e p er i o d o f uph eava l i n p o s t- revo l u t i o n a r y Ru ss i a wh i c h A n d rey S m i r n ov i s p resen tly
a t t em p t i n g t o rec o n s t r u c t i n h i s c o m p reh en s i ve res ea rc h pro jec t
»G en era t i o n Z«. W h a t i s t h erefo re req u i red , Zi el i n s k i a rg u es, is n o t
s o m u c h a n a rc h a eo l o g y o f t h e m ed i a , b u t a n »a n - a rc h a eo l o gy« — a
t er m t h a t i m p l i es a fo r m o f res ea rc h t h a t d o es n o t s eek t o im po se
o rd er, b u t t o s et t h i n g s i n m o t i o n i n s t ea d : »A h i s t o r y t h a t en tails
env i s i o n i n g , l i s t en i n g , a n d t h e a r t o f c o m b i n i n g by u s i n g t e c h n ic al
d ev i c es , wh i c h p r i v i l eg es a s en s e o f t h ei r m u l t i fa r i o u s p o ssibilities
over t h ei r rea l i t i es i n t h e fo r m o f p ro d u c t s , c a n n o t b e wr i t ten w ith
ava n t- g a rd i s t p ret en s i o n s o r wi t h a m i n d - s et o f l ea d i n g t h e way«.
To a c k n owl ed g e s u c h c o m p l ex i t i es , fo r exa m p l e i n t h e h i s to r y o f
m u s i c , c rea t es l eewa y fo r l ess h i era rc h i c a l p ers p ec t i ves ; an d th e
n u m b er o f c o u ra g eo u s , c rea t i ve, a n d s tu b b o r n l y p ers i s t en t pio n eers p ro d u c i n g en r i c h i n g va r i et i es o f m u s i c i n t h ei r b ro ad spec t r u m o f s i g h t l i n es i s v i s i b l y m u l t i p l y i n g . Wi t h ea c h p i o n eer i ng deed,
ea c h i d i o sy n c ra sy, ea c h n ew t ec h n o l o g i c a l i nven t i o n , ea c h aesth eti c s en s i b i l i ty, t h e t ree o f p o ss i b i l i ty s p ro u t s n ew b ra n c h es , an d as
l o n g a s we reta i n t h e p o ss i b i l i ty o f retu r n i n g t o t h em a t w ill, th ey
h o l d p o t en t i a l t o b ro a d en o u r m u s i c a l h o r i zo n s .
T h i s i s a n ext rem el y sy m p a t h et i c a p p ro a c h , n o t o n l y b ecau se it
a t t es t s t o t h e en d eavo u rs o f m a n y ext ra o rd i n a r y p eo p l e an d life
a c h i evem en t s . Wr i t i n g a l t er n a t i ve h i s t o r i es , d i s c over i n g obso lete
equ ipm en t, appro priatin g o ld m eth o ds, reth in kin g fo rgo tten ideas,
is by n o m ean s o n ly a sign o f an em barrassin g lac k o f n ew ideas, bu t
also a c ru c ial c o m po n en t o f th e ar t o f c o m bin atio n th at is so n ec essar y to assu rin g an d stren gth en in g h etero gen eity. To ben d an d
warp tim elin es so as to travel th ro u gh past an d fo rgo tten sph eres
an d retu rn th em th u s to th e realm o f u n c er tain fu tu res, is a n eat way
to graf t n ew life o n to th e c o n sen su al view o f develo pm en t th at ten ds
to c o rral o u r im agin atio n s.
Th is perspec tive m ay also po ssibly h elp lay to rest Reyn o ld’s gh o st
o f Retro m an ia, n ow aflo at fo r a few years. Fo r th at w h ic h Sim o n
Reyn o lds h as ro u n dly c o n dem n ed as a stale n o - h o pe fu tu re retreat
in to arc h ives th at seem to h ave n o th in g to o f fer bu t plu sh deser ts
o f n o stalgia, rec o n stru c ted vir tu al idylls, o r at th e ver y best, so m e
kin d o f trau m a reh ab c irc u it, m ay perh aps prove to be n o th in g less
th an a dec o n stru c tio n o f th e do m in an t tim e m o del o f h isto r y itself.
Wo lfgan g Ern st defen ds th is ver y th esis in a c o re text in c lu ded in
th is pu blic atio n , w h erein h e h igh ligh ts th e im pac t o f th e tec h n o lo gic al tran sfo rm atio n o f arc h ives, fro m sto rero o m s fo r h idden , static
kn ow ledge, in to dyn am ic an d pu blic ly ac c essible real- tim e databases. Ern st fu r th er pin po in ts, fro m a m edia th eo r y an d tec h n o lo gic al perspec tive, ju st w h y elec tro n ic arc h ives literally dem an d th e
re- c irc u latio n o f th e past. An y arc h ive set in to m o tio n an d flu x fac ilitates th e perm an en t flu c tu atio n o f ah isto ric al o rders as well as free
experim en tatio n w ith bits an d piec es derived fro m dif feren t layers
o f tim e; an d it th u s c h allen ges th e sym bo lic o rder o f h isto rio graph y
an d th e lin ear flow o f h isto ric al tim e. Ac c o rdin g to Ern st, th e growin g ten den c y to referen c e th e past »su ggests th at th at w h ic h c h arac terizes th e po pu lar an d experim en tal c u ltu re o f to day is n o t ju st
th e c u ltu ral n o stalgia o f a so c iety w h ic h h as lo st its avan t- garde bias
bu t also a direc t fu n c tio n o f its sto rage tec h n o lo gies, w h ic h h ave
bec o m e an in tegral par t o f presen t- day data c irc u latio n an d pro c essin g«. Th is fu n c tio n is rein fo rc ed m o reover, by vir tu e o f bein g
em bedded in th e c apitalist valu e system : »Em ph atic sto rage waitin g
fo r (re- )c irc u latio n belo n gs to th e lo gic o f late c apitalism an d th u s
is par t o f a m em o r y ec o n o m y.«
Th e researc h trip in to little kn ow n an d fo rgo tten regio n s o f elec tro n ic an d experim en tal m u sic – u po n w h ic h CTM 20 1 4 em barks
u n der th e in to n atio n »D is Co n tin u ity« – is in th is respec t n o t so
m u c h an h isto ric as an arc h ival en deavo u r. Th e in terest lies in pu rsu in g an appro ac h to th e past th at do es n o t lead in stan tly to a c an o n ic al versio n o f h isto r y bu t fath o m s th e am bigu o u s variety o f
peo ple, even ts, inven tio n s, an d th eir c o m plex in terrelatio n s, an d
th en pu ts th ese at th e ser vic e o f n ew spec u latio n o n th e presen t
an d fu tu re.
D igital databases an d th e an - arc h ives o f th e I n tern et are rec o m bin atio n al m ac h in es, in th e in c essan tly flow in g, overlappin g waves,
in ter feren c e, an d sh if tin g pattern s in w h ic h Wo lfgan g Ern st iden tifies a m u sic al dim en sio n . Here, past an d presen t n o lo n ger referen c e o n e an o th er in a c lear lin ear h isto rio graph y bu t expan d th e
presen t by gen eratin g dyn am ic reso n an c e ef fec ts an d em ph atic affec ts. I n th is disru ptio n o f h egem o n ic tim e lie th e seeds o f th e n ew.
I n th e u n reso lved ten sio n between th e n ew po ssibilities o f »h etero -
c h ro n ic « experim en ts an d th e n eed to up hold a »we ll-d e fine d ord e r
[ o f h isto r y] in tac t fo r tran sm ission into fu ture me mor y«, b e twe e n
th e lin ear flow o f tim e an d th e dissolu tion of te mp ora lity, b e twe e n
c o n tin u ity an d disc o n tin u ity, a n ew a na rchic mome nt come s into b e in g, o n e th at m ay perh aps lead to new »exce lle nce « in the for m of
a radic al expan sio n o f variety.
I t is th an ks to th e free play o f th e gre a te st p ossib le numb e r of va r iables an d th e in fin ite po ssibilities f or the ir (re -)comb ina tion tha t the
po ten tial fo r h ith er to u n h eard m usic will a lwa ys b e with us, cla ims
m u sic jo u rn alist Adam Harper in his b ook Infinite Music . Alte r na tive
sto ries, fo rgo tten ideas an d adventure s, sup p re sse d d iscourse s, the
tric ks o f m em o r y an d n ew perc eptions of time a ll have the p ote ntia l
to in jec t en dless n ew variables in to the music syste m. The fu ture of
m u sic , we m igh t th en say, is th ere fore no ca use for conce r n.
A n ew ar t fo r o u r tim e is o n th e hor izon, »Te mp ora l Ar t«, or a n
»Arc h ive Ar t« perh aps, as Hillegond a Rie tve ld sug g e sts in a nothe r
c o n tribu tio n to th is m agazin e th at d iscusse s cha ng e s in DJ culture :
»Perh aps, th en , we c an u n derstan d the DJ a s a kind of a Time Lord of
c o u n ter- m em o r y, n o t o n ly playin g with the te mp ora lity of the music al rh y th m an d th e n arrative stru c ture of a musica l jour ne y, b u t a lso
en ablin g au dien c es to su r f m u ltiple p e rce p tions of histor ica l time .«
Su c h n ew perspec tives arise w h eneve r d isp a ra te d iscourse s on music , ar t, m edia th eo r y, an d aesth etics inte rconne ct or fuse . CTM ha s
been stau n c h ly defen din g an d promoting this p re mise since 1 999,
a prem ise th at is also th e baselin e of this ma g a zine a nd a ll the texts
c o n tain ed w ith in . »D is Co n tin u ity« is, we (Olive r Ba ur he nn, Re mco
Sc h u u rbiers an d m yself ) fin d, an a p p rop r ia te title for the fif te e nth
an n iversar y o f an u n o r th o dox festiva l tha t ha s neve r ha d a ny choice
bu t to lo o k to an u n c er tain fu tu re, g ive n tha t it swing s a nnua lly on
a sh o estrin g, fro m o n e u n c er tain fund ing p ot to a nothe r. All the
greater o u r deligh t, th erefo re, in b e ing a b le to p re se nt a 2 0 14 e d itio n o f CTM th at is stro n ger, m ore ma ture , a nd r iche r in conte nt
th an an y befo re.
All th e greater o u r gratitu de, to o, for the ma ny tha t sup p or t a nd
spo n so r o u r en deavo u rs: to th e Ca p ita l Culture Found a tion, the
Cu ltu ral Pro gram m e o f th e Eu ro p e a n Union, the Fe d e ra l O f fice for
Po litic al Edu c atio n in G erm an y, the Fe d e ra l Commissione r for Cultu re an d M edia, I n itiative M u sik, Musicb oa rd Be r lin, va r ious na tional c u ltu ral in stitu tio n s an d em bass ie s in Be r lin, our me d ia a nd p rogram m e par tn ers, an d o u r su ppo r te rs from the comme rcia l se ctor
in c lu din g, first an d fo rem o st, Satis & Fy. We a lso tha nk the a u thors
w h o c o n tribu ted th eir in spirin g in sig hts, d e r ive d from a b roa d sp e ctru m o f disc iplin es an d exper tise, to the ma g a zine .
F in ally, we th an k o u r au dien c e, fes tiva l p a r ticip a nts a nd a r tists, our
fan tastic team , an d th e n u m ero u s fe stiva l volunte e rs, fr ie nd s a nd
fam ily w h o year af ter year h elp re a lize more tha n we could eve r
h ave dream ed po ssible w h en we first e mb a r ke d on this (a d )ve nture .
J a n Ro hlf is Co - Fo u n der o f th e CTM Fe stiva l.
5
G e n e r at i o n Z :
ReNoise
Experiments in Sound and Electronic Music in
E a r ly 2 0 t h C e n t u ry R u s s i a
by a n d r e y s m i r n ov & L i u b ov P c h e l k i n a
This page: Evgeny Sholpo works with the first version of the Variophone, Leningrad, 1 932. Photo cour tesy of Marina Sholpo.
Lef t page: The third por table version of Leon Theremin’s Rhy thmicon, built at the Acoustical Laborator y of the Moscow
Conser vator y in 1 965.
»Ge n e rat i o n Z« is a n ex hibiti on of audi o, vi sual , and textual d oc u m e n tat i o n m a ter ia l, dedicated to the l ost and forgotten hi st or y
o f Ru ss i a n ex per imenta l m usi c and rel ated technol ogi es. The exh ibi t i o n h as been developed as a par t of an ongoi ng names a ke
res e a rc h project by A ndrey Smi rnov and Li ubov Pchel ki na. It a tt em p t s t o restore the censored hi stor y and cul ture of Russi a’s a rt ist i c U t o pia of the 1 9 1 0–20 s, whi ch was destroyed through it s
co l l i s i o n with the to ta lita r ian state of the 1 93 0 –40 s. The ti tl e of
t he ex h i b i tio n ta kes its na me from the l etter Z, whi ch i s i n m a n y
wa ys e m b l em a tic o f the peri od. Z i s for zi gzag, the spark; i t i s t h e
sy m b o l o f energy, of ra dio transmi ssi ons and communi cati ons, of
el e c t ri c a l cha rges, a nd o f lightni ng.
Fo llow in g presen tatio n s in Paris * 1 ) , B u dapest, St. Petersbu rg, an d
M o sc ow, an d th e pu blic atio n o f th e bo o k »So u n d in Z : Experim en ts in So u n d an d Elec tro n ic M u sic in Early 20 th Cen tu r y Ru ssia« (Walter K ö n ig 20 1 3), th e B erlin in stalm en t o f th e »G en eratio n
Z« exh ibitio n , presen ted at CTM 20 1 4 festival, h as been expan ded
w ith th e n ew sec tio n »ReNo ise«, develo ped by ar tists Ko n stan tin
D u dakov- Kash u ro, Peter Aidu , an d Evgen ia Vo ro byeva, an d based
o n selec t rec o n stru c tio n s o f th e m o re th an 200 m ec h an ic al n o ise
in stru m en ts inven ted by V ladim ir Po pov (1 898– 1 969) between th e
1 920s an d 1 95 0s.
I n m an y ways, th e »G en eratio n Z : ReNo ise« exh ibitio n tells a
sto r y o f u to pias an d an ti- u to pias, o f th e avan t- garde an d th e in stitu tio n , o f c o llabo ratio n an d perso n al ac h ievem en t, o f am bitio n , o ppo r tu n ity, an d o ppressio n o f gen iu s an d bu reau c rac y, o f in tellec tu al
freedo m an d to talitarian ism . I t is a sto r y o f rem arkable perso n alities, c u rio u s inven tio n s, asto n ish in g per fo rm an c es, radic al ideas, an d experim en tatio n . I t is also a sto r y o f paten ts an d fu n din g
applic atio n s, su c c ess an d failu re, su ppo r t an d rejec tio n , o ptim ism
an d disillu sio n m en t. M u c h in terestin g an d sign ific an t m aterial fro m
th is h isto r y w ill n ever c o m e to ligh t o r h as been fo rgo tten o r overlo o ked, w h eth er fo r po litic al o r fin an c ial reaso n s, bec au se sto ries
are n o t well do c u m en ted, o r sim ply bec au se th ey sim ply h ave n o t
been h eard by th e righ t peo ple at th e righ t tim e. A lo t o f m aterial
fro m th e first h alf o f th e 20 th c en tu r y was ac tively destroyed o r w ritten o u t o f th e h isto r y bo o ks bec au se it did n o t fit w ith in th e Stalin ist
regim e’s visio n o f w h at so u n d an d m u sic tec h n o lo gy sh o u ld be. I t
is a sto r y o f w h ic h o n ly fragm en ts are kn ow n , n o t o n ly in th e West
bu t also w ith in Ru ssia itself.
W h ile th e h isto r y o f Ru ssian po st- revo lu tio n ar y avan t- garde in
ar t is gen erally kn ow n , th e inven tio n s an d disc overies, n am es an d
destin ies o f th e c o m m u n ity o f so u n d researc h ers, apo lo gists o f m u sic al m ac h in es an d n o ise o rc h estras, an d inven to rs o f n ew m u si-
c al tec h n o lo gies h ave u n til n ow re ma ine d la rg e ly forg otte n a nd
little- stu died. Th e o n ly pro jec t o f its kind , the »Ge ne ra tion Z« exh ibitio n o f fers an in tro du c tio n to some of the p e r iod 's ke y fig ure s
an d th eir areas o f researc h . I t is a n a tte mp t to re constr uct the a rtistic u to pian islan d in 1 920s Ru ss ia tha t d eve lop e d a round a kind
o f »n etwo rk c u ltu re« c o n n ec tin g revolu tiona r ie s in a r t. Within this
n etwo rk, seem in gly u n real pro jec ts in sound a nd ha rd wa re we re re alized, an d c o n c epts an d m eth o ds tha t of fe re d a p romising b a sis for
fu tu re sc ien tific an d c u ltu ral deve lop me nt we re cre a te d .
I n th e af term ath o f th e Oc to b e r Revolu tion (1 9 1 7 ) b oth society an d th e State so u gh t altern ative s to the old re lig ious va lue s
an d bo u rgeo is idealism to fill th e va cuum tha t ha d b e e n le f t by the
Tsar ’s over th rowal. Th e ideo lo gy tha t e me rg e d d e sire d a new kind
o f ar t based prim arily o n m ateria lism, na tura l scie nce , a nd for ma l
an alysis rath er th an o n abstrac t emotions or sub je ctive ta ste . It wa s
an o bjec tive, ratio n alist agen da with a scie ntific a nd te chnolog ica l
appro ac h to th e ar ts. Spec ial in stitu tions we re found e d for the d e velo pm en t an d im provem en t o f the »New Huma n«, e ng a g e d in the
m asterin g an d per fec tio n o f pro fessiona l motion in sp or ts, wor king
life, m ilitar y ac tivity, m u sic al per for ma nce , a nd so on.
Th erefo re, a u n iqu e o ppo r tunity a rose : the Sta te wa s ke e n
to en c o u rage ar t th at bro ke w ith tra d itions a nd wa s b e ing d eve lo ped in en tirely n ew ways. G overnme nt re p re se nta tive s includ ing
L eo n Tro tsky an d th e peo ple’s c o mmissa r of e nlig hte nme nt Ana toly
L u n ac h arsky, approved h igh ly expe r ime nta l p roje cts, e ncoura g e d
freedo m o f th e c reative c o m m u nity, a nd sup p or te d the so-ca lle d
L ef t. I n 1 9 1 8 L u n ac h arsky o f fic ially p rocla ime d tha t the a r ts should
be develo ped o n an experim en tal b a sis. As he told the comp ose r
Sergei Pro ko fiev: »Yo u are revo lu tiona r y in music a s we a re revolutio n ar y in life – we sh o u ld wo rk tog e the r.«
7
h e d evel o p ed t h e t h eo r y o f m i c ro t o n a l »U l t ra c h ro m a t i c « m usic an d
i nven t ed a s p ec i a l i n s t r u m en t wi t h wh i c h t o p er fo r m i t . I t was h e
wh o p ro p o s ed , i n 1 9 16, t h e i d ea o f s p ec t ra l a n a l ys i s o f t h e sh ape
o f t h e g ra m o p h o n e g ro ove, wi t h t h e s u b s eq u en t t ra n s fo r m a tio n o f
t h e s p ec t r u m a n d re- sy n t h es i s o f t h e n ew a r t i fi c i a l g ro ove. Sh o r tly
a f t er t h e Oc t o b er Revo l u t i o n , Av ra a m ov p ro p o s ed t o t h e C o m m iss a r o f E n l i g h t en m en t , A n a t o l y L u n a c h a rs k y, a p ro j ec t t o bu rn all
p i a n o s – sy m b o l s o f t h e d es p i s ed t wel ve- t o n e, o c tave- b a s ed »wellt em p ered « s c a l e, wh i c h h e b el i eved h a d a d vers el y a f fec t ed h u m an
h ea r i n g fo r s evera l h u n d red yea rs .
Mea nwh i l e, i n 1 9 16 a s tu d en t a t t h e N eu ro l o g i c a l I n s titu te in
Pet ro g ra d , Den i s Ka u fm a n ( a ka Dz i g a Ver t ov, 1896 – 1 954), att em p t ed wh a t wo u l d n ow b e c a l l ed s o u n d p o et r y a n d a u d i o ar t. As
h e p u t i t : »I d ec i d ed t o i n c l u d e t h e en t i re a u d i b l e wo r l d i n t o th e c o n c ep t o f › H ea r i n g ‹. I t wa s d u r i n g t h i s t i m e t h a t I a t t em p t ed to draw
u p t h e s o u n d s o f a l u m b er- m i l l . [. . . ] I t r i ed t o d es c r i b e t h e au dio
i m p ress i o n o f t h e l u m b er- m i l l i n t h e wa y a b l i n d p ers o n wo u ld perc ei ve i t . I n t h e b eg i n n i n g I wro t e d own wo rd s , b u t t h en I attem pted t o c a p tu re a l l o f t h es e n o i s es wi t h l et t ers . [. . . ] I t a l s o c o nc ern ed
m y ex p er i m en t s wi t h g ra m o p h o n e rec o rd i n g s , wh ere fro m s e parate
fra g m en t s o f rec o rd i n g s o n g ra m o p h o n e d i s k s a n ew c o m po sitio n
wa s c rea t ed . B u t I wa s n o t s a t i s fi ed ex p er i m en t i n g wi t h available
p re- rec o rd ed s o u n d s . « B ei n g fr u s t ra t ed , h e h a s swi t c h ed t o film to
o rg a n i ze n o t t h e a u d i b l e, b u t t h e v i s i b l e wo r l d .
I n t h e s p r i n g o f 1 9 1 7 t h e L eo n a rd o d a Vi n c i S o c i ety wa s fo u n ded i n Pet ro g ra d by A rs en y Av ra a m ov, i nven t o r Evg en y S h o l po, an d
m a t h em a t i c i a n a n d m u s i c o l o g i s t S erg ei Di a n i n . T h ei r o b j ec tive was
t o u n i t e ef fo r t s t o p ro d u c e a revo l u t i o n i n m u s i c a l t h eo r y a n d tec h n i q u es b a s ed o n t h e c ro ss - c o n n ec t i o n o f a r t s a n d s c i en c e. Th ey
d ec l a red t h a t a c a d em i c v i ews o n m u s i c t h eo r y were d u l l a nd sc h o l a s t i c , a n d t h a t t ec h n i q u es rel a t i n g t o i t were o l d fa s h i o n e d, pro c l a i m i n g t h a t b o t h were b ec o m i n g i n c rea s i n g l y o u t d a t ed .
I n t h e s u m m er o f 1 9 17, Evg en y S h o l p o wro t e a s c i en c e- fic tio n
ess a y en t i t l ed »T h e E n em y o f Mu s i c « i n wh i c h h e d es c r i b ed a n elec t ro - o p t i c a l s o u n d m a c h i n e n a m ed t h e Mec h a n i c a l Orc h es tra, c ap a b l e o f sy n t h es i z i n g s o u n d s wi t h c o m p l ex d y n a m i c a l s p ec tru m s
a s wel l a s p ro d u c i n g m u s i c a c c o rd i n g t o a s p ec i a l g ra p h i c al sc o re
CIT poster. »Let’s take the snowstorm of the revolution in the USSR, let’s put in the
rhy thm of American life and per form the well-adjusted work as a chronometer«.
From the book »Youth, go!«, by A. Gastev, VCSP S, Moscow, 1 923.
In 1 9 1 9 the pai nter Var va ra S t e pa nova no t e d i n h e r di a r y: »Th e p r i n cip les of Russi an pai nt i n g a re a s a n a rch i ca l a s Russi a w i t h i t s s p i ritual movement. We have n o sch o o l s, e a ch pa i n t e r i s a cre a t o r, ever yone, bei ng an i nnova t o r, syn t h e t i c o r re a l i st , i s o r i gi na l a n d h i g h l y
ind ivi dual . « Thi s mi ght be v i ewe d a s a m e t o n ym f o r t he w ho l e o f t h e
Russi an revol u ti onar y a r t i st i c u t o pi a o f t h e e a r l y 1 920 s, wh en t h e
Russi an S tate was al mo st a t t he po i nt o f co l l a pse a nd so c i ety wa s
s tructured as a ki nd of a na rch i ca l » n e t wo r k cu l ture « , ba sed o n n u mero us cross-connecte d » cre a t i ve u n i t s« co mpr i si ng a r t i sts , s c h o l ars , and pol i ti ci ans.
A term that sought t o ca pture t he e sse nce o f t he per i o d wa s
p roposed by the ar ti st a nd ph i l o so ph e r S o l o m o n N i k r i t i n ( 1898 1 965) . Projectionism (f ro m t he La t i n » pro j e ctus« ) wa s i n t en d ed t o
refle ct the urge to rush a h e a d, o r m o re a ccura t e l y, t o r u sh i n t o t h e
fu ture. H e appl i ed thi s t e r m n o t o n l y t o n ew a ppro a ch e s i n p a i n ting and methods of ar t cr i t i ci sm, bu t a l so t o t h e m e t ho d o l o g y o f
c onstructi ng a new so ci e ty, t o w hi ch i t wa s co n si de re d nec ess a r y
to aspi re.
In 1 9 1 9 N i kri ti n deve l o pe d hi s f u n da me nta l t he o r y o f Pro j ec tioni sm. Accordi ng to h i s phi l o so ph y, t he m e t ho d be co m e s t h e p u rp os e of the creati ve pro ce ss. I n t h e co n t ext o f » pro j e ct i n g t h e m et h od «, even f aul ts and pa ra doxe s ga i n e d a n ew co nst r uct i ve s en s e a n d
value. In the earl y 1 92 0s mu ch pro j e ct-ba se d re se a rch t o o k p l a c e
that coul d be consi de re d w i t h i n t h e f ra mewo r k o f Pro j e c t i o n i s m ,
includi ng A l exei Gastev ’s »Ar t o f M ove me nt « exh i bi t i o ns, t h e c o n c e r t-l ectures by Leon T h e re mi n , a nd Arse ny Av ra a mov ’s c o n c er t
s e ries »Musi c of the Fu ture « , i n w h i ch t he a u t ho r de m o nst ra t ed h i s
p rac ti cal i deas regardi ng t h e f u ture o f m u si ca l ha r m o ny a n d t ec h niq ues, rather than prese nt i n g f i n i sh e d m u si ca l pi e ce s.
Ar ti sts, poets, musi ci a n s, a n d a rchi t e ct s r ush e d e nt h u si a s t i c a l l y
into the new real i ty, studyi ng ph ysi cs a nd m a t he ma t i cs, e m b ra c i n g
s c iences concerni ng the n a tu re o f l i gh t a n d so u n d, a n d d evel o p ing t heori es abou t wha t be ca me k n ow n a s » t h e Ar t o f t he Fu tu re«.
One of the mai n h e ro e s o f t h e e po ch wa s Arse n y Av ra a m ov
(K rasnoku tsky) – an a dve n ture r, sch o l a r, co mpo se r, pe r f o r m a n c e
ins tigator, ci rcus acroba t , m u si c j o u r na l i st , a nd cre a t o r o f t h e fi rs t
eve r ar ti f i ci al sound tra ck . I n a se r i e s o f a r t i cl e s f ro m 1 9 14 –1 9 16,
Evgeny Sholpo, Variophone, version two-three, late 1 930s. Photo courtesy of Marina Sholpo.
w ith o u t an y n eed fo r a per fo rm er. D esc ribin g fu tu re m u sic , Sh o lpo th o u gh t in c atego ries o f c o n tin u ity, so n o rity, spec tru m , an d
th eir tem po ral dyn am ic s, erasin g th e dif feren c e between pitc h - based h arm o n y stru c tu res an d th e spec tral tissu e o f a so u n d.
W h ile so m e ideas fro m th at perio d were
little m o re th an sc ien c e fic tio n at th e tim e,
m an y pro jec ts an d pro po sals were m o re im m ediately viable o r ac tively so u gh t to develo p th e tec h n o lo gy n ec essar y to deliver
th em .
Perh aps o n e o f th e m o st c h arism atic figu res in th e h isto r y o f elec tro n ic m u sic an d
au dio tec h n o lo gy was L eo n Th erem in , well
kn ow n as th e inven to r o f th e first c o m m erc ially pro du c ed elec tro n ic m u sic al in stru m en t, th e Th erem in (also referred to as th e
Term envox, 1 9 1 9 – 20). As a ph ysic ist, m u sic ian , an d en gin eer, Th erem in wo rked at th e
c ro ssro ads o f c reative tec h n o lo gy an d espio n age develo pin g in n u m erable pro jec ts,
o f ten tr yin g to c o m bin e m u sic w ith c o lo u r,
gestu re, sc en t, an d to u c h . I t is h ardly po ssible to day to im agin e an y syn th esizers, bu rglar alarm s, o r au to m atic do o rs, w ith o u t h is
pio n eerin g researc h .
D espite th e fac t th at L eo n Th erem in in itiated a n ew tec h n o lo gy rath er th an a n ew
aesth etic , h is gro u n dbreakin g m u sic al in ven tio n led n o t o n ly to th e applic atio n o f
th e tec h n o lo gy fo r a variety o f c ivilian , m ilitar y, su r veillan c e, an d espio n age pu rpo ses, addin g to h is statu s as a c u lt figu re in
elec tro n ic m u sic in th e West, bu t also pro vo ked n ew aesth etic tren ds an d disc overies
all over th e wo rld.
W h ile th e c areer o f L eo n Th erem in th e
ph ysic ist began at th e I n stitu te fo r P h ysic s an d Tec h n o lo gy in Petro grad, h is m u sic al c areer began in M o sc ow, at th e State
I n stitu te fo r M u sic al Sc ien c e (G I M N). Th e
G I M N was fo u n ded in M o sc ow in 1 921 in
an attem pt to c en tralize all ac tivities related to m u sic al sc ien c e, in c lu din g disc iplin es
su c h as ac o u stic s, m u sic o lo gy, psyc h o lo gy,
ph ysio lo gy, th e c o n stru c tio n o f n ew m u sic al
in stru m en ts, an d eth n o m u sic o lo gy. Niko lai
G arbu zov was appo in ted direc to r. Sin c e th e begin n in g th e G I M N was o rien ted towards ac adem ic researc h . Am o n g
th e m an y sc h o lars an d inven to rs ac tive at
th e in stitu te were Arsen y Avraam ov, L eo n id Saban eev, Peter Z im in , Niko lai B ern stein , Pavel L eiberg, B o ris K rasin , Em ily
Ro sen ov, an d M ikh ail G n esin . Nu m ero u s
researc h pro jec ts were c o n du c ted, ar tic les
pu blish ed, an d experim en tal devic es bu ilt,
in c lu din g a h arm o n iu m tu n ed to a n atu ral
(over to n e) sc ale an d a qu ar ter- to n e h arm o n iu m w ith two keybo ards. Niko lai G arbu zov bu ilt a devic e to stu dy th e ph en o m en a o f syn o psia (c o lo u r h earin g). Sergei
Rzevkin bu ilt h is radio - h arm o n iu m o n c ath o de valves, w h ic h was th e sec o n d elec tro n ic m u sic al in stru m en t to be bu ilt in Ru ssia
af ter th e inven tio n o f th e Th erem in . I t was
a so r t o f th ree-vo ic e o sc illato r, c apable o f
pro du c in g po lyph o n ic c h o rds in an y tem peram en t.
Wo rkin g o n th e G I M N’s draf t pro gram m e, Arsen y Avraam ov pro po sed a pro jec t n am ed »To po graph ic al Ac o u stic s«. He
su ggested bu ildin g power fu l elec tro ac o u stic system s th at c o u ld be in stalled o n airplan es, fro m w h ic h vast areas o f lan d c o u ld
be c overed w ith so u n d. So m e o f h is pro jec ts explo red n ew gen res o f m u sic devised
spec ific ally fo r u rban c o n texts an d presen ted aro u n d th e bu ilt enviro n m en t. On e
su c h pro jec t by Avraam ov referen c ed in th e
»G en eratio n Z« exh ibitio n is th e »Sym ph o n y
o f Siren s« – a large sc ale, o pen air per fo rm an c e o f fac to r y w h istles, fo gh o rn s, ar tiller y fire, an d all m an n er o f m ac h in e- m ade
n o ises, first staged in th e po r t tow n o f Baku
in 1 922 in c elebratio n o f th e fif th an n iversar y o f th e Revo lu tio n . Th is epic spec tac le
featu red a c ast o f c h o irs, th e fo gh o rn s o f th e
en tire Caspian flo tilla, two batteries o f artiller y gu n s, a n u m ber o f in fan tr y regim en ts
in c lu din g a m ac h in e- gu n divisio n , h ydro plan es, an d all o f th e tow n’s fac to r y siren s.
Th e c o n du c to r, po sted o n a pu rpo se- bu ilt
tower, sign alled vario u s so u n d u n its w ith
c o lo u red flags an d pisto l sh o ts. A c en tral
so u n d- m ac h in e c alled th e »M agistral« c o n tain ed 5 0 steam w h istles c o n tro lled by a
c rowd o f m u sic ian s fo llow in g »text- sc o res«.
A sec o n d per fo rm an c e o f th e Sym ph o n y
to o k plac e in M o sc ow in 1 923.
First ar tificially drawn ornamental soundtracks by Arseny
Avraamov (1 930).
9
In 1 921 – 23, per f orman ce s o f t h e Pro j e ct i o n T h e a t re a t t he Fo reg g e r S tudi o and sound expe r i m e nt s a t t h e Pro l e t k ul t S tudi o, d i rec t ed
by Sergei Ei senstei n, provo ke d a f a shi o n o f n o i se m u si c a n d n o i s e
orchestras. Many i nven t o rs pa t e n t e d new so un d m a chi n e s s p ec i a l ly intended f or per f orma nce o f no i se mu si c. S o m e dev i ce s b a s ed
on el ectro-opti cal , el ect ro - m e cha ni ca l , a nd o t h e r new el ec t ro n i c
tec hnol ogi es were ahe a d o f t he i r t i me by de ca de s. Amo n g t h em
was »The mechani cal ke ybo a rd i nst r um e nt f o r t he re pro du c t i o n o f
s p e ech, si ngi ng and var i o u s so un ds« , i nve n t e d i n 1 925 by D.G. Ta m b ov t sev, whi ch was a k i n d o f pro t o -sa m pl e r ve r y si m i l a r t o t h e fa mous Mel l otron popul a r i n t h e 1 970 s. T h e » E l e ct ro -O pt i ca l Mu s i c a l
Ins tr ument«, i nvented by S e rge ev i n 1 926 , wa s ba se d o n t h e p r i n c i p le o f the opti cal si ren . I t wa s a k i nd o f e l e ct ro - o pt i ca l so u n d sy n thes i zer that i ncorpora t e d a se qu e nce r ba se d o n a gra ph i c a l s c o re
to p rogram the most c o m pl i ca t e d r h y t hm s a n d ha r m o ni e s.
In 1 926 –29 the f i rst pra ct i ca l so un d re co rdi ng syst e m s , b a s ed
on sound-on-f i l m tech n o l o gy, a l l owe d a cce ss t o so un d a s v i s i b l e
s hapes on f i l m stri ps th a t co u l d be stu di e d a n d m a ni pu l a t ed . T h i s
new possi bi l i ty paved t h e wa y f o r a syst e ma t i c a na l ysi s o f a u d i o
trac es such that they co ul d be use d t o pro du ce a ny syn t h e ti c s o u n d
at w il l , whi ch l ed to the i nve n t i o n o f t h e » Gra ph i ca l ( D raw n ) S o u n d «
te c hni ques. It al so opene d up a l o n g- awa i t e d o ppo r tu n i ty f o r a r t i s t s
fas c i nated by the i dea o f so un d a s a n a r t m e di um t o e di t , p ro c ess ,
mix, and structure pre -re co rde d a udi o m a t e r i a l , co m bi n i n g a n y
s oun d at wi l l , whi ch l e d t o t h e cre a t i o n o f n u m e ro us so u n d t ra c k s
b as ed on the aestheti c s o f no i se mu si c.
The f i l m cri ti c A l exa n de r Andr i evsk y n o t e d i n 1 93 1 : »W h i l e
ab road the f i rst works re l a t e d t o so un d ci n e ma we re ma i n l y b a s ed
on musi c materi al , i n the U SS R we ha d a no t he r t re n d. T h e m a i n a u d io m ateri al of the f i rst so un d m ov i e s wa s ba se d o n noise and various rumblings .«
I n 1 928 S ergei Ei se nst e i n, Vsevo l o d Pudov k i n, a n d G r i g o r y
Alek sandrov publ i shed t h e ma j o r a e st he t i c do cu m e nt The Future
of Sound Film , i n whi ch t he m a i n e m ph a si s wa s pl a ce d o n t h e i d ea
of the contrapuntal me t h o d o f co m bi n i n g so u n d a n d i ma g er y. »…
ONLY A CON TR A PUN TAL U S E o f so un d i n re l a t i o n t o th e v i s u a l
montage pi ece wi l l af f o rd a n ew po t e n t i a l i ty o f mo nta ge d evel o p me nt and per f ecti on. «
In 1 929 Dz i ga Ver t ov ma de t h e f i rst f i e l d so un d re co rd i n g s by
me ans of por tabl e sou nd- o n- f i l m e qui pm e nt , w hi ch wa s s p ec i a l l y
b uilt f or hi m by i nvento r Al exa n de r S h o r i n . T h e e qu i pm e nt a l l owed
him to record actual ur ba n so u n ds a n d i ndu st r i a l no i se s, w h i c h h e
us e d to score hi s f i l m Enthusiasm ( 1 93 0) . T he sco re be c a m e t h e
firs t approach to wha t wo u l d l a t e r be ca l l e d m u si qu e c o n c r èt e,
w hich was i nvented by P i e r re S cha e f f e r i n Fra n ce i n 1 948 a n d i n i t i ated the devel opment o f e l e ct ro a co u st i c mu si c.
Meanwhi l e, i n 1 929 t he f i rst S ov i e t expe r i m e nta l so un d fi l m Piatiletka. Plan velikih rabot ( T he P l a n o f Gre a t Wo r k s) , di rec t ed by
Ab ra m Room wi th a sou n d t ra ck by Arse n y Av ra a mov, wa s rel ea s ed .
As Room poi nted ou t, » Fo r us, t h e v i sua l ma t e r i a l pl a ye d a s ec o n d ar y, suppor ti ng rol e, be i ng a n o u t l i ne f o r so un d de si gn … e a c h o f u s
h a d t o a p p l y h i m s el f t o t h e t h eo r y o f ra d i o a n d a c o u s t i c s . « Avraam ov i n tu r n n o t ed , »I s h o u l d a l s o s a y t h a t I d o n’ t s ee a n y c o ntradic t i o n s a t a l l b et ween m u s i c a n d n o i s e. . . I d i d n o t wa n t t o i nvo lve an y
c o nven t i o n a l l y o rg a n i zed m u s i c i n t h e fi l m ( s l i p p i n g i n t o melo dic
sy m p h o n i c m o m en t s ) . «
I t wa s Av ra a m ov wh o c o m p l et ed t h e fi rs t a r t i fi c i a l d raw n o rn am en ta l s o u n d t ra c k i n 1 93 0. T h a t s a m e yea r Evg en y S h o l p o inven ted t h e Va r i o p h o n e. I t wa s a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f res ea rc h t h a t Sh o lpo
h a d b een c o n d u c t i n g s i n c e t h e 1 9 1 0 s wh i l e wo r k i n g o n »Per fo rm er- l ess m u s i c «.
By 1 93 6 t h ere were fo u r m a i n t ren d s o f G ra p h i c a l S o u n d in So v i et Ru ss i a : h a n d - d rawn Or n a m en ta l S o u n d ( Av ra a m ov, ea r ly B o ris
Ya n kovs k y ) ; h a n d - m a d e Pa p er S o u n d ( N i ko l a i Vo i n ov ) ; Va r io ph o n e
o r a u t o m a t ed Pa p er S o u n d ( Evg en y S h o l p o, G eo rg y R i m s k y- Ko rsakov ) ; a n d t h e m et h o d o f Sy n t o n es , b a s ed o f s p ec t ra l a n a l ysis, dec o m p o s i t i o n , a n d re- sy n t h es i s t ec h n i q u es ( B o r i s Ya n kovs k y).
T h e fi rs t vers i o n o f t h e Va r i o p h o n e wa s b u i l t i n 1 93 1 by Sh o lpo
t o g et h er wi t h c o m p o s er G eo rg y R i m s k y- Ko rs a kov, g ra n d s o n o f th e
fa m o u s c o m p o s er N i ko l a i R i m s k y- Ko rs a kov. I t wa s c a p a b l e o f pro d u c i n g a r t i fi c i a l s o u n d t ra c k s by m ea n s o f a u t o m a t ed Pa p er So u n d
t ec h n i q u es . Ma n y s o u n d t ra c k s fo r m ov i es a n d c a r t o o n s were c rea t ed u s i n g t h e Va r i o p h o n e. A m o n g t h e m o s t a c c o m p l i s h ed piec es
rec o rd ed wi t h t h e Va r i o p h o n e i n 1 933 – 3 4 were »T h e C a r bu retto r
S u i t e« by G. R i m s k y- Ko rs a kov, »Wa l t z« by N .Ti m o feev, »F l i g h t o f th e
Va l k y r i es « by R i c h a rd Wa g n er, a n d Fra n z L i sz t ’s s i xt h R h apso dy.
Du r i n g t h e b l o c ka d e o f L en i n g ra d i n 1 94 1, t o g et h er wi t h c om po ser I g o r B o l d i rev, S h o l p o sy n t h es i zed o n e o f h i s m o s t ex p erim en ta l p i ec es – t h e s o u n d t ra c k t o t h e c a r t o o n »S t er v i a t n i k i « ( »Th e Vu ltu res «) . A l t h o u g h a es t h et i c a l l y t h es e wo r k s a re s i m i l a r t o Walter
C a r l o s ’ »Swi t c h ed - o n Ba c h « fro m 1 968 a n d s o u n d ed l i ke 8 -bit m u s i c , t h e m a i n d i f feren c e wa s i n t h ei r t i m i n g . I n 1 9 1 8 S h o l p o develo p ed s p ec i a l t o o l s – t h e Mel o g ra p h a n d Au t o p i a n o g ra p h – t o regist er t h e t em p o ra l c h a ra c t er i s t i c s o f l i ve m u s i c a l p er fo r m a n c e. M u c h
el ec t ro n i c m u s i c h a s a r i g i d t em p o, l i ke a m et ro n o m e; S h o lpo was
a b l e t o s i m u l a t e m o re s u b t l e va r i a t i o n s i n t em p o s u c h a s Ru bato,
Ra l l en ta n d o, a n d Ac c el era n d o, b a s ed o n h i s c a r fu l a n a l ys es o f live
p i a n o p er fo r m a n c es by t h e m o s t a c c o m p l i s h ed p i a n i s t s .
I n 1 93 2 – 35 B o r i s Ya n kovs k y p ro p o s ed t h e Sy n t o n e m eth o d , b a s ed o n res ea rc h i n t o s t r u c tu ra l s i m i l a r i t i es a n d d i s t in c tio n s
a m o n g s p ec t r u m s o f s o u n d s o f d i f feren t c h a ra c t er t o l i m i t , a s far as
p o ss i b l e, t h e n u m b er o f c a l c u l a t i o n s n eed ed fo r t h e a d d i t ive syn t h es i s o f va r i o u s c o m p l ex s o u n d s . T h i s m et h o d wa s b a s ed on pu re
a u d i o c o m p u t i n g t ec h n i q u es a n d p o ss ess ed p ro p er t i es ver y c o m m o n fo r d i g i ta l t ec h n o l o g i es , s u c h a s d i s c ret i z a t i o n a n d q u an tizat i o n o f a u d i o s i g n a l s a n d rel a t ed s p ec t ra l d a ta , m a n i p u l a t io n w ith
rea d y- m a d e p a r t s , a n d o p era t i o n s wi t h s el ec t i o n s fro m d a tabases
o f t h e b a s i c p r i m i t i ves ( t em p l a t es ) , t h a t d i s t i n g u i s h ed i t fro m th e
m et h o d s o f a n a l o g u e s i g n a l p ro c ess i n g . I t c a n b e c o n s i d ered as
a s o r t o f p ro t o - c o m p u t er fo r m u s i c t ec h n i q u es , wi t h m a n y o f th e
ty p i c a l fea tu res o f m o d er n d i g i ta l t ec h n o l o g y i n s o u n d a n d m u sic
computing.
Yan kovsky develo ped several so u n d pro c essin g tec h n iqu es, in c lu din g pitc h sh if tin g an d tim e stretc h in g, based o n th e separatio n o f
spec tral c o n ten t an d fo rm an ts an d resem blin g th e rec en t c o m pu ter
m u sic tec h n iqu es o f c ro ss syn th esis an d th e ph ase vo c o der.
To per fo rm c o m plex m ath em atic al c alc u latio n s o f wavefo rm s as
well as o th er im po r tan t param eters o f so u n d an d au to m ated m u sic al per fo rm an c e su c h as rh y th m , th ere were spec ial »em ployeec o m pu ters« o n staf f in th e labo rato ries o f B o ris Yan kovsky an d Evgen y Sh o lpo. Th ese were m ath em atic ian s w h o se spec ific task was
to m ake c alc u latio n s. To realize th ese ideas, Yan kovsky inven ted a
spec ial in stru m en t, th e Vibro expo n ato r – th e m o st paradigm - sh if tin g pro po sal o f th e m id-1 930s.
I n 1 939 Yan kovsky m et Evgen y M u rzin (1 9 1 4 – 70), a yo u n g in ven to r fasc in ated by th e idea o f a u n iversal to o l fo r so u n d syn th esis,
an d af ter a year o f c o nversatio n th e fin al c o n c ept o f th eir fu tu re in stru m en t was fo rm u lated. I n 1 957 M u rzin c o m pleted an d paten ted a
ph o to - elec tro n ic m u sic al in stru m en t c alled th e ANS Syn th esizer. I t
was rem arkably c lo se to th e c o n c ept o f Evgen y Sh o lpo’s Mechanical Orchestra . Th e in stru m en t was based o n B o ris Yan kovsky’s pro po sed sc ale o f 72 steps per o c tave, an d in c o rpo rated a set o f 576
o ptic al sin e wave o sc illato rs, adju sted o n fixed frequ en c ies an d
fo rm in g a disc rete sc ale, c overin g th e w h o le au dible ran ge w ith in ter vals between su c c essive pitc h es u n der tac table to th e h u m an ear.
Co n tro l over th e system an d th e pro c ess o f so u n d syn th esis was
c arried o u t by m ean s o f a spec ial graph ic al sc o re, w ith a diagram
represen tin g th e spec tru m o f a so u n d by m ean s o f draw n tran sparen t strips w ith appro priate sh ape an d slo pes. A prin c iple sim ilar to
th is graph ic al sc o re was u sed in th e legen dar y UP I C c o m pu ter system , develo ped by I an n is Xen akis in 1 97 7 at th e Cen tre d’étu des
de m ath ém atiqu e et au to m atiqu e m u sic ales (CEM AM u ) in Paris.
Researc h ers invo lved in G raph ic al So u n d h ad to overc o m e
en o rm o u s tec h n ic al an d th eo retic al (as well as m o re m u n dan e) diffic u lties du rin g its sh o r t existen c e. Th e resu lts o f th eir wo rk were
su rprisin g an d u n expec ted, an d ah ead o f th eir tim e by dec ades.
However, af ter L en in’s death in 1 924 an d Stalin’s rise to power, c o llisio n w ith th e in c reasin gly to talitarian state was fatal. I n less th an
ten years, all o f th eir wo rk h ad en ded an d was alm o st in stan tly fo r-
go tten . By th e late 1 930s, th e c u ltura l a nd inte lle ctua l e lite of the
previo u s two dec ades h ad been re nd e re d p owe r le ss or e f fe ctive ly
w ritten o u t o f »o f fic ial« h isto ries a nd exclud e d from textb ooks a s
th o u gh th ey h ad n ever existed. Th e la st p ha se of Sta lin’s e p och wa s
en tirely fru itless fo r m u sic tec h n olog y. All the ta le nt tha t e me rg e d
du rin g th is perio d was direc ted towa rd s the id e a s a nd p roje cts of
th e 1 9 1 0 – 20s. Th e n ew gen eration of e ng ine e rs, living in cultura l
an d in fo rm atio n al iso latio n , was pr ima r ily e ng a g e d in a tte mp ts to
c o py o r fo llow Western develo pme nts. It b e ca me a time sy nonym o u s w ith po o r qu ality fakes an d consid e ra b le fr ustra tion. No sig n ific an t inven tio n s were m ade in the re a lm of musica l te chnolog y in
Ru ssia u n til th e tu rn o f th e m illen nium.
L ife h as sin c e c o n firm ed th e va lue a nd sig nifica nce of the wor k
an d fo resigh t o f th e lo st pio n eers. Ma ny id e a s a nd inve ntions, which
at th e tim e m igh t h ave been c o n sid e re d u top ia n, we re re inve nte d
dec ades later. We u se th em to da y withou t knowing the ir or ig ins,
an d m an y ideas fro m th is perio d a p p e a r to still b e awa iting fre sh
c o n sideratio n .
* 1 ) T h e f i rs t ve rs i on of t h e ex h i bi t i on was s h ow n b etween Sep temb er 2 008 and Januar y
2 0 0 9 u n de r t h e t i t l e »Sou n d i n Z« at t h e Palais De Tokyo in Paris w ithin the framework
of t h e ex h i bi t i on proj e c t » From O n e Revol u t i on To Another« by Britis h Turner Prize w inn e r J e re m y D e l l e r.
Andre y Sm irnov is an in terdisc iplin ar y ar tist, in depen den t c u rato r, c o llec to r, w riter, c o m po ser, researc h er, an d develo per o f n ew
tec h n iqu es in c o m pu ter m u sic . He is th e fo rm er fo u n din g direc to r
o f th e Th erem in Cen ter fo r Elec tro ac o u stic M u sic at th e M o sc ow
State Co n ser vato r y an d h ead o f its Sec to r fo r M edia Tec h n o lo gy.
He is also th e au th o r o f Sound In Z : Experiments In Sound And
Electronic Music In Early 20 t h Centur y Russia (Walth er Ko en ig,
20 1 3) an d c u rato r o f th e »G en eratio n Z : ReNo ise« exh ibitio n
at CTM 20 1 4.
Palace of the Soviets. Drawing of one of the approved projects, 1 93 4, by Boris
Iofan, Vladimir Gelfreikh, Vladimir Shuko, and the sculptor Sergey Merkulov.
11
RENOISE – RECONSTRUCTIN G
THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF
REVOLUTIONARY NOISE MUSIC
By ko n s ta n t i n d u da kov- k a s h u r o
T h e ye a r 1 9 1 3 ma r ked the 1 0 0 th anni versar y of Lui gi Russolo’s
s e m i n al m a nif esto, The Ar t of Noises , i n whi ch the famous Ita li a n f u tu r ist a nticipa ted the radi cal sound experi mentati on th a t
evo l ve d thro ughou t the 20 th centur y and beyond. Thi s cente n a r y, h owever, did not she d l i ght on one of the most obscu re
h i s t o r i e s o f ea r ly sound ar t, whi ch for the most par t ­o ccure d
i n d e p e n dently o f the inf luences of Ital i an Fu turi sm, that i s,
n o i s e exper iments under taken i n Sovi et Russi a i n the 1 920 s
a n d 1 93 0s. This pa r ticular hi stor y has remai ned hi dden unt il
t o d ay, p ar tly due to the negl ect typi cal of the Soci al i st Rea li s m e ra, a nd pa r tly beca use onl y a smal l amount of evi denc e
h a s b e e n preser ved. »ReNoi se« – the compl ementar y proj e c t
t o A n d rey S minrov a nd Li ubov Pchel ki na’s ­» Generati on Z« re s e arc h project – sheds lig ht on two mai n components of ea r ly
S ov i e t n o ise a r t: a ma teur noi se bands, wi del y spread across
p o s t- revolu tiona r y Russia, and new forms of sound ­d esi gn
u s e d i n thea tre a nd f ilm producti on over several decades, u p
t o t h e 1 96 0s. It is no tewor thy that both trends were i ntert w i n e d i n the f irst sound movi es of the earl y 1 93 0 s, di recte d
by fo r m er lea ders of theatri cal avant-garde. So what was e ss e n t i al a nd or igina l a bou t thi s noi se breakou t?
Peter Aidu plays the chairphone, a proletarian amateur instrument, at a
Reconstructing Utopia per formance, Moscow, 20 13. Photo: N. Cheban.
Pro bably o n e o f th e m o st distin c t featu res o f th e Ru ssian n o ise
m ovem en ts o f th e tim e is th e absen c e o f a sin gle predo m in an t ten den c y, w h eth er ro o ted in Fu tu rist ideas o r o th er sc h o o ls. On e m ay
refer to Co n stan tin Stan islavski’s au to bio graph y, My Life in Ar t , in
w h ic h th e th eatre direc to r rec alls a pro du c tio n en titled The Snow
Maiden fro m 1 900, w h ic h featu red a bac kstage n o ise o rc h estra c o n sistin g o f »w h istles, c astan ets, an d o th er m ac h in es, m an y
o f th em inven ted by o u rselves fo r th e pu rpo se o f m akin g pec u liar
n o ises«. Th is an d o th er referen c es to stage prac tic es at th e tu rn o f
th e 20 th c en tu r y reveal th at th eatre in par tic u lar m ade in c reasin g
u se o f n o ises. Yet th e c ase o f The Snow Maiden sh ows a fasc in atin g c o rrespo n den c e w ith n o ise ac c o m pan im en t n o t u n c o m m o n in
m edieval Ru ssian fo lk traditio n s. Relic s o f th e vast skomorokh traditio n , w h ic h is c h arac terized by th e u se o f u n c o nven tio n al self- m ade
in stru m en ts o r ju st o rdin ar y o bjec ts, h ave par tially su r vived in th e
prac tic e o f m u sic al ec c en tric s. M an y su c h traditio n s, em ployed by
m u sic al c low n s at th e tu rn o f th e c en tu r y, sh if ted to avan t- garde
th eatric al c irc les in th e early 1 920s. With in th e exh ibitio n »G en eratio n Z : ReNo ise«, a n u m ber o f su c h ec c en tric m u sic al devic es,
rec o n stru c ted by Th e M u sic L abo rato r y gro u p * ) w ill be exh ibited:
a bo ttleph o n e (a perc u ssio n in stru m en t w ith h an gin g bo ttles), a
pig bladder an d vein »strin g« attac h ed to a m o p, a sau c epan dru m ,
an d o th ers.
Alth o u gh it is dif fic u lt to trac e th e o rigin s o f Soviet n o ise o rc h estras, th ey seem in gly first appeared in 1 921 as par t o f sm all agitatio n al th eatre tro u pes. O th ers, su c h as th e n early o bsc u re Po ekh m a, w h ic h played bro o m s, do o rbells, c ar h o rn s, stic ks, etc .,
im itatin g steam en gin es o r th e sound sca p e s of me trop olise s, a nd
w h ic h even h eld c o n c er ts in th e Sara tov Conse r va tor y, sta ye d closer to th e late Fu tu rist sc en e an d to Prole tkult (p role ta r ia n culture
m ovem en t) in par tic u lar. Th e year 1 92 2 saw the fur the r e me rg e nce
o f n o ise o rc h estras th at per fo rm ed a s a p a r t of the Moscow Prole tku lt Th eatre an d M astfo r (th e wo r kshop of Nikola i Fore g g e r ). Under Sergei Eisen stein’s gu idan c e, the Prole tkult comic noise b a nd
was set u p alo n g w ith a pro jec t tha t strove to cre a te »orche stra s of
th e separate in du str y sec to r«, w he re the instr ume nts should have
represen ted par tic u lar types o f (ind ustr ia l) p rod uction. Fore g g e r ’s
o rc h estra, ac c o rdin g to so m e recolle ctions, must have re p re se nted a c o m ic trait as well as an in d ustr ia l one , e sp e cia lly whe n a cc o m pan yin g th e m ac h in e an d electr ica l d a nce s for which Ma stfor
was ren ow n ed. Even th o u gh M astfor soon d isb a nd e d a nd Eise nstein bec am e m o re an d m o re involve d in motion p icture p rod uctio n , th e prac tic e o f n o ise o rc h estra s, comb ining ha rsh noise s with
im itatio n s o f stan dard in stru m en ts, sp ille d ove r into othe r the a tr ic al gro u ps, par tic u larly in th e ge nre of a »Living Newsp a p e r«, of
w h ic h Th e B lu e B lo u se gro u p atta ine d the most fa me . Da s Rote
Sprac h ro h r an d Ro te Fah n e, two allie d a g itp rop g roup s in Ge r ma ny,
h ad sim ilar n o ise in itiatives.
Th ese ec c en tric n o ise o rc h estra s sur vive d until the mid -1 930s.
However, th ey gradu ally sh if ted from sma ll ava nt-g a rd e the a tre s
an d agitpro p brigades to larger prole ta r ia n ma sse s, a nd a p p e a le d
espec ially to th e yo u n ger gen eration, for whom noise b a nd s se r ve d
as th e in itial step to m u sic al edu c a tion. It is re ma r ka b le tha t Eise nstein’s fo rm er c o lleagu e an d Pro le tkult a ctor Bor is Yur tsev contr ib -
13
u te d greatl y to thi s shi f t . I n hi s pl a ys f o r Pro l e t k ul t a n d o t h er p i o nee ri ng theatres of the m i d-1 920 s, he i n si st e d o n usi n g th e s a m e
ins tr uments and adher i ng t o E i se n st e i n’s a ppro a ch . Acco rd i n g t o
Yur tsev, noi se musi c as a si mpl e o rga n i z a t i o n o f so un d t h a t req u i res
merel y ever yday obj ec t s a n d wo r k t o o l s, a n d ca n eve n be m a d e u s ing t rash, provi des the be st e nt ra nce i n t o m u si ca l e duca t i o n . T h u s ,
rou ted through anci ent f o l k l o re a n d m u si ca l cl ow ne r y, ava n t- g a rd e
s oun d ar t, and, i n some wa ys, a ta st e f o r j a z z , n o i se mu si c en t ered
the terrai n of Bol shevi k m a ss e du ca t i o n . I t f e l l o n f e r t i l e g ro u n d ,
s inc e rural tradi ti ons o f a ma t e u r m u si c- m a k i ng ha d su r v i ved u n t i l
that day. Another reas o n f o r t he ra pi d grow t h o f pro l e ta r ia n n o i s e
ens embl es was the def i ci e ncy o f pro f e ssi o na l l y ma nu f a ctu red i n s truments, especi al l y a f t e r t he Wo r l d Wa r I a n d t h e C i v i l Wa r. A m ate ur i nstruments mea nt t o subst i tu t e f o r pro f e ssi o n a l o n es c o i n cid ental l y conf ormed t o t he M a r xi st co n ce pt o f ove rco m i n g t h e
alienati on f rom the pro du ct s o f l a bo u r, ca use d by spe cia l i z a t i o n
and di vi si on of work. Eve n mo re i m po r ta n t l y, t he se a m a t e u r p ra c tice s advanced »ar t i n t o l i f e « , by ma k i ng no di st i n ct i o n b et ween
ever yd a y l i fe a n d a r t , p ro d u c t i o n a n d c u l tu re, wo r k a n d leisu re,
m u s i c a l i n s t r u m en t s a n d wo r k i n g t o o l s . I n t h i s reg a rd , t h e am ateu r
n o i s e m ovem en t p a r t l y s a t i s fi ed wh a t wa s p ro c l a i m ed i n 1 923 by
t h e p ro d u c t i v i s t t h eo ret i c i a n B o r i s A r va t ov, »t h a t fo r t h e fi rst tim e
m u s i c i a n s h a d n’ t a d es i re t o o rg a n i ze a r t i fi c i a l n o n -v i ta l s o un d m at er i a l , b u t m a t er i a l o f l i fe a s s u c h ( s t reet a n d fa c t o r y n o i s es etc .),
n o i s es o f ever yd a y l i fe«.
Po pov’s u n der takin gs in dispen sable fo r so u n d m ovies, par tic u larly
w h ere ric h an d c o m plex so u n d trac ks were n eeded, as th e n atu ral
enviro n m en t in th o se days c o u ld by n o m ean s be repro du c ed perfec tly th ro u gh so u n d rec o rdin gs. M o reover, sin c e »n o ise sym ph o n ies« h ad to be c o m po sed rath er th an rec o rded, versatile so u n d
textu res were c reated, su c h as th e o n e fro m th e »Battle o n th e I c e«
sc en e in Eisen stein’s Alexander Nevsky .
T h e l a t e 1 92 0 s s aw t h e p ea k o f t h es e r u ra l a n d u r b a n a m a t eu r n o ise
en s em b l es , wh o s e rep er t o i re m i g h t h ave i n c l u d ed revo l u tio n ar y
m a rc h es , fo l k l o re s o n g s , o r even i m i ta t i o n s o f a p p ro a c h i n g train s
o r a n i ro n fa c t o r y, a s t o o k p l a c e i n Mo s c ow i n t h e F i rs t E x p er im en tal
S c h o o l i n h o n o u r o f Ka r l Ma r x . T h ro u g h o u t t h e s ec o n d h a lf o f th e
1 92 0 s , s o m e m u s i c a l ed u c a t o rs p u b l i s h ed a s m a l l n u m b er of h an do u t s fo r t h o s e i nvo l ved i n a m a t eu r n o i s e a c t i v i t i es . T h es e hard- to g et b ro c h u res rem a i n a b a s i c res o u rc e o n i n s t r u m en t c o n s t r u c tio n .
S o m e o f t h e m o s t exo t i c a n d a c o u s t i c a l l y a d va n c ed a re p resen ted
i n t h e B er l i n vers i o n o f t h e »G en era t i o n Z : ReN o i s e« ex h i b itio n .
Th e »ReNo ise« sec tio n o f th e exh ibitio n o f fers an o ppo r tu n ity to exam in e so m e o f th ese devic es, m ain ly c o n stru c ted to repro du c e in du strial an d m ac h in e n o ises, an d also tr y th em o u t. As was th e c ase
at th e m ajo r exh ibitio n at th e Po ly tec h n ic M u seu m in M o sc ow in
20 1 2 as well as o th er ven u es, visito rs are invited to c o m po se th eir
ow n so u n d trac ks. Sc reen ed per fo rm an c es by Th e M u sic L abo rato r y an d a wo rksh o p leadin g to a live per fo rm an c e exem plif y c o n tem po rar y u sages o f th ese m ac h in es. Th e per fo rm an c e w ill c o n n ec t bo th am ateu r an d »pro fessio n al« n o ise m akin g, th u s m akin g
th em h isto ric ally an d aesth etic ally c o h eren t. Un expec tedly, early
Soviet n o ise m ac h in es rec reated by th e gro u p o f m u sic ian s, stage
design ers, an d researc h ers resem ble m o dern so u n d in stallatio n s,
dem o n stratin g th e c o n tin u ity o f u to pias o f th e past an d c o n tem po rar y so u n d prac tises.
Tank sound device, invented by Vladimir Popov.
Photographer unknown.
ReNo ise is a pro jec t by Peter Aidu , Ko n stan tin D u dakov- Kash u ro,
an d Evgen ia Vo ro byeva.
* ) »T h e M u s i c L aborat or y« i s a grou p of m u s i c i an s an d re s e arc h e rs i n M os c ow, w h o, ove r
t h e pas t f i ve ye ars , h ave be e n s tu dy i n g vari ou s e arl y Sov i e t s ou n d ve n tu re s , re c on s t ru c ti n g i n s t ru m e n t s an d pe r f orm i n g t h e m u s i c of t h e t i m e .
The Music Laborator y per forms »Steam Train«, playing noise instruments devised by
Vladimir Popov for the staging of A n n a Ka re n in a in 1 937, Moscow, 20 13. Photo: N. Cheban.
The evol u ti on of noi se pra ct i ce s i n t h e f i rst ye a rs o f t h e S ov i et U n ion, however, woul d n o t be co n si de re d a cco mpl i sh e d ha d t h ere
b ee n no revi val of the e a r l y Pro l e t k ul t pro j e ct s, a rev i va l t h a t o c cured wi th the advent o f so u n d i n f i l m i n t h e e a r l y 1 93 0 s . A p a r t
from Dz i ga Ver tov’s f i e l d re co rdi n gs ( pa r t i cu l a r l y hi s re co rd i n g s o f
ind ustri al sound source s, be st re pre se n t e d i n hi s ce l e bra t ed 1 93 0
film Enthusiasm ) , anothe r n o i se m e t ho d, w h i ch be ca m e qui c k l y o u td ated, was to create so u n d t ra ck s by t h e a t r i ca l me a n s re s em b l i n g
a mo re compl ex versi o n o f Fo l e y a r t . I n t h e » Ge ne ra t i o n Z : ReNoise« ex hi bi ti on, thi s me t ho d i s de m o nst ra t e d i n t wo movi es : B o ris Yur tsev’s An Elegant Life a nd Al exa n de r M a che re t ’s Men and
Deals ( both 1 932) . Acco u st i ca l l y, Yu r t sev a nd M a ch e re t a t t em p t ed
to restore the noi se u to pi a s o f t he e a r l y 1 920 s. I t i s t ha nk s t o t h ei r
ef for ts that we may sti ll w i t ne ss t o da y how no i se o rche st ra s ( es p ecially the i ndustri al one s) mi gh t h ave so u n de d i n Pro l e t k u l t , Ma s t fo r
(in whi ch Macheret act e d) , o r T h e B l u e B l o use ( w he re Ma c h eret
s up er vi sed one of i ts gro u ps i n t he m i d-1 920s) .
T h ere i s n o d o u b t t h a t t h e ex p er i en c es o f Yu r t s ev a n d Mac h eret
i n ava n t- g a rd e a n d a g i t p ro p t h ea t res l a i d t h e fo u n d a t i o n fo r th eir
»i n d u s t r i a l sy m p h o n i es «, a d m i t t ed l y i m p o ss i b l e wi t h o u t c o n tribu t i o n s fro m o n e o f t h e l ea d i n g ex p er t s i n t h ea t r i c a l s o u n d d esign –
Vl a d i m i r A l ek s a n d rov i c h Po p ov ( 18 89 – 1 968 ) . T h ro u g h o u t h is c areer a s a n a c t o r i n t h e MK h T ( S ta n i s l avs k y Mo s c ow A r t T h eatre),
Po p ov wa s en c o u ra g ed by S ta n s l avs k i t o i nven t va r i o u s devic es
t h a t c o u l d g i ve m o re v i v i d s o u n d i m p ress i o n s o n s ta g e a s e arly as
1 90 8 . T h ro u g h o u t t h e n ext d ec a d e, t h e n u m b er o f h i s i nven tio n s
i n c rea s ed , s o t h a t by t h e 1 92 0 s t h ey s h a p ed t h e s o u n d o f p l a ys pres en t ed by MK h T-2 , Va k h ta n g ov T h ea t re, o r G a b i m J ewi s h Th eatre.
Po p ov n o t o n l y b ro u g h t ex i s t i n g d ev i c es u p t o s c ra t c h , bu t also
wo r ked a s a t r u e o r i g i n a t o r o f h u n d red s o f m a c h i n es , fro m sim ple
h a n d y d ev i c es t o c o m p l ex m a c h i n es s u c h a s p i p e o rg a n s , w h ic h
p ro d u c ed s o u n d s t h ro u g h fa c t o r y a n d s t ea m en g i n e wh i s t l es. W h at
i s p er h a p s m o re i m p o r ta n t i s t h a t s p ec i a l b r i g a d es , s u p er vised by
Po p ov h i m s el f, s ta g ed t h e »n o i s e sy m p h o n i es « fo r ea c h p ro d u c tio n ,
s o t h a t t h ey were reg a rd ed n o t a s m ere s o u n d ef fec t s , b u t a s c h ara c t ers o n s ta g e. H i s t h o ro u g h a p p ro a c h t o n o i s e p ro d u c t i on m ade
Pe te r Aidu is a m u sic ian , c u rato r, an d th e h ead o f Th e M u sic L abo rato r y. A lau reate o f seve ra l inte r na tiona l conte sts, he
teac h es pian o, h arpsic h o rd, an d c h am ber o rc h estra gro u ps at th e M o sc ow Co n ser vato r y. In 2 007 he e sta b lishe d The Pian o Sh elter – a c o llec tio n o f spec ially c o n ser ved pian o s. I n 2009, Aidu w ith Th e M u sic La b ora tor y initia te d the reviva l of
»PerSim fAn s – Sym ph o n y Orc h estra w ith o u t a Co n du c to r«. He is th e direc to r o f th e per for ma nce p roje ct »Re constr ucting
Uto pia«, an d c u rato rs o f th e »ReCo n stru c tio n o f No ise« exh ibitio n , w h ic h was sh ow n in Moscow, St. Pe te rsb urg , Vla d ivo sto k, an d o th er Ru ssian c ities.
Ko nsta ntin Du da kov-Ka shu ro is a sc h o lar, assistan t pro fesso r at L o m o n o sov M o sc ow Sta te Unive rsity, me mb e r of The
M u sic L abo rato r y, an d DJ. I n 2006 h e c o m pleted h is P h .D. in Cu ltu ral Stu dies, c o m parative ly stud y ing Ita lia n Fu tur ism a nd
G erm an Dada po etic s. His m ain researc h in terests – c u ltu ral ph ilo so ph y, m o dern ism , an d ava nt-g a rd e a e sthe tics – motiva te
h is invo lvem en t in PerSim fAn s, »Rec o n stru c tin g Uto pia«, an d »ReCo n stru c tio n o f No ise« (tog e the r with Pe te r Aid u). He is a
m em ber o f th e Eu ro pean Netwo rk fo r Avan t- G arde an d M o dern ism Stu dies an d Th e Centre for Ava nt-Ga rd e Stud ie s a t the
Un iversity o f I c elan d, an d c u rren tly w rites o n th e h isto r y o f early Soviet n o ise m u sic .
Evge nia Vo ro byeva stu died at th e P. I . Tsc h aikovsky Co n ser vato r y in M o sc ow, w h ere she cur re ntly hold s the p osition of
direc to r o f th e D epar tm en t o f Fo reign Af fairs. Sin c e 20 1 0 sh e is ac tive as pro du c er, m a na g e r, a nd cura tor of va r ious p rojec ts, a.o. th e exh ibitio n s »No ise Orc h estras o f th e 1 920s. Un kow n Pro letarian M u sic » at the Moscow Jewish Muse um, a nd
»Rec o n stru c tio n o f No ise« at th e M o sc ow Po ly tec h n ic al M u seu m .
15
Ov e r lo o k e d
Progress
by R o b e r t M i e SS n e r
The fo c u s on Ea st Euro pea n el ectroni c musi c wi thi n CTM
­Fe s t i val ’s 1 5 th editio n no t onl y hi ghl i ghts Russi an and Sovi et
s o u n d p i o neers via the »G enerati on Z : ReNoi se« programm e ,
b u t a l s o I o n D umu trescu a nd Rodi on G.A., who represent two
g e n e rat i o ns w ithin Rom a nian el ectroni c musi c hi stor y. More­
ove r, t h e c rea tive m inds behi nd the »Sound E xchange« proj ec t
h ave c o m e up w ith a broa d spectrum of experi mental musi c
f rom Ce n t ra l a nd Ea ster n Europe.
B re ak s an d b e g in n in g s
An an n iversar y, o n e m ay safely presu m e, in n o t
ju st an y c alen dar : th e release o f »Hau n ted Pair« in
East B erlin in 1 984, a split tape fro m th e ban ds
Au fru h r zu r L iebe an d Orn am en t & Verbrec h en .
»Release« perh aps overstates th e c ase in fac t, fo r
o ld M ireille M ath ieu c assette tapes h ad to be rec yc led to pro du c e th is exc eedin gly lim ited editio n .
An X- ray- style pain tin g o f a c o u ple o f c o pu latin g
m o o se ado rn s th e c over o f »Hau n ted Pair«, c o u rtesy o f Ro n ald L ippo k, w h o h ad fo u n ded Orn am en t
& Verbrec h en w ith h is bro th er Ro ber t L ippo k in
1 983. Th ere even existed a label – ru n by Ro n ald
L ippo k an d B ern d J estram , th en gu itarist an d sin ger w ith Au fru h r zu r L iebe – an d a c atalo gu e referen c e: »Asso r ted Nu ts No. 1 «. »Hau n ted Pair« was
n o t to rem ain th e n ew label’s o n ly c lan destin e release fo r lo n g.
Th ir ty years later, th e tape is still a gem : Au fru h r
zu r L iebe’s side o f fers- u p a m ild do se o f rain yday avan t- garde wave, in c lu din g a c over o f T- Rex’s
»Ch ildren O f Th e Revo lu tio n « alo n g w ith »bo c k
au f n ic h ts«, a dec idedly skewed pu n k ren derin g o f
th e epo n ym o u s po em by East B erlin po et Stefan
D ö rin g. Orn am en t & Verbrec h en lau n c h es its side
w ith »in g«, syn th so u n ds an d so n g, equ ally c o o l,
an d sh o t th ro u gh w ith o rc h estral dram a. Th e ban d
fo llows u p w ith »D u c h ess o f Pru n es«, a lo o se adaptatio n o f Fran k Z appa’s »D u ke O f Pru n es«, itself a
psyc h edelic tem plate fro m w h ic h Orn am en t & Verbrec h en distilled ever y eerie m o m en t.
The Positive Noise Trio's stage set-up at Kunstsammlung Chemnitz during the Sound Exchange
festival Chemnitz, November 20 12. Photo: Igor Krakowiak.
Th u s »u n erh ö r te M u sik« (u n h eard- o f m u sic ), as Su san n e B in as- Preisen dö r fer, ex- m em ber o f an o th er
East B erlin experim en tal ban d, D er Expan der des
Fo r tsc h ritts, desc ribes it in th e c o m pan io n bo o k to
th e »So u n d Exc h an ge« Festival, an d, o n e m u st add,
m u sic all to o rarely h eard. I n th e 1 990s Orn am en t
& Verbrec h en m o rph ed in to th e in tern atio n ally su c c essfu l elec tro n ic lin e- u ps Tar water (Ro n ald L ippo k
an d B ern d J estram ) an d To Ro c o c o Ro t (bo th L ippo ks plu s Stefan Sc h n eider). I f o n e po in ts o u t th e
o rigin s o f th ese ban ds, to th eir fan s fro m th e UK
fo r exam ple, o n e is m o stly m et by disbelief; yet th at
c edes to en th u siasm as so o n as th e gu ests get to
listen to th e o lder tapes. As is o f ten th e c ase, th ere
is little relatio n between th e qu ality o f th e tapes an d
th e exten t o f th eir ren ow n .
To am en d th is state o f af fairs was an d rem ain s th e
dec lared in ten tio n o f th e »So u n d Exc h an ge« even t
series c o n c eived by Carsten Seif far th , Carsten Staben ow, an d th eir n o t- fo r- pro fit asso c iatio n D OCK
e.V. »Th ere’s a gapin g twen ty-year h o le in h isto r y
to fill«, says c u rato r Seif far th , in su c c in c t apprais-
al o f th e fac t tha t the We st, a s fa r a s he ca n se e ,
was in terested in conte mp ora r y music from Ce ntra l
an d Eastern Eu rop e only b r ie fly, in the e a r ly 1 990s,
af ter w h ic h »in te re st lite ra lly eva p ora te d «. Ye t in
1 988, by c o n tra st, Chr is Cu tle r (He nr y Cow, Ar t
B ears, Pere Ubu) ha d initia te d a se r ie s of seve n a lbu m s in to tal, to b e re le a se d on the Re R Me g a cor p
label (ReR) as a sur ve y of the exp e r ime nta l sce ne
in Cen tral an d E a ste r n Europ e . Cu tle r la unche d the
series w ith Ritual Nova 2 , a n a lb um by Yug oslav
c o m po ser B o ris Kova č s, a nd followe d up in 1 989
w ith ZGA’s Riga , Stra nnye Ig r y ’s (Stra ng e Ga me s’)
Leningrad, an d Exp a nd e r d e s For tschr itts’ e p onym o u s debu t. The n in 1 990 ca me Up The River by
th e Po lish ban d Re p or ta z. ; a nd in 1 99 1 Currents O f
Time by Sloven ia n Bor u t Kr žišniks (still Yug oslav
at th e tim e), as we ll a s Levitation by Hung a r ia n
Kam pec D o lo re s. The se r ie s, title d »Points Ea st«,
ju st as th e su b- la b e l found e d for the ve r y p ur p ose
o f pu blish in g it, is d ue to b e re -re le a se d , p ossib ly
later th is year. The d e la y to d a te sure ly b r ing s no
joy to th e label a nd illustra te s the tr u th of Se if fa r th’s statem en t.
How did th in gs re a ch this p oint? A ra the r le ss-tha nsym path etic atte mp t a t a n a nswe r would b e the
qu estio n : How d oe s the existe nce of a n exp e r ime ntal m u sic sc en e fit into the We st’s ima g e of Ce ntral an d Eastern Europ e , a n ima g e sha p e d a f te r a ll
by th e fo r ty-yea r-long Cold Wa r? Br ie fly p u t, the
qu estio n is: were those Commie s a llowe d to exp e rim en t? Yes, th ey we re a llowe d . And , e q ua lly tr ue :
n o, th ey were n ot. The ir histor y is one of p rog re ss
o bliged at tim es to p ursue a zig za g ing course a nd
th erefo re o f ten ove r looke d . Or na me nt & Ve r b re chen were able to re le a se the ir ha nd ful of of ficia l re c o rdin gs o n ly af te r 1 989. Ye t the te r r itor y b e twe e n
East B erlin , Riga , Vilnius, Bra tislava , a nd Wa rsaw
h as always been he te rog e ne ous. Comp a re the fa ct
th at th e Elec tro nic Stud io a t the Ea st Be r lin Aca d em y o f Ar ts first op e ne d in 1 986, while the Exp e r im en tal Stu dio of Polish Ra d io in Wa rsaw op e ne d
in 1 957.
On th e o th er h and , it wa s only two ye a rs a f te r the
Warsaw Stu dio's op e ning , tha t is, in 1 959, tha t
G erh ard Stein ke, for me r d ire ctor of the (since d e m o lish ed) Cen t ra l Bure a u of Ra d io a nd Te levision
(RFZ ) in Adlershof in Ea st Be r lin, initia te d a te a m
led by Ern st Sc hre ib e r to d eve lop the Sub ha rchord ,
an elec tro n ic sound g e ne ra tor d e sig ne d sp e cific ally fo r u se in exp e r ime nta l re sp e ctive ly e le ctroac o u stic m u sic p rod uction a nd in ra d io, film, a nd
T V stu dio s. A s hif t in cultura l p olicy p u t a n e nd to
th e experim en t in 1 969. In 1 973, by contra st, Polish
c o m po ser B o gusław Scha e f fe r wa s a b le to d eve lop
h is c o m po sitio n »Sy nthistor y« in Be lg ra d e . Scha e f-
The First Latvians on Mars per forming, »Dein Bar t in Zeit und Raum: Für Hardijs Ledin š« at
'
Weltecho during the Sound Exchange festival Chemnitz. Photo: Igor Krakowiak.
fe r was there at the i nv i ta t i o n o f V l a da n Ra dova nov i ć , hi m s elf a composer as wel l a s di re ct o r o f t he E l e ct ro n i c S tud i o
at Ra di o Bel grad where so un d e n gi n e e r Pa ul P i gn i o n ma s te red »Synthi stor y« on t he l e ge nda r y Syn t h i 1 00, t h e t e ch n o l og y that Peter Zi novi ef f h a d deve l o pe d a t t he E M S S tudi o i n
London. Onl y a f ew such i n st r um e nt s we re eve r i nsta l l e d i n
the el ectroni c studi os o f E u ro pe a n ra di o sta t i o ns ye t , even
s o, a total of two were l o ca t e d i n t he E a st e r n bl o c ca pi ta l s o f
Sofia and Moscow, and o n e i n t he E a st e r n bl o c’s no n- a l i gn ed
cap ital , Bel grade.
Not f ar f rom there, not eve n 1 0 0 k m t o t he n o r t hwe st , i n N ov i
Sad , Ernó´ Ki rál y, a Yugo sl av o f H un ga r i a n o r i gi n , cre a t e d h i s
firs t el ectroni c compos i t i o n » Po e ma o zo r i « a s e a r l y a s 1 96 0.
K irál y, who di ed i n S er bi a i n 20 07, w ro t e a nd pl a ye d m u s i c
ins p i red both by avant-ga rde mu si c o f t h e We st a n d t h e f o l klore and cul tural di versi ty o f hi s na t i ve Vo j vo di na . Ra di o N ov i
Sad commi ssi oned hi m t o do cum e nt t h e mu si c o f H u n ga r i a n s ,
Se rbs, Croats, S l oveni a n s, a nd Ro m a , a n d h i s i n t e r pre ta t i o n s
of s u ch sources proved i ncre a si n gl y expe r i me nta l .
K irál y al so desi gned a n d bui l t hi s ow n i nst r um e nt s: th e
»Z itherphone« consi ste d o f f i ve va r i o usl y si ze d a n d e l e ct ro n i cally ampl i f i ed z i thers; t h e »Ta bl o pho ne « o f a she e t o f m eta l
to w hi ch coul d be atta che d o bj e ct s t o cre a t e va r i o u s so un d s
and a sheet of paper fo r draw i ngs. Fo r Ki r á l y re l i e d no t o n l y
on c l assi cal notati on f o r h i s co m po si t i o n s bu t a l so deve l o p ed
a p e rsonal notati on syst e m ba se d o n ge o m e t r i c f i gure s a n d
p rimar y col ours. Hi s she e t m u si c a nd co mpo si t i o n n o t e bo o k s
are h ence ar tworks i n t h e i r ow n r i gh t . H i s di sco gra ph y m u s t
b e c onsi dered i n the l i gh t o f a ca ta st ro ph i c po l i t i ca l sch i s m .
In the rel ati vel y l i bera l cul tura l - po l i t i ca l l a n dsca pe o f Yu g o s lav ia between 1 967 an d 1 9 9 1 he wa s a bl e t o re l e a se f o u r a l b ums, three of whi ch a re no l o n ge r ava i l a bl e . Fo l l ow i n g t h e
ou tb reak of ci vi l war i n Yu go sl av i a , a f u r t he r t wo a l bum s were
re leased … bu t abroad: Phoenix: The Music O f Ernó´ Király on
ReR Megacorp and Spectrum o n t he Fre n ch l a be l t r Ace .
Sound Exc ha nge:
Kra ków — Chemnitz — Berlin
S u c h s t o r i es h ave t h e m a k i n g s o f o n e b o o k a t l ea s t . A n d i t
wa s t h e wi s h t o p ro d u c e t h a t b o o k wh i c h l ed u l t i m a t el y t o t h e
»S o u n d E xc h a n g e« Fes t i va l . T h e G o et h e- I n s t i tu t es i n Mu n i c h
a n d Pra g u e h a d s en t H a l l e- b a s ed m u s i c o l o g i s t G o l o F ö l l m er
o f f t o res ea rc h s o u n d a n d m ed i a a r t i n C en t ra l a n d E a s t er n
E u ro p e – a n d h e t h u s h a d a m p l e o p p o r tu n i ty t o m eet a g rea t
n u m b er o f c o l l ea g u es , c o m p o s ers , a n d even t o rg a n i zers . T h e
b o o k wa s n ever fu n d ed . I n s t ea d , t h e res ea rc h g ave r i s e t o a n
a m b i t i o u s s er i es o f even t s .
G i ven t h e a fo rem en t i o n ed b rea k s a n d s c h i s m s , t o m i r ro r t h e
p a s t a n d p res en t o f ex p er i m en ta l m u s i c i n C en t ra l a n d E a s ter n E u ro p e i n a s er i es o f c o n c er t s , i n a fes t i va l fo r m a t , i n i t i a l l y s eem ed l i ke a h o p el ess ta s k . F i rs t o f a l l o n e h a d t o a s k :
W h a t i s »ex p er i m en ta l m u s i c «? T h e »S o u n d E xc h a n g e« c u ra t o rs o p t ed fo r a b ro a d d efi n i t i o n , g a t h er i n g el ec t ro a c o u s t i c
m u s i c , b o t h c o m p o s ed a n d i m p rov i s ed , m u s i c a l m ed i a a r t ,
a n d a u d i o a r t u n d er t h i s u m b rel l a t er m . T h ey t h rew i n s evera l
t r i p s t o t h e m a rg i n s o f p o p u l a r- ex p er i m en ta l s o u n d p ro d u c t i o n , fo r g o o d m ea s u re. A n d t h ey l et l o c a l s s el ec t t h e p a rticipating artists.
T h i n g s k i c ked o f f wi t h a o n e- d a y »S o u n d E xc h a n g e« even t i n
K ra k ó w o n 18 N ovem b er 2 0 1 1, a fo r m a t t h en rep ea t ed over
t h e n ext t wel ve m o n t h s i n B ra t i s l ava , Vi l n i u s , R i g a , Ta l l i n n ,
Pra g u e, a n d B u d a p es t . T h e t o u r en d ed p rov i s i o n a l l y wi t h a
weeken d - l o n g fes t i va l i n C h em n i t z – a c i ty c h o s en , C a rs t en
S ei f fa r t h ex p l a i n s , b ec a u s e »[i t ] i s n o t over l y b u rd en ed by
a c a d em i c m u s i c h i s t o r y«. Mo re p er t i n en t l y, p er h a p s , Ka r l Ma r x-S ta d t ( a s t h e c i ty wa s c a l l ed i n t h e G DR ) i s h o m e t o
l eg en d a r y E a s t G er m a n u n d erg ro u n d b a n d s a n d p ro j ec t s
s u c h a s Di e G eh i r n e, Ka r t o f fel s c h ä l m a s c h i n e, a n d AG G ei g e. Fo u n d i n g m em b er o f t h e l a t t er b a n d , Fra n k B ret s c h n ei d er, fo u n d ed t h e Ra s t er m u s i c l a b el i n t h e 1 990 s t o g et h er wi t h
NSRD, concer t per formance, Riga, mid 1 980s, (Hardijs Ledin š,
'
Juris Boiko). Photo: unknown
17
Olaf B en der, an d later jo in ed fo rc es w ith Carsten Nic o lai’s
No to n to c reate raster- n o to n – th e n am e th at pu t Ch em n itz
o n th e elec tro n ic m u sic m ap, wo rldw ide an d fo r all tim e.
B retsc h n eider c am e to th at first »So u n d Exc h an ge« weeken d
festival an d per fo rm ed »K ippsc hw in gu n gen «, an au dio -visu al
c o n c er t in spired by th e so u n ds o f th e Su bh arc h o rd.
With h im in Ch em n itz were th e Hu n garian s P ál Tó th , alias én , an d Th e Po sitive No ise Trio led by Z so lt Sö rés, w h o
eac h devo ted th eir per fo rm an c e to Ern ó´ K irály. W h ereas P ál
Tó th m elded K irály’s c o m po sitio n s, so u n ds, fragm en ts, an d
m elo dies to an evo c ative au dio c o llage Th e Po sitive No ise
Trio presen ted exc erpts fro m K irály’s »F lo ra« c yc le in a m an n er rem in isc en t o f J o h n Zo rn . Th e bo o klet c o n tain in g th e
c yc le’s graph ic sc o res was o n display in th e parallel ( yet
lo n ger- term ) festival exh ibitio n en titled »Visible M u sic Th at
An ybo dy Can L isten To «, alo n g w ith sc o res by F lu xu s ar tist M ilan Adam č iak, th e great o ld m an o f Slovakian so u n d
experim en ts. Adam č iak tu rn ed u p in perso n fo r th e En sem ble M i- 65 ’s ren ditio n o f h is wo rk, w h ic h wen t u n der th e title
»TR ANS m u sic [ VARI ATI ONS] «. Th e en sem ble’s in terpretatio n filled th e ro o m w ith a pro trac ted deep bass to n e th at
yet seem ed n o t at all h eav y, m in gled as it was w ith m u ltiple
stran ds o f sh im m er an d c rac kle.
An d th en in ro lled Łu kasz Szałan kiew ic z fro m Pozn án , a
m em ber o f th e Po lish So c iety fo r Elec tro ac o u stic M u sic ,
h isto rian , so u n d design er, an d elec tro n ic m u sic ian , w ith
B o gu sław Sc h aef fer ’s »Syn th isto r y« in h is lu ggage. At o n e
po in t, o n e c o u ld detec t th e so u n d o f so m e c lo c kwo rk c o llapsin g. Szałan kiew ic z th ereu po n played h is ow n versio n o f
»Syn th isto r y«, n am ely »Sign alsto r y«: a real pu m pin g lo u d,
h igh - an d low- frequ en c y per fo rm an c e fro m w ith in th e m agn etic field o f a bu n c h o f Walkm an s. A m u ltim edial c o n c er t
w h o se aesth etic s rec alled th e elec tro n ic exc u rsio n s o f th e
B rit gro u p Co il was per fo rm ed u n der th e title »D ein Bar t in
Zeit u n d Rau m « (Yo u r B eard I n Tim e an d Spac e) by L atvian ar tists An dris I n da- n s, Stro pu J u rka, No rm u n ds G riestin š,
'
To m s Au n in š, An n a K irse Au n in a, an d I n drik is G elzis, in
'
'
'
m em o r y o f Hardijs L edin š, th e arc h itec t, pio n eer o f elec tro n ic m u sic in L atvia an d fo u n der o f th e »Wo rksh o p Fo r
Th e Resto ratio n O f Feelin gs Th at Never Were«, w h o died
in 2004. Th is pro gram m e item gave rise to th e c o m bo Th e
F irst L atvian s On M ars. Fro m n eigh bo u rin g L ith u an ia c am e
th e D I SSC- Orc h estra: J o n as J u rku- n as, An tan as J asen ka,
Vy tau tas V. J u rgu tis an d M ar tyn as B ialo bžeskis. Th ey played
th eir c o m po sitio n »Ven ta« o n Soviet syn th s: a per fo rm an c e
th at led o n e o f th o se presen t to du b it »Th e G reat An alo gu e
Hu rric an e«.
I t is to be h o ped th at th is hur r ica ne insp ire s othe rs, fur the r
a- field. Cen tral an d Easte r n Europ e a n lite ra ture a nd cinem a already h ave th eir read e rs a nd viewe rs. Exp e r ime nta l
m u sic ian s in th e regio n do not la ck a n a ud ie nce e ithe r, a lth o u gh th eirs is m u c h sm alle r. Bu t this musica l culture , like
its c o u n terpar t in th e West, is by its ve r y na ture unlike ly eve r
to attrac t large n u m bers. Numb e rs a re in a ny ca se not the
dec isive po in t. I f th e bro ad e r p ub lic would only re a lise tha t
Cen tral an d Eastern Eu ro pe ’s contr ib u tion to music consists
o f m o re th an Eu rovisio n Song Conte st a cts a nd folklor istic
live- c ell th erapy, we c o u ld a lre a d y sp e a k of he a d y p rog re ss.
Orn am en t & Verbrec h en , the DIISSC Orche stra , The First
L atvian s o n M ars, én aka P ál Tóth, the Ense mb le Mi-65, a nd
Łu kasz Szałan kiew ic z – and , with the m in sp ir it, Bog usław
Sc h aef fer, Ern ó´ K irály, M ila n Ad a mč ia k a nd Ha rd ijs Le d inš –
c an all be experien c ed live this ye a r a t the 15 t h e d ition of the
CTM Festival. I n additio n , Cla us Löse r (Die Ge hir ne , Che mn itz; n ow at th e B ro tfabrik, Be r lin) a nd Alexa nd e r Pe hle m an n h ave c o m piled a prog ra mme of scre e ning s a b ou t undergro u n d ban ds in th e GDR und e r the title »Sp a nnung .
L eistu n g.Widerstan d. F ilmb a nd unte rg r und DDR 1 983–
1 990«. Peh lem an n h as been p u tting his e ne rg y into counterin g m em o r y lo ss fo r so me ye a rs a lre a d y – a mong othe r
th in gs w ith th e alm an ac Zonic , the 2 0 t h e d ition of which he
rec en tly pu blish ed. An d, la st b u t not le a st, Rona ld Lip p ok,
B ern d J estram , an d th e po e t a nd musicia n Alexa nd e r Krohn
rec en tly released th e CD Dear Mister Singing Club . Lip po k o n c e again to o k c are of the a r twor k while p oe ts such
as J o c h en B erg, Stefan D ör ing , Cle me ns Kuhne r t, And re a s
Pau l, an d B er t Papen fu ß su p p lie d the texts. In a u tumn 2 009
th e fu ll lin e- u p o f Orn am ent & Ve r b re che n, who of te n use d
to set Papen fu ß’s lyric s to music, p la ye d a re union conce r t
in L eipzig w h ile, fo r th e »S ound Excha ng e « g ig a t CTM, the
o rigin al du o w ill take th e s ta g e : Rona ld Lip p ok (d r ums a nd
sam pler) an d Ro ber t L ippok (g uita r a nd e le ctronics). The title »B éto n B ru te« says it all. We a re ta lking a b ou t b re a ks a nd
sc h ism s, bu t also abo u t c ontinuitie s.
Translated from the German by Jill Denton.
Au th o r an d jo ur na list Rob er t Mießner wa s b or n
in East B erlin in 1 973, a nd stud ie d histor y, p hilo so ph y, an d lib ra r y scie nce a t the city ’s Humbo d t Un iversity. He wr ite s on music a nd lite ra tu re fo r n ewspa p e rs, ma g a zine s, a nd colle ctions,
an d is c o - editor of the Gegner ma g a zine a nd the
Zonic alm an ac .
*** w w w.ro ber tmie ssne r.word p re ss.com
Cosmic Flight
Electronic Pop Music
i n t h e G DR
By F lo r i a n S i e v e r s
Reinhard Lakomy in the studio.
B e t we e n 1 9 81 a nd 1 989 a smal l ci rcl e of around twenty mu sic i an s p ublished a dozen el ectroni c pop LPs i n the GDR. Su c h
re c o rdings ensued f ro m a stri ng of chance i nci dents, the f t s,
d a r i n g idea s, a nd crea ti ve mi sunderstandi ngs. T hey amo u n t
t o a b ranch on the evolu ti onar y tree of el ectroni c musi c th a t
has a l m o st been f orgo tten, and yet on whi ch a few obscure ye t
pretty sounds once bl ossome d.
Concer t by Julius Krebs at Alexanderplatz, Berlin.
19
Th e o ld, yellow in g ph o to graph s all lo o k rem arkably sim ilar : th e
c en trepiec e is m o stly a lin e- u p o f m u sic ian s beh in d o n e o r two towers o f syn th s an d a c rowd pu sh in g u p in fro n t o f th em o r squ eezin g
in to w h atever gaps it c an fin d. I t is alm o st always a big c rowd, be it
a sweaty h o rde in so m e c o n c er t h all in deepest Saxo n y, o r spillin g
o u t fro m th e pac ked au dito riu m o f B erlin’s Palac e o f th e Repu blic ;
o r perh aps a sea o f fac es flo o din g fro m between th e m o n u m en tal
Stalin - era bu ildin gs o n Strau sberger P latz in th e fo rm er c apital o f
th e G D R. I f th ese o ld ph o to s are tellin g th e tru th th en all o f th ese
were big even ts, so m e o f th em ver y big in deed. Fro m th e early
1 980s o nwards, live per fo rm an c es o f elec tro n ic m u sic were pretty
su re to attrac t m asses o f peo ple; m asses w h o presu m ably wan ted
to dream an d be blow n away.
Th e c o u n tr y in w h ic h th ese m asses lived m u st su rely h ave felt
rath er lim ited, c irc u m sc ribed as it was by im pen etrable bo rders.
How large w ide an d in fin ite th e c o sm o s stretc h in g above it seem ed
in c o m pariso n ! M u sic ian s an d fan s th erefo re began o n e day to flee
th is lim ited c o u n tr y fo r th e en dless reac h es o f o u ter spac e. No t in
reality, o f c o u rse, fo r Soviet »En ergia«- bran d ro c kets an d »Soyu z«
spac ec raf t were h ard to c o m e by. Syn th esizers, dru m c o m pu ters,
an d sam plers were th eir m ean s o f fligh t an d it was th ese w h ic h
gave rise to th e G D R’s w h im sic al, dream y, expan sive elec tro n ic po p
m u sic , an d allowed m u sic ian s an d th eir listen ers to esc ape »realso c ialism « fo r w ildly pu lsatin g fan tasy lan dsc apes an d th e in fin ite
realm s o f far- flu n g galaxies – o r at tim es sim ply th e palpable pleasu res o f a lo c al disc o th at n o n eth eless appeared to be o n a spac e
statio n c irc u m n avigatin g plan et ear th o n a geo - statio n ar y c irc u it.
Th e East G erm an sc en e th at pro du c ed su c h m u sic fro m th e early 1 980s o nwards was ver y lim ited. Yet th e c irc a twen ty syn th esizer geeks w h o belo n ged to it were all pro s w ith im pec c able m u sic al
train in g: Rein h ard L ako m y, fo r in stan c e, sadly dec eased in sprin g
20 1 3, was ren ow n ed above all fo r ro c k albu m s an d rec o rdin gs fo r
c h ildren . Th en th ere were ban ds c alled Po n d, Key, Ser vi, o r th e like,
w h ic h h ave m o stly sin c e su n k in to o blivio n . An d even parago n ro c k
ban d Th e Pu h dys c o u ldn’t resist releasin g an elec tro po p albu m in
1 982: Computerkarierre (Co m pu ter Career), a c ro ssover o f experim en tal syn th in stru m en tals an d Neu e D eu tsc h e Welle (aka New
G erm an Wave o r NDW ). B etween 1 981 an d th e dem ise o f th e G D R
n in e years later, East G erm an elec tro m u sic ian s released aro u n d a
dozen albu m s in to tal, m o stly so lo en deavo u rs.
B u t th is sm all sc en e h ad n o th in g in c o m m o n w ith th e ac adem ic
elec tro n ic - elec tro ac o u stic c o n tem po rar y m u sic bein g explo red at
th e tim e in th e stu dio s o f radio statio n s an d u n iversities th ro u gh o u t East an d West G erm an y, n o r w ith th e experim en tal, elec tro n ic a- in flu en c ed u n dergro u n d so u n ds pro du c ed fro m th e m id-1 980s
o nwards by »an deren Ban ds« (dif feren t ban ds) su c h as AG G eige,
San dow, an d Orn am en t & Verbrec h en . Elec tro n ic po p m u sic ian s’
ro le m o dels were n eith er Sto c kh au sen n o r Ein stü rzen de Neu bau ten bu t rath er Van gelis, J ean M ic h el J arre, Ash Ra Tem pel, an d
K lau s Sc h u lze, at tim es also G en esis, P in k F loyd, Em erso n , L ake
an d Palm er an d, first an d fo rem o st, Tan gerin e D ream . »I watc h ed
Western T V in sec ret ju st like an y o th er gu y an d so m etim e in th e
m id-1 970s I saw a sh ow th at featu red Tan gerin e D ream m akin g m u sic in a c astle in En glan d« Rein h ard L ako m y to ld m e w h en we m et in
20 1 0. »So u n ds, rh y th m s, an d sequ en c es su c h as I h ad n ever h eard
befo re. I t ju st blew m y m in d«. L akomy, b or n in 1 94 6, wa s a lre a d y
a su c c essfu l m u sic ian in th e G D R a t the time – a nd in 1 981 he b e c am e th e first to release an albu m of e le ctronic music: Das geheime
Leben (Th e Sec ret L ife).
Th e West B erlin elec tro n ic ba nd Ta ng e r ine Dre a m ha d a cc epted an invitatio n fro m DT64, E a st Ge r ma ny ’s ra d io sta tion »for
yo u n g peo ple«, to play live in Eas t Be r lin’s Pa la ce of the Re p ub lic
o n 31 J an u ar y 1 980 – th e first West Ge r ma n p op b a nd eve r to d o
so. M an y o f th e elec tro n ic m u sic ians who la te r e njoye d succe ss in
th e G D R were th ere th at n igh t, as fa scina te d a s the y we re insp ire d .
»Tan gerin e D ream didn’t u se lyrics a ctua lly, so the b a nd initia lly
seem ed apo litic al – I th in k th at’s why the y we re a llowe d to p la y in
th e East at all«, m u ses Wo lfgan g »Pa ule « Fuchs, who wa s b or n in
B erlin - Pren zlau er B erg in 1 948, a nd b e ca me the most comme rc ially su c c essfu l elec tro n ic m u sic ia n in the GDR tha nks to his Pond
pro jec t. »Th en I c am e ac ro ss a photo of Kla us Schulze se a te d on
th e gro u n d, dressed in a spac e su it a nd he lme t, a nd comp le te ly surro u n ded by keybo ards. ›Wow !‹ I thoug ht. ›We ’ll d o tha t too.‹ «
O n the trip … b ut b e hi n d t h e t i m es
W h en Tan gerin e D ream played th e Pa la ce of the Re p ub lic in 1 980
m an y East G erm an m u sic ian s we re a lre a d y va g ue ly fa milia r with
c o sm ic m u sic an d krau tro c k, gen re s tha t musicia ns in We st Ge r ma n y h ad been explo rin g th ro u gh o u t the p revious d e ca d e . Althoug h
o f fic ially pro h ibited fro m listen in g to We ste r n Ra d io most of the m
tu n ed in regu larly to West B erlin shows, such a s »Ste ckd ose « (sub titled »Co m pu ter M u sic – M u sic Comp u te r«), which fe a ture d inte rviews w ith Tan gerin e D ream o r Kla us Schulze a nd p re se nte d new
syn th esizers an d o th er n ovel gadge ts. Bootle g ca sse tte re cord ing s
c irc u lated »u n dergro u n d«. Th en in 1 986 the you th ra d io sta tion
DT64 began bro adc astin g its »Ele ctronics« p rog ra mme a nd org a nizin g live m u sic festivals. Th u s East Ge r ma ns could a t la st follow the
sc en e qu ite legally. I t m u st be adde d , of course , tha t whe n Ta ng e rin e D ream played in th e G D R an d so insp ire d Ea st Ge r ma n music ian s, th e ban d’s h eyday an d th at of its musica l g e nre we re p ra ctic ally over in th e West. East G erma ns we re b e hind the time s whe n
it c am e to th e elec tro n ic trip beca use the »re a l-socia list« re g ime
stric tly c o n tro lled c u ltu ral pro du ction a nd ha d b ra nd e d e le ctronic
m u sic »in h u m an e«. B u t so m etim e in the e a r ly 1 980s the p owe rsth at- be dec reed th at th e fu tu re lay in »Kle incomp u te r« (microcompu ters) – an d th erefo re gave th e g re e n lig ht for the music the se
were able to gen erate, w h ic h at th e time d id ind e e d sound fu tur istic.
However, th is didn’t m ean th a t just a ny GDR citize n could now
lau n c h a D I Y freelan c e c areer, record ing , re le a sing , a nd p e r for min g elec tro n ic m u sic . A perm it from the sta te wa s still re q uire d .
J u liu s K rebs, w h o was bo rn in 1 954 a nd g ave solo p e r for ma nce s
o f h is pro jec t J SE (J u liu s K rebs – Sinfonische Ele ktronik) in Ea st
G erm an y, says: »Th ere were two kind s of p op musicia n in the GDR
– am ateu rs an d pro fessio n als. B o th first ha d to d e monstra te some
talen t an d were o n ly th en given a p e r mit to p e r for m, a p e r mit tha t
also spec ified th e h o u rly rate th ey could e a r n. Withou t a p e r mit one
c o u ldn’t even grab a gu itar an d pla y on the stre e t. Tha t wa s str ictly
fo rbidden .« A c o m m issio n exam ine d a n a r tist’s musica l skills, ly ric s, appearan c e, an d reper to ire. A nd a nyone who inte nd e d to e a r n
21
a liv ing as a prof essi on a l mu si ci a n n e e de d a f ur t he r spe ci a l l i c en s e.
» In the West, l ots of e l e ct ro n i c mu si ci a ns t i nke re d a bo u t i n t h ei r
home studi os«, says Ha ns- H a sso S ta m e r, w h o wa s bo r n i n 1 95 0,
s tud ied compu ter sci e nce i n E a st Ge r ma ny, a n d spe n t hi s s tu d en t
d ays bui l di ng synths a nd pi m pi n g We st e r n e qui pm e nt w it h wh i c h
he then per f ormed l i ve. » I t wa s di f f e re n t i n t he GD R. Anyo n e wh o
had n’ t of f i ci al l y studi ed mu si c bu t wa nt e d t o re l e a se so met h i n g o n
v iny l f i rst had to pl ay fo r ye a rs so a s t o prove hi s o r h e r s k i l l s a n d
re liabi l i ty. S o there wa s n o gre a t e r a cco l a de t ha n t o f i na ll y b e a l lowed to rel ease an LP. «
Onl y one state l abe l exi st e d i n t he GD R f o r L P re l e a s es i n t h e
p op u l ar musi c sector, n a me l y Ami ga , w hi ch wa s o pe ra t ed by t h e
» Peopl e’s Own Enterp r i se « ( V E B ) D e u t sch e S ch a l l pl a t t en B er l i n .
No one other than sel ect e d mu si ci a ns wa s a l l owe d t o pu b l i s h L Ps ,
and these al ways retail e d, mo re ove r, a t t h e un i f o r m pr i ce o f 16.1 0
O s tmark. Producti on ma t e r i a l wa s i n sho r t suppl y a nd t hi s l i m i t ed
b oth the f requency and nu m be r o f re l e a se s. » B u t sa l e s di dn’ t m a t t er
a d amn i n the G DR, to be ho ne st « , expl a i n s m u si ci a n Ra i ner Ol ea k ,
w ho was born i n 1 953 a nd co l l a bo ra t e d w i t h Re i nh a rd L a ko m y o n
the el ectroni c LP Zeiten ( Ti me s) i n 1 9 85. »A l o t o f stuf f d i d n’ t s el l
well f or the si mpl e reaso n t ha t t o o f ew co pi e s we re ava i l a b l e. B u t i n
any case, most musi ci a ns ma de t he i r l i v i ng f ro m l i ve gi gs.«
Ma s te rs o f h i dd e n m e an in gs
th e sam e sin gle n o te. W h at do es o n e do th en? Well, o n e plays o n
m an u ally w h ile disc reetly rebo o tin g th e c o m pu ter! Th at fasc in ated
peo ple ac tu ally, bec au se th ey c o u ld see th e am o u n t o f wo rk it to o k.
Th ey to o c o u ld feel th e ten sio n – an d th ey kn ew th e so u n ds were
bein g c reated, c alc u lated, at th at ver y m o m en t.«
War y o f the p lay f ul ap p ro p riatio n o f sig n s
an d c o d e s
Th e rec o rds released u n der th ese adverse c o n ditio n s between 1 981
an d 1 990 do n o t belo n g to an y c an o n o f elec tro n ic m u sic . Th ey
are an alm o st fo rgo tten bran c h o n th e evo lu tio n ar y tree o f elec tro n ic m u sic – an d yet a bran c h o n w h ic h a few o bsc u re bu t wo n der fu l so u n ds o n c e blo sso m ed. Th ey am o u n t to a strin g o f skilfu l
th ef ts, darin g ideas, beau tifu l c o in c iden c es, an d pretty m isu n derstan din gs. A selec tio n o f th ese releases c an be fo u n d, fo r exam ple,
o n th e c o m pilatio n Mandarinenträume – Electronic Escapes from
the German Democratic Republic 1 981 –89 , released in 20 1 0 o n
th e M u n ic h label Perm an en t Vac atio n . I t featu res en dless syn th esizer epic s th at seem to tell o f trips to far- flu n g galaxies as well as
am bien t trac ks th at c o n ju re dream s o f n u dist beac h es o n th e Baltic
Co ast. On e also fin ds disc o trac ks dren c h ed in th e h ear tbreakin g
path o s o f elec tric gu itar so lo s, as well as weird an d wo n der fu l fo rm s
o f c o sm ic disc o, despite th e fac t th at n o n e o f th e m u sic ian s invo lved
h ad ever spen t tim e o n th e sh o res o f L ake G arda in I taly, w h ere th e
latter gen re o rigin ated. An d th e c o m pilatio n also presen ts a pro lific n u m ber o f psyc h edelic krau tro c k jam sessio n s, w h ic h it is dif fic u lt to believe were c reated in th e absen c e o f dru gs – alth o u gh all
par tic ipan ts swear by it. »We h o n estly didn’t h ave an y dru gs at all«,
c laim s Pau le Fu c h s. »I was par t o f th at sc en e fo r aeo n s yet I c an n o t rec all a sin gle c ase. W h ere wo u ld an yo n e h ave go tten h o ld o f
dru gs? All we h ad was alc o h o l.«
Th ese rec o rds also h o ld an aesth etic su rprise in sto re. Alth o u gh
pro du c ed in a c o u n tr y th at h eralded m ec h an ic al en gin eers an d c o sm o n au ts as h ero es, an d th at was filled to th e gills w ith an o ptim istic
faith in tec h n o lo gy – o r rath er in th e in terplay o f perso n al diligen c e,
sc ien c e, an d tec h n o lo gy as a m ean s to im prove peo ple’s lives an d
u ltim ately establish c o m m u n ism – th e rec o rds c o n tain n o m u sic th at
is em ph atic ally rem in isc en t o f m ac h in er y. O f fic ial L P pro du c tio n in
th e G D R th u s bears n o trac e o f th e in flu en c e o f K raf twerk o r o f th e
in du strial m u sic o f th e perio d. Th e iro n y in h eren t to th em an d th eir
play fu l appro priatio n o f sign s an d c o des likely m ade peo ple war y.
Musician license of Julius Krebs.
Although record rel ea se s i n t h e GD R we re subj e ct t o ce n s o rs h i p,
the el ectroni c musi c di scu sse d he re wa s ge ne ra l l y pu re ly i n s t r u mental and theref ore unpro bl e ma t i c i n t h i s re ga rd a t l e a st . Yet m a n y
of th e records may non e t he l e ss h ave co nve ye d h i dde n mea n i n g s –
Eas t German ar ti sts we re no t i nf re que nt l y ma st e rs o f t h i s a r t . Fo r
exampl e, i n 1 983 Rei nh a rd La ko my na me d hi s se co n d el ec t ro n i c
mus ic LP Der Traum von Asgard ( T h e D re a m o f Asga rd) , wi t h l i n e r notes that rambl ed o n a bo u t how » O ne u se d t o sa y As g a rd , by
w hich one meant unl i m i t e d f re e do m i n si m u l ta n e o u s co mf o r t , m ea n t
love wi thou t hate, mea n t pe r ma ne nt a bu n da nce « . T he l yr i c s h en c e
p ossi bl y ref erred to the » Go l de n We st « so l o nge d f o r by m a n y c i t i zens of the G DR. Yet w ho eve r t o o k a cl o se r l o o k wa s a b l e t o s ee
that »the poi nts of the go l de n spe a rs a re be n t , t h e pa n e l l e d fl o o rs
full of stai ns, and the pre ci o u s ge ms n o l o n ge r i n t h e i r se t t i n g s «. T h e
Wes t was not as gol den a s i t wa s m a de o u t t o be , a f t e r a l l . A n d o n e
track on Lakomy’s f i rst a l bu m i s e nt i t l e d: » E s w ä ch st da s G ra s n i c h t
üb e r al l es« ( S ome thi ng s o ne n eve r ge t s ove r ) I s t h i s pe r ha p s a s u b tle p ol i ti cal statement? » N o nse nse ! « re pl i e d L a ko my i n a b o o m i n g
voic e, as sel f-assured a s eve r w h e n I a ske d hi m sho r t l y befo re h i s
d e at h. »It’s si mpl y an e t e r n a l t r u t h . « Ye t mo st o t he r me mbers o f t h e
e lec troni cs scene l ower t h e i r vo i ce s eve n t o da y w h e n ta l k in g a b o u t
b e ing under sur vei l l ance by t he E a st Ge r m a n se cre t po l ic e – t h e
d readed »S tasi « – or a bo u t o t he r re pre ssi ve me a su re s ta ken b a c k
then by the state such a s ce n so rshi p, f o r exa mpl e , w h i ch m u s i c i a n s
to thi s day cal l »proof re a di ng« .
These were obstac l e s f a ce d a l so by t he mu si ca l duo Ser v i , fo r
exampl e, whi ch had f i rst se e n t he l i gh t o f da y i n 1 975 a s a Ch r i s t i a n
rock band and eventua l l y sw i t ch e d t o pe r f o r mi n g m e di ta t i ve a m b i e nt musi c i n churches. » C h u rch wo r k wa s a l wa ys a me a n s t o o p p o s e
the r ul i ng regi me«, says Ja n B i l k , bo r n i n 1 958 a n d o n e h a l f o f S ervi. »We were a church ba n d a t t h e t i me . We pl a ye d eve r y weeken d
in vari ous pari shes, gi v i ng co nce r t s o f m e di ta t i ve e l e ct ro n i c m u s ic as wel l as accompa nyi ng ch u rch se r v i ce s o n S u n da y m o r n i n g s .
We h ad to pl ay qui etl y a nd w i t ho u t dr u m s. We di dn’ t wa n t g ra n d -
m a s , keel i n g over i n t h e p ews . Fo r t h a t rea s o n , b u t a l s o b ec au se
we l a c ked t h e en erg y a t s o m e p o i n t t o en g a g e i n en d l ess disc u ss i o n s a b o u t o u r l y r i c s , we b eg a n d o i n g p u rel y i n s t r u m en ta l stu f f in
1 982 . « Ac c o rd i n g t o B i l k , S er v i wa s n ever awa re o f b ei n g su bjec t
t o rep ress i o n – ever y t h i n g ra n n o r m a l l y. »Yet : W h a t i s n o r m al? « h e
a s k s n ow. »We h a d n o t h i n g wi t h wh i c h t o c o m p a re o u r ex p e rien c e,
a n d t h erefo re n o i d ea o f h ow d i f feren t t h i n g s m i g h t b e el s ew h ere.
A l l we k n ew wa s t h a t t h ere wa s a wa l l s o m ewh ere, wh i c h p u t a lim it
t o wh a t we c o u l d d o. Fo r exa m p l e, we o f t en c o u l d n’ t g et a perm it
wh en we wa n t ed t o p l a y s o m e p l a c e. We’ d s i t a ro u n d i n a b u reau c ra t ’s o f fi c e, u s u a l l y fo r a n h o u r o r s o, a n d t h en a n o f fi c i al wo u ld
tu r n u p a n d h em a n d h aw a b o u t s o m e p ro b l em o r o t h er … An d th at
wo u l d d a s h a wh o l e yea r ’s h o p es i n o n e g o. I t wa s l i ke u b iqu ito u s
fo g . Fo r s u re, fo g wo n’ t k i l l yo u , a n d yo u m a y even g et a l o ng qu ite
wel l i n a fo g ; b u t fo g s er i o u s l y l i m i t s yo u r v i s i o n . «
I n 1 98 6 S er v i fi n a l l y rel ea s ed i t s d eb u t L P Rückkehr aus Ithaka
( Retu r n fro m I t h a ka ) . I t wa s t h e fi rs t ever s o u n d c a r r i er o f fi c ially o n
s a l e i n t h e G DR yet rec o rd ed n o t by t h e s ta t e b u t by a p r i va te pro d u c er. »Pro d u c ed by S E RVI « i s c l ea r l y s ta t ed o n t h e b a c k o f th e alb u m s l eeve – a n d s o i t wa s a rea l s en s a t i o n ! T h e h a n d o f t h e Ch u rc h
wa s p ro t ec t i ve a t l ea s t i n s o m e res p ec t s , fo r i t n o t o n l y fa c ilitated
s u c h n ew d evel o p m en t s b u t a l s o h el p ed S er v i g et h o l d o f equ ipm en t . B i l k ’s m em o r y o f b ei n g h a n d ed a b ra n d n ew Mo o g Pro digy
c o m p a c t sy n t h es i zer i n Ba u t zen i n ea s t er n S a xo n y i s s t i l l f resh in
h i s m i n d t o d a y. A J es u i t p r i es t h a d m a d e a s p ec i a l c o l l ec t i on in h is
p a r i s h i n C o l o g n e t h en d i s p a t c h ed t h e eq u i p m en t t o S er v i .
H owever, o t h er E a s t G er m a n el ec t ro n i c m u s i c i a n s h ad to
s c h em e l i ke m a d i n o rd er t o g et h o l d o f J a p a n es e o r A meric an
t o p - b ra n d sy n t h es i zers o r d r u m m a c h i n es a n d s m u g g l e t h e m in to
t h e c o u n t r y. N o o n e wa n t ed t o h ave t o p l a y t h e few l o c a l p ro du c ts
ava i l a b l e: t h e Ti ra c o n 6V fro m t h e V E B Au t o m a t i s i er u n g s an lagen
C o t t b u s ( Au t o m a t i o n Wo r k s ) , fo r exa m p l e, o r t h e Ver m o n a- bran d
eq u i p m en t tu r n ed o u t by t h e VE B K l i n g en t h a l er H a r m o n i kawerke.
A l l s u c h eq u i p m en t wa s d o o m ed t o b rea k d own . B u t t h e ( g en erally
i l l eg a l ) i m p o r t o f Wes t er n eq u i p m en t c o u l d s u c c eed o n l y w ith th e
h el p ei t h er o f fel l ow m u s i c i a n s i n p o ss ess i o n o f a t ravel p e rm it fo r
p er fo r m a n c es a b ro a d ( s o - c a l l ed »t ravel c a d res «) , o r o f b efr ien ded
o l d a g e p en s i o n ers ( b ec a u s e ret i red E a s t G er m a n s were allowed
t o t ravel a b ro a d ) , o r t h ro u g h c o n ta c t wi t h Wes t er n j o u r n a l ists an d
d i p l o m a t s . »To g et h o l d o f Wes t er n eq u i p m en t o n e fi rs t h a d to raise
t h e d o u g h , i .e. t o exc h a n g e Os t m a r k fo r h a rd c u r ren c y«, t el ls Pau le
Fu c h s . »W h i c h wa s i l l eg a l , o f c o u rs e. A n exc h a n g e ra t e o f o n e to
s i x o r s even wa s n o r m a l , b u t s o m et i m es yo u ’ d g et o n e t o t e n . An d
t h en yo u s t i l l h a d t o fi n d s o m eo n e wh o’ d b r i n g t h e eq u i p m e n t over
t h e b o rd er fo r yo u . Ma n y p eo p l e d em a n d ed p a y m en t fo r th at so
a sy n t h es i zer c o u l d en d u p c o s t i n g a ro u n d 4 0 0 0 0 Os t mark. To
p u t t h a t i n p ers p ec t i ve, m y m o t h er ea r n ed 4 0 0 Os t m a r k a m o n th
b a c k t h en . «
Fu c h s ’ c o l l ea g u e J u l i u s K reb s c a n s t i l l rem em b er h ow t he Ch in es e wi fe o f a m em b er o f o n e o f h i s ea r l y b a n d s h el d a p asspo r t
t h a t en a b l ed h er t o c ro ss t h e b o rd er i n t o Wes t B er l i n ever y d ay. Th e
c o u p l e t h u s m a n a g ed t o i m p o r t n u m ero u s p i ec es o f eq u i p m en t an d
t h i s wa s h ow K reb s h i m s el f a c q u i red s o m e o f h i s g a d g et s . »As far as
I k n ow I wa s t h e fi rs t p ers o n i n t h e G DR t o ever own a C o m mo do re
C 64 a n d t o p l a y a Ro l a n d T B -3 03 l i ve o n s ta g e, « h e rec a l l s . »I u sed
a n o l d S ov i et T V a s a m o n i t o r fo r t h e C 64 . B u t t h o s e c o m pu ters
were t er r i b l e – t h ey c ra s h ed c o n s ta n t l y. On e o f t h em o n c e c rash ed
s even t i m es d u r i n g a s i n g l e c o n c er t . W h i c h m ea n s t h e m o n i to r su dd en l y d i s p l a yed n o t h i n g b u t h i ero g l y p h s wh i l e t h e sy n t h s a l l em itted
A c rass b re ak
Th e »Wen de« (po litic al tu rn aro u n d ) tha t b e g a n in 1 989 re p re se nted a c rass break in th e bio graph ie s of the se e le ctronic musicia ns
an d in deed o f all c itizen s o f th e GDR. At time s, not eve n a g limm er o f pu blic in terest in Eastern bloc music p e rsiste d . »The eve nts
o f 1 989 an d th ereaf ter swept awa y eve r y thing tha t ha d eve r ha d
an y valu e in th e G D R, an d ever y thing we ha d eve r he ld d e a r, a nd
o u r bio graph ies were all pretty much d ismisse d a s infe r ior« Re inh ard L ako m y to ld m e, w ith so m e re se ntme nt. Both p rofe ssiona lly
an d privately, h e an d a ver y few o f his colle a g ue s sur vive d the collapse o f th e regim e u n der w h ic h t he y ha d g rown up re la tive ly we ll.
B u t n o t ever yo n e was so lu c ky. »Dur ing the We nd e eve r y thing d isappeared in a kin d o f m aelstro m «, re ca lls Ha ns-Ha sso Sta me r. »Eith er o n e c o u ld fin d th e en ergy to sa y, ›Ok, tha t’s tha t: time to sta r t
again fro m sc ratc h ‹ o r o n e c o u ldn’t. And I’ll te ll you q uite fra nkly : I
c o u ldn’t. Fo r a w h ile I did n o th in g b u t wr ite p oe tr y.«
To day, Stam er, K rebs, Fu c h s, a nd those of the ir colle a g ue s who
are still alive, all live in o r n ear Be r lin. To visit the m one ha s to
h ead fo r th e far reac h es o f th e pu b lic tra nsp or ta tion ne twor k, travel to th e en d o f th e lin es, in to th e e nd le ss, p e r ip he ra l, non-p la ce
lan dsc apes c o m prised o f m o to r way junctions a nd ha rd wa re store s,
derelic t in du strial bu ildin gs in w h ich eve r y sing le wind ow ha s b e e n
m etic u lo u sly sm ash ed, an d rows of a llotme nts e nclose d by ne a tly
trim m ed h edges. Fo r so m e o f th ese musicia ns or ex-musicia ns, the
rec o rdin gs o f elec tro n ic m u sic from »wa y b a ck whe n« a re the most
im po r tan t th in g th ey h ave ever ac comp lishe d in the ir live s – for others, o n ly a sm all, alm o st em barrassing g a f fe . Some of the m ma ke
go o d m o n ey to day. O th ers barely ke e p the ir he a d s a b ove the wa te r.
W h atever th e c ase, th eir h isto r y should not g o untold .
Translated from the German by Jill Denton.
J o u rn alist Flo ria n Sieve rs wr ite s a b ou t cultura l a f fa irs, p r im arily arc h itec tu re an d music, for Sp ex, Groove , a nd othe r
m agazin es. I n 20 1 0 h e c omp ile d Mandarinenträume – Electronic Escapes from the German Democratic Republic 1 981–
1 989 fo r th e Perm an en t Va ca tion la b e l. The CD fe a ture s e le ctro n ic m u sic c reated by various a r tists in for me r Ea st Ge r ma ny.
23
Erkki
Kurenniemi
Erkki Kurenniemi in the electronic studio
of Helsinki University in 1 971. Photo by Mar tti Brandt.
» O n ly n ow sta r t in g w it h t h e [v in rou ge d e ] Mid i. Re a d
L u c re t iu s in t h e a f t e r n oon . Wa t c h e d t h e por n v ide o I
m a d e w it h X ye st e rd a y a n d a f t e r t h a t , t h e n oise on th e
sc re e n . I c ou ld se e m ole c u le s a n d p a r t ic le s. «
———— 5 / 7/ 1 9 8 7 0 : 0 7
Erkki Kurenniemi Archive, Unknown photo depicting the DIMI-A synthesizer, 1 970s. Photo cour tesy
of the Finnish National Galler y.
B o rn in F in lan d in 1 941 , Erkki Ku ren n iem i was an en gin eer,
inven to r, experim en ter, m u sic ian , an d ar tist, w h o se in flu en c e is m o st sh arply felt in h is im pac t o n elec tro n ic m u sic . He predic ted th at o n 1 0 J u ly 2048 h e w ill be digitally
resu rrec ted fro m th e diaries, so u n d rec o rdin gs, an d video s h e m ade, eigh t years af ter th is bec o m es tec h n o lo gic ally po ssible.
Tagged th e » M arsh all M c L u h an o f th e F in n s«, Ku ren n iem i h eld stro n g views o n th e fu tu re o f tec h n o lo gy an d th e
h u m an bo dy. I n an ar tic le h e w ro te in 1 97 1 , titled »M essage
I s M assage«, h e predic ted an all- in - o n e perso n al devic e th at
lin ked to geth er o u r c o m pu ter, T V, ph o n e, video an d au dio
rec o rder, bo o ks, m agazin es, n ewspapers, c alc u lato r, c alen dar, c in em a, an d o u r h u m an relatio n s – ro u gh ly speakin g,
an iPad. He also bu ilt a video an d m o tio n based syn th esizer, w h ic h c an n ow be replic ated by M ic ro so f t’s K in ec t, an d
c o n c eptu alized so m eth in g c lo se to presets in 1 967. He rec o rded an d arc h ived th e m in u tiae o f h is life m u c h like th e
way we u se Fac ebo o k an d Tw itter to day, an d yet, it wasn’t
u n til 1 974 th at h e was able to bu y an early po c ket c alc u lato r. He bo u gh t h is first c o m pu ter in th e early 1 980s. I n
1 982, h e w ro te:
»I have owned a P C for twenty months now. In those
twenty months, the machine has become par t of me (or I
of it).«
Ku ren n iem i’s ideas are o f ten radic al, tec h n o to pian so lu tio n s. I n 2004 h e w ro te an ar tic le fo r th e F in n ish ar t m agazin e Fram ewo rk, in w h ic h h e su ggested th e so lu tio n to su stain ability o n o u r plan et was to tu rn it in to a m u seu m :
»In 21 00, for example, print 1 0 billion ›Ear th licences‹ and distribute them to all the then-living humans. No
more licences will ever be printed. Licences can be sold.
This way, the people who want long life and long-lived children can have them, but only by migrating into space. This
will be cheap, because there will be people wanting to stay
down here, purchasing Ear th licences at a price that will
amply cover the price of the lif t into orbit for the seller.«
Co m plex so c io - po litic al c o n sideratio n s o f fer n o barriers: o n e stark, radic al an d (fran kly, u n realistic ) c atc h - all
seem ed m o re o bvio u s. Ku ren n iem i is ver y m u c h th e pro du c t
o f h is gen eratio n , an avid c o n su m er o f n ews, literatu re an d
w ritin gs, w h o read Th o m as Py nchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow
dec ades befo re it was pu b lishe d in Finnish. His fu turolog y,
like h is ear th m u seu m idea , ha s p a ra lle ls with Kur zwe il’s
sin gu larity an d Alvin To f fle r ’s Future Shock . Ma cro solutio n s an d predic tio n s, w ith ou t micro consid e ra tions. Kure nn iem i’s visio n s lie so m ew he re b e twe e n fa nta sy a nd re a lity,
in a tec h n o to pian fu tu re re a lity, a nd while he ma d e countless n o tes, tapes, an d videos d ocume nting his life , he wa s
n o t a c o m pletist. His rec ord s a re unorg a nize d note s comm itted to paper, w h ic h slide b e twe e n Eng lish, Finnish, a nd
m ath s, alo n g w ith video an d a ud io re cord ing s, p hotog ra p hs,
n ewspaper c u ttin gs an d rece ip ts, a nd it is the se from which
th e resu rrec ted po st- sin gula r ity Kure nnie mi will re -e me rg e .
So m e days h e m ade diar y note s eve r y te n minu te s, some fa r
less. His m ath em atic al wo r king s have not ye t b e e n a na lyze d ,
an d so rem ain a m yster y. Vid e o d ia r ie s, ma ny of which a re
h o m em ade sex tapes, zo o m in on g e nita lia , or have the sub jec t lo o kin g at th e c am era ra the r tha n the ca me ra ma n. Audio o f ten seem s in c o n seque ntia l - Kure nnie mi sing ing to
h im self in th e c ar, o r th e sound of a tra in jour ne y, song s
fro m th e radio.
»I record ever y thing manically, with neurotic attention
to detail. I film incessantly with my cell phone, constantly
taking notes, updating them by the minu te. The things I record are trivial: the price of a cup of cof fee, the kind of people that hang ou t at a par ticular bar.«
Th e bo dy fo r Ku ren n ie mi – b od ily functions, fe e ling s,
sen satio n s, an d th eir extreme s, me nta l a nd p hysica l – we re
w h at Ku ren n iem i was prim ar ily conce r ne d with. He wr ite s of
h avin g a ru sh fro m m astu rb a tion, close ly followe d by a thr ill
o f a n ew disc over y o r pro g re ssion with one of his p roje cts,
o r c o n flates ph ysic al pleas ure with ma chine inte ra ction:
»The camera is more impor tant than you or me since
it constantly makes imperishable histor y of both of us. We
feel ›the wing of histor y‹ touching us and go crazy.« (1 990)
Ku ren n iem i’s bo dy is inte r twine d with his re cord ing d e vic es, felt as ru sh es o f plea sure in a mir ror of the p hysica l.
He saw th e h u m an bo dy a s a n org a nic slime ma chine , b u t
w h at w ill th e m ac h in es m a ke of the org a nic slime of p hysic al pleasu re, o rgasm , dru nke nne ss, a nd p or nog ra p hy, a nd
h ow w ill it be u n dersto o d by his new, d ig ita l se lf ? He lists
25
Erkki Kurenniemi per forming, 1 970s.
Kurenniemi’s original tapes with their
scarse markings. Photo: Kai Lassfolk.
Erkki Ku rre nie m i is sh owc ased at CTM 2 0 14 throug h a multi-p a r t
pro gram m e o f c o n c er ts, lec tu res, an d film scre e ning s.
J e nnife r Lu c y Alla n is o n e o f two o nline e d itors for The Wire
m agazin e. *** w w w.th ew ire.c o.u k
me al s and i ntake of wi n e , a nd physi ca l ( o f t e n sexu a l ) pl ea s u res , a l l
mixed wi th cal cul ati on s a nd i de a s f o r f u ture i nve n t i o ns a n d c i rc u i t r y.
Pe rhaps, to make an in t e r pre ta t i ve l e a p, Kure n n i e mi ’s a p p a ren t o b s e ss ion wi th documenti n g h i s ow n pl e a su re - ch a si ng i s pa r t l y a res u l t
of him attempti ng to m a ni pu l a t e t he o u t co me o f hi s f u ture s el f – a c u ration of hi s next sel f, a pr i o r i t i z a t i o n o f co nt e nt .
Rather than bei ng ha i l e d a s a me di a t h e o r i st o r t ra n s h u m a n i s t
however, ou tsi de of Fi n l a nd Ku re n n i e mi i s be st k n ow n f o r h i s c o n trib u ti ons to el ectroni c mu si c. Whi l e studyi ng physi cs i n th e ea r l y t o
mid -1 960s he bui l t the f i rst e l e ct ro n i c mu si c stu di o i n t he U n i vers i ty
of Hel si nki . H i s f u ture v i si o n o f a mu si c stu di o wa s o ne w h ere c o m p o s ition was compl etel y a u t o ma t e d i n a n i n t e gra t e d stu di o, wh ere m u s ic was produced at th e f l i ck o f a sw i t ch ( w hi ch , i f yo u co n s i d er t h e
leng ths to whi ch i t i s po ssi bl e t o go w i t h pre se t s, i s no t so fa r o f f t h e
mark) . As such, the studi o h e bu i l t wa s o n e t h a t di ve rge d fro m ex i s ting studi os i n Europe, w hi ch we re ce nt re d a ro u n d a n a l o g u e s o u n d .
He was more concerne d w i t h di gi ta l so un d.
Kurenni emi bui l t hi s I n t e gra t e d Synt h e si ze r i n 1 96 4, wh i c h o p e rated as a control uni t f o r t he stu di o a n d co nta i n e d a t o n e g en era tor, a udi o f i l ter, and mixi ng co nso l e . At t h i s t i m e , i n o t he r p a r t s o f t h e
world, others were al so bui l di n g i nst r um e nt s a n d stu di o s . I n 1 966
Don Buchl a’s Buchl a 1 0 0 wo ul d hi t t he m a r ke t , a nd Ro be r t Mo o g h a d
b e g un worki ng, hi s f i rst M i n i m o o g re l e a se d i n 1 970. Kure n n i em i ’s i n s trum ents were l argel y co nce r n e d w i t h di gi ta l so un d, a n d b ro u g h t t h e
b od y i nto pl ay as wel l . T h e D I M I -T t ra nsl a t e d bra i n wave s in t o s o u n d ,
and the DIMI-S , al so kn ow n a s t he S exo pho ne , wa s a synt h es i zer o p e rated by two or more pl a ye rs w he re t he re si sta n ce o f t h e h u m a n
b od y compl eted the ci rcui t a n d co u l d co n t ro l t he so un d. I t wo r k s b es t
w he n al l pl ayers are na ke d.
Ku ren n i em i wa s b o t h a h ea d o f a n d b eh i n d h i s A m er i c a n an d Eu ro p ea n c o u n t er p a r t s ; a l t h o u g h c o n c er n ed wi t h d i g i ta l s o u n d, h e failed
t o m a ke a s u c c ess fu l b u s i n ess o u t o f h i s i n s t r u m en t s . Th e c o m pan y h e s et u p, Di g el i u s ( a n a m e d er i ved fro m Di g i ta l S i beliu s) was
l a u n c h ed i n 1 970 wi t h Pet er Fr i s k a n d J o u ko Ko t i l a , b u t o nly lasted six
yea rs . Res ea rc h er a n d a r t i s t J a r i S u o m i n en n o t es t h a t d espite h avin g
a wo r k i n g p ro t o ty p e o f t h e m i xer a n d p a t c h b a y Di m i -X , Ku ren n iem i’s
wa s m o re c o n c er n ed wi t h p u s h i n g a n i n t eg ra t ed s tu d i o c o n c ept, th e
n o n - ex i s t en t DI MI - U. At t h e t i m e, F i n l a n d wa s a l s o p o l i t ic ally asso c i a t ed wi t h Ru ss i a , a n d fro m t h e v i ewp o i n t o f Wes t er n Eu ro pe, was
c o n s i d ered t o h ave o n e fo o t b eh i n d t h e I ro n C u r ta i n , wh ic h m ay n o t
h ave h el p ed s a l es .
T h e fi rs t i n s t r u m en t Ku ren n i em i ’s Di g el i u s c o m p a n y a ttem pted to
s el l wa s t h e DI MI - A ( wh i c h s t i l l fu n c t i o n s a n d h a s b een played live,
o f t en by Mi ka Va i n i o ) . A sy n t h es i zer wi t h d i g i ta l m em o r y, so u n ds
c a n b e p ro g ra m m ed i n , b u t a re l o s t o n c e t h e m a c h i n e is sw itc h ed
o f f ( wh i c h h a s t o h a p p en ever y t wo h o u rs b ec a u s e o f overh eatin g).
By t h e t i m e DI MI - A wa s m a r ket ed t h o u g h , i t wa s c o m p et in g w ith th e
E MS , a n d n o n e were s o l d ( a l t h o u g h Ku ren n i em i en d ed u p bu yin g an
E MS VC S 3 fo r t h e H el s i n k i s tu d i o ) .
I n t h e s tu d i o, Ku ren n i em i rec o rd ed t es t s a n d d em o n stratio n s,
d o o d l es a n d ex p l o ra t i o n s , a s wel l a s c o m p l et e c o m p o s i t i on s, an d th e
o c c a s i o n a l s o u n d t ra c k ( n o ta b l y fo r R i s t o J a r va a n d fo r »Hyppy« by
E i n o Ru u t s a l o ) . T h e m o s t fa m o u s o f h i s p i ec es ( a n d o n e of th e lo n ges t ) , »On - O f f«, fro m 1 963 , i s a n i m p rov i s ed el ec t ro n i c n o i se an d tape
c o m p o s i t i o n m a d e o n t h e U n i vers i ty o f H el s i n k i ’s s tu d i o equ ipm en t,
a n d i s t h e ea r l i es t s u r v i v i n g c o m p o s i t i o n fro m t h i s s tu d i o. Ku ren n iem i
c a n n o t rem em b er m u c h o f h ow h e rec o rd ed i t , a l t h o u g h i t u ses sprin g
rever b a n d ec h o. Di s t i n c t i ve s o u n d s h ea rd i n m a n y o f Ku ren n iem i’s
piec es, in stead o f reverberatin g in to h u m an spac es th ese ec h o es
bo u n c e o f f m ac h in e spac es, h o llow an d m etallic . He wo u ld h it th e
m ac h in es, brin gin g h im self in to th e c o m po sitio n s as a h u m an bo dy
in tegrated w ith an d af fec tin g th e m ac h in e o u tpu t; a ph ysic al o u tbu rst th at, w h ile perh aps n o t qu ite fu lfillin g h is dream o f h u m an m ac h in e c o u plin g, n o n eth eless in c o rpo rated ph ysic ality, u rgen c y,
an d th e o rgan ic bo dy in to th e c o m po sitio n .
I n par t, h ittin g an d m ovin g m ac h in es was also Ku ren n iem i’s reac tio n to ac adem ic elec tro n ic m u sic , w h ic h h e felt was to o severe
an d serio u s. Th e direc t en ergy tran sfer o f fist to m etal is c o nver ted in to jo ltin g irregu lar so u n d, givin g h is piec es a dyn am ism th at
m o re fo rm al rec o rdin gs fro m o th er stu dio s did n o t h ave. W h ile
overlo adin g m ac h in e sign al path s, h e was also bu sy overlo adin g
h is ow n sign al path in daily life via in toxic atio n an d sexu al ec stasy.
W h ere th ere is o f ten a fo rm al test- sessio n - like frigidity to so m e
B B C Radio ph o n ic c o m po sitio n s, Ku ren n iem i’s wo rks are fran tic
an d lo o se, an d it is th is w h ic h distin gu ish es h im fro m early elec tro n ic m u sic pio n eers. His reels lac k pro per m arkin gs an d are an n o tated w ith tape speed, a n am e, an d a n u m eric I D c o din g system
th at h as n o t yet been dec iph ered.
Ku rren iem i’s arc h ives were do n ated to th e Cen tral Ar t Arc h ive
in F in lan d in 2006. W h ile alm o st all o f h is m u sic rec o rded at th e
Un iversity stu dio h as been released, an d w h ile 1 00 c assettes o f
au dio diaries are digitized, an en o rm o u s n u m ber o f rec o rdin gs rem ain u n an alyzed. B oxes o f flo ppy disc s an d o th er o bso lete m edia
h ave n o t been o pen ed, an d th e m ath s an d fo rm u las w h ic h sc atter
h is n o tes h ave been largely skipped over fo r prac tic al reaso n s.
An d a big gap rem ain s fro m a six-year m yster y perio d spen t in
a Soviet n u c lear tow n , w h ic h h e is n o t at liber ty to disc u ss even
w ith h is w ife an d th e lo c atio n o f w h ic h wa s not ma r ke d on ma p s
fo r m an y years. Th ere is m u c h yet to discove r a b ou t Kure nnie mi
to be able to plac e h im in h isto r y – so m e of it sure ly to b e found
in th e arc h ive boxes m arked »to be o pene d in 2 04 8«. Althoug h
h e is alive to day h e h as dif fic u lty c o m m unica ting d ue to a stroke
su f fered n in e years ago. His h u m o u r an d ob se ssions with the fe e lin gs o f th e ph ysic al bo dy n o n eth eless set him a p a r t from his contem po raries, elec tro n ic m u sic pio n eers, a r tists, scie ntists, or tra nsh u m an ists. Far fro m bein g c o ld an d m ec ha nica l, or eve n ma chine
like, Ku ren n iem i is vibran tly h u m an , w ith d e sire s a nd imp ulse s – a
far c r y fro m an y c o m m o n visio n s o f a m achine -le d fu ture . If this is
w h at th e fu tu re lo o ks like, set th e c lo c ks to count d own to 2 04 8.
This ar ticle is indebted to the essays and research contained in
Erkki Ku ren n iem i: A M an Fro m Th e Fu ture , Petri Kuljuntausta’s
F irst Wave – A M ic ro h isto r y o f Early F in nish Ele ctronic Music , as
well as Kurenniemi’s online archive, and conversations with Kati
Kivinen, Mikko Ojanen, Jari Suominen, Per ttu Lastas, and most of
all, the work of Mika Taanila. Kurenniemi’s archives can be found
at kurenniemi.activearchives.org. A retrospective of his output,
Towards 2048 , is on at Kiasma, Helsinki until March 20 14.
27
I a n n i s X e n a k i s , t h e P o ly to p e s
a n d M u s i c s o f Ot h e r n e s s
By C h r i s S a lt e r
At CT M 2 0 1 4, a r tist a nd researcher C hri s Sal ter presents a n
h o m a g e to Ia nnis Xena k is by re-i magi ni ng Xenaki s’s Pol y to p e
i n s tal l a t i ons w ith new techni ques. » n-pol y tope« combi nes c u tt i n g e dge lighting, la sers, sound, sensi ng, and ar ti fi ci al i n t e ll i g e n c e so f twa re technol ogi es to create a spectacul ar l i g h t ,
s ou n d , and a rchitectura l e nvi ronment. Both the i nstal l ati on a n d
Sa l t e r ’s a r ticle a ttem pt to grasp how Xenaki s’s i nterest i n mod e l i n g t h e behavio r a nd patterns of nature i n thei r fl uctuation s
b e t we e n o rder a nd disorder, can sti l l power ful l y resonate wit h
o u r ow n histor ica l mo ment of i nstabi l i ty i n natural and ar ti fi c ia l
syste m s.
O ne of the most i mpo r ta n t deve l o pme nt s f ro m t h e pe rspec t i ve o f
2 0 t h centur y aestheti cs i s t he n o t i o n t ha t o rde r a nd di so rder a re n o t
b inar y opposi tes bu t i nst e a d, f u n ct i o n o n a co n t i n u u m . M o reover,
the qual i ti es of order/di so rde r t ha t i n f i l t ra t e a nd expl a i n th e wo r king s of natural and ar ti f i ci a l syst e ms a re no t gi ve n bu t co n t extu a l ,
influenced both by a syst e m’s i nt e r n a l ma ke u p o r i t s so -ca l l ed en d og enous vari abl es ( e .g. , t e mpo ra l a nd spa t i a l sca l e s) , t o g et h er
w ith qual i ti es that l i e o u t si de o f t h e syst e m’s o pe ra t i o ns ( i t s exo g enous vari abl es such as t he cul tura l a n d so ci a l co nt ext o r t h e p h ys i ology of the obser ver) .
That ar ti sti c practice i n t he 20 th ce ntur y, pa r t i cul a r l y t h a t wh i c h
was occupi ed wi th th e me a n s a nd e f f e ct s o f new t e ch n o l o g i es ,
would ground much of i t s i n t e re st i n t he ro l e o f o rde r a n d d i s o rd er
s e e ms sel f evi dent wh e n we l o o k ba ck i n h i n dsi gh t f ro m o u r c u rrent perspecti ve. A s th e l a t e a n d gre a t B r i t i sh M a r xi st h i st o r i a n E r i c
Hob sbawm wrote i n The Age of Extremes , t h e f i rst f o r ty ye a rs o f t h e
2 0 t h Centur y, whi ch h e dubbe d t he a ge o f ca ta st ro ph e , s tu m b l ed
»from one cal ami ty to t he n ext . « *1) Fro m t he ove r w he l mi n g b r u ta l i ty
of the trenches of Wor l d Wa r I a n d subse que nt l y Wo r l d Wa r I I , t h e
d e adl i est war i n huma n h i st o r y w hi ch e nde d i n a n a t o m i c - fu el ed
nova , ar ti sts attempted t o gra ppl e w i t h t h e ra di ca l t ra nsf o r m a t i o n s
b e fo re thei r eyes wi th w ha t eve r m e a n s t he y ha d a t h a nd.
The work of the po l ym a t h I a n n i s Xe na k i s, Gre e k bo r n , Fren c h
exiled, trai ned i n ci vi l e ngi n e e r i ng a nd m u si c a nd m ov i ng a l m o s t
s e aml essl y between arch i t e ctu re , a co u st i cs, ph i l o so ph y, t ec h n o l og y, and aestheti cs th ro ugh o u t hi s l i f e , i s exe mpl a r y no t o n l y o f
Xe naki s’s hi stori cal m o me nt bu t o f o ur ow n, w he re we a re overw he l med by the prof ou nd so ci a l - t e chn i ca l -a r t i st i c shi f t s w ro u g h t by
n ew t ec h n i q u es wh i l e we ed g e ever c l o s er t owa rd s a n ec o lo gic al
p rec i p i c e, u n k n own b u t o n t h e n ea r h o r i zo n .
T h a t Xen a k i s c o u l d c o m p o s e m u s i c i n wh i c h , a s t h e G u ardian
wro t e i n a n A p r i l 2 0 13 a r t i c l e, »yo u ’ re c o n fro n t ed wi t h a n a esth etic
t h a t s eem s u n p rec ed en t ed a c c o rd i n g t o a n y o f t h e fra m es o f referen c e t h a t m u s i c a l wo r k s u s u a l l y rel a t e t o «, i s d eep l y ro o t ed in th e
c o m p o s er ’s own d i rec t , l i ved en c o u n t er wi t h t h e s ava g er y of war ’s
d eva s ta t i o n a n d h i s res i s ta n c e t o i t . * 2 ) T h e a l m o s t c o s m o l o g ic al im m en s i ty o f t h e d es t r u c t i o n o f Wo r l d Wa r I I i n fec t s a l m o st ever y
a s p ec t o f Xen a k i s ’s a r t i s t i c wo r l d v i ew, fro m h i s own d i rec t bo dily
ex p er i en c e o f l o s i n g a n eye i n a b l i z z a rd o f s h ra p n el b l a s t s , to th e
wi t n ess i n g o f t h e s p ec ta c u l a r r u i n a t i o n o f At h en s t h a t h e l a ter des c r i b es i n s p ec ta c l e- l i ke p ro p o r t i o n s :
»W h et h er yo u l i ke i t o r n o t , s i m u l ta n eo u s v i s u a l a n d au dito r y
even t s t h a t a re b o t h s p ec i fi c a n d ext ra o rd i n a r y, wi t h o u t an y app a ren t c o n n ec t i o n s , en t er o n e’s b ra i n wh en ex p er i en c ed a s figh ti n g i n t h e s t reet . Fo r exa m p l e, s p eed i n g b u l l et s o f va r i o u s c o lo u rs
p l u s t h ei r t ra j ec t o r i es – a l l o f t h a t wa s v i s u a l l y s t r i k i n g . T h ey c an be
c o m p a red t o t h e m ovem en t s o f c el es t i a l b o d i es , c o m et s … fallin g
s ta rs […] I wi t n ess ed b o m b i n g s – t h o s e were ext ra o rd i n a r y [ … ] No t
t o m en t i o n t h e a r m y ’s s ea rc h l i g h t s ( s i n c e t h ere wa s n’ t ra d a r th en ),
wh i c h c rea t ed a s tu n n i n g b a l l et i n t h e s k y. Pl u s t h e ex p l o s i o n s, plu s
. . . A l l o f t h a t c rea t ed a fa n ta s t i c s p ec ta c l e, o n e t h a t c a n n ever be
s een i n t i m es o f p ea c e. « * 3)
T h es e i n c red i b l e, fero c i o u s i m a g es a n d s o u n d s a re t h ose th at
m o s t o f u s b o r n i n t h e p o s t-Wo r l d Wa r I I p er i o d a n d , p a r t ic u larly,
a f t er t h e 1 960 s a n d t h e Ko rea n a n d Vi et n a m wa rs , h ave n ever exp er i en c ed . B u t t h ey fi n d t h ei r wa y i n t o Xen a k i s ’s wo r k i n a mo st in -
n_poly tope: Behaviors in Light and Sound af ter Iannis Xenakis, by Chris Salter in collaboration with Sofian Audr y, Marije
Baalman, Adam Basanta, Elio Bidinost, and Thomas Spier. Photo: Thomas Spier, w w w.apollovision.de.
delible m an n er : th e den se c ac o ph o n y o f glissan do in g strin gs in h is
first m ajo r wo rk, Metastaseis ; th e searin g gran u latio n o f c rac klin g,
bu rn in g c h arc o al th at m akes u p th e o n ly so u n d so u rc e o f Concret
PH , Xen akis’s c o m po sitio n fo r th e sm all en tran c eway o f th e P h ilips
Pavilio n ; th e bu rstin g, po in tillist m ass o f stro bo sc o pic ligh ts th at
c o n stitu te th e visu al mise en scene o f th e m u lti- m edia Poly tope de
Montréal an d Cluny spec tac les, an d th e parades o f fire an d searc h ligh ts o f th e Poly tope de Persepolis an d Mycenae . Even Xen akis’s
u n realized pro jec ts su c h as plan s fo r an in terstellar po ly to pe th at
wo u ld u tilize a n etwo rk o f lasers an d satellites bo u n c in g beam s to
an d fro m th e ear th bear th e trac es o f th e c o m po ser ’s early life experien c e.
As B en Watso n in Th e Wire w ro te, Xen akis en tered in to th e
po st war c o m po sitio n sc en e w ith »m u sic o f tru ly m ajestic o th ern ess.« Co m in g o f ar tistic age in th e 1 95 0s, th e c o m po ser already
rebelled again st th e m u sic al tren ds o f h is tim e: th e stu ltif yin g reign
o f po st-war serialism w h ic h h ad seized th e m u sic al avan t- garde,
fo rc in g c o m po sitio n in to a rigid, determ in istic do gm a. »L in ear po lyph o n y,« w ro te Xen akis in h is m an ifesto - like treatise »Th e Crisis
o f Serial M u sic « in 1 95 4, »destroys itself by its ver y c o m plexity;
w h at o n e h ears is in reality n o th in g bu t a m ass o f n o tes in vario u s
registers.« * 4)
Critiqu in g th e »lin ear c atego r y« in m u sic al th o u gh t, Xen akis in stead so u gh t a w h o lly dif feren t direc tio n , o rgan izin g an d c reatin g
c o m po sitio n s th ro u gh h is vast kn ow ledge o f tec h n iqu es fro m th e
do m ain s o f m ath em atic s, ph ysic s, an d statistic al m ec h an ic s; fo rm al
tec h n iqu es th at at first m igh t seem at o dds w ith so n ic lan dsc apes
m arked by su c h extrao rdin ar y prim al in ten sity. Yet, th e m ic ro/m ac -
ro m ovem en ts o f par tic les an d ga sse s, a lg e b ra ic g roup s a nd se t
th eo r y, o r th e tran sfo rm atio n o f ind ivid ua l sound s into ma ss sonic
even ts by way o f pro bability distribu tions a ll p rovid e d Xe na kis with
th e to o ls n ec essar y to tran sc en d the sta tic d e te r minism tha t he saw
paralyzin g h is c o lleagu es.
Sim ilarly, Xen akis’s passio n ate inte re st in p roje ctive g e ome tr y
an d qu estio n s o f th e m o rph o lo gy of for m le d to se mina l contr ib utio n s in th e o th er field th at h e m as te re d : a rchite cture . Sta r ting with
th e legen dar y P h ilips Pavilio n c olla b ora tion with Le Cor b usie r in
th e m id-1 95 0s, an d c o n tin u in g w ith his wor k in Le Cor b usie r ’s studio u n til 1 959, Xen akis n ever let go of his conce r ns for the sy nthe sis o f m u sic al an d arc h itec tu ral sp a ce . In his thoug ht, b uilt for ms
c o u ld bec o m e tran sfo rm able, n o t only throug h the constr uction of
n o n - stan dard geo m etries su c h as r ule d sur fa ce s a nd hy p e r b olic
parabo lo ids, bu t also by kn ow in g how sound itse lf would inte ra ct
w ith su c h su r fac es an d stru c tu res . »Such wa ys of mould ing sur fa ces,« h e desc ribed in an u n dated ar ticle ca lle d »Top oi« (p re suma b ly
fro m 1 970) »o pen th e path fo r rathe r r ich p ossib ilitie s in te r ms of
m o du latin g an ac o u stic spac e.« * 5)
Th at th ere is n o t o n ly a c o n tinuum b e twe e n ord e r a nd d isord e r
bu t also between th e n atu ral an d a r tificia l in Xe na kis’s wor k is imm ediately eviden t. Th e m o st c o m p lex ma the ma tica l mod e ls und e rlie th e c o m po ser ’s attem pts in m usic a nd la rg e r-sca le cross me d ia
enviro n m en ts like th e Po ly to pes, to g e ne ra te a huma n exp e r ie nce
o f th e c o sm o s. Th e bu rstin g o f n ova s, the sp onta ne ous for ma tion
o f c o n stellatio n s, th e flow o f rivers, or the move me nt of the wind
all c o n stitu te ph en o m en a th at Xena kis soug ht to ha r ne ss for a r tistic pu rpo ses. I n m an y ways, th is a p p roa ch wa s exe mp la r y of one
29
b l u e b ea c o n s «, »b l a c k h o l es «, a n d »wh i s p s o f fi re«, a l l g en erated by
t h e l i g h t i n g i n a c o n t i n u o u s l y d evel o p i n g s et o f i n t en s i t i es o f var yi n g d en s i t i es a n d r h y t h m s , t h e Po l y t o p es were m ea n t t o s p aw n th e
n ew k i n d s o f el ec t ro n i c g es tu res t h a t Xen a k i s a l rea d y s aw o n th e
h o r i zo n . I f l i g h t wo u l d b e u s ed a s a t em p o ra l p h en o m en on , c rea t i n g a »m u l t i tu d e o f p o i n t s t h a t s t o p a n d g o «, s o u n d , c reated by
a c o u s t i c i n s t r u m en t s , wo u l d g en era t e a s p a c e, a »c o n t i n u i ty, th an ks
t o t h e m u l t i p l e g l i ss a n d i – › s o u n d t h a t c h a n g es b u t n ever s t ops‹«. * 8 )
I n t h i s wa y, a s we l o o k b a c k a t t h e Po l y t o p es , t h es e fa s c in atin g
a n d rel a t i vel y fo rg o t t en wo r k s o f »n ew m ed i a « s eem m u c h c lo ser to
t h e k i n d o f sy n es t h et i c ex p er i en c e d es c r i b ed by p syc h o l o g ist Dan i el S t er n , wh i c h g reet s i n fa n t s i n t h e ea r l y s ta g es o f l i fe wh o c an n o t
u n d ers ta n d h u m a n l a n g u a g e b u t s t i l l s eem t o g rav i ta t e t owa rds patt er n s , s h a p es , a n d s en s a t i o n s t h a t , wh i l e n o t i d en t i fi a b l e, n ever th el ess g en era t e s t ro n g em o t i o n a l res p o n s es a n d a f fec t s .
A l t h o u g h fo r »n - p o l y t o p e« we b a s ed o u r res ea rc h o n t he M o n t r éa l a n d a l m o s t h a l l u c i n o g en i c »Po l y t o p e d e C l u n y« wh i c h to o k
p l a c e i n t h e C l u n y va u l t s i n Pa r i s i n 1 972 , t h e wo r k t h a t we o rigin a l l y d evel o p ed fo r t h e L A B o ra l C en t er fo r A r t a n d I n d u s t r y in G ij o n , S p a i n i n t h e s u m m er o f 2 0 12 , a n d t h a t i s n ow b ei n g revised
a n d re-wo r ked h ere i n B er l i n fo r CT M 2 0 14 , i s by n o m ea ns eith er
a rec o n s t r u c t i o n o r re- en a c t m en t . Even wi t h a rc h i va l a c c e ss an d
m a n y d i s c u ss i o n s wi t h Xen a k i s ’ fo r m er a ss i s ta n t a n d t ra n s l a to r Sh aro n Ka n a c h a n d C l u n y p ro g ra m m er Ro b er t Du p u y i n Mo n tréal, it
wo u l d b e p res u m p tu o u s a n d fo o l i s h t o i m a g i n e t h a t o n e c o u ld get
i n t o Xen a k i s ’s h ea d o r t o m a ke a n a r t i s t i c ex p er i en c e l i ke h e c o u ld
– t o l i ve n o t o n l y t h ro u g h h i s d eep u n d ers ta n d i n g o f m a t h em atic al
fo r m a n d h ow t o t ra n s l a t e t h i s i n t o a es t h et i c d i m en s i o n s , b u t also
t o i m m ers e o n es el f i n t h e p ro fo u n d ex p er i en c es t h a t Xen a kis h ad
o f a wo r l d o n t h e verg e o f s i m u l ta n eo u s a n n i h i l a t i o n a n d u n fath o m a b l e s c i en t i fi c a n d a es t h et i c d evel o p m en t .
I n s t ea d , a s a l rea d y s ta t ed i n t h e a r t i c l e »N _ Po l y t o p e«, fo r th e
2 0 13 vo l u m e Xenakis Matters , o n t h e p o s t h u m o u s i m p a c t of Xen ak i s ’ wo r k , we a p p ro a c h ed o u r p ro j ec t i n t h e s p i r i t o f rei m a gin in g.
W h a t wo u l d t h e Po l y t o p es b e l i ke t o d a y? W h a t t ec h n i q u e s m igh t
Xen a k i s b e d rawn t o i f h e were wo r k i n g n ow? H ow c o u l d we exp l o re h ow Xen a k i s ’s i n t eres t i n i n d et er m i n a t e a n d s t o c h a stic syst em s c o u l d b e m a d e »ex p er i en c ed a n d l i ved wi t h i n o u r own h isto ric a l m o m en t o f ext rem e sys t em i c i n s ta b i l i ty? «. * 9 )
A s we c o n fro n t a wo r l d wh i c h a t m a n y t i m es s eem s a l m ost c o m p l et el y o u t o f c o n t ro l – wh ere t h e l i n es b et ween t h e b o r n a n d th e
m a d e, t h e n a tu ra l a n d a r t i fi c i a l , t h e o rd ered a n d t h e d i s o rdered
s eem t o b e fu r t h er b l u r red ever yd a y – Xen a k i s ’s a p p ro a c h to »th e
fl u i d , ra t i o n a l a n d i n tu i t i ve a es t h et i c o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n wh i c h seem s
t o fl ow b et ween l i g h t , s o u n d a n d t ec h n o l o g y a n d t h eo r i es « seem s
a s ra d i c a l i n 2 0 13 a s i t wa s i n 1 967.
I n Ar ts/Sciences: Alloys , a p u b l i s h ed a c c o u n t o f h i s Do c to rat
d ’ E ta t d efen s e i n 1 976, Xen a k i s c a l l ed fo r a n ew k i n d o f m usic ian /
a r t i s t – a n »› a r t i s t- c o n c ep t o r‹ o f n ew a b s t ra c t a n d free fo r m s ten di n g t owa rd s c o m p l ex i t i es a n d t h en t owa rd s g en era l i z a t i o n s o n severa l l evel s o f s o u n d o rg a n i z a t i o n «. * 1 0 ) S u c h a n a r t i s t wo u l d n o t o n ly
b e awa re o f t h e s c i en t i fi c a n d a es t h et i c t ren d s o f t h ei r t i m e [ »m ath em a t i c s , l o g i c , p h ys i c s , c h em i s t r y, b i o l o g y, g en et i c s , p a l eo n to lo gy
( fo r t h e evo l u t i o n o f fo r m s ) , t h e h u m a n s c i en c es , a n d h i s t o r y«] bu t
a l s o wo u l d b e g over n ed by a t r i a d o f fu n c t i o n s t h a t Xen a k i s saw as
ess en t i a l t o c rea t i n g a r t i s t i c ex p er i en c es : i n feren c e ( ex p l o ra tio n o f
fo r m s ) , ex p er i m en t ( c h a l l en g i n g t h eo r y t h ro u g h a c t i o n ) , an d revel a t i o n ( t h e ex p o s u re o f a n d t o t h e i n ef fa b l e) . * 1 1 ) I t i s o u r h o pe th at
t h i s a t t em p t a t rei m a g i n i n g Xen a k i s ’s a l m o s t c o s m o l o g i c a l visio n
d o es j u s t i c e t o t h e c o m p o s er ’s a i m : t o c rea t e t h e c o n d i t i o n s fo r art i s t i c ex p er i en c es t o revea l a n d t ra n s fo r m t h e wo r l d .
Stan fo rd Un iversity gradu ate Chris Sa lte r is c u rren tly D irec to r o f
th e Hexagram Co n c o rdia Cen tre fo r Researc h an d Creatio n in M edia Ar t an d Tec h n o lo gy, an d Asso c iate Pro fesso r in th e D epar tm en t
o f D esign an d Co m pu tatio n Ar t at Co n c o rdia Un iversity, M o n tréal.
His ar tistic wo rks h ave to u red in tern atio n ally, been w ritten abo u t in
Th e New Yo rk Tim es, Th e Wire, an d L eo n ardo, am o n g o th ers, an d
h e h as rec eived m ajo r gran ts fro m SSHRC, F RQSC, Can ada an d
Qu ebec Ar ts Co u n c ils, Hexagram , th e Ro c kefeller Fo u n datio n , th e
Dan iel L an glo is Fo u n datio n , an d m o re. I n additio n to h is ar tistic
wo rk, Salter is also th e au th o r o f Entangled (20 1 0, M I T Press) an d
th e fo r th c o m in g Alien Agency (20 1 4, M I T Press).
* 1 )
E ri c H obs baw n . 1 9 94. T h e Age of E xtremes : The Shor t Twentieth Centur y –
1 9 1 4 –9 1 . N ew York : Vi n tage , 1 1 –1 2 .
* 2 )
Tom Se r v i c e . 2 0 1 3 . »A G u i de t o I an n i s Xenakis ’s Mus ic.«
T h e G u ardi an . A pri l 2 0 1 3 .
* 3 )
Sh aron Kan ac h . 2 0 1 0. »Xe n ak i s ’ Pol y top es .« In Iannis Xenakis : Mus ic and
A rc h i t e c tu re . N ew York : Pe n dragon Press .
* 4)
I an n i s Xe n ak i s . 1 95 6 . »T h e C ri s i s of Serial Mus ic.« Graves aner Blätter 6 , July, 2– 4 .
* 5 )
I an n i s Xe n ak i s . 1 970 [ 2 0 1 0 ] . »Topoi . « I n Xenakis : Mus ic and Architecture.
Ed Sh aron Kan ac h . N ew York : Pe n drag on, 142 –147.
* 6 )
H e rac l i tu s . » Fragm e n t s . « I n T h e Pre s o cratics . 1 96 6 . Ed . P.Wheelw rig ht.
N ew York : M ac m i l l an .
* 7 )
I an n i s Xe n ak i s . 1 95 4. » N ot e s t owards an Electronic Ges ture.« In Xenakis :
M u s i c an d A rc h i t e c tu re . Ed Sh aron Kanach. New York: Pend rag on, 131 –13 4 .
* 8 )
Xe n ak i s . 1 967. »T h e Pol y t ope de M on tréal: An Ap p roximate Scenario of Lig ht and
Vi s u al A r t w i t h t h e Fre n c h Pav i l i on . I n Xenakis : Mus ic and Architecture.
Ed Sh aron Kan ac h . N ew York : Pe n dra g on, 2 1 0– 2 1 1.
* 9 )
Se e C . Sal t e r. 2 0 1 3 . » N _ Pol y t ope : Be hav iors in Lig ht and Sound af ter Iannis
Xe n ak i s . « 2 0 1 3 . Xe n ak i s M at t e rs . Ed. Sharon Kanach. New York: Pend rag on.
* 1 0 )
I an n i s Xe n ak i s . 2 0 1 1 . A r t s / Sc i e n c e s : A lloys . Ed and Trans . Sharon Kanach.
N ew York : Pe n dragon .
* 1 1 ) I bi d, 3 –4.
Iannis Xenakis, »Poly tope de Montréal«. Photo from Iannis Xenakis, Music
and Architecture. Ed. Sharon Kanach. New York: Pendragon, 2008.
of hi s many phi l osophi ca l he ro e s – t he pre -S o cra t i c H e ra c l i tu s o f
Ep hesus, who argued t h a t t h e n a tu re o f t h e wo r l d wa s i n d eed fl u x
its e lf: »ever y thi ng f l ows a nd n o t hi n g a bi de s; eve r y t h i n g g i ves wa y
and n othi ng stays f i xed « . *6)
The Pol y topes, a p a r t i a l ne o l o gi sm f ro m Xe na k i s t ha t s i g n i fi es
»many spaces« bu t i s, i n f a ct , t h e de scr i pt i o n o f a ge o me t r i c o b j ec t
w ith f l at si des that ex i st s i n a ny n u m be r o f di m e nsi o ns, were a res p onse to hi s work wi th Le C o r bu si e r o n t h e P h i l i ps pav i l i o n – p a rtic ula rl y the master archi t e ct ’s de si gn o f t h e pro j e ct e d i ma g es i n t h e
p av il i on, whi ch Xenakis l a t e r cr i t i qu e d i n h i s 1 95 8 t ext » No t es To wards an El ectroni c G e sture . « Le C o r busi e r ’s use o f t he c i n em a t i c
image coul d not go beyo nd t he re ct i l i n e a r f ra m e ; » t he screen h o l e
or p roj ecti on wi ndow« w h i ch st ra nde d t he i ma ge w i t hi n a fl a t , 2 - D
horizontal l y and ver ti ca l l y de f i ne d spa ce . I nst e a d, Xe na k i s s u g g e s ts the transf ormati o n o f i m a ge i n re l a t i o n sh i p t o so u n d t h ro u g h
new ki nds of geometri c spa ce s t ha t co u l d wa r p, shi f t , a nd m u ta t e
the i mage i nto »a new a rch i t e ctu ra l co nce pt t h a t w i l l e merg e fro m
the beaten path of the pl a n e a nd r i gh t a n gl e i n o rde r t o c rea t e a
s p ace that i s trul y thre e di me nsi o na l « . *7 )
Gi ven the oppor tun i ty t o cre a t e a m u si ca l wo r k f o r t h e Fren c h
Pav il i on at the Montréa l Wo r l d E xpo si t i o n i n 1 967, Xe n a k i s p ro p os ed to curator Robe r t B o rda z a n d t h e pav i l i o n’s a rchi t ec t J ea n
Faugeron the f i rst Poly t o pe – » a n e l e ct ro n i c scu l pture co m b i n i n g
lig ht , musi c, and structu re s« – a m a ssi ve a rch i t e ctu ra l i n s ta l l a t i o n
c onsi sti ng of 200 ste e l ca bl e s spa nn e d i n a hype r bo l i c p a ra b o loid structure through t he pav i l i o n’s ce nt ra l a t r i um a n d o u t fi t t ed
w ith some 1 200 mecha ni ca l re l a y-co n t ro l l e d w h i t e a n d co lo red xenon stroboscopi c l i ght s. T he » Po l y t o pe de M o nt r é a l « wa s o n l y t h e
firs t of si x other Pol y to pe s, f o l l owe d by i nsta l l a t i o n s i n Pe rs ep o l i s
(Iran ) , Pari s ( 1 972) , Myce n a e ( 1 978 ) , a nd Pa r i s a nd B o nn ( t h e Di atope, i n 1 978) , pl us t wo u n re a l i ze d a t t e mpt s pl a nn e d f o r Mex i c o
and Athens.
Despi te thei r publ i she d sco re s a nd do cum e nta t i o n , t h e Po l y topes were never mea nt a s f i xe d a n d f i na l wo r k s bu t ra t h er a s
s ite -speci f i c envi ronme n t s, e a ch un i qu e l y t i e d t o i t s pa r t i c u l a r s o c io-cul tural -archi tectu ra l co n t ext . T h e » Po l y t o pe de M o n t r éa l «, fo r
exampl e, was i n many wa ys ra di ca l l y a n t i t h e t i ca l t o E xpo 67’s o t h er
p av il i ons, where the pre do mi n a nt t h e me wa s t h e t ra n sf o r m a t i o n o f
the movi ng i mage thro ugh new f o r m s o f scre e n t e ch n o l o g y. Fro m
the sti l l today radi cal wo r k o f t h e 20 th ce ntur y ge ni u s sce n o g ra p h er
Jos ef Svoboda, who wa s re spo nsi bl e f o r t h e co m pl ex m u l t i - s c reen
ins ta l l ati ons »Pol y vi si o n « a n d t h e » D i a po l ye k ra n« a t t h e Czec h p a vilion , to devel opment s by C a na di a n expe r i m e nta l f i l m m a kers l i ke
Fran ci s Thompson or Ro ma n Kro i t e r a nd Gra e m e Fe rgus o n , wh o
d e moed the f i rst seeds o f w h a t wo u l d be co me I M AX , t h e s c reen
as technol ogy and i con o f pro gre ss t o o k ove r t he pe rce ptu a l l a n d s c ape of medi a i n the expo si t i o n.
In contrast, Xenaki s’s si x m i n u t e , co n t i n u a l l y cycl i n g l i g h t a n d
s ound »G esamtkunstwe r k« , w i t h i t s 1 200 st ro be s a n d f o u r c h a n ne l o rchestral score a l l dr i ve n by a co m pl e t e l y Byz a n t i n e c o n t ro l
sys tem of l i ght sensors a nd a pe r f o ra t e d co m m a nd f i l m p u n c h ed
w ith ever y possi bl e l i g h t i n g co n f i gura t i o n , o pe ra t e d i n di rec t c o n tras t to Ex po ‘ 67’s repre se n ta t i o na l spe cta cl e o f t h e i m a ge . I n d eed ,
eve n now as we f ace th e a bi l i ty t o cre a t e hi gh - re so l u t i o n L E D i m ag e s, turni ng urban bu i l di n gs a n d spa ce s i n t o gi ga nt i c e l ec t ro n i c
b illboards, Xenaki s neve r se e me d pa r t i cul a r l y i nt e re st e d i n u s i n g
thou sands of poi nts of l i gh t t o cre a t e i m a ge s, bu t ra t h e r t o g en era t e
temporal f orms and sha pe s t ha t wo u l d i nvo ke » t wo di f f e re n t m u s i c s :
one to be seen and the o t h e r t o be he a rd. «
Whi l e Xenaki s’s no t e s de ta i l a co m po si t i o n a l se que nc e i n t h e
» Poly tope de Montréal« o f » st o ch a st i ca l l y di st r i bu t e d r i ve rs «, »d eep
31
I m ag e & So u n d
E x p e r i m e n ta l a r t t e ac h i n g i n t h e
interstices between visual art and music
by M i c h a e l va n H o o g e n h u y z e
Th e h isto r y o f ar t in th e last two c en tu ries is n o t a c lear stream o f
ar tists in flu en c in g th e n ext gen eratio n w ith th eir wo rk. I t is rath er
like a labyrin th w ith sign als, lo st o ppo r tu n ities, an d redisc overed
po ssibilities. Th e star t o f th e I n ter fac u lty fo r I m age an d So u n d o f
Th e Royal Ac adem y o f Ar t an d Th e Royal Co n ser vato r y in Th e
Hagu e is a go o d exam ple o f th is c o m plic ated situ atio n .
Preparation of »Mondriaan’s Promenoire« at the Inter faculty Image and Sound in 1 994.
From Lef t to Right: Dick Raaijmakers, Jan Zoet, Robin Deirkauf.
Photo: Remco Schuurbiers.
M i c h ae l van H o ogenhuyze descri bes (di s)connecti ons betwe e n
p a s t a n d p resent cur rents of ar ti sti c experi mentati on, and a se r i e s o f events a nd cha nce meeti ngs among protagoni sts ac t ive
i n d i f fe rent loca lities, w hich l ai d the foundati ons for the se m in a l I n t e r fa c ulty f o r Im a ge a nd Sound i n T he Hague. Fol l owi ng va n
Ho o g e n h u yze’s contr ibu tio n is a text by the Inter facul ty’s previ ou s
di re c t o r Frans Evers. Ta ken f rom Dick Raaijmakers: ­­A Monograph ,
i t d e s c r ibes a meeting between J ohn C age and Raai j make rs,
w hi c h c atalyzed the crea tion of the Inter facul ty. Known today a s
t h e A r t S c i e nce Inter f a culty, the school conti nues to i nspi re youn g
g e n e rat i o ns of ava nt-ga rde i ntermedi a experi mental i sts worldw i d e , wh i le rem a ining m oti vated by the pi oneeri ng educati on a l
a nd re s e a rch a ppro a ches of i ts founders Raai j makers and Eve rs,
t heir co ntempo ra r i es, and the hi stori c adventuri sts th a t
i nspi red th e m .
Th e 20 th c en tu r y was m arked by th e grow in g im po r tan c e o f tec h n o lo gy, w h ic h develo ped in to th e c u rren t perio d o f n ew m edia, digital ar ts, an d elec tro n ic s, w h ic h is in c reasin gly c h arac terized by th e
blu rrin g o f bo u n daries between ar t an d real life du e to th e strategies o f »readym ade« an d »per fo rm an c e« in th e wo rk o f ar tists like
M arc el D u c h am p.
Th ese develo pm en ts were fo m en ted in ar t m ovem en ts su c h as Fu tu rism ( ± 1 909 – 1 4) an d Dada (1 9 1 7 ), an d in an ar t sc h o o ls like th e
Bau h au s (1 9 1 9 – 33), m ovem en ts w h o se experim en tatio n h eavily in spired ar t an d ar t prac titio n ers du rin g th e 1 95 0s. W h en th e c o m po ser J o h n Cage began to c o n du c t in terdisc iplin ar y experim en ts
in No r th Caro lin a’s B lac k M o u n tain Co llege, h e was aware o f th e
im po r tan c e o f M arc el D u c h am p’s wo rk.
I n 1 95 8 th e P h ilips c o m pan y presen ted a c o m plex wo rk o f ar t du rin g th e Wo rld Fair in B ru ssels. Th e fam o u s P h ilips Pavilio n was
design ed by L eCo rbu sier an d h is assistan t Xen akis. »L e po èm e
élec tro n iqu e« by Edgar Varèse was dif fu sed in side th e stru c tu re.
D u rin g th at perio d th e c o m po ser D ic k Raaijm akers (1 930 – 20 1 3)
wo rked at th e P h ilips labo rato r y in Ein dh oven . He m ade th e first
elec tro n ic m u sic in th e Neth erlan ds, an d also w h at c an be c o n sidered th e first elec tro n ic po p m u sic in th e wo rld. Varèse fin ish ed h is
c o m po sitio n fo r th e pavilio n in B ru ssels in th e sam e labo rato r y. I n
th at way Raaijm akers was a w itn ess o f th e en deavo u r to m ake a n ew
Gesamtkunstwerk u sin g advan c ed tec h n o lo gies.
I n 1 988 J o h n Cage visited th e Royal Co n ser vato r y in Th e Hagu e
as a gu est teac h er. Th e psyc h o lo gist Fran s Evers, an exper t in th e
field o f syn aesth etic s, u sed th is o ppo r tu n ity to o rgan ize in terdisc iplin ar y ar t pro jec ts based o n Cage’s experim en ts at B lac k M o u n tain Co llege, c alled »h appen in gs«. Evers c o o perated o n th e pro jec t
w ith D ic k Raaijm akers, w h o was also wo rkin g at th e Royal Co n ser vato r y at th at tim e, th u s begin n in g an in ten sive c o o peratio n between th e two.
At th is tim e th e Royal Ac adem y an d th e Royal Co n ser vato r y in Th e
Hagu e m erged. Evers an d Raaijm akers in itiated a spec ial experim en tal ar t depar tm en t fo r th e field between visu al ar t an d m u sic ,
n am ed Th e I n ter fac u lty fo r I m age an d So u n d. Th ro u gh th eir m eetin g w ith Cage an d w ith Raaijm akers’s experien c e, Fran s Evers su c c eeded in brin gin g to geth er two im po r tan t m o m en ts in 20 th c en tu -
r y ar t: Th e h eritage o f th e disappea r ing b ound a r y b e twe e n a r t a nd
daily life in th e Dadaistic revo lu tion (Ma rce l Ducha mp / Ca g e ),
an d th e in terdisc iplin ar y u se o f n ew e le ctronic me a ns a s a tr iump h
o f tec h n o lo gy, develo ped by in dustr y (the Philip s la b ora tor y, the
B ru ssels Pavilio n ). Th e depar tm ent for Sonolog y, d e d ica te d to experim en tal c o m po sitio n , was fo u nd e d in p a ra lle l throug h a cq uisitio n o f th e tec h n ic al equ ipm en t t ha t b e long e d to the Roya l Conser vato r y.
I n 1 994, th e two n ew depar tm e nts, Inte r fa culty for Ima g e a nd
So u n d an d th e depar tm en t fo r Sonolog y, sta r te d to org a nize the
So n ic Ac ts Festival in Am sterdam’s Pa ra d iso conce r t ha ll. As of
2005, stu den ts, teac h ers, an d a lumni of Ima g e a nd Sound a lso
m ade c o n tribu tio n s to th e To daysAr t fe stiva l in The Ha g ue .
Pro fesso rs an d stu den ts fro m th e Inte r fa culty a lso org a nize d some
n o table in terdisc iplin ar y ar t pro jects. In »Die Glückliche Ha nd « a n
o pera by Arn o ld Sc h ö n berg, profe ssors a nd stud e nts we nt b a ck
to th e begin n in g o f th e avan t- gard e move me nt, a na lyzing the op era an d m akin g a n ew pro jec t tha t fuse d Schönb e rg ’s id e a s with
n ew m edia an d tec h n ic al po ssibilitie s to cre a te a comp le te ly new
per fo rm an c e / elec tro n ic o pera. The op e ra wa s p e r for me d seve ra l
tim es in th e Royal Co n ser vato r y in 1 993.
Th at sam e year, D ic k Raaijm akers, Horst Ricke ls, a nd Wa lte r Ma ioli wo rked to geth er o n »Fo r t K lan k«, a p roje ct tha t took p la ce in a n
o ld fo r t in Asperen , Neth erlan ds. The tr io d e sig ne d seve ra l sound
in stallatio n s in th e po r t, w h ic h we re tune d tog e the r into one b ig
c o m po sitio n ; th e fo r t, an o ld 1 9 th ce ntur y constr uction, b e ca me a n
experim en tal in stru m en t, wo rkin g a s a la rg e clock or rob ot.
To m ark h is retirem en t fro m th e Ar tScie nce Inte r fa culty in 1 995,
Raaijm akers o rgan ized a c o n c er t e ntitle d »Sche ue r im Ha a g «, a n
o pera w h ic h h e c reated as a c o m bina tion of d if fe re nt a r t for ms a nd
tec h n ic al devic es su c h as to pro duce a comp le te ly new wor k of a r t.
He c o n tin u ed to be ac tive in c reation a nd p e r for ma nce s long p a st
h is retirem en t, h owever.
Th ese th ree pro jec ts n u m ber o n ly a few b e long ing to a la rg e b od y
o f wo rk. M o st o f th em c o n tain a comb ina tion of re se a rch on the
h isto r y o f avan t- garde, an d th e d eve lop me nt of comp le te ly new
ar tfo rm s. As m an y o f th e stu den ts who wor ke d on the se p roje cts
c am e fro m abro ad, ideas develo p e d a t Ima g e a nd Sound sp re a d
easily aro u n d th e glo be. I n 2004 the Inte r fa culty took a new na me ,
Ar tSc ien c e, to refer to th e grow ing influe nce of Scie nce a nd Hum an ities in th e depar tm en t, resulting from coop e ra tion with the
Un iversity o f L eiden .
33
Mu s h ro o m s
Music for the Five Senses
As the press wal ked i n a nd o u t , Fra ns de Ru i t e r ca m e u p a n d i n trod uced us to the U S e m ba ssy’s cu l tura l a t ta ché . T he a m b a ss a d o r
wanted to gi ve a recep t i o n f o r C a ge , a nd t he a t ta ché a ske d u s i f we
woul d handl e i t. We i mm e di a t e l y be ga n t o ma ke pl a n s. D i c k Ra a i j makers suggested we se i ze t he o ppo r tun i ty by do i ng so met h i n g i n volv ing mushrooms. H e h a d se e n so ma ny o n hi s wa l k i n t h e d u n es
that he proposed a S a tu rda y m o r n i n g mu sh ro o m hu n t w i t h Fra n c o
Fe rro, a restaurateur f r i e n d w h o, l i ke C a ge , wa s a myco l o g i s t .
A s c l o s i n g n i g h t a p p ro a c h ed , i t em erg ed t h a t t h e s i xty p a r t ic ipan ts
i n »B o o k I I I « wo u l d u l t i m a t el y b e res p o n s i b l e fo r a t o ta l o f seven t een p ro j ec t s , p res en t ed s i m u l ta n eo u s l y. T h e c l o s i n g even t , »M u sic
fo r t h e F i ve S en s es «, wo u l d i nvo l ve a n u m b er o f u n i t s , i n c lu din g a
s o n o l o g i s t s ’ t r i o t h a t wo u l d p l a y a DJ s et u s i n g t h ree tu r n tables.
A c o m p o s i t i o n s tu d en t wo u l d p res en t a n a u t o m a t ed p er form an c e
o f C a g e’s »I m a g i n a r y L a n d s c a p e N o. 4 « fo r t wel ve ra d i o s , based
o n a n i n s ta l l a t i o n h e h a d m a d e fo r t h e CA M c o u rs e E l ec t ron ic I m a g er y. A n a c t o r wo u l d rea d a S l a u er h o f f p o em wh i l e t wo Au strali a n a c t ress es p er fo r m ed a n u m b er o f a rc h ety p a l t h ea t r i c a l sc en es.
Two s tu d en t s fro m t h e E n s c h ed e a r t s a c a d em y wo u l d s h ow a video s t i l l o f t h e c o n s er va t o r y ’s ro o f o n a m o n i t o r, p o s i t i o n i n g th em s el ves o n ei t h er s i d e a s wa t c h m en wi t h a b o t t l e o f vo d ka , Cage’s
favo r i t e d r i n k . A s tu d en t fro m T h e H a g u e’s Roya l Ac a d em y o f Ar ts
wo u l d h a c k awa y a t a s c u l p tu re d u r i n g t h e even t . A c o m po sitio n
s tu d en t wo u l d ex p er i m en t wi t h a p i ec e m a d e o f fo res t a i r. F ilm m aker a n d CA M i n s t r u c t o r Ba b et h Va n L o o wo u l d p ro j ec t a fi l m abo u t
»ea t a r t «. T h e N N c o l l ec t i ve’s i n t era c t i ve t o m - t o m wo u l d b e repro g ra m m ed fo r t h e o c c a s i o n . T h e »S o u n d Wa l k« v i d eo wo u l d be pro j ec t ed o n o n e wa l l o f t h e S c h o en b erg a u d i t o r i u m . A n d fo r t h e fin ale,
a g ro u p o f A m s t erd a m d a n c ers wo u l d p a i n t a n u m b er o f t ra n sparen t
p l a s t i c p a n el s d u r i n g t h ei r m o n u m en ta l d a n c e p er fo r m a n c e.
When Raai j makers and Fe r ro re tur ne d t o t h e co n se r va t o r y a few
hours l ater wi th ten boxe s f ul l o f m u sh ro o ms, C a ge se e m e d t o s m el l
the m ri ght away. In a s pl i t se co n d, he wa s a t t h e f ro nt do o r, b u sying h i msel f wi th the m u sh ro o ms. H e se l e ct e d t h e e di bl e o n es o n
the way to the ki tchen , a n d a s so o n a s a spe ci a l o i l h e re q u es t ed
arrived, he f ri ed them t o t he de si re d t e nde r n e ss. At t h e sa m e m o ment, the stage i n the Ke e s va n Ba a re n a u di t o r i u m wa s be i n g p rep are d f or the recepti on.
The U S f l ag was pl ante d a t o n e co r ne r o f t h e t he a t e r ’s sta g e; a n i m macul ate whi te tabl e o f dr i nk s a n d gl a sse s wa s pl a ce d a t t h e o t h er.
Stars were proj ected o n t he wa l l s a nd ce i l i n g. And o n a ta b l e d ozens o f meters l ong at the f ro nt o f t h e sta ge , bl a ck l a cque r d i s h es o f
s us hi and other J apane se sn a ck s we re pl a ce d a ro un d t h e h u n d red s
of m ushrooms that ma de up t h e ce n t e r pi e ce . N o o n e expec t ed t h e
te ns i on that had been bu i l di n g f o r da ys t o co m e t o a he a d d u r i n g
the recepti on.
The ambassador comp l a i n e d a bo u t t h e m e a ge r sco pe o f c u l tu ra l
exc hange between the U n i t e d S ta t e s a nd t he N e t he r l a nds , even i f
this was because the U S gove r nm e nt spe nt t o o l i t t l e mo n ey o n i t .
At once i rri tated and am u se d, Jo hn C a ge co ul dn’ t re si st re s p o n d i n g
w ith an excepti onal l y provo ca t i ve que st i o n : »Why do n’ t yo u g i ve u p
the U ni ted S tates? « He t h e n t o o k t h e bow l o f mu sh ro o ms a n d , u s ing chopsti cks, f ed a b i t e t o eve r yo n e w h o ca m e t o gre e t h i m . T h e
g es ture seemed to be a n a t t e mpt t o expre ss t h a t i t wa s O K fo r t h e
eve ni ng to take a more so ci a bl e tu r n. E i t he r wa y, t he m u s h ro o m s
eve ntual l y began to wo r k , a n d eve r yo ne wa s so o n wa l k i ng a ro u n d
che er f ul and hi gh-spi r i t e d.
A few days af ter the re ce pt i o n, na tu re cro ppe d u p a s a t h em e i n
ye t a nother f orm when t he I ta l i a n e t h n o mu si co l o gi st Wa l t er Ma i o l i
arrived to make hi s cont r i bu t i o n t o » B o o k I I I « . M a i o l i sa i d h e wo u l d
like to gi ve a l ecture fo r C a ge o n h i s co l l e ct i o n o f pr i mi t i ve m u s i cal instruments: stones, bo n e s a n d sh e l l s f a shi o ne d i nt o b u l l ro a rers , f l u tes and rasps l i ke t ho se use d t o pro du ce so un d i n p reh i s t o ric tim es. Cage attende d t h i s u n sch e dul e d eve nt a nd showed g rea t
interest i n Mai ol i ’s prese nta t i o n , w hi ch re m i n de d hi m o f t h e n a tu ra l
and f ound i nstruments he h a d ga t he re d h i m se l f i n t he 1 930 s fo r t h e
p er fo rmances of »Qua r t e t « ( 1 935 ) .
A s t h e »B o o k I I I « p a r t i c i p a n t s p u t t h e fi n i s h i n g t o u c h es o n p reparat i o n s fo r t h ei r c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e t o ta l c o m p o s i t i o n , t h ey still h ad
n o i d ea h ow i t wo u l d l o o k . T h i s c h a n g ed wh en Di c k Ra a i j m a kers beg a n s ea rc h i n g fo r a s t r u c tu re fo r t h e c l o s i n g even t . H i s c o l l ec tio n o f
l i t era tu re o n s u b j ec t s rel a t i n g t o rec rea t i o n a l m a t h em a t i c s i nc lu ded
a n 18 49 a r t i c l e fro m t h e c h ess m a g a z i n e S c h a c h zei tu n g . I n it, Carl
Wen zel i d es d es c r i b ed a n ew va r i a t i o n o n t h e m a g i c k n i g h t ’s to u r, a
s eq u en c e o f m oves c o m p o s ed a yea r ea r l i er by Wi l l i a m B everley.
T h e exc ep t i o n a l t h i n g a b o u t t h i s a n d o t h er k n i g h t ’s t o u rs is n o t
o n l y t h a t t h e k n i g h t l a n d s o n ever y s q u a re o n t h e c h ess b oard exa c t l y o n c e, b u t a l s o t h a t t h e s eq u en c e, o f wh i c h m a n y m o re varian ts
h ave s i n c e b een p u b l i s h ed , c a n ta ke o n l ovel y sy m m et r i c a l p attern s.
Ra a i j m a kers s u g g es t ed p l o t t i n g t h e s eq u en c e o n t h e fl o o r o f th e
foyer a n d t h e S c h o en b erg a u d i t o r i u m a s i f t h e t wo t o g et h er fo rm ed
t h e s u r fa c e o f a c h ess b o a rd d i v i d ed i n t o s i xty- fo u r s q u a res. Th e
g ro u p s were c o n s i d ered a s u n i t s , a n d ea c h wa s a ss i g n ed a field, a
t i m eta b l e i n d i c a t i n g wh en i t wo u l d b e a c t i ve, a n d a s t o pwatc h fo r
t el l i n g t i m e. Ever y p ro j ec t wa s a l l o t t ed a p l a c e i n t h e wh o le, u si n g t h e k n i g h t ’s s eq u en c e, a n d a s ta t i s t i c a l l y d et er m i n ed d ivisio n
o f t i m e d et er m i n ed wh i c h u n i t wo u l d b e h ea rd wh en . Ra a i jm akers
wo u l d o p era t e t h e m i x i n g b o a rd , keep i n g t h e S o u n d Wa l k au dio in
b a l a n c e wi t h t h a t o f t h e o t h er u n i t s . At s o u n d c h ec k , Ra a i j makers’
i n s t r u c t i o n t o p l a y a s q u i et l y a s p o ss i b l e p roved ver y d i f fic u lt to
fo l l ow. S o i n s t ea d , h e a s ked a l l t h e u n i t s t o s l ow d own t h ei r playin g
by fo r ty- ei g h t t i m es .
Preparation of »Mondriaan’s Promenoire« at Inter faculty for Image and Sound.
From Lef t to Right: unknown, unknown, Horst Rickels, Frans Evers, Dick Raaij makers, Robin Deirkauf. Photo: Remco Schuurbiers.
Music for the Five
S e n s e s * 1 ) by f r a n s e v e r s
Th e resu lt was th at all th e per fo rm ers played fo r n early th e en tire
h o u r an d a h alf th at th e »M u sic fo r th e F ive Sen ses« even t lasted.
Th e ef fec t o f slow in g dow n ever yo n e’s ac tio n s was, as Raaijm akers h ad desired, a to tal so u n d th at was n o t to o lo u d an d, n ow an d
th en , even a m o m en t o f n ear- c o m plete silen c e. Seated at th e m ixin g bo ard o n th e large stage, h e adju sted th e »So u n d Walk« m ix
to th e so u n dsc ape pro du c ed by th e in dividu al u n its, so th at th e
vario u s per fo rm an c es’ in dividu al c h arac teristic s slid over an d past
eac h o th er in su c c essio n th ro u gh th e c o u rse o f th e even in g – as if a
kn igh t was m ovin g in slow m o tio n th ro u gh th e foyer an d au dito riu m .
ac tio n th at c o u ld be per fo rm ed at mome nts d e te r mine d by cha nce
o peratio n s an d n o ted in th e fo rm of »time b ra cke ts« with b e g inning
an d en din g tim es. P lac es were the n d e te r mine d by a r ra ng ing the
seats in a M altese c ro ss fo rm ation, cre a ting sp a ce for move me nt
between an d aro u n d th e au dien c e me mb e rs, who would sit fa cing
eac h o th er. Cage tim ed th e c o n c e r te d a ctions with u tmost p re cisio n , bu t th is did n o t preven t u n controlle d life from e nte r ing »Untitled Even t«: babies sc ream ed th roug h eve r y thing , a nd a d og followed Cu n n in gh am an d th e stu de nt d a nce rs, b a r king , e a ch time
th ey began to m ove.
D im ligh tin g th e c o n ser vato r y’s th eater tec h n ic ian s h ad taken th e
in itiative o f in stallin g in th e foyer c reated an espec ially exo tic atm o sph ere in a ro o m th at n o rm ally m ade a fairly bo rin g im pressio n . Sin c e th e au dien c e m em bers h ad n o idea o f th e stru c tu re o f
th e w h o le, an d th e per fo rm an c es seem ed to be m ovin g ran do m ly
th ro u gh th e foyer an d th e au dito riu m , th ey go t u p o f th eir ow n ac c o rd to watc h th e vario u s u n its fro m c lo se by.
Th e c h o reo graph er M erc e Cu n ning ha m ha d for me d a stud e nt
dan c e gro u p; th ey ro am ed th e ais le s a t se t time s, moving b e twe e n
an d aro u n d th e au dien c e in sim ple p a tte r ns. On a p re p a re d p ia no,
David Tu do r played »Water M u sic «, a comp osition Ca g e ha d wr itte n
earlier th at year, altern atin g w ith a comp osition for ra d io. Sta nd in g at a lec tern , Cage read fragme nts of his Jullia rd le cture . M.C.
Ric h ards an d Ch arles Olso n rec ite d p oe tr y sta nd ing on a la d d e r in
th e m iddle o f th e au dien c e. Stu dents scra tche d re cord s by a r tists
in c lu din g Edith P iaf at do u ble spee d on a wind -up g ra mop hone a nd
pro jec ted slides m ade w ith c o lo re d g e la tin a nd films of the school’s
c o o k o n to Ro ber t Rau sc h en berg’s »White Pa inting s«, which hung
again st th e c eilin g at an an gle. The n the y p roje cte d a se tting sun,
w h ic h slow ly detac h ed itself fro m the p a ne ls a nd d isa p p e a re d via
th e walls in to th e flo o r o f th e B lack Mounta in Colle g e ca fe te r ia .
Nearly ever yo n e h ad expec ted »B o o k I I I : Th e New M edia« to be
so m eth in g o f a c o ld af fair, fu ll o f th e u se o f tec h n o lo gy fo r its ow n
sake. B u t if »B o o k I I I « dem o n strated o n e th in g, it was th at so - c alled
c o ld equ ipm en t c o u ld be u sed in extrem ely ac c essible ways. »B o o k
I I I : Th e New M edia«, an d in par tic u lar »M u sic fo r th e F ive Sen ses«,
u n in ten tio n ally exu ded an atm o sph ere th at c alled to m in d th e fam o u s »Un titled Even t« (later ren am ed »Th eater P iec e No. 1 «) realized in 1 952 at B lac k M o u n tain Co llege by in stru c to rs in c lu din g
J o h n Cage an d M erc e Cu n n in gh am an d stu den ts in c lu din g Ro ber t
Rau sc h en berg. On e o f th e first o pen - fo rm piec es in w h ic h o ld an d
n ew m edia were u sed to geth er, it bec am e fam o u s as a h appen in g
avan t la lettre. With »B o o k I I I «, D ic k Raaijm akers h ad su c c eeded in
rec reatin g th e essen c e o f th e ph en o m en o n o f th e h appen in g – o n c e
again in th e c o n text o f ar t edu c atio n , ju st as in 1 952.
W h at was th at essen c e? Based o n h is ph ilo so ph y o f freedo m w ith in
lim its, J o h n Cage h ad asked ever y par tic ipan t to c o m e u p w ith an
O th er th an th e o bvio u s dif feren c es, like the fa ct tha t the »Untitle d
Even t« at B lac k M o u n tain Co lleg e wa s cre a te d in one a f te r noon
w h ile preparatio n s fo r »M u sic fo r the Five Se nse s« took two we e ks,
bo th h appen in gs were th e resu lt of the ir comp ose rs’ d e cision to
establish o n ly th e plac e an d du ration of the a ctions, le aving the ir
fo rm to th e par tic ipan ts. Su c h c omp ositions a re thus re fe r re d to,
n o t in ac c u rately, as h avin g an »op e n for m«, a lthoug h one p e rson
determ in es th e ru les. Sin c e th e twe ntie th ce ntur y, me ta comp osers h ave felt free to in c lu de all fo r ms of a r t a nd new me d ia in the ir
c o m po sitio n s.
35
T h e I n t e r f a c ult y
In ar t educati on i n gene ra l , re ma r ka bl y e n o ugh , we h ave s c a rc el y
b eg un to i mpar t knowle dge o r co nst r uct expe r i me nta l l a bs fo r s tu d ent s wi shi ng to do re se a rch i n t h e a re a o f so u n d, l i gh t a n d k i n etic s in order to devel op new f o r m s o f v i su a l i z a t i o n a n d so n i fi c a t i o n .
In ou r conversati ons, D i ck Ra a i j ma ke rs a n d I o f t e n spo ke a b o u t
the vi r tual absence of e du ca t i o n a l i n n ova t i o n i n a l m o st a ll t h e es tab li shed ar t i nsti tu tes . Pa r t l y t o h e a r t e n us, Ra a i j ma ke rs b ro u g h t
up th e i nnovati ve educ a t i o na l co n ce pt s o f Ar n o l d S cho e n b erg a n d
Lászl ó Mohol y-N agy, w ho h a d dra f t e d o u t l i n e s f o r a S c h o o l fo r
Soundmen and an Insti tu t e o f L i gh t i n 1 941 – 43 . I t wa s t h e s e exa m p le s – together, of course , w i t h t h e now-f a mo us h i st o r y o f t h e Roya l
C onser vatoi re’s el ectro ni c studi o – t h a t susta i n e d u s i n o u r ef fo r t s
to la unch a new, bounda r y-cro ssi n g i nst i tu t e t h a t wo u l d have ro o m
for such an i nnovati ve a ppro a ch.
When the Image and S o u n d I nt e r f a cu l ty o pe ne d i n 1 9 89, a t t h e
foundi ng of the Acad e my o f Fi ne Ar t s a nd D e si gn , Mu s i c a n d
Dance, i t consti tu ted a sta r t i n g sho t f o r a se r i e s o f pro j e c t s exa m ining the moderni st f ou n de rs’ pro po se d use s o f new t e ch n i q u es i n
Ge s amtkunstwerk-style wo r k s i n t e r ms o f t h e i r va l ue w i t hi n t h e n ew
ar t educati on. Af ter Ra a i j m a ke rs se t up t h e exh i bi t i o n »A n t i Qu a
M us i ca« at the Gemee n t e mu se um i n T he H a gue w hi l e a g u es t c u rator i n the musi c depa r t m e nt , t he m u se um’s di re ct o r, H a n s L o c h er, invi ted us both to d eve l o p a new a ct i v i ty t ha t wo u l d be n efi t a r ts chool students and L e i de n U n i ve rsi ty a r t- h i st o r y studen t s . T h i s
inv itati on l ed on the o ne h a nd t o t he » a u di t o r i u m l e cture s , « wh o s e
core was the course »T he La n gu a ge o f I m a ge a n d S o u n d «, wh i c h
I g ave together wi th Ra a i j ma ke rs, H a n s L o che r a n d D o ro Fra n c k
(1 9 89–2003) , and on t he o t he r t o t he P l a st i c S o u n d L a b o ra t o r y,
w here ar ti sts presente d wo r k re l a t e d t o t h e su bj e ct s di sc u ss ed i n
the lectures and cl asse s.
Yet i t was the »l earni ng- by-do i n g« pro j e ct s, i n w hi ch h i st o r i c m u l timedi a concepts were exa mi n e d i n a co n t e mpo ra r y l i gh t a n d recomposed usi ng moder n me di a , t ha t pl a ye d t he m o st e sse n t i a l p a r t
in the Image and S oun d I n t e r f a cu l ty’s n ew t e a chi n g. T h e s er i es o f
» collecti ve proj ects«, a s t he i n st r uct i o na l pi e ce s we re now c a l l ed ,
b eg an wi th a score o f Ar n o l d S cho e n be rg’s Drama with Music
»Die gl ückl i che Hand« ( 1 9 1 0 – 1 3) t h a t h a d be e n » o pe n e d « u n d er
Dick Raai j makers’ enth u si a st i c l e a de rshi p. I n spe ci a l i ze d wo r k i n g
g roups, i nstructors an d stude nt s exa mi n e d i t s i ndi v i du a l c o m p o ne nts, l ooki ng f or ways t o re de si gn t h e m u si n g co nt e mpo ra r y t ec h niq ues and i nsi ghts. »D i e gl ück l i ch e H a n d ge ö f f ne t « wa s t h e c l i m a x
of th e S choenberg-Kan di nsk y Sympo si um , h e l d i n 1 9 93 i n c o l l a b o ration wi th the G emeen t e mu se um o n t he o cca si o n o f t h e o p en i n g
of th e Royal Conser vato i re ’s n ew stu di o co mpl ex f o r so no lo g y, m u s ic recordi ng, and i ma ge a n d so un d. T h e t hre e de pa r t m en t s l a t er
worked together on two l a rge j o i n t pro j e ct s: t he prev i o u s l y m en tioned »Promenoi r van M o n dr i a a n« ( 1 9 94) a n d »S ch e ue r i m H a a g «
(1 9 95) , the work whi ch , o n hi s re t i re me nt , se r ve d a s D i ck Ra a i j m a ke rs ’ farewel l to the Roya l C o n se r va t o i re .
Fra n s Eve rs , ( 1 94 8 – 2 0 1 0 ) s tu d i ed d evel o p m en ta l a n d ex p e rim en ta l p syc h o l o g y a t t h e U n i vers i ty o f A m s t erd a m . U p o n c o m p l etio n o f
h i s s tu d i es i n 1 979, h e i n i t i a t ed t h e res ea rc h p ro j ec t E x p er im en tal
Sy n a es t h es i a , wh i c h wa s c o n c er n ed wi t h t h e i n fl u en c e o f s o u n d o n
v i s u a l p erc ep t i o n . I n 1 98 0 h e b eg a n l ec tu r i n g a t t h e C o n s e r vato r y
o f A m s t erd a m . I n 1 98 4 h e rec ei ved a Fu l b r i g h t G ra n t en a b lin g h im
t o c o n t i n u e h i s res ea rc h i n t h e U S , fi rs t a s a v i s i t i n g fel l ow an d later, d u r i n g h i s s tu d i es o n rea c t i o n t i m es i n i n t era c t i n g c ro ss- m o dal
d i m en s i o n s , a s a res ea rc h fel l ow wi t h Pro fess o r L awren c e E. M arks
a t t h e J o h n B. Pi erc e L a b o ra t o r y a t Ya l e U n i vers i ty.
Wo r l d s o f t h e
Drone
By M a r c u s B o o n
I n 1 98 6 Evers c o n t i n u ed h i s wo r k a s a res ea rc h er a n d ed u cato r at
t h e S o n o l o g y Dep a r t m en t o f t h e Roya l C o n s er va t o r y, wh ere h e in it i a t ed i n n ova t i ve c o u rs es o n a r t a n d n ew m ed i a , fi rs t i n t h e Cen ter
fo r Au d i ov i s u a l Med i a ( CA M) wh i c h h e fo u n d ed wi t h Di ck Raaij m a kers , l a t er wi t h i n t h e Au l a L ec tu re s er i es wh i c h h e o rg an ized
wi t h c u ra t o r H a n s L o c h er i n t h e H a a g s G em een t em u s eu m , an d fin a l l y by i n i t i a t i n g t h e I n t er fa c u l ty I m a g e a n d S o u n d , a p a r t n ersh ip
o f t h e Roya l C o n s er va t o r y a n d t h e Roya l Ac a d em y o f A r t , i n 1 989.
I n 1 994 Evers s p a r ked a s t r u c tu ra l c o l l a b o ra t i o n wi t h c l u b Paradi s o i n A m s t erd a m , i n t h e fo r m o f t h e yea r l y S o n i c Ac t s Fes tival. I n
2 0 0 1 h e wa s i nv i t ed t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e fo u n d i n g o f L ei d e n Un ivers i ty ’s n ew Fa c u l ty o f C rea t i ve a n d Per fo r m i n g A r t s . I n 2 0 1 2, th e
Ever ’s b o o k The Academy of the Senses, Synaesthetics in Science,
Ar t, and Education wa s p u b l i s h ed v i a t h e A r t S c i en c e I n t er fac u lty
Press , T h e H a g u e.
D ic k Ra a ijm a ke rs ( 1 93 0 – 2 0 13 ) wa s b o r n i n Ma a s t r i c h t , a nd stu di ed p i a n o a t t h e Roya l C o n s er va t o r y i n T h e H a g u e. Fro m 1 95 4
t o 1 960 h e wo r ked i n el ec t ro a c o u s t i c res ea rc h a t Roya l P h ilips
E l ec t ro n i c s Lt d . i n E i n d h oven . T h ere, u s i n g t h e a l i a s K i d Ba ltan , h e
a n d To m Di ss evel t p ro d u c ed wo r k s o f p o p u l a r m u s i c by el e c tro n ic
m ea n s ( wh i c h tu r n ed o u t t o b e t h e fi rs t a t t em p t s o f t h ei r k i n d in th e
wo r l d ) , u n d er t h e n a m e E l ec t ro s o n i k s . Fro m 1 960 t o 1 962 Raaij m a kers wo r ked a t t h e U n i vers i ty o f U t rec h t a s a s c i en t i f ic staf f
m em b er, a n d fro m 1 963 t o 1 966 h e wo r ked i n h i s own s tu dio fo r
el ec t ro n i c m u s i c i n t h e H a g u e, t o g et h er wi t h J a n B o er m a n . Th en ,
fro m 1 966 u n t i l h i s ret i rem en t i n 1 995, h e wo r ked a s a t ea c h er o f
E l ec t ro n i c a n d C o n t em p o ra r y Mu s i c a t t h e Roya l C o n s er vato r y in
T h e H a g u e, a n d s i n c e 1 99 1 a l s o a s a t ea c h er o f Mu s i c T h e atre at
t h e I n t er fa c u l ty fo r I m a g e a n d S o u n d a t t h e s a m e s c h o o l . Raaijm akers p a ss ed awa y o n t h e t h i rd o f S ep t em b er, 2 0 13 .
M ic h a e l va n H oog e n h u yze i s p ro fess o r fo r a r t h i s t o r y a n d ar t th eo r y a t t h e A r t S c i en c e I n t er fa c u l ty a t t h e Roya l Ac a d em y o f F in e
A r t s i n T h e H a g u e. Wo r k i n g a s a n h i s t o r i a n a n d a r t t ea c h er, van
H o o g en h u yze h a s c o n t r i b u t ed t o s evera l p u b l i c a t i o n s , i nc lu din g
V 2 _ ’s 2 0 0 8 p u b l i c a t i o n , Dick Raaijmakers: A Monograph .
* 1 ) T h is t ext is a n exc e r p t o f t h e t ext »D ic k Ra a ijm a ke rs M e e t s Jo h n C a g e « by Fran s Eve rs ,
ta ke n fro m A r je n M u ld e r a n d Jo ke B ro u we r ( e d s.) Dick Raaijmakers – A Monograph :
Ro t t e rd a m : V2 _ Pu b lish in g , 2 008, w it h k in d p e r im issio n .
Design sketch for a Shruthi box by Mutable Instruments, and a traditional Shruti box from the
company Amrita.
Proba bly n o ot h e r m u sic a l p h e n om e n on e m bodie s th e i d e a o f
c on t in u ity a s d oe s t h e d ron e . A se t of su sta in e d t o n e s o r c o n ti ­
n u ou s c lu st e rs of sou n d t h a t fe a tu re sligh t ye t c omp l ex h a r m o n i c
va r ia t ion s, dron e s a re lit e ra lly e t e r n a l – t h e y h ave n o b e g i n n i n g
a n d n o e n d, a n d h ave be e n in t e gra l t o h u m a n m u s i c m a k i n g s i n c e
ou r b e g in n in g s. As su c h , t h e d ron e sh r in ks t h e va s t ti m e s p a n
be t we e n t h e a rc h a ic pa st a n d ou r c om pu ta t ion a l p re s e n t, a n d
of t e n evoke s ide a s of sp ir itu a lity.
In h is ove r v iew of d ron e , Ma rc u s B oon ex p lore s t h e o n to l o g y o f
dron e a n d t h e p owe rs of it s in a ssim ila ble sa m e n e ss . B o o n’s
a r t ic le is followe d by a n exa m in a t ion of t wo p ion e e r i n g a r ti s ts ,
wor kin g w it h dron e s: E lia n e Ra d ig u e a n d E r n sta lb re c h t S ti e b l e r.
B ot h wor ke d ext e n sive ly w it h sile n c e a n d du ra t ion, ex p l o r i n g th e
ide a of evolv in g sou n d s from w it h in sou n ds, a n d invi ti n g th e
list e n e r t o p a r ta ke in in t e n se exe rc ise s in h e a r in g .
37
A recent packaged-f o r-Wa l m a r t do u bl e C D co mpi l a t i o n c a l l ed
Roots of Drone conf i rme d w h a t I a l re a dy su spe ct e d: t h a t i n t h e l a s t
d ec ade or two, drone ha s be co m e a m u si ca l ge nre , co mp l et e wi t h
lab e l s l i ke Kranky, Tri An gl e , o r I mpo r ta n t , w ho a l l f o cu s o n t h e
many i terati ons of dron e . T hi s m a y se e m o dd si nce a f t e r a l l, a d ro n e
is b asi cal l y a tone, or se t o f t o ne s t h a t a re su sta i n e d ove r t i m e. Fo r
a lot of peopl e, a dron e wo u l dn’ t eve n be ca l l e d m u si c, j u s t a n i rritati ng noi se, l i ke the buz z i n g o f a re f r i ge ra t o r, t he h u m o f t ra f fi c ,
the sound of bees i n a h i ve . Fo r o t he rs, i t i s O M M M M , t he s o u n d o f
the uni verse i n H i ndu c o sm o l o gy, o r, pu t i n t h e l a n gu a ge o f m o d er n
p hysi cs, an ex pressi on o f t h e f a ct t ha t eve r y t h i n g v i bra t es , ever ything i s a wave. In a co n su m e r m a r ke t pl a ce dr i ve n by a crav i n g fo r
e nd less bu t of ten tri via l k i nds o f n ove l ty, ma k i ng t h e sa m e s o u n d
for a l ong ti me i s a powe r f u l ge sture o f re f usa l . Eve n so, t h ere’s
now drone rock, dron e m e ta l , dro n e -ba se d t e chn o, dro n e wi t h i n
the cl assi cal tradi ti on, dro ne -f o l k , no t t o m e nt i o n a va r i e ty o f a p p s
like S ru ti Box and Dron e o t ha t ca n ge n e ra t e dro n e s o n yo u r m o b i l e
p hone or i Pad. And to da y t h e va r i e t i e s o f dro ne a re a l so a p a r t o f
the drone of the gl oba l ma r ke t pl a ce .
A drone i s si mpl y a su sta i n e d se t o f t o ne s. Whi l e dro n es c a n
b e lo cated i n the hi stor y o f m u si c eve r y w he re f ro m t he ta m b u ra l ed
s ound of Indi an cl assi ca l mu si c t o t he pre l ude t o Wa gner ’s »Da s
R hei ngol d«, drones be ca m e i m po r ta n t cul tura l a r t e f a ct s i n t h ei r
ow n ri ght i n the earl y 1 96 0 s. Whe t he r L a M o n t e Yo u n g re a l l y c rea te d the f i rst drone-based mu si cs, he a nd t he ci rcl e o f pe o pl e a ro u n d
him a r ti cul ated a new wa y o f t h i n k i n g a bo u t t he m. Yo u n g co n t ra s t ed
his work to that of Joh n C a ge , w hi ch ca n be sa i d t o be t r u l y p h enomenol ogi cal , i n the se nse t ha t i t i s co n ce r n e d w i t h t h e wa y t h a t
s ound appears to a par t i cu l a r subj e ct i n spa ce a nd t i me . I n c o n t ra s t
to th e »si l ence« of »4’ 33 ”« , Yo un g’s dro ne s f i l l spa ce a n d t im e. T h ey
are in tensel y repeti ti ve, t he y e mph a si ze a qu a l i ty o f sa m e ness wh i c h
b ifurcates i nto an ex pe r i e nce o f di f f e re nce t ha t i s t he re pe t i t i o n o f
the same; i n Young’s f o r mu l a » tun i n g i s a f u n ct i o n o f t i m e « . . . m ea n ing t hat as one tunes i n t o pa r t i cu l a r gro u ps o f f re que nci e s wi t h i n a
p ar ti cul ar drone sound , f ur t he r l eve l s o f f re qu e ncy be co m e a u d i b l e
... as wel l as a sameness t ha t i n so me se n se i s » a l wa ys t h e re« wh et h e r the drone i s bei ng pl a ye d o r no t . I n t h i s se nse o n e co u l d a rg u e
that drones represent a st r u ctura l re spo n se t o t h e C a ge a n p h en o m e nolo gy of sound. Thi s i s pa r t i cu l a r l y t r ue w he n t he pro du c t i o n o f
d rones i s f ormul ated fro m w i t h i n a m a t he ma t i ca l pa ra di gm o f j u s t
intonati on; i n other wo rds, t h a t o nl y f re que nci e s t h a t o be y c er ta i n
rules that are i n accorda nce w i t h t he n a tu ra l h a r m o ni cs o f s o u n d
are used f or the compo si t i o n o f dro n e s. A dro n e i s a m a t h em a t i c a l
s tructure enacted wi th i n a pa r t i cul a r spa ce by a pa r t i cu l a r s o u n d mak i ng apparatus, whe t h e r mu si ci a ns o r m a chi n e s.
Thi s pi cture becom e s f u r t he r co m pl i ca t e d by Fre n ch m u s i c o l o g is t Al ai n Dani el ou’s wo r k o n tu n i n g syst e m s i n t ra di t i o na l c u l tu res ,
w hich Young and Tony C o n ra d re a d i n t h e e a r l y 1 96 0 s. T h e u p s h o t
of thi s work i s, f i rst of a l l , t h a t j u st i nt o na t i o n sca l e s ( i .e . sc a l es t h a t
c an be descri bed usi ng ra t i o s o f w ho l e n u m be rs) f o r m t h e b a s i s o f
many tradi ti onal musi c s. Fur t he r m o re , pa r t i cu l a r pe r mu ta t i o n s o f
p ar ti cul ar j ust i ntonati o n sca l e s a re a sso ci a t e d w i t h pa r t i cu l a r k i n d s
of af f ect. Thus H i ndusta ni ra ga m u si c a sso ci a t e s e a ch ra g a , wh i c h
is a combi nati on of a pa r t i cul a r sca l e , w i t h a pa r t i cul a r se t o f r u l es
for m ovement around t he sca l e , w i t h a pa r t i cul a r mo o d o r feel i n g .
A g reat raga per f orma n ce evo ke s t h i s f e e l i ng, w hi ch Pa n d i t Pra n
Nath, mentor of Young, C a t he r i n e C h r i st e r H e n n i x, C ha r l em a g n e
Palesti ne, and other m i n i m a l i st s, de scr i be d a s a » l i v i ng sp i r i t « t h a t
p ossesses those who l i st e n t o i t . T hi s a dds i mpo r ta nt di m e n s i o n s t o
the structural nature of j ust i nt o na t i o n - ba se d mu si cs, si nce i t ef fec tively makes the argum e n t t h a t pa r t i cul a r k i n ds o f a f f e ct o r feel i n g
c a n b e d es c r i b ed a s p a r t i c u l a r s o u n d fo r m s t h a t c a n b e m a t hem atic a l l y d es c r i b ed . I n o t h er wo rd s , t h ere i s a m a t h em a t i c a l s t r u ctu re to
feel i n g . I n p er fo r m a n c e, a ra g a p u l l s yo u i n t o i t s s o u n d wo rld ... it
evo kes a yea r n i n g wh i c h c o u l d b e d es c r i b ed a s t h e feel i n g th at th e
s o u n d a n d m o o d el i c i t ed by t h e ra g a a re m o re rea l t h a n t h e apparen t l y rea l wo r l d t h a t ex i s t s o u t s i d e o f t h e p er fo r m a n c e.
B u t t h i s t h en ra i s es fu r t h er q u es t i o n s , wh i c h i n fa c t Yo u n g , Co n ra d , a n d o t h ers i n c l u d i n g H en n i x wh o wo r ked wi t h d ro n es d id ask,
a n d wh i c h fo r m ed t h e b a s i s o f t h ei r wo r k . I f t ra d i t i o n a l m u s ic s c an
b e d efi n ed i n t er m s o f a m a t h em a t i c s o f a f fec t , a n d t h e basis o f
t h o s e m a t h em a t i c s i s t h e ext ra p o l a t i o n o f m u s i c a l s c a l es b ased o n
ra t i o s o f wh o l e n u m b ers , t o wh a t d eg ree d o es t h a t o f fer no t o n ly
a d es c r i p t i o n o f t ra d i t i o n a l m u s i c s , b u t t h e p o ss i b i l i ty o f an exp er i m en ta l m u s i c , b a s ed o n h i t h er t o u n h ea rd - o f s c a l es a nd pitc h
c o m b i n a t i o n s? C o m p o s ers s u c h a s H en n i x , Ra d i g u e, a n d Palest i n e h ave ex p l o red m a n y o f t h e p o ss i b i l i t i es o f s u c h a m u s i c, o f ten
by c o n n ec t i n g rel i g i o u s t ra d i t i o n s , wh et h er Ti b eta n B u d d h ism fo r
Ra d i g u e, o r m ed i eva l C h r i s t i a n c h u rc h o rg a n s fo r Pa l es t i n e, w ith
m o d er n i s t t ec h n i q u es o f i m p rov i s a t i o n . T h e d ro n e, l i ke d ru gs o r
ero t i c i s m , c a n n o t b e ea s i l y a ss i m i l a t ed t o o n e s i d e o f t h e divide
by wh i c h m o d er n i s m o r t h e ava n t- g a rd e h a s t r i ed t o s ep a ra te itself
fro m t h e wo r l d o f t ra d i t i o n . L i ke t h e p syc h ed el i c s , t h e d ron e, risi n g o u t o f t h e ver y h ea r t o f t h e m o d er n a n d i t s wo r l d o f m ac h in es,
m a t h em a t i c s , c h em i s t r y a n d s o o n , b ec ko n s u s n ei t h er fo r ward n o r
b a c k wa rd , b u t s i d ewa ys , i n t o a n o p en fi el d o f a c t i v i ty t h a t i s always
i n d i a l o g u e wi t h »a rc h a i c « o r t ra d i t i o n a l c u l tu res . T h i s i s a n o pen
fi el d o f s h a red g o a l s a n d a m u l t i p l i c i ty o f ex p er i m en ta l t ec h n iqu es,
ra t h er t h a n t h e a ss u m ed s u p er i o r i ty o f t h e m u s i c o l o g i s t o r th e n aï ve p o a c h i n g o f t h e s a m p l er p o ss e.
T h ere i s n o n ec ess a r y c o n n ec t i o n b et ween j u s t i n t o n a t io n tu n i n g sys t em s a n d d ro n e m u s i c , h owever. Ph i l l N i b l o c k h a s b ee n c o m p o s i n g a n d p er fo r m i n g d ro n es fo r d ec a d es . A l t h o u g h h e i s deeply
i n t eres t ed i n over t o n es , es p ec i a l l y t h e i n c rea s i n g l y r i c h a n d c o m p l ex s et s t h a t a re p ro d u c ed wh en p i t c h c o m b i n a t i o n s a re played
a t h i g h vo l u m es , h e h a s n o g ra n d tu n i n g t h eo r y a n d p refers a kin d
o f free ex p er i m en ta t i o n wi t h p i t c h c o m b i n a t i o n s a n d p er m u tatio n s.
The Movement of People Working i s h i s m a s t er p i ec e: a c o llec tio n
o f fi l m s o f o rd i n a r y p eo p l e a ro u n d t h e wo r l d t h a t a re p er f o rm in g
m o s t l y p h ys i c a l ta s k s , j u xta p o s ed wi t h N i b l o c k ’s d ro n es . O f t en m u lt i p l e fi l m s a re s h own a t o n c e wh i l e N i b l o c k i m p rov i s es p ar tic u lar
t o n e c l u s t ers . T h e t en s i o n b et ween t h e rep et i t i ve, m ed i ta t ive ever yd a y m ovem en t s o f b o d i es , o f t en s een c l o s e- u p, a n d t h e su rgin g,
o c ea n - d eep s o u n d i s en i g m a t i c , g o i n g a g a i n s t t h e o f t en O rien tali s t s p i r i tu a l i ty a ss o c i a t ed wi t h d ro n es , yet s t i l l evo k i n g a p ro fo u n d
s en s e o f m ys t er y c o n c er n i n g wh a t wo r k , t i m e, t h e b o d y are. Nib l o c k ’s wo r k i s a rem i n d er o f t h e sy n a es t h et i c q u a l i ty o f d ro nes, th e
h i s t o r y o f t h ei r i n t eg ra t i o n i n t o m u l t i m ed i a p ro j ec t s i n wh i c h so u n d
m erg es wi t h o r c l a s h es a g a i n s t v i s u a l o r ta c t i l e fo r m s .
Dro n es p ro b a b l y en t ered t h e wo r l d o f p o p u l a r m u s i c th ro u gh
J o h n C a l e, wh o p l a yed i n t h e T h ea t er o f E t er n a l Mu s i c wi t h Yo u n g
i n t h e 1 960 s , a n d fa m o u s l y b ro u g h t h i s c el l o d ro n e t o t h e Velvet
U n d erg ro u n d a n d ro c k s o n g s l i ke »H ero i n «. C er ta i n vers i o ns o f th e
B l u es , n o ta b l y t h e N o r t h Mi ss i ss i p p i s ty l e a ss o c i a t ed wi t h M ississ i p p i Fred Mc Dowel l a n d m o re rec en t l y Fa t Po ss u m Rec ords, in vo l ve ra p i d rep et i t i o n s o f s i n g l e c h o rd s o r n o t es t h a t ef fec tively
fo r m a d ro n e. Fro m t h e Vel vet s t h ro u g h k ra u t ro c k favo r i t es su c h
a s C a n , t o s h o eg a zers l i ke My B l o o d y Va l en t i n e, o r J a p a n ese m ast ers l i ke Kei j i H a i n o, d ro n es h ave b een a n i m p o r ta n t p a r t o f ro c k.
Pro b a b l y t h e h eav i es t ro c k d ro n e c a n b e fo u n d o n E a r t h’s c lassic
Ear th II . T h e t h i r ty- m i n u t e »L i ke G o l d a n d Fa c et ed « i s p u re, su rgi n g , b a rel y c o n ta i n ed b u t a l m o s t s ta t i c el ec t r i c p ower, t h e u r- dro n e
o r do o m m etal so u n d par exc ellen c e. Ear th gave bir th to m o n stro u s
pro gen y like Su n n O))) an d Om an d m o re rec en tly to a w h o le diaspo ra o f dro n esc aped ro c k fro m Ro ber t L owe’s ec static L ic h en s
to Th e Haxan Clo ak.
A trac e o f dro n e also ru n s th ro u gh disc o an d its vario u s perm u tatio n s, begin n in g w ith th e syn th esized h u m s o f D o n n a Su m m er ’s »I Feel L ove«, th e »c h ic ken - sc ratc h « sin gle c h o rd gu itar ru n s
o f J am es B row n’s gu itarist J im m y No len , an d K raf twerk’s m in im alist syn th exc u rsio n s, feedin g in to elec tro, h o u se, tec h n o, an d o th er
styles. Th e latest in ten sific atio n s o f th e dro n e- disc o c o n tin u u m are
c o m in g fro m m u sic ian s asso c iated w ith labels like L o s An geles’
1 00% Silk (an d its elder sister label No t No t Fu n ) an d so m e o f th e
pro tégés o f B ro o klyn - based am bien t n o ise dro n e m aster On eo h trix
Po in t Never, n o tably th e am azin g L au rel Halo. Th is m u sic , w h ic h
h arken s bac k to M o ro der an d Sylvester pro du c er Patric k Cow ley,
is sen su al, th e dro n e h ere is th e dro n e o f sexu al en ergy, m en tal en ergy, bu ildin g u p to peaks, fallin g bac k, an d bu ildin g again . Or, like
a lo t o f dro n e m u sic , it is fac ilitated, bo th fo r per fo rm er an d listen er, by th e u se o f vario u s psyc h o ac tive su bstan c es th at fac ilitate
states o f su stain ed atten tio n an d/o r pleasu re w h ile m ovin g. W h ic h
is a w h o le to pic u n to itself. Fro m To m Wo lfe’s u se o f th e repeated
c o lo n , i.e. :::::::::::::::::::::: to in dic ate th e trippin g m in d in The Elec-
tric Kool-Aid Acid Test , to Co il’s m ar velo u s 1 998 side pro jec t Tim e
M ac h in es, in w h ic h dark, glow in g dro n es are given th e n am es o f a
variety o f psyc h o ac tive su bstan c es, dro n es h ave been u sed to in dic ate th e h u m o f psyc h edelic - revealed B ein g. On e c o u ld also trac k
a pro du c tive gray zo n e between n o ise an d dro n e ru n n in g th ro u gh o u t th e h isto r y o f in du strial m u sic , fro m Th ro bbin g G ristle an d Co il
to th e bass h eav y 1 990s tec h n o so u n ds o f Pan So n ic an d Basic
Ch an n el (w h o se M ika Vain io an d Po r ter Ric ks w ill be per fo rm in g
at CTM ), o n to to day’s gen eratio n o f experim en tal tec h n o ar tists
su c h as Sam u el Kerridge, Ho lly Hern do n , an d Ru ssell Haswell, th e
in du strial death n o ise o f P h arm ako n , o r th e qu eer h au n to lo gic al
so u n ds o f Cyc lo be.
I t’s in trigu in g to see th at m u sic ian s su c h as Heatsic k are drawin g c o n n ec tio n s between th e vario u s traditio n s o f dro n e m u sic an d
spec u lative ph ilo so ph ers su c h as Tim o th y M o r to n . I f spec u lative
ph ilo so ph y’s o rigin s c an be fo u n d in th e lim its o f th e lin gu istic o r
disc u rsive tu rn , so u n d an d m u sic o bvio u sly arise as m atters th at are
po o rly ren dered in an d as lan gu age. Fu r th erm o re, in th e sh if t fro m
m u sic o lo gy to so u n d stu dies, an d fro m th e m u sic al to th e so n ic , o n e
qu ic kly reac h es th e lim it o f c o rrelatio n ism : a wo rld o f so u n ds, frequ en c ies, vibratio n s th at are th ere, bu t n o t n ec essarily th ere fo r u s.
Havin g said th at, an d bein g war y o f c laim s o f bein g able to leave
th e c o rrelatio n ist c irc le, I wo n der w h eth er th e c h arm an d power o f
m u sic do esn’t already an d in gen eral c o n sist in th e fac t th at it is
sim u ltan eo u sly in side an d o u tside th e c o rrelatio n ist c irc le. An d in
an swerin g th e qu estio n o f w h at is th e spec ific power o f m u sic , to
say th at m u sic o pen s u s u p o n to a vibratio n al exterio rity, a »great
o u tdo o rs«, an exc ess o r n o n - kn ow ledge. I n deed, Bataille’s term is
u sefu l: n o n - kn ow ledge is th at aspec t o f th e wo rld th at c an n o t be
c o rrelated w ith o u r kn ow ledge o f th e wo rld bu t w h ic h n o n eth eless
is dec isive fo r u s. No n - kn ow ledge c an be th e o bjec t o f a prac tic e
th at plays w ith , reso n ates w ith th at o bjec t w ith o u t kn ow in g it. M u sic
in th is sen se, ac c esses, o r allows u s to ac c ess th e great o u tdo o rs.
Th e dro n e o f th e great o u tdo o rs c o u ld be terrif yin g, th e so u n d o f
do o m , o r ec static , as presen ted in m o re am bien t, m in im al o r New
Age so n ic ven tu res. An alo gies w ith th e in h u m an , th e alien , th e O th er abo u n d, as do th at o f a m o n stro u s im per tu rbable sam en ess, always th ere, always in assim ilable. Or is th at ju st th e u n en din g dro n e
o f glo bal c apitalism?
How do es m u sic c o n n ec t to the g re a t ou td oors? Pe r ha p s he re
o n e sh o u ld speak o f Badio u ’s h yp othe sis of a ma the ma tica l ontolo gy, an d th en , n o tin g th e relatio nship of ma the ma tics a nd music
stretc h in g bac k to P y th ago ras an d b e yond , to ob se r ve the conne ctio n s between a m ath em atic al o n tolog y, a vib ra tiona l ontolog y, a nd
a so n ic o r even m u sic al o n to lo gy. This is in fa ct the cla im tha t La
M o n te Yo u n g m ade fo r h is ow n music, which he ca lle d »me ta music « in th e 1 960s – a c laim gro u n d e d simulta ne ously in the notion
o f th e syllable »Om « as th e so u n d of the unive rse a nd conte mp ora r y
ph ysic al m o dels o f th e u n iverse as a wave or vib ra tion [in He nnix’s
rec en t wo rk, th e Hu bble frequ en c y, which she d e fine s a s »the lowe st
po ssible frequ en c y th e u n iverse c an susta in a t a ny fu ture time « (Ra g
I n fin ity pam ph let] . Wo rks o f lo n g dura tion b r ing up the q ue stion of
an c estrality. Hen n ix w ro te o f h er own p ie ce s tha t the y should not
be u n dersto o d as h avin g a begin n ing a nd e nd cor re sp ond ing to the
m o m en t o f per fo rm an c e, bu t th at the ir p e r for ma nce is withou t e nd ,
an d is m erely su spen ded o r bec o me ina ud ib le a t ce r ta in mome nts.
I n th is sen se, dro n es are a great exa mp le of wha t Timothy Mor ton
h as c alled »h ypero bjec ts«, »o bjec ts« so va st tha t we ca n neve r p e rc eive th em fu lly, bu t w h o se vastne ss is none the le ss evid e nt to us
w h en we are im m ersed in o n e. Which is p e r ha p s a nothe r wa y of
sayin g th at a dro n e is an enviro n me nt, a nd tha t for comp ose rs like
Niblo c k, th e spac e in w h ic h a drone is p la ye d is a n imp or ta nt a spec t o f c o m po sitio n , im provisatio n, a nd p e r for ma nce .
A press release fro m NASA d a te d 9 Se p te mb e r 2 003 * 1) a nn o u n c es th at Astro n o m ers fro m »NASA’s Cha nd ra X-ra y Ob se r va to r y detec ted so u n d waves, fo r the first time , from a sup e r ma ssive
blac k h o le. Th e › n o te‹ is th e deepest eve r d e te cte d from a ny ob je ct
in o u r Un iverse. ... Th e blac k h o le re sid e s in the Pe rse us cluste r of
galaxies lo c ated 25 0 m illio n ligh t ye a rs from Ea r th. In 2 002 , a stro n o m ers o btain ed a deep Ch an d ra ob se r va tion tha t shows r ip p le s
in th e gas fillin g th e c lu ster. Th es e r ip p le s a re evid e nce for sound
waves th at h ave traveled h u n dreds of thousa nd s of lig ht ye a rs awa y
fro m th e c lu ster ’s c en tral blac k h ole . In musica l te r ms, the p itch of
th e so u n d gen erated by th e blac k hole tra nsla te s into the note of
B flat. B u t, a h u m an wo u ld h ave no cha nce of he a r ing this cosmic
per fo rm an c e bec au se th e n o te is 57 octave s lowe r tha n mid d le -C
... At a frequ en c y over a m illio n billion time s d e e p e r tha n the limits
o f h u m an h earin g, th is is th e dee p e st note eve r d e te cte d from a n
o bjec t in th e Un iverse.« W h at doe s such a d rone d o? Give n tha t
so n ic vibratio n s gen erate h eat, the sound wave s e ma na ting from
th e Perseu s blac k h o le po ten tially conta in »the comb ine d e ne rg y
fro m 1 00 m illio n su pern ovas«, enoug h, a strop hysicists b e lieve , to
sto p th e gaseo u s m atter aro u n d bla ck hole s from cooling a nd for min g stars. I t is th o u gh t th at th is sound wave ha s »re ma ine d roug hly
c o n stan t fo r abo u t 2.5 billio n years.«
Ma rc u s Bo o n is a w riter an d Pro fessor of Eng lish a t Yor k Unive rsity
in To ro n to, w h ere h e teac h es c o n te mp ora r y lite ra ture a nd cultura l
th eo r y. He w rites abo u t m u sic fo r The Wire a nd Boing Boing . He
is th e au th o r o f The Road of Excess: A Histor y of Writers on Drugs
an d In Praise of Copying , bo th from Ha r va rd Unive rsity Pre ss. He
is c u rren tly editin g a bo o k o f c o nve rsa tions with Be r lin-b a se d compo ser Cath erin e Ch rister Hen n ix, a nd a ma nuscr ip t e ntitle d The
Politics of Vibration . *** w w w.m arcusb oon.com
* 1 ) N ASA N ews f rom 9 Se pt e m be r 2 0 03 : »Chand ra › Hears ‹ A Black Hole« ;
w w w. n as a.gov/ h om e / h qn ews /2 0 03/s e p/ HQ _03284 _Chand ra_Hears .html.
39
C o m i n g to T e r m s
with Sound
By Bj ö r n G ot t s t e i n
Photo by Barbara Fahle.
T h e fa scina tio n w ith a ural percepti on and how to expan d
t h e ex per ience o f m usi c, whi l e exi sti ng i n di f ferent degre e s
t h ro u ghou t dif f erent eras, reached a new l evel of i ntensi ty in
t h e 2 0 th centur y w hen di verse and unconnected musi cia n s
f ro m a ll a ro und the worl d began expl ori ng new approac h e s
t o s o und. From this f a sci nati on emerged movements such a s
s e ri a l i sm , cha m pio ned by l umi nari es such as Stockhaus e n ,
Re i c h , a nd Ca ge, bu t a lso musi ci ans worki ng i n counter-c u rre n t t o do mina nt trends, such as E rnstal brecht Sti ebl er.
I n th e early 20 th c en tu r y, th e Au strian bio lo gist Pau l Kam m erer
c o in ed th e c o n c epts o f »th e law o f th e series« an d th e »du plic ity o f
even ts«. Th ese laws c an also apply to th e h isto r y o f m u sic . M u c h
h as been inven ted several tim es over w ith o u t a direc t lin k ever bein g draw n between even ts, e.g. th e do u ble reed, th e strin g qu ar tet,
do dec aph o n y…
At th e sam e tim e, ac ro ss dec ades an d c o n tin en ts, m u sic ian s
c am e to th e realizatio n th at we wo u ld h ave to appro ac h so u n d differen tly th an in th e past, th at we m u st c reate a dif feren t sen sitivity
to so u n d in o rder to sign ific an tly expan d th e experien c e o f m u sic .
Th at th is was rec o gn ized by su c h diverse m u sic ian s an d c o m po sers
su c h as G iac in to Sc elsi, Elian e Radigu e, K lau s Sc h u lze, o r B ern h ard
G ü n ter to n am e o n ly a few, an d th at th ese m u sic ian s were m ain ly
n o t aware o f eac h o th er, illu strates th e fac t th at th e h isto r y o f ideas
o f m u sic c an n o t be derived fro m bio graph ies o f in dividu al ar tists
bu t m u st be seen as a so c ial m ovem en t.
Ern stalbrec h t Stiebler is yet an o th er m u sic ian to h ave c o n tribu ted to a n ew u n derstan din g o f so u n d sin c e th e 1 960s. Stiebler,
bo rn in B erlin in 1 93 4, h ad stu died c o m po sitio n in Ham bu rg an d
atten ded c lasses w ith Karlh ein z Sto c kh au sen in Darm stad t. Even in
th e 1 95 0s, h e inwardly rebelled again st th e c o des o f serial m u sic ,
w h ic h determ in ed m u sic th ro u gh series an d param eters by u sin g
c o n stan t c h an ge an d th e n o n - iden tic aln ess o f even ts, th u s c reatin g
a c o n stan t state o f m u sic al u n rest. I n th e late 1 95 0s, th is u n easin ess w ith th e teac h in gs o f h is m en to rs led to a first en c o u n ter w ith
J o h n Cage, w h o was th en preac h in g a dif feren t m u sic , o n e th at is
n o t su bjec t to th e w ill an d taste o f th e c o m po ser, bu t u n fo lds in a
ran do m an d disjo in ted m an n er. Stiebler, w h o at th at tim e was already fam iliar w ith th e teac h in gs o f yo ga, c o u ld relate to Cage’s
Zen B u ddh ist- in spired th o u gh t, even if to day h e adm its th at Cage’s
m o n astic essen c e appealed to h im less th an th e freer an d m o re in fo rm al u se o f so u n d an d fo rm pu rsu ed by M o r to n Feldm an .
As a resu lt o f th ese im pressio n s an d th o u gh ts, Stiebler c o m po sed th e strin g trio »Exten sio n s I « in 1 963. With lo n g to n es, little
m ovem en t, an d m u c h repetitio n , Stiebler to o k th e step towards a
m u sic in c reasin gly free o f expressio n an d gestu re. By fo c u sin g o n ly
o n a few n o tes, by repeatin g to n es an d in ter vals, an d by c h o o sin g
slow tem pi, Stiebler gave so u n d n ew o ppo r tu n ities fo r develo pm en t. Th is leads to a dif feren t sen sitivity, w h ere th e listen er alm o st
in evitably en ters in to th e in tern al stru c tu re o f th e so u n d. Fo r exam ple, if th e pressu re o f th e bow is in c reased o n a c ello strin g, th en th e
so u n d n o t o n ly gets lo u der, bu t th e over to n es also c h an ge. To perc eive th ese c h an ges takes tim e, h owever, an d th e c o m po ser m u st
gran t th e so u n d th at tim e.
Stiebler, alo n gside c o m po sers like G iac in to Sc elsi, c o u n t
am o n g th e first to h ave sh aped th e in n er wo rkin gs an d ph en o m en o n s o f so u n d to m ake th em tan gible. Aro u n d 1 960, c o m po sed
m u sic began to in c lu de an experien c e o f so u n d as c an be fo u n d in
tran c e an d ritu al m u sic , an d w ith in stru m en ts like th e didgerido o.
Stiebler do es n o t fu n dam en tally rejec t spiritu al c o n n o tatio n s; m editatio n is a ver y prec ise exerc ise th at requ ires a h igh level o f c o n c en tratio n an d u ltim ately en ables an o th er state o f c o n sc io u sn ess,
an d su c h a state is so m eth in g th at o n e c an , o r even sh o u ld, w ish to
ac h ieve fro m an aesth etic experien c e.
Th ro u gh redu c tio n ism , repetitio n , an d slow in g dow n , o th er ph en o m en a en ter in to th e listen er ’s c o n sc io u sn ess, in c lu din g spac e.
Th e tem po ral exten sio n o f th e so u n d allows th e ph ysic al (so u n d)
wave to spread o u t in spac e, an d th is ph ysic al spac e th en gives way
to o th er spac es, w h ic h Stiebler c alls »in terio r spac es«. I n desc ribin g
»in terio r spac es« Stiebler m akes referen c e to th e spac e- bo dy c o n c epts o f Tao ism , w h ere in additio n to th e real bo dy o f spac e, th ere
exists an au ral bo dy o f spac e, an em o tio n al bo dy o f spac e, a m en tal bo dy o f spac e, an d so o n . M u sic c an n o t o n ly c reate all o f th ese
spac es an d m ake th em tan gible, bu t c ru c ially also allows th em to
flow an d m erge in to o n e an o th er. Throug h his wor k in d if fe re ntia tin g so n ic spac es in h is c o m po sitions a nd his exp lora tor y wor k with
m ic ro to n es, Stiebler h elped o pen p e op le s’ e a rs to the fa ct tha t we
also c an still learn to h ear so m eth ing b e twe e n we ll-known inte r va ls.
Th e fac t th at Stiebler ’s po sition ha s not q uite b e e n a b le to a sser t itself am o n g o th er aesth etic sta nd p oints, a nd tha t he is fa r from
bein g rec o gn ized as a pio n eer an d visiona r y, ha s va r ious ca use s. As
a radio pro du c er (1 969-95 at Hessische r Rund funk) Stie b le r could
n o t devo te h is fu ll c o m m itm en t to his own music, a nd a s a conce r t
pro m o ter h e refu sed to h ave h is own wor ks p e r for me d . Fur the rm o re, th e po sitio n th e c o m po ser a d op te d is one of re stra int; Stie bler an d h is m u sic do n o t draw a tte ntion to the mse lve s a nd the y
are n o t m ean t to be h eard lo u dly. With such a d iscre e t a ttitud e , one
wo n ders w h eth er Stiebler h ad as ke d ma ny q ue stions b e fore the ir
tim e, an d w h eth er h is bo dy o f wo r k should b e re a sse sse d in re trospec t. I n deed, qu estio n s abo u t musica l sp a ce , a b ou t the me a ning
o f repetitio n , abo u t th e radic al re d uction of ma te r ia l, or the sp iritu ality o f so u n d, h ave been raised a g a in a nd a g a in in re ce nt ye a rs,
an d in so m e c ases h ave led to simila r conclusions a s Stie b le r ’s
wo rk. Exam ples in c lu de th e redu ctionist p ha se of Be r lin’s imp rovised m u sic sc en e Ec h tzeitm u sik (lite ra lly tra nsla te d a s »re a l-time
m u sic «), th e J apan ese On kyo m ove me nt, the a usculta tion of sp a ce
th at c an be fo u n d in so u n d ar t, or the re ce nt p re occup a tion with
G illes D eleu ze’s Dif ference and Repetition in musica l d iscourse ,
am o n g o th ers.
At th e sam e tim e, th ere is o n e mista ke tha t must not b e ma d e ,
n am ely to asc er tain fu n dam en tal simila r itie s in musica l cha ra cte r
based o n sim ilarities fo u n d u n der ce r ta in circumsta nce s in the a ctu al so u n ds, th e so u n d design , o r eve n in the a e sthe tic p re mise s of
wo rks. W h at G iac in to Sc elsi su gg e ste d in 1 959 with his »Qua tro
pezzi su u n a so la n o ta«, w h at Eliane Ra d ig ue a chieve d in 1 971 with
»Ch r y- ptu s«, w h at K lau s Sc h u lze a tte mp te d in 1 972 with his a lb um
Irrlicht – eac h o f th ese are en tirely d istinct a tte mp ts to come to
term s w ith so u n d.
I t is im po r tan t to u n derstan d tha t Stie b le r ’s wor ks a re not compo sed in tu itively o r o f f th e c u f f: eve n if a four th is simp ly str uck in
fo u r dif feren t o c taves o n th e piano, the re a re comp ositiona l stra tegies at wo rk. Repetitio n s an d pitch shif ts d o not occur b a se d on
th e m o m en t, bu t always w ith a view of the whole . Micro-inte r va ls
are c arefu lly set in advan c e to sixths, e tc.
Even if it is a fo r tu n ate c o in c ide nce tha t in the 2 1 s t ce ntur y one
c an lo o k bac k o n so m an y sim ilar itie s in such d ive rse musica l curren ts, th eir dif feren c es are at least a s sig nifica nt. The q ue stion the n
is n o t so m u c h to w h at exten t Ern sta lb re cht Stie b le r a nd the d iscover y o f slow tem po s in th e syn th po p of the seve ntie s sha re a common
basis, bu t rath er h ow th ey c am e to simila r q ue stions from such d ifferen t an gles. Su c h a qu estio n to uche s on the socia l p sycholog y of
an era, w h ic h m erits a sign ific an t a na lysis.
B jö rn G o ttstein is a m u sic jo u rna list a nd musicolog ist b a se d in
B erlin . He w rites abo u t elec tro nic music a nd the histor y of the
avan t- garde. Sin c e 20 1 3 h e th e e d itor for Ne ue Musik a t the Süd deu tsc h er Ru n dfu n k SW R in Stu ttga r t.
Translated from the German by Alexander Paulick-Thiel.
41
J ’a i r ê v é d ’ u n e m u s i q u e é t r a n g e e t
belle qui ne soit jamais l a même ni
to u t à fa i t u n e a u t r e * 1 )
T h i b a u t d e R u y t e r i n c o n v e r s at i o n w i t h E l i a n e R a d i g u e ,
B e r l i n , F e b r u a ry 1 s t 2 0 1 2
I n 2 0 1 2 , CTM pa id a speci al homage to French
e l e c t ro n i c m usic co mpo ser E l i ane Radi gue. Act i ve f o r over 40 yea rs, Radi gue i s consi dered
by m a n y a pio neer in ele ctroni c musi c, usi ng
syn t h e s i ze r a nd ta pe to create pi eces of l ong
d u rat i o n and deep co ntempl ati on. By reduci ng
h e r c o m po sitio ns to a f ew sound events that
g rad u al l y a ppea r, over la p, recede, and osci l l at e i n c ri tica l f requencies over l ong peri ods of
t i m e , Ra digue pro duces a hyper-attenti ve env i ro n m e n t in w hich ea ch sound i s maxi mal l y
ch arg e d . Next to per f or mances of her works
»N a l d j o rl a k« a nd »P S I-847« (the recordi ng of
wh i c h wa s published in 2 0 13 by C anadi an l abel
O ral ) , Ra digue a ppea red at CTM Festi val for an
i n t e r v i ew w ith Thiba ult de Ruy ter. Her strong
ar t i s t i c p resence, co upled wi th a rel entl ess, dr y
h u m o u r, evo kes a vision where the di sti ncti ons
b e t we e n so und a nd silenc e, sameness and di ff e re n c e , a re com pletely bl urred.
Eliane Radigue with Bruno Mar tinez, Carol Robinson and
Charles Cur tis, Bologna 20 1 0. Photo: Massimo Golfieri
Thiba u t de Ru y te r : We will begin with the
links between electronic and acoustic music. You have not made music on machines
since 2004. Yesterday we heard an acoustic concer t, and tonight we will hear a piece
for synthesizer. However, I’ve already heard
you say that »It’s the same thing«…!
Elia ne Ra digu e : No t exac tly. I am ver y o bstin ate an d stu bbo rn . At a c er tain perio d o f
tim e, m y an alo gu e syn th esizer was brin gin g m e c lo se to th e kin d o f m u sic I wan ted to c reate, bu t n ow m ar velo u s m u sic ian s
c o m e c lo sest to m y researc h . Th e first tim e
I h eard th em per fo rm m y wo rk »Naldjo rlak«, I th an ked th em , bec au se at last I was
fin ally h earin g th e m u sic th at I h ad always
dream ed o f. Th ere is su c h su btlety in ac o u stic in stru m en ts. Elec tro n ic m u sic is ro u gh er, raspier. L ess delic ate an d su btle. Th at is
w h y m y syn th esizer an d I separated, af ter
fo r ty years o f m arriage.
TdR: This means that you would not have
made electronic music for ty years ago had
you met musicians capable of playing your
music back then?
ER: I wo u ldn’t h ave dared! Or rath er, yes,
dif feren t m u sic ian s h ad c o n tac ted m e o n
two o r th ree o c c asio n s, bu t w h en we wo u ld
m eet an d w h en th ey saw w h at I was askin g
o f th em th ey wo u ld ru n o f f. W h en Ch arles
Cu r tis appro ac h ed m e h e kn ew per fec tly
well w h at I was do in g, an d h e kn ew th at I
was n o t go in g to w rite h im a n ew Bac h su ite!
I t is m y perso n al m u sic al gen re, m y dream ,
c all it w h at yo u wan t.
TdR: But there exist, nonetheless, analogous elements between electronic and
acoustic music. For example, duration is an
essential component in your work…
ER: Th ere are vario u s levels o f respo n se
fo r th is. I w ill star t w ith th e m aterial aspec t. W h en I wo rked w ith w ild elec tro n ic
so u n ds, disto r tio n , an d feedbac k between
a lo u dspeaker an d a m ic ro ph o n e, o n e m u st
be extrem ely delic ate an d prec ise. W h en
yo u get a little to o c lo se it sh rieks, w h en
yo u m ove away it disappears. I t o n ly takes a
sm all, abru pt m ovem en t … B u t w h en I fo u n d
th e righ t balan c e I c o u ld evo lve th e so u n d
fo r as lo n g as I liked. Th erefo re it requ ired
slow n ess. It wa s the sa me stor y with the re in jec tio n me thod using two ta p e re cord e rs.
I barely h a d to touch, b a re ly ha d to b r ush
again st th e p ote ntiome te rs. This a llowe d me
to overc o me my imp a tie nce . Be ca use , a nd
th is is th e se cond imp or ta nt a sp e ct: d ura tio n an d slowne ss g o ha nd -in-ha nd . I wa s
always par ticula r ly se nsitive to slow move m en ts in c la ssica l music. For exa mp le , while
th e sec o nd move me nt of Ma ur ice Rave l’s
»Co n c er to in G Ma jor« is sub lime , I could
n o t bear to liste n to the sche r zo a t the e nd .
I wo u ld alwa ys stop the re cord b e fore the
en d so as to sta y in the se cond move me nt’s
atm o sph ere . I think I a m slow, not a lwa ys,
bu t listen ing ta ke s some time a nd the move m en t’s to ne p rofound ly suite d me . In a d d itio n , w h en the sy nthe size r a llowe d me to
begin to ap p roa ch my musica l vision, I notic ed th at one ha d to sta y within ve r y low
registers in ord e r to b e more p re cise with
respec t to wha t wa s g oing on b e twe e n the
dif feren t sound la ye rs a nd leve ls. This is
w h y ever y thing I d o ra re ly re a che s a me zzo - fo r te, a nd a lwa ys sta ys in low p itch. And
th is fo rm s a whole tha t I a m only now b e g inn in g to u n de rsta nd . One must a lso ta ke into
43
acc ount the qual i ty of si l e n ce , n o t i n t e r ms
of its general use as a pu n ctua t i o n ma r k i n
mus ic, bu t as the si l ence w i t h i n w hi ch so un d
can integrate compl ete l y, t h a t ca n l i ve w i t h
the musi c. A s i f si l ence wa s spa ce a n d m u si cal vi brati ons ani mate i t . Ye st e rda y eve ni n g
I was par ti cul arl y sensi t i ve t o i t : a t f i rst yo u
d on’t hear any thi ng a l t ho ugh t h e so u n d i s
already there, i t comes l i t t l e by l i t t l e , t h e re
is never a di screet uni t o f si l e n ce . Al l o f t h i s
re q ui res pati ence, ti me , a n d l e a ds t o t he ne ce ss i ty f or a l ong dura t i o n . I di d n o t se e k
d ura ti on f or the sake o f dura t i o n . I t i s si mp ly my worki ng mode, my ch o i ce s, a n d my
op tio ns that compel l ed me t o do so. B u t
that di d not bother me , qu i t e t he o ppo si t e
in fact!
TdR: At the same time, when we enter a dark
space, it always takes some time for the pupils to dilate and adjust to the ambient lighting before star ting to discern cer tain contours and then to see. The silence you speak
of, is it not a way to force our ear to open,
to capture our attention?
ER: Absol u tel y! I wi l l use a bi g wo rd bu t
it is a way to sati sf y m y de e p l o ngi n gs, m y
» q uest«. I’ m f i ni shed, I w i l l sa y no m o re o n
this subj ect. In order fo r t h e re t o be a u n ion between si l ence an d so u n d, a n d i n o rde r
to p ercei ve thi s uni on, we m u st f i rst l i st e n
to s il ence. Bu t i t i s true , yo u a re pe r f e ct l y
rig ht, our percepti on sha r pe ns, i t re qu i re s
our a ttenti on, al l of which ca n l e a d t o a sta t e
of c oncentrati on that ena bl e s a mu ch w i de r
s ens i ti vi ty. The i mage o f t he pupi l i s a ni ce
exampl e.
TdR: But there is also something about the
low volume in your works. I’ve always had
the impression that this is related to your
approach to silence.
ER: The l ow vol ume i s ne ce ssa r y, a nd i t i s
a third aspect of my i nve st m e nt i n m u si c; t o
exp lore subtl eti es i n t h e re l a t i o nsh i ps be tween over tones, harmo ni cs, sub ha r m o nic s . I thi nk I owe that t o t h e studi o d’ E ssa i
on th e rue de l ’ U ni versi t é , a n d t o t h e f i rst
time I heard the sound o f a be l l w h e re we
re moved the attack. It wa s a t o ta l l y di f f e re n t
s tor y, ver y ri ch. We ca n a l wa ys expe r i e n ce
this when a bel l ri ngs i n t h e mo un ta i n s. I t
s top s, bu t there i s a su pe r b m u si c t ha t co ntinues. If the f undamenta l no t e i s t o o l o u d,
eve n i f thi s note i s nec e ssa r y si nce w i t ho u t
it there i s no sound, i t so un ds a ggre ssi ve ,
ove r w he l mi n g o u r h ea r i n g . B u t i f i t s vo l u m e
i s l ow e no u g h we c a n b et t er h ea r wh a t fo l l ows – i t si n g s o n i t s own . Ac tu a l l y n o, a b ove
a l l i t i s m y m a r vel o u s m u s i c i a n s t h a t , wi t h
t he i r m ove m en t s a n d b rea t h s , m a ke t h ei r i n st r u m e nt s s i n g !
TdR : The breath is another word that appears to me to be essential. I of ten have the
feeling that your music breathes and, in a
cer tain way, that we could make an analo-
gy between the instrumentalist’s breath and
the hiss of the audio tape.
ER : Ye s, i t ’s i m p o r ta n t . B u t l et m e g o b a c k
t o t h e f i rst d i s c over i es I m a d e t h ro u g h wi l d
e l e ct ro n i c s o u n d s . T h es e a l wa ys h a d t h e
t e nde ncy t o b eh ave ei t h er a s a s u s ta i n ed
n o t e , o r a s p u l s es a n d b ea t s . B ea t s a l wa ys
co nta i n r h y t h m s t h a t c o r res p o n d t o s o m et h i n g: t h e h ea r t , b rea t h i n g . I n i t s el f I t h i n k
t h a t ye s, t h ere i s b rea t h , b u t I d i d n o t l o o k
f o r i t a s suc h , i t i s p a r t o f t h e s o u n d . I a d m i t t ha t t h ere a re s i m i l a r i t i es , b u t I h ave n o
t h e o r y, I h ave n o b i g s ta t em en t , n o t h i n g s o ph i st i ca t e d, n o t h i n g i n t el l ec tu a l t o p ro p o s e.
TdR : Did musical scores for your work exist at that time?
ER : N o. An d a n o t h er q u es t i o n t h a t h a s o ft e n be e n a s ked o f m e i s wh et h er o r n o t t h i s
mu si c ca n b e p l a yed l i ve. T h e a n swer i s d efi ni t e l y n o. Even wi t h s i x o r s even sy n t h esi ze rs, i t o n l y ta kes a t i n y s o m et h i n g i n t h e
vo l ta ge co n t ro l fo r i t t o b ec o m e a n o t h er
st o r y. T ha t i s t h e rea s o n wh y I h a d t o wo r k
o n ta pe a n d , o n c e fi n i s h ed wi t h a p i ec e, h a d
no t hi n g mo re t o a d d . I h a d n o rea s o n t o a p pe a r o n sta g e wi t h m y s u p er b i n s t r u m en t
a n d pre t e n d t o b e d o i n g s o m et h i n g . T h a t i s
w h y I wo ul d p l a c e m ys el f o f fs ta g e t o p erf o r m t he wo r k s , a s we wi l l d o t o n i g h t . T h ere
i s o nl y t h e s o u n d .
TdR : But how do you proceed today with
your musicians if there is no sheet music?
How do you communicate with them?
ER : I t i s, f irs t a n d fo rem o s t , t h e m u s i c i a n s
w h o a sk m e. C h a r l es C u r t i s h a d s en t m e a
C D w i t h severa l m u s i c a l el em en t s a n d I t o l d
hi m » I do m y s h o p p i n g . I wa n t t h a t , t h a t , n o t
t ha t , no t t h a t . . . «. I n c i d en ta l l y, wh en h e wa s
a ske d w ha t i t wa s l i ke t o wo r k wi t h m e h e
re spo n de d: »Oh , i t ’s ver y s i m p l e, s h e s a ys
Ye s o r N o ! «. B u t i t ’s a l s o m o re c o m p l ex t h a n
t ha t . As f o r el ec t ro n i c m u s i c , I a l wa ys h ave a
t h em e t h a t b ec o m es t h e s p i r i t o f t h e piec e.
J u s t a s a n a rc h i t ec t n eed s a p l a n , s c af fo ldi n g . B u t o n c e t h e wo r k i s t h ere, we c an to ta l l y fo rg et a b o u t t h o s e. I c a n t el l yo u , fo r
exa m p l e, a b o u t t h e p i ec e, »N a l d j o r l ak«. Th e
wo rd o n l y s er ves u s a s p o i n t o f d e par tu re
a n d , i n g en era l , a l l t h e p ro c ess es are c o n ta i n ed i n t h e t i t l es . »N a l d j o r« i s a Tibetan
t h em e fo r Yo g a , a n d s i g n i fi es »u n i o n«. »L ak«
i s a s u f fi x o f d eferen c e, o f res p ec t , an d th at
a l s o s i g n i fi es › t h e h a n d ‹. B u t t h e t er m » Naldj o r l a k« d o es n o t ex i s t . T h ere a re t h e m asc u l i n e N a l d j o r p a yo g i s , t h e N a l d j o r m a… Th is
wa s m y i n i t i a l t h em e. Fro m i t d evelo ped a
wo r k b u i l t o n t h ree p i ec es : yo g a o f t he bo dy,
yo g a o f s p eec h , yo g a o f t h e s p i r i t . Th is defi n ed a s t r u c tu re, a p rel u d e o f s t r u c ture. Th e
referen c e t o t h e b o d y, fo r exa m p l e, is o bvio u s n ow t h a t t h e c yc l e o f t h e t h ree p iec es is
c o m p l et ed . Per fo r m i n g s o l o, C h a r l e s Cu rt i s s t r i p s h i s i n s t r u m en t a n d t h a t i s obvio u sl y t h e yo g a o f t h e b o d y, wh erea s t h e du o o f
C a ro l Ro b i n s o n a n d B r u n o Ma r t i n ez repres en t s p eec h a s t h ei r b rea t h s a n swer o n e
a n o t h er. L a s t l y, t h e t h ree m u s i c i a n s p er fo rm
t o g et h er, a n d t h ei r o s m o s i s rep res en ts th e
s p i r i t . N ow, we d o n o t h ave t o k n ow all th is
wh en we l i s t en t o t h em . I t ’s o bv i o u s. We
k n ow i t . T h a t h a p p en s q u i t e i n s ta n t l y. I n an y
c a s e, wi t h m y sy n t h es i zer, wh en I k n ew exa c t l y wh a t I wa n t ed t o d o, I fo u n d m y way
ver y ea s i l y. On e d a y m y fr i en d Mic h èle
B o ka n ows k i a s ked m e t o m a ke h e r so m e
s o u n d s o f »t h e s i l en c e o f s ta rs «. I to ld h er
t h i s wo u l d b e n o p ro b l em ; I h a d s o r ted ever y t h i n g o u t b efo re h o l d i n g t h e l i s t en in g sess i o n . T h en , wh en I tu n ed o n t h e m a ster vo lu m e, t h e s o u n d wa s exa c t l y i t ! S t i l l , it was a
s t ro ke o f l u c k ( l a u g h s ) . I wa s a g a i n re ferrin g
t o t h e Ti b eta n c u l tu re, fo r wh i c h t he spirit
i s s i tu a t ed i n t h e h ea r t a n d n o t t h e brain .
A n em o t i o n a l fo r m o f c o m m u n i c a t io n also
ex i s t s . A n d n o n -ver b a l c o m m u n i c a t io n also
wo r k s , wi t h fa r l ess m i s u n d ers ta n d i n gs th an
wi t h wo rd s . S o I c o m m u n i c a t e wi t h my m u sic i a n s wi t h g es tu res , a n d I d o n’ t d ep r ive m ys el f o f a n y t h i n g . Wi t h »Yes o r N o «. An d we
rec o g n i ze t h e m o m en t a p i ec e i s f in ish ed.
A l l o f a s u d d en i t ’s t h ere. H owever, it bec o m es m o re a n d m o re ext ra o rd i n a r y ever y
t i m e t h ey p l a y i t .
Td R : So these are pieces by them, for them,
created with them…
ER: An d o n ly fo r th em ! However, th ey are c apable
o f tran sm ittin g th e piec es verbally, if th ey so desire.
Ch arles Cu r tis h ad already rec eived su c h a requ est.
W h en h e asked m e I to ld h im : »it’s u p to yo u «.
TdR: You speak of control and of duration. For me this
evokes an image of a line, which is also a word that
you employ. Charles Cur tis’ movements on his cello
are, for that matter, extremely linear.
ER: Th at go es bac k exac tly to w h at I said in th e begin n in g, abo u t th e issu e o f keepin g a distan c e between a lo u dspeaker an d m ic ro ph o n e; it’s ac ro batic ,
it’s lin ear, an d th ere is ver y ro o m to m an o eu vre. B u t
w h en it wo rks, th ere is a resu lt! Th ere yo u go, we c an
sto p h ere, I h ave c o m e fu ll c irc le…
Au die nc e : You say that each work has a stor y, that
each sound has a place in each stor y. What is the link
between stor y and sound and what do you discuss
with your musicians?
ER: Harm o n y always c o n stitu tes o u r gen u in e fo u n datio n , th e fu n dam en tal so u n ds w ith w h ic h we wo rk.
With Ch arles Cu r tis it was o bvio u s fro m th e star t,
sin c e th e c ello, like m o st strin g in stru m en ts, c o n tain s
so m eth in g th at is feared by c lassic al c ellists: th e wo lfto n e. I h ave th e feelin g th at th e two so u n dbo ards o f
strin ged in stru m en ts c an kn o c k so u n ds o u t o f ph ase,
pro du c in g a m agn ific en t so u n d. I o f c o u rse ju m ped o n
th is so u n d righ t away. Th is so u n d is o f a dif feren t pitc h
depen din g o n th e in stru m en t, an d it is ver y dif fic u lt to
fin d its fu n dam en tal n o te. As w ith all m u sic al in stru m en ts, tin y variatio n s resu lt fro m c lim ate param eters
su c h as h igh er o r lower tem peratu re, h u m idity versu s dr yn ess. I n an y c ase, th at’s w h ere we star t. Tu n in g th e in stru m en ts bac kstage is u n th in kable; we h ave
to fin d th e best reso n an c e th resh o ld fro m th e in stru m en t’s bo dy. I t’s abo u t h ow th e in stru m en t beh aves o n
a given day. W h at fu r th er in terests m e is th e play o f
over to n es. Th e fu n dam en tal n o te do es n o t m ove, an d
th ere are low pu lses an d so m e sm all to n es th at I ask
th e m u sic ian s to c o n tro l. We all kn ow th at Eu ro pean
m u sic h ad to be tem pered o r else we wo u ld h ave a
h u ge dif feren c e between th e low an d h igh ran ges. B u t
perso n ally, I do n’t c are abo u t th at. On th e c o n trar y,
th at ver y sm all elem en t o f u n c er tain ty, o f in dec isio n ,
in terests m e. W h at h as always fasc in ated m e in c lassic al m u sic , aside fro m slow m ovem en ts, are th e few
bars o f m o du latio n w h ere, by c h an gin g th e sc ale, yo u
reac h th e first ac c iden tal. Th is brin gs u s in to a c lim ate
o f sligh t u n c er tain ty. I ado re am bivalen c e. I ado re am bigu ity. I n th is regard I qu o te Verlain e, o n ly c h an gin g
o n e wo rd: »I dream ed o f a piec e o f m u sic , stran ge an d
beau tifu l, w h ic h was n ever th e sam e, yet n ever qu ite
so m eth in g dif feren t«. B u t Verlain e was referrin g to
a wo m an . I do n o t kn ow if th at an swers yo u r qu estio n , bu t ever y th in g revo lves aro u n d th is extrem ely
n u an c ed an d delic ate c o n tac t. L et u s go bac k to the
exam ple o f Ch arles Cu r tis. I wo u ld h ave n eve r a cc epted th e m istreatm en t o f an ac o u stic in stru m e nt. By
playin g o n th e c ello’s tailpiec e an d en dpin , h e ente rs
th e privac y o f th e in stru m en t. He sh owed m e w ha t he
c o u ld do an d th e stru c tu re appeared by itself. It wa s
th erefo re n atu ral to play th e strin gs first, th en th e ta ilpiec e, th en th e en dpin an d, fin ally, th e two strin g s tha t
fix th e tailpiec e to th e in stru m en t’s bo dy. An d the re ,
I was flabbergasted by th at so u n d. I wo u ld wa nt so
m u c h to be able to rec o rd it an d slow it dow n since
I am c er tain it develo ps n u m ero u s h arm o n ic s. I d on’t
kn ow if so m eo n e c o u ld do th is so m eday. I c o u ld have
do n e it w ith m y o ld m agn etic tape rec o rder syste ms,
w h ic h I c o n stru c ted an d fiddled w ith m y en tire life .
B u t apparen tly, in o u r digital age it h as bec o m e ve r y
c o m plic ated.
Au die nc e : I heard Charles Cur tis per form »Naldjorlak« in three dif ferent venues and I would like to know
how the architecture influences the technique, the interpretation?
ER: Th e first th in g is to evalu ate th e ven u e’s a coustic respo n se. I n Riga h e per fo rm ed in an o ld ind ustrial bu ildin g th at was n o t ver y go o d, an d th e first
task was to fin d th e best lo c atio n to plac e o u rse lve s
in o rder to c reate o ptim al ac o u stic s. Th at th ea te r is
ver y beau tifu l; it do es n o t h ave a flat ac o u stic b u t is
n o t to o reso n an t eith er. Th ey played in New Yor k, in
a big h all m ade en tirely o u t o f reverberatin g m a r b le .
Fo r tu n ately th e h all’s ac o u stic s c h an ged w h en 4 00
spec tato rs arrived. By th e way, if yo u ’ve h eard the
piec e th ree tim es, yo u m u st h ave h eard th ree slig htly
dif feren t versio n s?
Au die nc e : Yes!
ER: Never th e sam e th in g, yet n ever qu ite so m ething
dif feren t. Ac c o rdin g to eac h day’s base h arm ony or
th e ac o u stic respo n se o f eac h lo c atio n – eac h time a n
o rigin al sto r y th at c o n tin u es.
Thiba u t de Ru y te r is a B erlin - based arc h itec t, cr itic,
an d c u rato r th at h arbo u rs a lifelo n g passio n fo r music . He is a regu lar c o n tribu to r to ar t press, I l Giorn ale dell’Arc h itettu ra, Fu c kin g G o o d Ar t, an d ha s
w ritten essays fo r vario u s c atalo gu es. He c u rated the
exh ibitio n »G h o sts O f f th e Sh elf« fo r CTM Fes tiva l’s
20 1 2 editio n .
Translated from the French by Catherine Genest.
* 1 ) » I dre am e d of a pi e c e of m u s i c , s t ran ge an d be au t i f u l , w h i c h
was n eve r t h e s am e , ye t n eve r qu i t e s om e t h i n g di f f e re n t « i s Eliane
Radi gu e ’s re ph ras i n g of Pau l Ve rl ai n e ’s » M on rê ve f am i l i e r«.
45
Te mp o r(e )alitie s: A rc hival Eigenzeit
CHRONOPOETICS OF
TECHNO - ARCHIVAL
MEMORY * 1 ) By Wo l f g a n g E r n s t
T h e arc hive is no t limited to textual records for hi stori c a l re s e a rch a nym ore. A s an agency of memor y suppl y
t h e n ew a rchive consists of a mul ti pl i ci ty of ti me l ayers
w h i c h as k to be dis-covered wi th advanced technol ogi es.
Techno-archival memor y can be identified as ­» chronopoetic«
s i n c e i t is no t a not pa ssi ve contai ner of records from
t h e p a s t bu t dyna m ica l l y creates forms of temporal
a f fe c t an d insight w hen coupl ed wi th human sensati on and
­a l g o ri t h m ic decoding. S ince the noti on of the archi ve has
b e e n extended to the storage and processi ng of si gnal s
f ro m t h e pa st ( no ta bly opti cal and phonographi c storage
m e d i a ) , a m emo r y co mes i nto exi stence whi ch addresse s p e rc eptio n a s a n o ngoi ng or repeatabl e presence,
re s u l t i n g in a dif f erent, a lmost soni c aggregati on of l ayered
t e m p o ralities. Once a rchi val memor y i s l i berated from i ts
s u b j e c t i o n to the histo r ical di scourse, i t i s re-i nstal l ed as
a n a g e n cy of tem pora l k nowl edge i n i ts own ri ght.
Th e term »tem po r(e)alities« o sc illates between tem po ralities an d
tem po - realities. Th is refers to th e in h eren t tem po ral essen c e o f arc h ives as m em o r y in stitu tio n an d sto rage apparatu s. Th ere are c o n flic tin g tim e regim es at wo rk in th e arc h ive: o n th e o n e h an d, it is
m ean t to su spen d tim e to keep in fo rm atio n fo r fu tu re m em o r y (n egen tro pic tim e); o n th e o th er h an d, it is su bjec t to tim e at wo rk (en tro pic pro c esses, m aterial dec ay); th irdly, th e speed o f ac c ess, m igratio n , an d sh o r t- tim e m em o rial fu n c tio n s o f th e arc h ive in c rease.
Fo r c en tu ries, th e arc h ive h as been an agen c y o f dis- c o n tin u ity, settin g th e m em o r y o f past rec o rds apar t fro m th e adm in istratio n o f th e
presen t. Th is spatio - tem po ral distan c e im plo des o n c e arc h ival data
is elec tro n ic ally c o u pled online to I n tern et- based ac c ess. M o re o r
less im m o bile c u ltu ral m aterialities o f m em o r y lo se th eir h etero to pic an d h etero c h ro n ic qu ality o f resistan c e again st th e lo go c en tristic tyran n y o f presen c e in favo u r o f im m ediac y. * 2 ) Again st th at
bac kgro u n d, o ld- fash io n ed arc h ival resistan c e bec o m es a vir tu e in
th e tim e o f n etwo rked rec o rds w h ic h disso lve in to cache - bu f fered
stream in g data.
With its c u rren t th em e »D is Co n tin u ity« CTM 20 1 4 reflec ts o n th e
grow in g ten den c y to referen c e th e past. Th is su ggests th at w h ic h
m arks th e po pu lar an d experim en tal c u ltu re o f to day is n o t ju st
c u ltu ral n o stalgia o f a so c iety w h ic h h as lo st its avan t- garde bias
bu t, as well, a direc t fu n c tio n o f its sto rage tec h n o lo gies w h ic h bec o m e an in tegral par t o f presen t data c irc u latio n an d pro c essin g.
W h en th e traditio n al arc h ive th u s gets m o bilized, it tran sfo rm s in to
a sh o r t- tim e in term ediar y m em o r y o f th e presen t itself.
W h at lo o ks like an in c reasin g drive fo r h isto ric »retro « referen c es
in fac t dec o n stru c ts th e do m in an t tim e m o del o f h isto r y itself. Applied to so n ic c u ltu re, th is argu m en t bec o m es alm o st self- referen tial. W h ereas befo re th e ph o n o graph an y so n ic expressio n (be
it speec h o r m u sic ) h ad to be sym bo lic ally tran sfo rm ed in to m u sic n o tatio n in o rder to su r vive in tim e, w ith tec h n ic al rec o rdin g
so u n d im m ediately bec o m es in sc ribed in to a n o n - h isto ric al, n o n h u m an , sign al- based arc h ive o f a n ew kin d w h ic h literally h as to
get in m o tio n (like th e tu rn in g disc o r th e h ard drive) in o rder to
get re- presen c ed:
»Th e c o n c ept o f lin ear, h isto ric al tim e is den ied, if n o t ac tu ally elim in ated, by th e elec tro ac o u stic m edia. [ ...] th e c o n c ept o f a lin ear flow
o f tim e bec o m es an an ac h ro n ism .« * 3 ) No n lin ear tem po ral sh o r t- c u ts
u n do n arrative an d sto r y tellin g w h ic h are th e u n derlyin g to o ls to
ac h ieve th e h isto ric ist ef fec t. Th e fo rm erly »h isto ric « relatio n between presen c e an d past is replac ed by a c ybern etic c o n c ept o f im m ediate feedbac k an d dyn am ic reso n an c e; th ereby it bec o m es so n ic itself – w ith th e n eo lo gistic term sonicity referrin g h ere n o t to th e
au dible m an ifest so u n d bu t to th e im plic it tem po r(e)ality w h ic h is
c o n n ec ted w ith vibratin g, o sc illato r y an d frequ en tial ar tic u latio n . * 4)
CTM 20 1 4 Festival Dis Continuity exp licitly re fe rs to p a st a r tistic
experim en tatio n , pro tago n ists, an d move me nts of fsid e we ll-b e a te n
path s. Th is appro ac h is arc h ival ra the r tha n histor ica l. Whe re a s
m o st n arratives o f m u sic al evo lu tion ove r the p a st ce ntur ie s favour
exc eptio n al pro tago n ists w h o se achieve me nts a re und isp u te d , the
arc h ival c o - existen c e o f rec o rds d oe s not sug g e st a ny hie ra rchy
in itself. Th e textu re o f th e arc h ive itse lf mir rors the comp lex fa b ric o f m u sic al th reads. W h ereas histor iog ra p hy ’s ta sk is to id e ntif y
an d dec ide u po n m ain sto r ylin es, tr uly a rchiva l navig a tion d e te cts
in terc o n n ec tio n s, parallels, an d shor t-circuits. The simulta ne ous
arran gem en t o f files allows fo r jump s to othe r a d d re sse s like in
digital c o m pu ter sto rage. Syn c h ronisa tion re p la ce s the histor ica l
disc o u rse h ere, leadin g to an aesthe tics of ma ny p a sts fold e d into
th e presen t in laten c y. W h ereas such move s in textua l re cord s a re
n ec essarily h yper textu al, w ith so n ic re cord s hy p e r te mp ora l navig a tio n is po ssible sin c e th ey represe nt time ob je cts the mse lve s. Just
like ac c ess to rec o rds in an arc hive is a ra the r sp a tia l a nd top olo gic al ac t, n o n lin ear lin ks o f th e pre se nt to the p a st re q uire s a d ifferen t desc riptio n , w h ic h M ic h el Fouca ult once te r me d archéologie . I n h is Archaeology of Knowledge (FO Pa r is 1 969) he a rg ue d
fo r an ac tive self- distan c in g o f the p re se nt a nd a new re sp e ct for
dis- c o n tin u ities.
Th e arc h ive is n o t a c o h eren t dep ositor y for me mor y sup p ly b u t a
m u ltiplic ity o f layers to be u n fo lded with a nd within me mor y te chn o lo gies. Th ese tec h n o - arc h ival t e mp ora litie s ca n b e id e ntifie d a s
chronopoetic o n c e th ey are n o t p a ssive stora g e b u t d y na mica lly
driven by algo rith m s w h ic h fin ally a f fe ct the huma n se nse of time .
Sin c e th e n o tio n o f th e arc h ive h as b e e n exte nd e d to the stora g e of
au dio sign als, a m em o r y h as em erg e d which is ca p a b le of a d d re ssin g h u m an perc eptio n in repeatab le hy p e r-p re se nce ; this d oe s not
o n ly represen t, bu t ac tu ally en acts d if fe re nt a g g re g a tions of the
past. Th is leads to an epistem o lo gica l lib e ra tion of a rchiva l me mor y
fro m its redu c tive su bjec tio n to th e d iscourse of histor y in favour of
an agen c y o f m u ltiple tem po ral poe tics.
T he arc hival c halle n g e t o h i s t o r i o g ra p h y
Arc h ives h ave th eir in h eren t tem pora lity, the ir Eigenzeit a s me mor y
in stitu tio n an d sto rage tec h n o lo gy. The te mp o-re a litie s the y g e ne rate refer to th e fu n c tio n o f th e archive b oth within histor ica l time
an d as th e c o n ditio n (th e Kan tean a priori ) of wr iting histor y. For
h isto ric ally o rien tated disc iplin es, the a rchive p rovid e s the fund a m en t to w rite h isto rio graph y. Th e notion of a ma crote mp ora l coh eren c e c alled h isto r y an d its discursive p owe r – a s fre q ue ntly e mph asized by th e m edia ph ilo so ph er Vilé m Flusse r - ha s its e sse ntia l
prec o n ditio n in th e lin ear w ritin g of the p hone tic a lp ha b e t; one -d im en sio n al textu alities u n fo ld in a lite ra lly p rog re ssive se nse of time .
B u t as a sym bo l- c alc u latin g m ac hine the a rchive itse lf is ra d ica lly
dif feren t fro m n arrative h isto r y, c lose r to »d a ta b a nk a e sthe tics« * 5 )
w h ic h is ah isto ric al an d rath er repre se nts a d if fe re nt te mp ora l a g gregatio n o f w h at is c o m m o n ly c a lle d the past .
47
The archi val order i s a n o n- n a r ra t i ve a l t e r n a t i ve t o hi st o r i o g ra p h y.
Archi vol ogy i s not j ust a n a uxi l i a r y di sci pl i n e t o h i st o r y bu t a g en uine l y al ternati ve mod e l o f pro ce ssi n g da ta f ro m t h e ma ter i a l a rchives of the past. Wh i l e h i st o r i ca l di sco u rse st r i ve s f o r n a r ra t i ve
coherence, archi val a e st h e t i cs de a l s w i t h di scre t e , se r i a l o r d i s cont i nuous stri ngs of i n f o r ma t i o n w hi ch i n t h e a ge o f co m p u t i n g
g ains new pl ausi bi l i ty a ga i n st l i t e ra r y f o r m s o f h i st o r i ca l i m a g i n a tion as devel oped i n th e 1 9 th ce n tur y.
T h e t ra d i t i o n a l a rc h i ve m o d el i s s ta t i c , res i d en t i a l , a s t o ra g e spac e
wh i c h d el a ys a n d d efers t i m e i n t h e em p h a t i c s en s e o f an c ien t
G reek katechon . »S i eg ec ra f t , o n c e t h e a r t o f d efen d i n g t he strat eg i c c i t i es o f E u ro p ea n s ta t es , h a s b ec o m e t h e a r t o f d efen din g
t h e a rc h i ve« * 9 ) – p ro t ec t ed s p a c e i n o rd er t o b ea t t i m e. I n term s o f
H a ro l d I n n i s , t h e a rc h i ve a s a m em o r y b a s e b el o n g s t o t he to o ls
o f em p i res wh i c h a re t em p o ra l l y »b i a s ed « t o keep l eg a l c l a im s an d
i m p er i a l l aws i n l o n g - t i m e en d u ra n c e. * 1 0 )
As data bank structure s, t he a rch i va l m o de o f m e mo r y a s rec o rd
management i s a non-n a r ra t i ve a l t e r na t i ve t o hi st o r i o gra ph y, i n t h e
b e s t tradi ti on of earl y 20 th ce n tu r y ava n t-ga rde w hi ch » qu es t i o n ed
all model s of memor y (e spe ci a l l y n a r ra t i ve o ne s) , f avo ur i n g o p en l y
d y nami c, di sconti nuou s f o r m s co n t i gu o us w i t h t h e mo de r n m ea n s
of technol ogi cal repro duct i o n, e spe ci a l l y ph o t o gra phy a n d fi l m « * 5 ) .
An a rchi val col l ecti on o f ph o t o gra phy ( di f f e re n t f ro m pr i va t e p h o to albums) does not ai m a t a me a n i n gf ul st o r y; o n t he co n t ra r y, i t
rather deconstructs na r ra t i ve . Archi va l l o gi st i cs i n t h e co r rel a t i o n
of d a ta undercu ts the n a r ra t i ve by di scre t e co u n t i n g ( a l ph a n u m er i c
me tadata) . The ti ght c o upl i n g o f sym bo l i ca l ev i de nce i n fo r m s o f
oral or l i terar y stori es i s be i n g re pl a ce d by a l o o se a rchi va l c o u p ling ( trul y medium i n t e r m s o f Fr i t z H e i de r *6) ) , a s be co m es m a n i -
B u t wi t h t h e a c c el era t i o n o f t ra n s p o r t a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n m edia
s i n c e t h e a g e o f t h e I n d u s t r i a l Revo l u t i o n , a s h i f t o f em p h a sis fro m
em p h a t i c l o n g - t i m e p res er va t i o n t o u l t ra - s h o r t i n t er m ed i a r y sto ra g e t o o k p l a c e – a d i rec t ef fec t o f el ec t ro n i c m ed i a c u l tu re itself.
T h e t ra d i t i o n a l m a n d a t e o f t h e a rc h i ve t o p res er ve rec o rd s fo r fu tu re u s e i s i nver t ed o n t h e m i c ro - t em p o ra l s ta g e o f d i g i ta l o perat i o n s i n t h e p res en t . I n t er m ed i a r y s t o ra g e h ere i s n ec essar y fo r
c a l c u l a t i n g t h e i m m ed i a t e fu tu re fro m t h e i m m ed i a t e p a s t – th e
ext en d ed p res en c e i n t i m es o f p red i c t i ve a l g o r i t h m s a n d M arkov
c h a i n s , a s fa m i l i a r fro m Ed m u n d H u ss er l ’s p h en o m en o l o g y o f su bj ec t i ve t i m e s en s a t i o n i n t er m s o f re- a n d p ro - t en t i o n . * 1 1 )
fes t i n the geneal ogy o f ph o t o gra phi c a rchi ve s:
»Although individual sequences of pictures were of ten organized
according to a narrative logic, [...] the overall structure was in formed not by a narrative paradigm, but by the paradigm of the
archive. Af ter all, the sequence could be rearranged; its temporality was indeterminate, its narrative relatively weak. The pleasures
of this discourse were grounded not in narrative necessarily, but in
archival play [...].« *7 )
W hen the past i s conf u se d w i t h h i st o r y, a ny a rch i va l re co rd i s i m me d i atel y subj ected to co nt extua l k n ow l e dge . T hi s t ra n s fo r m s i t
from bei ng an au tono mo us ph ysi ca l mo nu m e nt i n t o a h i s t o r i c a l
d oc ument. Foucaul t de ci de d t o reve rse t hi s o pe ra t i o n:
»There was a time when archaeology, as a discipline devoted to silent monuments, iner t traces, objects without context, and things
lef t by the past, aspired to the condition of histor y, and attained
meaning only through the restitution of a historical discourse; [...]
in our time histor y aspires to the condition of archaeology, to the
intrinsic description of the monument. *8)
A rc h i va l ti m e laye rs
In its di f f erent f ormati o n s, t h e a rchi ve co n si st s o f di ve rse t em p o ra l
laye rs whi ch demand fo r a de scr i pt i o n i n t e r m s w hi ch a re n o t l i m ite d to the semanti cs o f cul tura l h i st o r y i n o rde r t o re - co n fi g u re i t
for fu ture demands i n th e a ge o f ne t wo r ke d t ra di t i o n o f k n owl ed g e
by technol ogi cal medi a . T h e ve r y t e r m » t ra di t i o n « sh i f t s fro m i t s
e mp hati c macro-tempo ra l n o t i o n t o t he a n a l ysi s o f t he t i m e- b a s ed
and ti me-basi ng mi cro - m e cha ni sm s o f t ra nsm i ssi o n . Whi l e t ra d i tion h as been associ ated w i t h l o ng- t i m e m e mo r i e s a cro ss d eep h i s torical ti me so f ar, thi s e m ph a t i c h o r i zo n now se e m s t o sh r i n k t o a
me re extensi on of the pre se n t ( a s i t s re - a n d pro t e nt i ve sh o r t- t i m e
»wor ki ng memor y«) - a dra ma t i c sh i f t i n g o f t h e t e mpo ra l prefi x . A rc hives are i n transi ti on o n t h e i r ve r y o pe ra t i ve l eve l o f el ec t ro n i c
s ig na l and data processi n g.
W h i l e wi t h t h e g rowi n g d i g i t i z a t i o n o f a rc h i va l rec o rd s t h e tradit i o n a l a rc h i ve l o s es i t s d eta c h m en t fro m t h e a d m i n i s t ra t i o n o f th e
p res en t , p res en c e i t s el f i n retu r n b ec o m es c o u p l ed t o a n expo n en t i a l l y g rowi n g a rc h i va l m em o r y. T h e n ew i m m ed i a c y o f arc h ival
p res en c e i n t er m s o f online a c c ess a b i l i ty m a y b e c o m p a red to a
s i tu a t i o n fro m t h e a rea o f v i s u a l rec o rd i n g o f m ovem en t . Th e pro d u c t i o n a n d p ro j ec t i o n o f d o c u m en ta r y fi l m s s i n c e t h e b eg i nn in g o f
c i n em a t o g ra p h y h a s b een a ra t h er h eav y a n d s l ow a p p a ra tu s - based
a n d - d ep en d en t p ro c ess , a n d c o p i es were ex p en s i ve. B u t i n th e late
1 960 s t h e fi rs t S o n y p o r ta b l e v i d eo rec o rd ers ( u s ed by N a m J u n e
Pa i k ) a l l owed fo r i m m ed i a t e p l a y b a c k o f t h e rec o rd ed p res en t. * 1 2 )
dox: th e arc h ive is traditio n ally th at w h ic h arrests tim e, w h ic h sto ps
all m o tio n . Fo r 1 9 th c en tu r y h isto rian s, th e arc h ive was in its essen c e
an in stitu tio n th at m ade it po ssible to ac c ess frozen sec tio n s o f past
tim e. Th e arc h ive, in th is sen se, c an n o t be in m o tio n o r pro du c e m o tio n . B u t th e tec h n o lo gic al develo pm en ts in th e 20 th c en tu r y h ave
in evitable fo rc ed th e arc h ive to c o n fro n t th e qu estio n o f m o bility,
bo th prac tic ally an d c o n c eptu ally. Tec h n ic ally th e arc h ive of m o tio n was in tro du c ed du rin g th e late 1 9 th c en tu r y, w ith th e sc ien tific
desire to sto re an d an alyze tem po ral ph en o m en a c u lm in atin g, w ith
th e ph o n o graph an d c in em ato graph y. Th e tran sitio n fro m an arc h ive o f m o tio n to th e n o tio n o f an arc h ive in m o tio n is asso c iated
w ith th e adven t o f c o m pu ter tec h n o lo gies an d u ltim ately th e I n tern et, w h ere c o n stan t tran sfer an d u pdatin g redefin e th e tem po rality
o f th e arc h ival do c u m en t.
So c iety is n o lo n ger based u po n em ph atic m em o r y (as o n c e su ggested by Ém ile D u rkh eim ) bu t o n th e perm an en t re- c irc u latio n o f
im m ediate pasts; th erefo re Niklas L u h m an n defin ed so c iety in tim es
o f tec h n o lo gic al m edia rath er as a fo rm o f c o m m u n ic atio n . Applied
to m em o r y agen c ies an d espec ially th e »digital arc h ive«, th is dem an ds a n ew in terpretatio n o f its epistem o lo gic al dim en sio n . W h ile
th e traditio n al arc h ival fo rm at (spatial o rder, c lassific atio n ) w ill in
m an y ways n ec essarily persist, th e n ew arc h ive is radic ally tem po ralized, »eph em eral« * 1 6 ) , m u ltisen su al, c o rrespo n din g w ith a dyn am ic u ser c u ltu re w h ic h is less c o n c ern ed w ith rec o rds fo r etern ity bu t
w ith o rder by flu c tu atio n . New kin ds o f searc h en gin es develo p in to
a n ew ar t of the archive . Th e online pu blic rath er u ses th e G o o gle
searc h m ac h in e th an th e I n tern et po r tals o f n atio n al libraries to get
ac c ess to prin ted an d au dio -visu al m em o r y. Will Web 2.0 an d th e
em ergin g Real-Tim e Net replac e th e traditio n al gu ardian s o f m em o r y (arc h ives, libraries, m u seu m s), ju st as I n tern et radio an d I P-T V
is replac in g th e traditio n al bro adc astin g m edia?
Arc hiva l monumenta lity a s suspense
(epoché) from the tempora l ec onomy
Tran sf o rmatio n s o f me mo r y ’s man d ate
f ro m e n d uran c e to imme d iac y
To d a y, i n t er m ed i a r y s t o ra g e a s inbetween t i m e ( i n i t s A r i s t o telean
s en s e o f t o metaxy ) i n c rea s i n g l y d i s l o c a t es t h e t en ta t i vel y etern al
m o n u m en ta l i ty o f t h e c l a ss i c a l a rc h i ve ( a n d i t s rec o rd s ) o n several
l evel s : b o t h a s a n i n s t i tu t i o n o f t em p o ra l i ty a n d i n i t s m a t er i a l sen se
( t h e vo l a t i l i ty o f el ec t ro n i c d a ta ) . Wi t h t h e c u r ren t l i b era l , bro aden ed , el ec t ro n i c a l l y b i a s ed ( t h u s l i b era t ed fro m s p a t i a l a n d m ater i a l res t r i c t i o n s ) u s e o f t h e t er m a rc h i ve, »o n l i n e d a ta c o l lec tio n s
l a b el l ed a rc h i ves c o u l d i n fa c t b e b et t er c h a ra c t er i zed a s p erpetu al
t ra n s m i ss i o n ra t h er t h a n p er m a n en t s t o ra g e« * 1 3) . W h a t u s ed to be
s ec ret s p a c es , s ec l u d ed fro m p u b l i c i n s i g h t – t h e arcana o f po litic al
a d m i n i s t ra t i o n a n d o f t h ei r a rc h i va l m em o r y, t h e »s ec ret a rch ive« – ,
i s n ow d i rec t l y wi red t o t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n c i rc u i t o f t h e presen t.
T h e a rc h i ve l o s es i t s t em p o ra l exc l u s i v i ty a s a s p a c e rem ote fro m
t h e i m m ed i a t e p res en t ( a c c ess ) .
I n G rim m elsh au sen’s fic titio u s n ovel Baron Münchhausens Abenteuer , th e so u n d o f a tru m pet w h ic h is tran sien t by defin itio n is bein g frozen like w in ter ic e, to be released in sprin g to so u n d again .
Presen c e u su ally is bein g m em o rized by freezin g th e situ atio n
w h ic h m ean s sto rin g o r fixin g th e sign als. Rec o rdin g is c o nver tin g
a tim e fu n c tio n in to a plac e fu n c tio n – a tran sfo rm atio n in to archival states . Traditio n ally n o n h u m an agen c ies o f m em o r y su c h as arc h ives, libraries an d m u seu m s h ave been persisten t over tim e based
u po n stability o f sto rage as o ppo sed to th e vo latility o f su bjec tive
o r c o llec tive m em o r y. B u t th e presen t arc h ival c o n ditio n is ac c o m pan ied by a radic al tran sfo rm atio n o n th e tec h n o lo gic al side. Th e
u n itar y zero / o n e pro c essin g o f all kin d o f data w ith in o n e m etam ediu m o f digital c o m pu tin g h as th e c o n sequ en c e th at th e em ph asis is n o t o n ly o n preser vatio n o f c u ltu ral h eritage an ym o re, bu t also
o n im m ediate c irc u latio n – a c ybern izatio n o f m em o r y as feedbac k
o peratio n s. M em o r y in th e age o f elec tro - m ath em atic al m edia h as
bec o m e tran sito r y, m o re th an ever kn ow n fro m so - c alled o ral c u ltu res. I n an alo gy to Walter On g’s fam o u s an alysis * 1 7 ) , a kin d o f »sec -
I n a n a g e o f vo l a t i l e, ep h em era l el ec t ro n i c m em o r i es , m em or y itself
h a s b ec o m e t ra n s i t o r y. * 1 4 ) Wi t h s u c h i n c rea s i n g m o b i l i ty a n d ac c elera t i o n , s h o u l d we ra t h er a s k fo r a n i m m o b i l e a rc h i ve a s c o u n term em o r y?
T h i s l ea d s t o a wi s h t o a r res t m ovem en t fo r l o n g er i n t er vals o r at
l ea s t fo r m o m en t s . I n t h e a g e o f Yo u Tu b e a n d U b u Web, m ovem en t
i t s el f g et s a rc h i v i zed . * 1 5 ) T h e i d ea o f a n a rc h i ve i n m o t i o n i s a para-
o n d m em /o rality« takes plac e.
T he n e g e n tro p ic e f f o r t : A rc h i ves a s
exte n d e d p re se n c e
P h ysic al en tro py h as been th e sc ie ntific justifica tion of the notion
o f an em ph atic tim e arrow (»pro gre ss« re sp e ctive ly »evolu tion«) in
h isto r y an d h isto ric al disc o u rse. T his is cur re ntly b e ing re p la ce d by
a flat, alm o st an ac h ro n istic tem po ra lity. Dig ita l me d ia te nd to d ive st
th em selves c o m pletely fro m th eir ma te r ia l b od y. This tra nsfor ma tio n h as a dram atic epistem o lo gica l d ime nsion: The cla ssica l ca r r ier- based arc h ive (m aterial sto rage) b e come s a n e -motiona l a rchive
(in elec tro n ic m o tio n ) w ith elec troma g ne tic e p he me ra lity a nd la ten c y. Th e gain o f flexibility an d c omp u ta b ility is p a id with a loss of
du rability. W h en years ago th e Co log ne Municip a l Archive b uild ing
c o llapsed, it bec am e apparen t th a t most ma te r ia l re cord s, thoug h
bein g dir ty an d m u tilated, su r vive d this ca ta strop he , a stonishing ly
resistan t again st th e pressu re o f stone s a nd a g a inst te mp ora l e ntro py; th e sam e is still tru e fo r m ost a na log ue a ud iovisua l stora g e
m edia like early dagu erreo types. Once the sig na ls me cha nica lly
en graved (ph o n o graph ) o r m agn etica lly e mb e d d e d (ma g ne top hon)
o n m aterial c arrier h as been tran sf or me d into d ig ita l, imma te r ia l info rm atio n , it c an be (vir tu ally lo ssle ss) »mig ra te d « from one stora g e
c o m pu tin g system to an o th er. Per ma ne nce a nd a rchiva l e nd ura nce
th u s is n o t bein g ac h ieved in th e tra d itiona l wa y a ny more (which
h as been m o n u m en tal fixatio n , stasis so fa r ), b u t by d y na mic re fresh in g. Th e n o tio n o f »th e m ateria l« b e come s d y na mic itse lf – a s
iden tified by Hen ri B ergso n . * 1 8 )
So far th e essen tial arc h ival desire ha s b e e n a ne g e ntrop ic cultural ef fo r t again st c u ltu ral m em o r y loss. Bu t p hysica l re cord s the mselves – be it text, so u n d, o r im age s – a re sub je ct to e ntropy which
th e h u m an eye an d ear im m ediately notice s – e .g . the ma te r ia l d e te rio ratio n o f Ediso n so u n d c ylin ders a nd ma g ne tic vid e o ta p e s. Progressively, su c h rec o rds bec am e dis-continue d from the p re se nt. In
c o n trast to th is, af ter digitalizatio n (sa mp ling into b ina r y sy mb ols),
a n ew kin d o f arc h ival perm an en ce is a chieve d : As cod e , re cord s
bec o m e alm o st tim e- invarian t, sub la te d from cha ng e , le a d ing to
ah isto ric al im m ediac y in th e m o me nt of re -p la y. * 1 9 )
Fro m sp ac e -b ase d to t i m e- c r i t i c a l a rc hive s: Kairo tic I n te rn et t em p o r ( e) a l i t i es
Nowadays, w ith th e direc t c o u pling of the a rchive to online comm u n ic atio n , a rec o n n ec tio n o f th e for me r ly se p a ra te a rchive to the
c ybern etic s o f th e presen t takes p la ce , shif ting the a rchive ’s e p istem o lo gic al statu s an d tem po rality. While in for me r a d ministra tion
th ere h as been a c lear separatio n b e twe e n the re g iste r (the shor ttim e depo sito r y fo r adm in istrative re cord s which a re not in cur re nt
u se bu t m igh t at an y m o m en t be re a ctiva te d a nd the re fore a re ke p t
in th e o peratio n ro o m itself ) an d the »a rchive « (p hysica lly se p a ra te d
in to a distan t plac e fo r lo n g- tim e le g a l cla ims), tod a y the a rchive
m erges w ith th e register itself. This comp a re s with wha t ha p p e ns
w ith in th e c o m pu ter im po ses itself: In the Ce ntra l Proce ssing Unit,
»registers« ser ve to sto re data fo r inte r me d ia r y ca lcula tions – not to
be c alled an em ph atic »m em o r y« a t a ll. Dire ctly a ssocia te d with the
CP U bu t extern al to it is th e wo rking me mor y which store s a ) a ctua l
pro gram s an d b) th e data to be proce sse d , d ivid e d into ROM (Re a d
On ly M em o r y) an d R AM (Ran do m Acce ss Me mor y ).
49
In m edi a archi ves of s o u n d mov i n g i ma ge s, o n ce t h e ca r r i ers a re
p rovi ded wi th a ti me co de f o r no nl i n e a r a cce ss t o si ngl e freq u en cies and even i ndi vi dua l pi xe l s, me mo r y be co m e s a f un ct i o n o f i t s
te c hno-mathemati cal en co di ng a nd co mpre ssi o n . Wi t h i n c rea s i n g
d ig iti z ati on of tradi ti on a l ma t e r i a l re co rds, a rch i ve s a re b ec o m i n g
time-cri ti cal . A s oppose d t o t he pro ce du re s i n t he i n st i tu t i o n a l a rchive, the ti me i t takes f o r a cce ss t o re co rds i n t h e e l e ctro n i c a rchive shri nks to a mom e n ta r y f l a sh. T he n ew f o cus o f a rch i va l t h eor y is i ts temporal di spo si t i o n . H i st o r i ca l me mo r y t ra nsf o r m s i n t o
arc hi val addresses ( an d mo re pre ci se l y U RLs) . Acco rdi ng t o Ma rs hall Mcl uhan thi s i s due t o t h e f a ct t ha t a rch i ve s a nd l i bra r i es a re
no lo nger based on the Gu t e nbe rg Ga l a xy o f sta t i c t ext s b u t i n t h e
ag e streami ng el ectrons a n d bi t s be co m e t h e f l ui d t e ch n i ca l c o n d i tion of i nstant memori sa t i o n.
From a medi a-archaeo l o gi ca l po i n t o f v i ew, t h e t ra di t i o n a l a rc h i ve
is d econstructed by th e i m pl i ca t i o n s o f o nl i n e t e chn i qu es . S i n c e
antiqui ty and the Rena i ssa nce , mn e mo t e ch n i ca l st o ra ge h a s l i n ked
memor y to space. Bu t n owa da ys t he re si de nt i a l a rchi ve a s p ermanent storage i s bei n g re pl a ce d by dyna mi c t e mpo ra l s t o ra g e,
the ti me-based archi ve a s a t o po l o gi ca l pl a ce o f pe r ma n en t d a ta
transf er. Cri ti cal l y the a rchi ve s t ra n sf o r ms f ro m st o ra ge s p a c e t o
s torage ti me; onl y pro ce ssua l l y i t ca n de a l w i t h st re a mi n g d a ta i n
elec troni c systems. Th e a rch i va l da ta l o se t he i r spa t i a l i m m o b i l i ty
the moment they are prov i de d w i t h a t r u l y me di a - t e mpo ra l i n d ex .
In clo sed ci rcui ts of net wo r k s, t h e ul t i m a t e cr i t e r i o n f o r t he a rc h i ve
– its separatedness and di sco nt i n u i ty f ro m a ctu a l o pe ra t i v i ty – i s
not gi ven any more. Th e e sse nt i a l f e a tu re o f n e t wo r ke d co m p u t i n g
is its dynami c connect i v i ty. Cype rspa ce i s a n i nt e rse ct i o n o f m o b ile el ements, whi ch ca n be t ra n sf e r re d by a se r i e s o f a l g o r i t h m i c
op erati ons. In el ectron i c, di gi ta l m e di a , t h e cl a ssi ca l pra c t i c e o f
te ntati vel y eternal stora ge i s be i ng re pl a ce d by dyn a mi ca l s t o ra g e
» on the f l y«. Cl assi cal a rch i va l me mo r y ha s n eve r be e n i nt era c t i ve,
w hereas documents i n ne t wo r ke d t o po l o gi e s such a s We b 2 .0 b ecome ti me-cri ti cal f or u se r f e e dba ck .
While emphati c memo r y t ra n sm i ssi o n ove r t i me f o r re l eva n t records has been tradi tio n a l l y ba se d o n t h e a rchi ve , e l e ct ro n i c live
transmi ssi on medi a, pe r f o r mi n g co mm u n i ca t i o n a cro ss sp a c e, by
d e fini ti on of thei r si gn a l s have be e n e sse nt i a l l y m e mo r y-less . T h i s
ag ain changed wi th di gi ta l co mm u n i ca t i o n w hi ch n o t o nl y req u i res
inte rmedi ar y mi cro-sto ra ge i n t h e ve r y na tu re o f di gi ta l ca l c u l a t i o n
b u t al so stores data on se r ve rs t o n e t wo r ke d a cce ss. I n t h e fu tu re
thou gh, the Real -Ti me We b w i l l be a se t o f t e chn o l o gi e s a n d p ra c tic e s whi ch enabl e users t o re ce i ve i nf o r ma t i o n a s so o n a s i t i s c o d e d , »rather than requi rin g t h a t t he y o r t h e i r so f t wa re ch e ck a s o u rc e
p e rio di cal l y f or updates. « *20) S e a rch ma chi n e s l i ke Go o gl e a l rea d y
p e r fo rm such real -ti me a na l ysi s ba se d o n gi a nt se r ve rs f a r m s wh i c h
rep resent the uni versa l a rch i ve o f we b si t e s a l re a dy. Ta k in g p l a c e
in an d bei ng connecte d t o » j ust-i n- t i m e « syst e m s, t e chn o l o g i es o f
me mor y become ( trans- ) m i ssi o n cr i t i ca l . Wi t h instant messaging ,
the m essage of the m e di um ( i n M cL u h a n’s se n se ) i s i m m ed i a c y
w hich i s the ef f ect of co - pre se nce i n co m m u n i ca t i o n : c y b er t i m e
w hich compresses ti me i t se l f. *21) T he l o n g- t i m e chro n o -e m p h a s i s
of archi val memor y i s thu s be i ng re pl a ce d by ka i ro t i c i nsta n ta n i z a tion. The core f uncti on o f mi rco -t e m po ra l st o ra ge dev i ce s i s t o l et
the data i mmedi atel y be co m e pa st . T h e f i gu re o f t i me here i s t h e
g rammati cal »f u ture i n t h e pa st « , ba se d o n a f e e dba ck o pe ra t i o n .
Conflic ting a rc hiva l tempor(e)a lities:
Symbolic order versus order in
fluc tua tion
Di f feren t fro m t h e t ra d i t i o n a l s c r i p t- b a s ed i n s t i tu t i o n a l a rc h ive, th e
el ec t r i fi ed a rc h i ve ( a s o rg a n i zed by t h e i n t er n et ) b ec o m es radic all y t em p o ra l i zed . I t i s ra t h er h y p er t em p o ra l t h a n h y p ers p a tial, bei n g b a s ed o n t h e a es t h et i c o f i m m ed i a t e feed b a c k , rec yc l in g an d
refres h ra t h er t h a n o n t h e i d ea l o f l o c ked - awa y s t o ra g e for etern i ty. T h e a es t h et i c s o f rec yc l i n g , s a m p l i n g , a n d c u l tu ra l j a m m in g
i s a d i rec t fu n c t i o n o f t h e o p en i n g a n d o f t h e o n l i n e ava i l a bility o f
m u l t i m ed i a a rc h i ves .
On c e t h e a rc h i ve i s c o u p l ed t o t h e o n l i n e ec o n o m y o f t i me, su c h
a d a ta d i s p o n i b i l i ty h a s c rea t ed a c y b er n et i c sys t em o f p er m an en t
rec yc l i n g o f t h e i m m ed i a t e a n d rem o t e p a s t . * 2 2 )
T h e a g e o f el ec t r i c m ed i a g en era t ed wh a t t h e a r t wo r l d s p o tted as
»F l u x u s «, l i t era l l y : t h e fl ow ( i n c l u d i n g s t ea d y- s ta t e i n fl ow a nd o rder
by d i s o rd er ) . Do es t h e a rc h i ve i n m o t i o n l ea d t o F l u x u s? I n stead
o f m a n a g i n g s ta t i c wo rd s a n d i m a g es , »F l u x u s « i n t er p ret s life prim a r i l y i n t er m s o f m u s i c : over l a yed waves , res o n a n c es , c h an gin g
p a t t er n s . L ei f Da h l b erg ( KT H C o m p u t er S c i en c e a n d C o m mu n ic at i o n , S t o c k h o l m ) a c tu a l l y p ro p o s es t h e »s t rea m i n g a rc h i ve« * 2 3 ) . With
s u c h a rc h i ves - i n - m o t i o n , a p ro b l em rem a i n s : H ow c a n t h e c o n c ept
o f t h e a rc h i ve b e o p en ed t o »h et ero c h ro n i c « ex p er i m en ta t io n an d
a t t h e s a m e t i m e fu l fi l i t s t ra d i t i o n a l ta s k o f keep i n g a wel l - defin ed
o rd er i n ta c t fo r t ra n s m i ss i o n i n t o fu tu re m em o r y? A s sy m b o lic o rd er ( wh i c h a l wa ys a l rea d y i m p l i es t h e m a c h i n i c * 24 ) ) , a rc h i ves are n o
t i m e m a c h i n es a t a l l . T h ey n eed ext er n a l t em p o ra l i z a t i o n t o gen era t e a s en s e o f h i s t o r y. Fro m a rc h i va l s ta t i s t i c s ( m em o r y b a sed o n
s c r i p tu ra l a rc h i ves , l i s t i n g s , a n d c h a r t s a s d i s t r i b u t i o n i n spac e)
we m ove t o s t o c h a s t i c t i m e s er i es a n a l ys i s ( d y n a m i c rem embran c e
b a s ed o n a l g o r i t h m i c s i g n a l a n a l ys i s o f t em p o ra l s er i es ) . * 2 5 )
A s l o n g a s t h e a rc h i va l rec o rd s c o n s i s t o f s t r i n g s o f sy m b o l s (i. e. alp h a b et i c wr i t i n g ) , a c o g n i t i ve d i s ta n c e – i n s p i t e o f t h e a u ra tic qu ali t i es o f h a n d wr i t t en m a n u s c r i p t s o r a u t o g ra p h s – c a n b e m o re o r
l ess kep t , s i n c e a n a c t o f d ec o d i n g h a s t o ta ke p l a c e wh i c h i nvo lves
t h e c o g n i t i ve a p p a ra tu s . B u t o n c e p h o t o g ra p h y a n d p h o n ograph y,
t h e fi rs t a p p a ra tu s - b a s ed m ed i a i n i t s m o d er n s en s e, b ec a me su bj ec t o f t h e a rc h i ve, t h e s en s e- a f fec t i ve, p res en c e- g en era t i n g power * 26 ) o f s i g n a l - b a s ed m ed i a c u t s s h o r t t h e d i s ta n c e wh i c h i s a prereq u i s i t e fo r historical a n a l ys i s , i n favo u r o f m n em o n i c i m m ediac y
– t h e el ec t r i c s h o c k .
A rc h i ves em erg ed wi t h t h e sy m b o l i c a l c o d e o f wr i t i n g . T h e sym b o l i c a l c o d e c a n b e t ra n s m i t t ed ( n ow »m i g ra t ed «) wi t h a high deg ree o f fi d el i ty i n c o py i n g , reg a rd l ess t h e m a t er i a l s u p p o r t. Th u s
t h e sy m b o l i c c o d e ( l i ke t h e g en et i c c o d e) , es p. i n t h e a l p habet, is
m o s t l y i nva r i a n t t owa rd s h i s t o r i c a l , i .e. en t ro p i c a l t i m e. Di g i tal data,
wh i c h i s : »i n fo r m a t i o n «, per definitionem ( N o r b er t Wi en er ) are n eit h er m a t t er n o r en erg y. * 27 )
C en t ra l t o s t rea m i n g m ed i a a re t h e a l g o r i t h m s wh i c h p ro c e ss an d
c o m p ress d i g i ta l m ed i a fo r m a t s l i ke s o u n d a n d m ov i n g i m a g e s; su c h
a l g o r i t h m s a re t h e rea l a rc h i ve ( t h e c o n d i t i o n ) o f t h e d i g i tal age.
Do c u m en ta r y s c i en c e t h erefo re h a s d evel o p ed t h e n o t i o n of »lo gic a l p res er va t i o n « * 28 ) . At t h e s a m e t i m e, i t i s s ea rc h a l g o r i t h m s an d
o t h er a n a l y t i c t o o l s wh i c h s et a n a rc h i ve o f d i g i ta l d a ta i n m o tio n
a s o p p o s ed t o t h e m eta d a ta o r i en ta t i o n fo r c l a ss i c a l a rc h i va l o rder.
Ag ain st imme d iate ac c e ss:
A rc hival re sistan c e
With all th at gettin g- in - m o tio n o f th e traditio n al arc h ives, let m e
tr y a c o u n ter- an alysis o f arc h ival in sisten c e as resistan c e. Th e arc h ive m igh t n ow as a retro - ef fec t redisc over its vir tu e as in stitu tio n al m o n u m en t: to in terru pt th e ever- speedin g c irc u latio n an d elec tro n ic ec o n o m y, to arrest an d fix an d m ain tain c h o sen item s, th u s
tu rn in g flo atin g rec o rds fro m relatio n al documents (files, data) in to
disc rete monuments again , as epoché taken o u t o f tim e. Arc h ives
o f ph ysic al m em o r y m edia (paper rec o rds, ph o to graph ic n egatives,
ph o n o graph ic Ediso n c ylin ders an d gram o ph o n e disc s, c ellu lo id
film , au dio an d video m agn etic tape) ask fo r lim itatio n s o n ac c ess
n o t ju st bec au se o f th eir m aterial fragility bu t fo r epistem o lo gic al
pro tec tio n again st im m ediate c o n su m ptio n . * 29 )
Em ph atic sto rage waitin g fo r (re- )c irc u latio n belo n gs to th e lo gic
o f late c apitalism an d th u s is par t o f a m em o r y ec o n o m y. I n a c o n trar y way, a vir tu e o f th e traditio n al arc h ive h as been exac tly th at
is was o u tside (h isto ric al) tim e. Th is refugium , th is tem po ral exile
fro m h isto r y, is in fac t a kin d o f arc h ival resistan c e again st c o m plete m o bility w h ic h is th e sign atu re o f m o dern ist disc o u rse. Th e
o ld in stitu tio n al arc h ive ser ved as a bedro c k again st th e c o m plete
m o bilizatio n o f rec o rds, as o ppo sed to distribu ted digital arc h ives
an d th eir o pen ac c ess in th e I n tern et o f to day. M o re an d m o re, arc h ives fin d th em selves bo th in side an d o u tside th e Web 2.0 o r »so c ial Web« ec o n o m y. A gap o pen s between th e n ec essity fo r arc h ival ser vic es to th e pu blic versu s defen din g arc h ival sec rec y (th e
arcanum ) again st th e disc u rsive tyran n y o f open access . With its
bec o m in g elec tro n ic ally online th e arc h ive is bein g deprived fro m
its traditio n al power : its »privac y« in th e literal sen se, its secrecy
fro m pu blic disc o u rse. Th e fo rm er archivum secretum (be it in th e
Ro m an Vatic an , be it in th e c ase o f th e Pru ssian State Arc h ives) is
n o t ju st an o ld- aged power in stru m en t to be overc o m e in favo u r
o f im m ediate ac c ess. Th e ac tu al arc h ival sec rec y is o f a n ew kin d,
h idden in tec h n o lo gy itself.
T he so un d o f the arc hive : S ile n c e
L et u s fin ally listen to th e so u n d o f th e arc h ive. Th e traditio n al so n o sph eric experien c e in real arc h ives is silen c e; h isto ric al im agin atio n
(as expressed by th e Ro m an tic Fren c h h isto rian J u les M ic h elet * 3 0 ) )
th o u gh h allu c in ates th e vo ic es o f th e dead. W h at is th e so u n d o f silen c e? Alber t M ayr w h o c alls h im self a »tim e design er« is c o m po sin g m u sic w ith silen c e as th e essen tial elem en t; J o h n Cage’s fam o u s
piec e fo r pian o was (n o n - )playin g 4’33 m in u tes o f silen c e. Pu re en du ran c e is a B ergso n ean tim e w h ic h passes. W h ile an em pty spac e
w ith in a pain tin g po sitively en du res w ith tim e, silen c e in ac o u stic s
is always a tem po ral (th o u gh n egative) even t itself. Histo rian s w ill
always rem in d u s th at th ere is n o u n m ediated ac c ess to th e past.
B u t in th e n egative so u n d o f th e arc h ive, its silen c e, we listen to th e
past in its tru est ar tic u latio n . L et u s pay respec t to absen c e in stead
o f c o nver tin g it in to th e spec tres o f a false m em o r y.
Sin c e 2003 Wo lfga ng Ernst is Fu ll Pro fesso r fo r M edia Th eo ries
at Hu m bo ld t- Un iversity B erlin . His m ain researc h fo c u s c overs m edia arc h aeo lo gy as m eth o d, a th eo r y o f tec h n ic al sto rage , tec h n o lo gies o f c u ltu ral tran sm issio n , tim e- spec ific tec h n ic al aesth etic s,
an d so u n d fro m a m edia- epistem o lo gic al po in t o f view (»so n ic ity«).
* 1 ) T h i s t ext i s bas e d on argu m e n t s w h i c h have b een d is cuss ed at the conference
Technologies of Memor y (w i t h i n t h e »A rchive in Motion« res earch p roject) on
D e c e m be r 9/ 1 0, 2 0 1 1 , at t h e N at i on al Lib rar y in O s lo.
* 2 ) O n s u c h » h e t e rot opi c « age n c i e s s e e M ichel Foucault, Des es p aces au tres [ * 1 967 ] ,
i n : Architecture. Mouvement, Continuité , no. 5, O ctob er 1 9 84 , p ag e 4 6 – 49 ; on
s pat i o- t e m poral » c h ron ot ope s « s e e t h e w riting s of Michail Bachtin.
* 3 ) Barr y Tru ax , Acoustic Communication , Nor wood , N. J.: Ab lex, 1 9 84 , p ag e 115.
* 4) For a s i m i l ar approac h , s e e St eve G ood man, The O ntolog y of Vib rational Force, in:
s am e au t h or, Sonic War fare. Sound, Af fect and the Ecology of Fear , Camb rid g e,
M ass . : M I T Pre ss , 2 0 0 9, page 8 1 – 8 4.
* 5 ) Se e L ev M an ov i c h , Data ban k as Sy m bo lic Form, in: s ame au thor, The Language of
New Media , C am bri dge , M ass . : M I T Press , 2 00 1; Victoria Ves na, Database
Aesthetics . Ar t in the Age of Information Over flow , Minneap olis : Univers ity of
M i n n e s ota Pre ss , 2 0 07.
* 6 ) Se e Fri t z H e i de r, D i n g u n d M e di u m , i n : Symposion , Vol. 1, No. 2 (1 927 ),
page 1 0 9 –1 57 (t ran s l . 1 959 as Thing and Medium ).
* 7 ) A l l an Se k u l a, T h e Body & t h e A rc h i ve , in: October , Vol. 39 (1 9 86 ),
page 3 – 6 4 (5 8 ).
* 8 ) M i c h e l Fou c au l t , Archaeology of Knowledge [ * Paris 1 969 ] , Lond on/ New York:
Rou t l e dge C l ass i c s , 2 0 0 2 , » I n t rodu c t i o n« , p ag e 3 – 1 9 (7 f ).
* 9 ) T h om as R i c h ards , A rc h i ve an d U t opi a, in: Representations 37 , Winter 1 9 92 ,
page 1 0 4 – 1 35 (1 2 5 ).
* 1 0 ) H arol d I n n i s , The Bias of Communication , Toronto: Univers ity of Toronto
Pre ss , 1 9 9 1 .
* 1 1 ) Edm u n d H u ss e rl , Vorlesungen zur Phänomenologie des inneren Zeitbewußtseins
[ * 1 928 ] , 2 n d e d. , T ü bi n ge n : N i e m e ye r, 1 9 80.
* 1 2 ) Se e Tj e bbe van Ti j e n , We n o l on ge r c ollect the Carrier b u t the Information,
i n t e r v i ewe d by G e e r t L ov i n k , i n : MediaMatic 8 , No. 1/ 1 9 94 (»The Storag e Mania
I ss u e « , t ran s l at i on : J i m Boe k bi n de r).
* 1 3 ) Fran k Ke ss l e r an d M i k ro Tobi as Sc h äf e r, Nav ig ating YouTub e: Cons titu ting a Hy b rid
I n f orm at i on M an age m e n t Sys t e m , i n : Pelle Snickars and Patrick Vond erau (ed s .),
The YouTube Reader , St oc k h ol m : N at i onal Lib rar y of Swed en, 2 009,
page 275 – 292 (276 ).
* 1 4) A s al re ady ex pre ss e d i n Van n evar Bu s h, As We May Think, in: Atlantic Monthly ,
J u l y 1 945.
* 1 5 ) Se e E ke k h ard K n öre r, Trai n i n gs e f f e k t e . Arb eiten mit YouTub e und Ub uWeb,
i n : Zeitschrif t für Medienwissenschaf t , Vol. 5, No. 2 /2 0 11, p ag e 16 3 – 16 6 .
* 1 6 ) Se e We n dy C h u n , T h e E n du ri n g E ph e meral, or The Fu ture Is a Memor y, in:
E rk k i H u h tam o an d J u ss i Pari k ka (e ds . ), Media Archaeology. Approaches,
Applications, and Implications , Be rke l ey/ Los Ang eles / Lond on: Univers ity of
C al i f orn i a Pre ss , 2 0 1 1 , page 1 8 4 – 2 03 .
* 1 7 ) Se e Wal t e r O n g, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word ,
L on don : M e t h u e n , 1 9 82 .
* 1 8 ) Se e M au ri zi o L azzarat o, Videophilosophie , Berlin: b -b ooks , 2 002 .
* 1 9 ) O n t h e c u rre n t » at e m poral « c u l tu ral c ond ition, s ee Simon Rey nold s , Retromania.
Pop Culture’s Addiction to its own Past , Lond on: Fab er & Fab er, 2 0 12 , p ag e 397.
* 2 0 ) h t t p: / /e n .w i k i pe di a.org/w i k i / Re al - t i m e _ web (access ed Januar y 2 0, 2 0 1 0).
* 2 1 ) Se e G e e r t L ov i n k , Was u n s w i rk l i c h k rank macht, in: Frankfur ter Allg emeine
Ze i tu n g, N o. 1 40, J u n e 2 1 , 2 0 1 0, page 27 (referring to med ia theoris t Franco
Be rardi ).
* 2 2 ) A s de c l are d i n t h e t h e m at i c abs t rac t of the fes tival Re-*. Recycling_Sampling_
Jamming. Künstlerische Strategien der Gegenwar t (Berlin, Akad emie d er K üns te,
Fe bru ar y 26 –28 , 2 0 0 9 ).
* 2 3 ) O ral c om m u n i c at i on t o t h e au t h or, St ockholm, May 1 9, 2 009.
* 24) Se e Fri e dri c h K i t t l e r, D i e We l t de s Sy mb olis chen – eine Welt d er Mas chine, in:
s am e au t h or, Draculas Vermächtnis. Technische Schrif ten , Leipzig : Reclam, 1 9 9 1,
page 5 8 –8 0 (6 8 ), re f e rri n g J ac qu e s Lacan.
* 2 5 ) Se e A xe l Roc h , Claude E. Shannon. Spielzeug, Leben und die geheime Geschichte
seiner Theorie der Information , Be rl i n : g eg ens talt Verlag , 2 009, p ag e 112 .
* 26 ) Se e H an s U l ri c h G u m bre c h t , Production of Presence. What Meaning Cannot
Convey , C am bri dge : Stan f ord U n i ve rs ity Press 2 004 .
* 27 ) Se e Ru dol f G s c hw i n d an d L u kas Rot e n thaler (inter v iewed by Ute Holl), Mig ration
de r Dat e n , A n al ys e de r Bi l de r, Pe rs i s t e nte Archive, in: Zeitschrif t für
Medienwissenschaf t 2 , 1 /2 0 1 0, page 1 03 – 1 1 1 (1 04 ).
* 28 ) H an s -J oe rge n M arke r, Data C on s e r vat i on at a Trad itional Data Archive, in: Ed ward
H i ggs (e d. ), Histor y and Electronic Ar tefacts , Oxford : Clarend on Press , 1 9 9 8,
page 294 –3 03 (296 ).
* 29 ) R i c k Pre l i n ge r, The Appearance of Archives , in: Pelle Snickars and Patrick Vond erau
(e ds . ), The YouTube Reader , St oc k h ol m: National Lib rar y of Swed en, 2 009,
page 26 8 –274 (27 1 ).
* 3 0 ) Se e W. E . , Das Rumoren der Archive , B erlin: Mer ve, 2 002 .
51
Mid-1 980s Phillips adver t for one of the first manufactured CD players.
D i g i ta l A u d i o :
Remastering & Radical
R e v i s i o n i s m By Pa u l P u r g a s
S ince the establ i shment of the C ompact Di sc as a
sta nda rdized digi tal medi a format, the musi c i ndust r y
h as been preoccupied wi th the possi bi l i ti es of remaste ri ng. The pra ctice i ni ti al l y stemmed from the swi tchove r
f ro m producing C Ds by di rectl y transferri ng anal og u e
LP a nd ta pe masters to di gi tal , to produci ng di gita lly optim ized CD masters. Thi s act of transl ati on wa s
f ramed a s ­» rema steri ng« , a means of descri bi ng what h a s
s ince developed into a hybri di zed practi ce of cosme t ic
audio restora tion, re-equal i zati on, and the i nterpre t ive
moderni zati on of mu sic .
With in th e sem an tic s o f c o m m erc ial au dio, th e rem asterin g pro c ess
o perates as an u m brella term so m ew h ere between m asterin g (th e
ac t o f preparin g a fin alized au dio pro du c tio n ) an d rem ixin g (a reim agin in g o f a so n g o r c o m po sitio n th ro u gh so n ic an d stru c tu ral
m an ipu latio n ). At its c o re, a »rem aster« is m o st c o m m o n ly u n dersto o d as a well- in ten tio n ed resto ratio n o f an arc h ival rec o rdin g th at
preser ves th e c h arac ter an d in tegrity o f th e o rigin al. However, th is
prem ise h as over th e years been dem o n strably pro n e to c er tain pitfalls an d in terpretive develo pm en ts.
Hen c e fro m th e m id-1 980s o nwa rd s, the ma jor la b e ls looke d to
c apitalize o n th eir c o m m erc ial libra r ie s, revisiting cla ssic re le a ses fro m th e likes o f K iss, Th e B eatle s, Le d Ze p p e lin, a nd the Rollin g Sto n es, o f ferin g fan s th e o ppor tunity to exp e r ie nce wha t we re
m arketed as su perio r rec o rdin gs to the p reviously ava ila b le d ire ct
an alo gu e tran sferred CD releases . The p roce ss wa s d e fine d a s p rovidin g resto ratio n to th e an alo gu e ma ste rs a nd cr isp e r, hig he r re so lu tio n rec o rdin gs, w ith a fo c u s pla ce d on noise re d uction a nd a
c o sm etic ally c lean er so u n d.
As rec o rd c o m pan ies set abo u t c reatin g digital m asters direc tly
fro m o rigin al L P an d an alo gu e tape m asters du rin g th e first wave
o f CD pro du c tio n , th ey em ployed flat equ alizatio n , pro du c in g
w h at were in essen c e n o n - m an ipu lated digital c o pies o f o rigin al
an alo gu e rec o rdin gs. However, th ese early CD s were o f ten h eavily
c ritic ized du e to th e fac t th at L P an d tape m asters were o ptim ized
fo r th e an alo gu e fo rm at an d n o t th e spec ific atio n s o f a digital m ediu m . I t was n o t u n c o m m o n fo r early CD re- issu es to be labeled
w ith th e fo llow in g pu blic disc laim er :
However, by th e early 1 990s, rem aste r ing ha d b e come a n a cce p te d
in du str y prac tic e, an d greater c o nsume r p re ssure mounte d for re m astered albu m s to be able to ju s tif y the ir existe nce a nd comme rc ial valu e. Th ere em erged an expe cta tion tha t the se re le a se s would
presen t au dible develo pm en ts an d e nha nce me nts from not only the
o rigin al an alo gu e m aterial, bu t also p reviously re ma ste re d ve rsions
o f th e sam e rec o rdin g. With in th is context, the stud io e ng ine e rs re spo n sible fo r rem asterin g c am e und e r g re a te r p ub lic p re ssure to
tan gibly ju stif y th eir wo rk. I t was within this cr itica l mome nt tha t
an evo lu tio n o f rem asterin g prac tice occur re d , moving b e yond its
previo u s fo u n datio n o f resto ration a nd tra nsp a re ncy a nd shif ting
towards an in terpretive m eth o d o f re tre a tme nt tha t se t ou t instinctively to gen erate m o re dem o n stra tive a e sthe tic re sults.
»The music on this Compact Disc was originally recorded on
­a nalogue equipment. We have attempted to preser ve, as closely as
possible, the sound of the original recording. Because of its high
resolution, however, the Compact Disc can reveal limitations of the
source tape.«
Th e statem en t, m u c h like c u rren t debates between HD video an d
c ellu lo id, im plic ates th e h igh reso lu tio n o f a digital system as th e
so u rc e fo r expo sin g previo u sly u n perc eived erro rs in th e m ediu m .
W h ile th ere was an in h eren t tec h n ic al tru th in th e disc laim er, it was
o f ten em ployed as a c o nven ien t exc u se fo r labels lo o kin g to c u t
c o rn ers in pro du c tio n . Fo r exam ple, th e h igh reso lu tio n o f CD s was
blam ed fo r gen eral bad prac tic e, su c h as u sin g tape c assette c o pies
o f albu m s as so u rc e m aterial fo r digital tran sfers. I n parallel, in th e
ru sh to brin g CD s to m arket in th is early perio d, rec o rd c o m pan ies
o f ten wo rked w ith c h eap c h em ic al pro du c tio n pro c esses th at led to
low- qu ality ph ysic al CD s. W h en c o u pled w ith th e pro blem s o f early
gen eratio n CD players w ith prim itive an alo gu e- to - digital c o nver ters, th is c reated resu lts th at were w idely regarded as so u n din g
bo th brittle an d h o llow. I t was o n ly in th e m id-1 980s, w h en digital
tec h n o lo gy h ad develo ped an d th e CD m arket h ad grow n , th at rec o rd c o m pan ies star ted m asterin g spec ific ally fo r th e CD fo rm at. I t
was at th is tim e th at th e ac t o f pro du c in g a spec ialized digital CD
m aster fro m o rigin al an alo gu e rec o rdin gs resu lted in w h at is n ow
w idely u n dersto o d as »digital rem asterin g«.
Co m m erc ially, th e po ten tial o f th e digital rem aster provided sign ific an t o ppo r tu n ities fo r rec o rd c o m pan ies. As a resu lt o f early
rem astered albu m s c reatin g blo c kbu ster sales, labels realized th at
re- issu ed arc h ival rec o rdin gs fro m th eir bac k c atalo gu es were in
fac t c apable o f c o m petin g w ith n ew releases in th e m arketplac e.
On e o f th e m o st c o n troversial c o nte mp ora r y re ma ste r ing me thod s
to em erge fro m th is perio d was the a p p lica tion of a ud io comp re ssio n . Co m pressio n h as been em ploye d in re ce nt ye a rs a s a me a ns
to bo o st th e overall perc eived lo u d ne ss of re cord ing s by sq ue e zing
th e au dio sign al in to a dyn am ic ally fla tte r ye t comp a ra tive ly loud e r
m aster. Exc essive c o m pressio n is ap p lie d to conte mp ora r y p op music to gen erate m axim u m im pac t d ur ing p la y b a ck on mp 3 p la ye rs
an d stereo system s. Th e in flu en c e this ha s ha d on the re ma ste r ing
pro c ess h as been th e em ergen c e of he avily comp re sse d re -issue s,
su c h as rem astered albu m s by Nir va na , The Stoog e s, a nd Me ta llic a, reen gin eered to be c apable o f comp e ting with the ove ra ll loud n ess o f c o n tem po ran eo u s po p an d rock re cord s. This me thod wa s
gen erally m o st prevalen t in rem aste rs of rock a nd p op a lb ums tha t
were fo c u sed o n so n ic im pac t and hig h e ne rg y, a nd it sig nifica ntly af fec ted gen res su c h as m etal, p unk, ha rd rock, ind ustr ia l, a nd
h ip- h o p. M o st n o tably, Th e Sto o ge s’ 1 997 re ma ste r ing of the cult
albu m Raw Power was n o to rio u s for its re le ntle ss use of comp re ssio n th at resu lted in a vir tu ally fla t wave for m a nd one of the loud est CD s ever m ade.
Fro m a tec h n ic al po in t o f view, comp re ssion wor ks a s a p ra ctica l
to o l fo r bo o stin g levels o n rec o rd ing s. Howeve r, comp re ssors ultim ately h ave to m ake a trade- o f f, a nd this come s in the for m of
dyn am ic ran ge, th e au dible dif fere nce b e twe e n loud a nd q uie t e lem en ts w ith in a m ix, w h ic h is lo st a s the a ud io sig na l is sq ua she d
in to a flatter wavefo rm th at so u n d s loud e r b u t ultima te ly p osse sse s
dim in ish ed overall dyn am ic s. Th e re sult of exce ssive comp re ssion
53
in re masteri ng has been l e ss di m e nsi o na l l y r i ch rev i si o ns o f v i n ta g e
re c ords, whi ch of ten so u n d sh a l l ow w h e n co mpa re d t o t h ei r c o n s id e rabl y more dynami c o r i gi n a l re co rdi n gs pl a ye d a t e qu a l l evel s .
The secondar y process o f t e n exce ssi ve l y a ppl i e d w i t hi n rem a s t ering is equal i z ati on. Ini t i a l l y e mpl oye d a s a me a n s o f re m ov i n g n o i s e
and hi ss f rom anal ogue ma st e rs, i t h a s m o re re ce nt l y be e n u s ed t o
imp ose more modern ta st e s a nd a e st he t i cs o nt o o l d re c o rd i n g s .
This potenti al i nterpret i ve re a ppra i sa l o f t h e f re que ncy s p ec t r u m
ultimatel y l i es i n the ha nds o f t h e re ma st e r i ng e ngi n e e r, a nd t h e exte nt to whi ch a cosmet i c e nh a nce me nt cro sse s ove r i nt o th e t er r i tor y of mani pul ati on i s u l t i m a t e l y de pe nde nt o n t h e pe rsp ec t i ve o f
this indi vi dual . U nwarra nt e d o r exce ssi ve e qu a l i z a t i o n a nd b r i g h tening are si gni f i cant f a ct o rs i n di sce r ni n g w h y ce r ta i n re m a s t ered
alb ums by bands such a s N ew O rde r, T h e C ure , a n d B l a ck S a b b a t h
have been rej ected by t he i r co re f a n- ba se , w i t h co m pl a i nt s ra n g i n g
from a l oss of ori gi nal f e e l i ng t o mo re ext re m e re a ct i o n s p i n p o i n ting a steri l e and homo ge ni ze d so un d. I n t h e ca se o f e qu a l i z a t i o n ,
s p eci f i c f requenci es a re e i t h e r exce ssi ve l y re move d o r b o o s t ed ,
w hic h can i nterrupt th e ove ra l l so n i c si gna tu re a n d ba l a nc e o f t h e
re c ordi ng and begi n to de st roy t h e pr i ma r y e sse n ce o f t he o r i g i n a l .
Se e mi ngl y i n compari so n t o co m m e rci a l po p a nd ro ck , t he i ss u e o f
re masteri ng has rarel y, u n t i l re ce nt l y, be e n a po i n t o f co ncer n wi t h i n
elec troni c dance musi c. T he ge ne ra l pra ct i ce o f t he re - i ss u e wa s
foc used on the vi nyl 1 2” re co rd, t h e me di um o f ch o i ce f o r DJ s , a n d
around addi ng vol ume t o pre ssi ngs prev i o u sl y co nsi de re d t o o q u i et
for cl ub pl ay. However, so me o f t he m o st ext re m e m a ni f e sta t i o n s o f
re masteri ng techni ques have re ce nt l y be gu n t o e m e rge w i t h i n t h e
s p here of el ectroni c da nce m u si c.
O ve r the l ast f i ve yea rs, t he re h a s be e n a grow i n g no sta l g i a fo r
rev isi ti ng earl y el ectro ni c da nce ge n re s, su ch a s D e t ro it t ec h n o
and Chi cago house, pa r t l y t r i gge re d by n ew yo u t h a udi e n c es d i s coveri ng thi s musi cal l e ga cy. T h e se ci rcu m sta n ce s h ave c rea t ed a
p robl emati c f ramewor k f o r rev i si t i n g a rchi va l re co rdi n gs , i n c l u d ing many f rom the l ate 1 9 80s h i st o r i ca l l y a ppre ci a t e d f o r t h ei r raw
aes th eti c and i di osyncra t i c t e chn o l o gi ca l pro du ct i o n. I n t h e c a s e
of the recent Rush Hour : House of Trax re ma st e rs f ro m C h i c a g o
house l abel Trax , the co mpl exi t i e s o f rev i si t i n g t he pa st t h ro u g h t h e
d e mands of the prese n t have pro du ce d so me n o ta bl y co n t rovers ial ou tcomes. Remaste re d Tra x re l e a se s si gni f i ca n t l y m a n i p u l a t ed
the f requency bal ance o f t h e o r i gi n a l re co rdi n gs, cre a t i n g c r i s p er
tre b l e and a resi l i entl y de nse l ow e n d prev i o usl y no nexi st e n t i n t h e
materi al , and were i nten t i o na l l y re - e ngi n e e re d t o t he spe ci fi c a t i o n s
of c urrent hi gh-resol u t i o n di gi ta l cl u b so u n dsyst e m s suc h a s t h e
Funkti on One. Whi l e co mm e rci a l l y m a r ke t e d a s re ma st e rs , t h es e
releases si gni f i cantl y rev i se d t h e o r i gi na l re co rdi n gs t h ro u g h t h e
p e rspecti ve of a conte m po ra r y da n ce stu di o e n gi n e e r, w h o wo u l d
have been aware of cur re nt t re nds i n ext re me ba ss pro du c t i o n a s
well as contemporar y ge n re s a nd a udi o t e ch n o l o gi e s. Wi t h i n t h es e
remastered versi ons, th e a ppl i ca t i o n o f exce ssi ve e qua l i z a t i o n wa s
s o d omi nant as to qua nt i f y a ra di ca l re pre se n ta t i o n o f t h e o r i g i n a l
rec ordi ngs. The rema st e re d re co rds we re t h o ro ugh l y di s l o c a t ed
from the def i ni ng l o-f i qu a l i ty o f t he o r i gi n a l s, a nd we re ren d ered
i n t h e m a n n er o f p rec i s i o n - en g i n eered c o n t em p o ra r y h o use an d
b a ss m u s i c .
T h i s exa m p l e i s o l a t es t h e c o m p l ex i n t era c t i o n i n t h e rem asterin g
p ro c ess b et ween c o n s er va t i o n o f t h e p a s t a n d t h e d es i re for tec h n o l o g i c a l a n d a es t h et i c m o d er n i ty. Dra s t i c m et h o d s a re p erh aps
d u e t o t h e ext rem e s o n i c d em a n d s a n d p ro g ress i o n o f el e c tro n ic
d a n c e m u s i c , a n d t h e evo l u t i o n o f c l u b s o u n d sys t em s , over th e
m o re s ta t i c d em a n d s o f c o m m erc i a l p o p. N o n et h el ess , wh a t em erges i n t h e u n d erg ro u n d s o o n er o r l a t er g en era l l y b eg i n s t o m an ifest
wi t h i n t h e c u l tu ra l m a i n s t rea m . E xt rem e rem a s t er i n g , wh i l e at pres en t s eem i n g l y i s o l a t ed t o u n d erg ro u n d m u s i c , m a y wel l l eave th e
d o o r o p en fo r b ro a d er rev i s i o n i s t m et h o d s i n m u s i c ’s fu tu re.
T h i s s i tu a t i o n d em o n s t ra t es t h a t t h e rel a t i o n s h i p b et ween a m u sic al
p a s t a n d p res en t h a s b ec o m e s eem i n g l y u n m o o red . T h ere is n ow
a n i n c rea s i n g l y l i q u i d a n d i n t er p ret i ve a p p ro a c h t o t h e t rea t m en t o f
p a s t rec o rd i n g s t h a t s eem s d es t i n ed t o d r i f t fu r t h er awa y fro m an y
s en s e o f a revered o r i g i n a l a r t i s t i c rec o rd i n g . A rc h i va l remasters
a re n ow en g a g ed i n a b ro a d en ed d i a l o g u e t h a t em b ra c es tec h n o l o g i c a l a d va n c em en t s a n d m ed i a a es t h et i c s a s wel l a s c on su m er
d em a n d s a n d wi d er c u l tu ra l ta s t es , u l t i m a t el y c rea t i n g a fe edbac k
l o o p b et ween t h e p a s t a n d t h e p res en t . T h i s feed b a c k ef fect fo rm s
a s et o f c o n d i t i o n s l i kel y t o fu r t h er d i s l o d g e t h e a c t o f rem asterin g
fro m i t s t ra d i t i o n a l fo u n d a t i o n s wi t h i n a u d i o res t o ra t i o n a n d keep
s h i f t i n g i t i n c rem en ta l l y c l o s er t owa rd s t h e s ta t e o f t h e remix.
T h i s t ext wa s o r i g i n a l l y wr i t t en fo r t h e o n l i n e m a g a z i n e Audimat
N° 1 . ( S ee p a g e 79 fo r fu l l referen c e) .
Pa u l Pu rg a s t ra i n ed a s a n a rc h i t ec t a n d g ra d uated
fro m t h e Roya l C o l l eg e o f A r t i n 2 0 0 4 . H e h a s c urated c o n t em p o ra r y a r t a n d s o n i c p er fo r m a n c e p rojec ts
fo r Ta t e B r i ta i n , Fr i eze A r t Fa i r, B o l d Ten d en c i es , an d
t h e De L a Wa r r Pav i l i o n . I n 2 0 0 5 h e fo u n d ed t h e exp er i m en ta l el ec t ro n i c s p ro j ec t E m p tys et wi t h J a m es
G i n z b u rg . T h ey a re c u r ren t l y rel ea s i n g m a terial
t h ro u g h ra s t er- n o t o n a n d h ave p res en t ed p ro j ects at
Ku n s t h a l l e Zu r i c h , U n s o u n d , t h e V&A , a n d A rc h itec tu re Fo u n d a t i o n .
C u r at i n g t h e Pa s t, C r e at i n g
t h e F u t u r e : DJ a s T i m e Lo r d
By H i l l e g o n da C R i e t v e l d
H ille g on d a C R ie t ve ld d isc u sse s t h e a f t e rg l ow o f th e p e rfor m a t ive role of t h e DJ, poin t in g t o t h e un s e ttl i n g b l e n d
a n d fissu re be t we e n t h e stu dio p rodu c e r a n d th e s ta g e d
DJ in w h ic h d ig ita l m u sic p e r for m a n c e t e c h n o l o g y p l a ys
a n i m p o r ta n t ro l e .
DJ s rem ix th e past in to th e presen t as th ey c u rate a c o n tem po rized
sen se o f h isto r y fro m a vast elec tro n ic dan c e m u sic al arc h ive. We
h ave been dan c in g to rec o rded m u sic fo r a go o d c en tu r y n ow, in
par tic u lar to jazz an d R& B. Th is was in ten sified af ter th e vin yl fo rm at was in tro du c ed by Co lu m bia du rin g th e late 1 940s, m akin g rec o rdin gs less vu ln erable to breakage an d th erefo re m o re po r table
th an th e brittle Sh ellac disc s. RCA-Vic to r adapted th is in 1 949 fo r
th eir 45 rpm 7 " m u sic sin gles, w h ic h n o rm ally featu red o n e trac k
per side an d, du e to th e large h o le in th e m iddle, c o u ld be u sed in
a ju kebox. Fro m ro u gh ly th e 1 95 0s o nwards, DJ s in th e UK an d th e
US star ted to em ploy th e du al tu rn table – previo u sly u sed in c in em as – to c u rate a c o n tin u o u s so u n d trac k fo r th eir dan c in g c rowds.
D u rin g th e pro c ess o f m ixin g two rec o rdin gs, the third record c am e
in to existen c e. Fo r exam ple, Alber t G o ldm an repo r ts in h is 1 978
pu blic atio n , Disco , h ow by 1 970 in New Yo rk, th e I talian - Am eric an
DJ Fran c is G rasso m ixed two overlappin g rec o rdin gs w ith th e u se
o f a m o n ito r h eadph o n e. I n 1 982, David To o p n o ted in Rap Attack
h ow h ip- h o p DJ s m ixed th e in stru m en tal sec tio n s o f a po p so n g,
»c u ttin g between th e sam e few bars o n two tu rn tables, exten din g
th e break in to an in stru m en tal. On e c o py o f a rec o rd – fo rget it.« * 1 )
To geth er w ith th e n arrative stru c tu re o f th e m u sic selec tio n , th e
th ird rec o rd is th e nomadic c o m po n en t o f th e DJ ’s c u rato rial prac tic e, in th e sen se th at it is an im provisato r y m ix, a fleetin g au th en tic m o m en t o f in terac tio n between th e vario u s elem en ts th at m ake
u p a dan c e n igh t: th e dan c ers, th e spac e, th e m o m en t, th e DJ, th e
arc h ive o f available rec o rdin gs. Over th e years, DJ s h ave explo red
a variety o f n arrative strategies, fro m th e h edo n istic flow o f fu n ky
disc o an d th e spiritu al repetitio n o f tran c e dan c e to th e an tago n istic
m u sic al ru ptu re th at c an be h eard in rap, tu rn tablism , an d reggae
so u n d c lash es. D u rin g th ese gen re spec ific tec h n iqu es, th e arc h i-
val past o f rec o rded m u sic is bro ug ht into the p re se nt a nd into the
em bo died presen c e o f th e dan c e floor.
Sin c e th e 1 970s, dan c eflo o r- frie nd ly (re )mixe s a re p rod uce d to
blen d in w ith th e m u sic m ix o f a p a r ticula r DJ, suiting the ta ste s
o f th eir spec ific dan c e c rowds. Accord ing to Dick He b d id g e in
Cut’n’Mix , reggae so u n d system s in King ston, Ja ma ica up p e d the
c o m petitio n again st eac h o th er by introd ucing the p rod uction of
u n iqu e du bplates, pio n eered by King Tub by from 1 968 onwa rd s. In
a parallel wo rld o f New Yo rk disc othe q ue s, the 12 " d isco sing le d e velo ped as a DJ to o l an d bec am e comme rcia lly ava ila b le by 1 976.
Stem s o f vo c als an d in stru m en tal tra cks a re mixe d by the DJ/Produ c er to em ph asize rh y th m sec tio ns, cu t a nd g ive n a new sp ot in the
m u sic al stru c tu re, an d c o m bin ed with new instr ume nta tion to contem po rize th e overall so n ic textu re. Such music p rod uction p ra ctices gen ealo gic ally c o n n ec t spec ific conte mp ora r y d a nce music g e nres to relevan t DJ c u ltu res o f th e pa st – for exa mp le , UK b re a kb e a t
DJ s still wo rk w ith th e du bplate, eve n if this exists a s a d ig ita l file in
th e po ssessio n o f o n e DJ o r DJ te a m. Ye t, a s the e conomic we ig ht
m ay be m o re in th e au ratic exploita tion of stud io re cord ing s tha n
in th e au th en tic DJ per fo rm an c e, re mixe d b a ck ca ta log ue s ca n b e
c yn ic ally explo ited to en gage c rowd s of thousa nd s.
G en re ben din g, tran sc u ltu ral samp le hop p ing , sur fing oce a nic
waves o f an ever- grow in g arc h ive of re cord e d sound s, the cre a tive
po ten tial fo r rem ix re- c o m bin atio n is va st, ye t limite d by ma r ke t a nd
in du str y dem an ds. A brief rappad e lic ra d io mix he re , a n orche strated diva m ix th ere; a ban gin g tra nce mix for the b a ckp a cke rs,
a wo bbly du bstep m ix fo r th e kid s. Althoug h this ma y le a d some
agin g sam ple- spo ttin g c o n n o isse urs to inte r p re t this a s a nosta lgic appro ac h to dan c e m u sic pro d uction p ra ctice s, I susp e ct tha t a
n ew gen eratio n do es n o t n ec essar ily ma ke such conne ctions. His-
55
torical ( ar te) f acts bl ur i nt o a n ew pre se n t t hro u gh
s lip per y creati ve proc e sse s t ha t se e m si m i l a r t o
w hat Foucaul t ( vi a N i et z sch e ) ca l l s counter-memor y ; the practi ce of the DJ no t o n l y cre a t e s a n d re ve als memori es of nosta l gi c o r i gi n , i t si m u l ta n e o u sly b reaks l i near chrono l o gi e s w i t h i n t h e mi x. I n t h i s
way, young dancers ca n expe r i e n ce mi xe d a nd re mixed musi c as new, i n a so u n d t ra ck t ha t i s neve rthe less au thenti cated by sni ppe t s f ro m f o rgo t t e n o r
unknown pasts that are ye t t o be di scove re d a n ew
by new keen dance mu si c f a ns.
DJ practi ces have i ncre a si ngl y sh i f t e d t h e pra ct i ce
of b lendi ng and re-mi x i ng i n t o a l i ve pe r f o r m a nce
of el ectroni c and sampl e d m u si c cre a t i o n. D u r i ng
the 1 980s, competi ti ve DJs i n ge n re s such a s e l e ctro and house woul d u t i l i ze syn t h e si ze rs a n d spe cial ef f ects ( l i ke echo a n d ph a si ng) , a s we l l a s dr um
machi nes to boost and cha nge t h e i r co l l e ct i o n o f
v iny l -based dance musi c, i n a ddi t i o n t o spe ci f i c re mixes. Thi s practi ce is n ow f ur t he r e n h a nce d by
current di gi tal DJ tech n o l o gi e s, f i rst u si n g C D s bu t
now sof tware-based, a l l ow i ng di gi ta l mu si c f i l e s t o
b e s a mpl ed, restructure d, a n d m a ni pu l a t e d o n t h e
s p ot.
Bec ause beat-matchi n g, o r syn ci n g, ca n be a u t o mated on CDJ mi xers a nd w i t h so f t wa re su ch a s
Traktor Pro or S erato, t h e f o cus o f t h e DJ- dr i ve n
d ance event returns to m u si c se l e ct i o n a nd t o t he
overal l structure of the mu si ca l j o u r ne y. I n o t he r
words, as Kai Fi kentsche r po i nt e d o u t i n 20 1 3, mu s ic programmi ng once mo re be co m e s a n i mpo rtant aspect f or a DJ per f o r ma nce . DJi n g pro duce r
D e admau5 ( Joel Zi mm e r m a n) , w ho se sh ow i n co rp ora tes hi s unmi staka bl e mo use -l i ke l o go t ha t i s
worn as a mask throu gh o u t , a rgu e d i n 20 1 2 t ha t
w ith the synch bu tton, a nyo n e co u l d be a » ch e e sy«
DJ. N ever thel ess, a s u cce ssf u l da nce eve nt re q uires more compl ex cre a t i ve sk i l l s, i n w h i ch bo t h
» re adi ng« the crowd, a s we l l a s e f f e ct i ve m u si c se lec tion pl ay a rol e.
Mus i c edi ti ng sof tware e nt e re d t he DJ a re na ove r
a d ecade ago. Rather t h a n bl e ndi n g t wo, t hre e ,
eve n f our recordi ngs, m u si c se qu e nci n g so f t wa re
like A bl eton Li ve enab l e s l i ve co mpo si t i o n t ho ugh
the use of f ragments f ro m mu l t i pl e so urce s, a s we l l
as th e repeti ti on of spe ci f i c co mpo ne nt s f ro m o ne
s ource through the ent i re mi x by wa y o f re f ra i n . E ffe c ts and di gi tal i nstru m e nta t i o n ca n be a dde d t o
the sound track wi th rel a t i ve e a se . O r i gi n a l re co rding s can be mi xed i nto t he ove ra l l m u si csca pe du ring an i mprovi sed per f o r ma nce t h a t a l so be n e f i t s
from vari ous degrees o f studi o pre pa ra t i o n.
In the process of di gi ta l m i n i a tu r i sa t i o n, t h e m o bi l e
v ir tual studi o i s ef f ect i ve l y ta ke n o n t o t h e sta ge ,
fur ther bl urri ng the l i n e s be t we e n DJs a n d pro du cers . Musi c producti on, re mi xi ng, dubpl a t e pra ct i ces , and musi c curati on have sta r t e d t o r u b sho ul d ers, someti mes pri ckli n g a n a u di e nce t h a t expe ct s
to obser ve a ri sky, yet re l a t i ve l y si m pl e , i m prov i se d
bl e n d o f m u s i c rec o rd i n g s . I n m u l t i p l y i n g t h e p o s si bi l i t i es t o c rea t e t h e t h i rd rec o rd , t h e a u t h en t i c i ty
o f DJ s i s a t o n c e d o u b t ed , yet t h ei r c rea t i ve a u ra
se e m s en h a n c ed . N ew m u s i c a l m a t er i a l i s s p i c ed
u p w i t h , fo r exa m p l e, s a m p l es o r q u o t es fro m t h e
» cl a ss i c s « t o c rea t e s en s e o f a h i s t o r i c a l c o n t i n u i ty t o l eg i t i m i ze a n d s el l o n e’s DJ p ed i g ree t o t h e
c rowd.
Wi t h t h e d i s a p p ea ra n c e o f t h e m a t er i a l i ty o f v i s i bl e a n d ta n g i b l e v i n y l rec o rd s , h ow d o we k n ow
w ha t t h e DJ d o es? N owa d a ys we a re l ess l i kel y t o
se e b l a c k d i s c s b ei n g p h ys i c a l l y s el ec t ed a n d t h e
n e e d l e m eta p h ys i c a l l y d ro p p ed i n t o t h e g ro ove,
m a g i c a l l y b r i n g i n g d ea d m a t t er a l i ve. I n t h e j o u r n a l
Dancecult , B er n a rd o A . At t i a s a n d t o b i a s va n Veen
di scu ss ed t h ro u g h o u t 2 0 1 1 – 12 h ow t h e c rea t i ve a c t i v i t i es o f t h e DJ a re d em o n s t ra t ed t h ro u g h s k i l l fu l
m a n i p u l a t i o n o f i n t er fa c e c o n t ro l s . H owever, we' l l
h ave t o t r u s t t h a t t h e va r i o u s i n t er fa c es t h a t a re
u se d by t h e d i g i ta l DJ a re i n d eed s t eer i n g t h e l i ve
pe r fo r m a n c e i n a n i m p rov i s ed m a n n er.
S u ch t r u s t i n t h e DJ ’s c rea t i ve i m p rov i s a t i o n a l s k i l l s
i s o f t en b a s ed o n t h e c rowd ’s m u s i c a l en g a g em en t
w i t h t h e DJ. A l t h o u g h t h e a c t i v i t i es o f t h e d i g i ta l
DJ m a y b e m ys t er i o u s l y i nv i s i b l e, t h ey a re i n d eed
a udi b l e. Da n c ers en g a g e k i n et i c a l l y wi t h t h e s o u n d
o f t h e s el ec t ed m u s i c , i m p rov i s i n g t h ei r p a r t o f t h e
m u si c - m a k i n g p ro c ess o n t h e d a n c efl o o r. A s Ped ro
P. Fer rei ra a rg u ed i n rel a t i o n t o d i g i ta l DJ p er fo rm a n c e t ec h n o l o g i es i n 2 0 0 8 i n Leonardo Music
Journal , t h e a c t o r n et wo r k t i g h t en s i n t o a c l o s ed
ci rcu i t t h a t g r i p s a n en s em b l e o f DJ, c rowd , a n d
mu si c i n t o a s i n g l e en erg et i c fl ow.
I n t h e c o n t ext o f l i ve m u s i c s eq u en c i n g a n d s o n i c
ma n i p u l a t i o n , we s h o u l d n o t b e s u r p r i s ed t o s ee t h e
i ncrea s i n g s u c c ess o f s tu d i o p ro d u c ers wh o p erf o r m a s DJ s . A l t h o u g h m a n y d a n c e m u s i c p ro d u c e rs m a y h ave s ta r t ed t h ei r m u s i c a l d evel o p m en t a s
DJs, wh et h er H en r i k S c hwa r z o r Ker r i C h a n d l er,
so m et h i n g s eem s t o h ave s h i f t ed i n t h e c rea t i ve
re l a t i o n s h i p. W h ere p rev i o u s l y t h e DJ en t ered t h e
mu si c s tu d i o t o c rea t e a rem i x , s tu d i o - b a s ed p ro ducers a n d c o m p o s ers , i n c l u d i n g t h e fi n a n c i a l l y
succ ess fu l C a l v i n H a r r i s ( Ad a m R . Wi l es ) , h ave en t e red t h e wo r l d o f DJ i n g t o em b o d y t h ei r own p ro duct i o n wo r k , b l en d ed wi t h t h e m u s i c t h a t i n s p i res
a n d em p h a s i zes t h i s , o n s ta g e. T h i s n o t o n l y m a rke t s t h ei r c o m p o s i t i o n s , b u t a l s o s u p p l em en t s t h ei r
po t en t i a l c o py r i g h t i n c o m e.
L a rg e c rowd s , h u n d red s a n d even over s evera l
t ho u s a n d s t ro n g , t en d t o d a n c e l ess wi t h ea c h o t h er
t ha n t h o s e o n t h e i n t i m a t e fl o o rs o f c l u b s a n d d a n c e
pa r ti es . Pl ea s u re i s g a i n ed fro m wa t c h i n g t h e DJ
o n s ta g e a n d fro m s i n g i n g a l o n g wi t h t h e c rowd
t o k n own rec o rd i n g s , wh i l e a u d i en c es o f t en rem edi a t e t h e s p ec ta c l e v i a m o b i l e p h o n es o n t o s o c i a l
ne t wo r k s . T h es e a re t h e o c c a s i o n s wh en t h e m u s i c
pro d u c er p res en t s t h ei r s tu d i o - g en era t ed m i xes t o
crowd s a n d wh en t r u s t i n DJ s k i l l s m a y b e b a s ed
as m u c h o n th eir skills in m u sic m an ipu latio n as o n
th eir repu tatio n as a lo go - tradin g bran d.
W h ere c rowds bec o m e stadiu m - sized, th e im provisato r y elem en t o f m u sic pro gram m in g, selec tio n ,
an d n arrative stru c tu re c an bec o m e an im po ssible
c h allen ge, m akin g tigh t advan c e preparatio n a prio rity. So m e o f th e h igh - en d DJ sh ows m ay be en tirely reh earsed an d, po ssibly, even pre- rec o rded,
alth o u gh n o DJ wo u ld adm it to th e latter. M o st large
po pu lar sh ows seem c arefu lly pre- pro gram m ed, requ irin g sign ific an t c reative an d lo gistic al m an agem en t to c o o rdin ate th e in terac tio n between th e
so u n d an d ligh t sh ow, w h ic h c an in c lu de live c am era wo rk an d bespo ke VJ - pro du c ed m aterial, w h ic h
m ay be c o m parable to a stadiu m ro c k sh ow. Th e
n ew ly su c c essfu l per fo rm ers m ay n ever th eless be
ac c u sed o f c h eatin g o r » fakin g« , as o c c u rred w h en
fan s th o u gh t ED M DJ David G u etta was » m im in g«
h is m u sic per fo rm an c e at th e To m o rrow lan d Festival in 20 1 2. Even w h ere th is is n o lo n ger th e c ase,
DJ s are expec ted to ac t as »risk- takers« w h o pro vide m o m en tar y au th en tic lin ks between dan c ers
an d m u sic th ro u gh th e c u rato rial explo itatio n o f
th eir rec o rd c o llec tio n .
O f c o u rse, m u sic sc en es c an var y in w h at au dien c es expec t fro m th eir DJ s, n o t o n ly in term s o f perfo rm ative skill sets, bu t also in term s o f m u sic selec tio n o r pro gram m in g. On e c an see a balan c in g
ac t between th e n eed fo r n o stalgia an d fo r in n o vatio n . Rec o rded m u sic en ables tim e travel to th e
past, w h ic h is par tic u larly em brac ed by o lder gen eratio n s w ish in g to relive th eir yo u th fo r o n e n igh t,
as c an be illu strated by 1 970s an d 1 980s- th em ed
dan c e n igh ts, o r in deed, th e No r th ern So u l an d
tan go dan c e sc en es. So u n d rec o rdin gs also en able travel ac ro ss geo graph ic al lo c atio n s, en ablin g
m igran ts to stay in to u c h w ith th eir h o m e lan ds, as
c an be illu strated in th e c ase o f reggae w ith in th e
J am aic an po pu latio n in th e UK o r salsa am o n gst
Cu ban s an d Pu er to Ric an s in th e US, w h ic h n ext
blen d in to n ew fo rm s o f dan c e m u sic . F in ally, so m e
stu dio - gen erated fo rm s o f elec tro n ic dan c e m u sic
m ay h elp dan c ers to m ake sen se o f th eir relatio n sh ip w ith th eir m ediated c o m pu ter- do m in ated life
experien c e, en ablin g a c er tain am n esia to h erald a
so n ic h ere- an d- n ow, an d even a (perh aps n o stalgic )
fu tu rist visio n , em bo died in dan c e gen res su c h as
glitc h , fu tu re so u l, fu tu re jazz, n eu ro tran c e, du bstep, o r th e po p- a- delic overdrive o f ED M .
As a c u rato r, th e DJ m ay h ave star ted o u t as a disc ern in g c o n su m er, a selec tive gateway between in du str y o u tpu t an d dan c in g c o n su m ers. I n th is leadersh ip ro le, as also Ric h ard M iddleto n argu es in
Radical Musicology , DJ s m ay h ave gain ed go dlike statu s as th ey brin g to life th e m em o rabilia –
th o se still- dead o bjec ts o f n o stalgia – in th e m ix,
raidin g th eir arc h ives fo r so u n d bites an d textu res.
Th e DJ - c u rato r establish ed th eir au ra as au th en tic
per fo rm er th ro u gh im provisato r y en gagem en t w ith
th eir dan c ers.
As a c reato r, th e DJ b e ca me a ctive in the stud io,
first to c reate (re)mixe s tha t suit the ir se ts. Such
rem ixes h ave, in some ca se s, exp a nd e d into hig hly
prepared sets. I n p a r ticula r, sp onta ne ous e ng a g e m en t m ay be lo st dur ing DJ me g a -g ig s, which le nd
th em selves well to the d e live r y of stud io-p re p a re d
so u n dsc apes, as the crowd is too la rg e to e ng a g e
in im provised m u s ic p rog ra mming . And , a lthoug h
even h ere th ere is still sp a ce for the sp onta ne ous
par ty DJ, as DJ Tiës to (Michie l Ve r we st) p a ssiona te ly c laim s, th is is es p e cia lly a p la ce whe re sta d iumfillin g stu dio pro duce rs se e m to have succe ssfully
slipped in to th e p e r for ma tive role of the DJ, re p resen tin g an d em b od y ing the ir tra d e ma r ke d sound
w h ile bath ed in spe cta cula r lig ht b e twe e n sta cks of
speakers.
I n sh o r t, in th e age of d ig ita l p e r for ma tive music
tec h n o lo gies, th e role s of p rod ucing , cre a tive DJ
an d DJ in g pro du c er b lur, mor p hing the DJ from invisible en ter tain er to sta g e p e r for me r ; from music
blen der to m u sic ma ke r ; from a rchivist to cre a tor ;
an d fro m spiritu al le a d e r to log o-b e a r ing copy r ig ht
earn er. Th ro u gh the se shif ts, d a nce musica l histo ries are c o n tin u e d a nd d isr up te d in g e ne ra tional waves o f n o stalg ia , a mne sia , a nd (re )d iscove r y.
Th e af terglow o f the ima g e of the DJ a nd a nostalgic po pu lar m u sic culture tha t a u the ntica te s this
ro le c an be fu r th er evid e nce d in va r ious DJ a p p s
o n sm ar t ph o n es, e na b ling the use r to ca nnib a lize
th e rec o rded past a nd cre a te music for the p re se nt
in th e m in iatu rized ne twor ke d he re -a nd -now of the
presen t.
Yet, in th e u n settling b le nd a nd fissure b e twe e n the
stu dio pro du c er a nd the sta g e d DJ, cur re nt d ig ital m u sic per fo rm a nce te chnolog y p la ys a n imp ortan t ro le. Fo r th is re a son, our und e rsta nd ing of the
ro le o f th e DJ n ee d s to b e b roa d e ne d to tha t of
a c o n tem po rar y ele ctronic music p e r for me r, who
m ay wo rk w ith sa mp le s from a rchive d re cord ing s
an d w h o w ill m o st like ly tre a t the se e le ctronica lly to
pro du c e n ew so n ic cultura l for ms, whe the r it b e undergro u n d au ral ar t or p op ulist ma ss e nte r ta inme nt.
Perh aps, th en , we ca n und e rsta nd the DJ a s a kind
o f a Tim e L o rd o f counter-memor y , not only p la yin g w ith th e tem pora lity of the musica l r hy thm a nd
th e n arrative stru c ture of a musica l jour ne y, b u t a lso
en ablin g au dien c e s to sur f multip le p e rce p tions of
h isto ric al tim e.
Hille go nda C Rie tveld is Re a d e r in Music a nd Sonic M edia at L o n don Sou th Ba nk Unive rsity in the
UK . With B ern ardo A Attia s a nd Anna Gava na s, she
is c o - edito r o f DJ Cultures in the Mix , a colle ction of
researc h essays reg a rd ing p owe r, te chnolog y, a nd
so c ial c h an ge in ele ctronic d a nce music, p ub lishe d
by B lo o m sbu r y.
* 1 ) Dav i d Toop, Rap At tack: African Jive to New York Hip Hop, P lu to
Pre ss , L on don , 1 9 8 4, pa g e 14 .
57
Sonic Cyberfeminism
and its Discontents
By A n n i e G o h
I n h e r t ext, Annie Go h ta kes gender i nequal i ti es i n el ectronic
m u s i c as her sta r ting poi nt to sur vey the hi dden, and l essh i d d e n p rejudices w hich domi nate the di scourse that surround s
it. Wi t h a histor ica l lo ok at cyber femi ni sm, as wel l as refere n ­
ci n g re c e nt wor k on wom en i n sound and el ectroni c musi c, sh e
exam i n e s the co mplex ities of a debate si tuated between theor y
a nd practi ce.
In musi c theor y, a »f emi n i n e e n di n g« i s de f i ne d a s t he co n c l u s i o n
of a mel odi c phrase o n a we a k be a t , t h e we a k pa r t o f a b ea t , o r
the weak par t of a bar. T he cadence féminine o r weibliche Endung
has been a common mu si co l o gi ca l t e r m si nce i t s i nce pt i o n i n t h e
mid - ei ghteenth centur y by Ge r m a n m u si c t h e o r i st H a n s C h r i s t i a n
Koch. Whi l e i t i s sti l l of t e n ta ugh t i n scho o l s a s such t o da y, fem i n i s t
mus i col ogy has taken i ssue w i t h t he e qua t i o n o f » f e mi n i n i ty« wi t h
»weakness«, »i mper f ec t i o n « , a n d » l a ck« , a n d t h e t e r m h a s b ec o m e
increasi ngl y unf ashi ona bl e i n re ce n t de ca de s.
Sus a n McCl ar y’s di sse ct i o n a nd re a ppro pr i a t i o n o f t h e t e r m »fem i nine endi ng« i n her m usi co l o gi ca l w r i t i ngs h i gh l i gh t t h e i n h eren t
s exism of ( Western) m u si ca l di sco urse a nd pra ct i ce s. Fe a r o f b eing pol i ti cal l y i ncorrec t ha s l e d t o a gra dua l wa n i n g o f t h e t er m ,
b u t t he hi stori cal cond i t i o n s w h i ch l e d t o i t s cre a t i o n a n d p er p etu ation have of course n o t so e a si l y f a de d- o u t . T h e re mova l o r era s ure o f of f ensi ve termi n o l o gy pl a ys a sm a l l pa r t i n co u n t er i n g rea l
exis ti ng i nequal i ti es, be t he y ra ci a l , ge nde re d, o r w i t h re f e ren c e t o
other margi nal i zed gro u ps, a nd cl e a r l y t h i s i s n o t t he w h o l e b a t t l e.
T he i ssue of women in mu si c, mo re spe ci f i ca l l y wo me n i n el ec troni c musi c, has been ho t l y de ba t e d re ce n t l y, a s t he sta ti s t i c s releas ed by f emal e: pressure i n 20 1 3 sh ow sha me f u l l y h ow fes t i va l s
and l abel s predomi nan t l y i n t h e so - ca l l e d deve l o pe d wo r ld rep res e nt onl y a meagre ave ra ge o f 8. 2% f e m a l e a r t i st s ( wo m en - o n l y
ac ts , wi th a f ur ther 7. 3 % mi xe d a ct s, no t i ncl u di n g »wo m en fes t i vals «) . Last year ’s CTM 20 1 3 Fe st i va l i t se l f cl o ck s i n w i t h a p a l t r y
9.9 % of f emal e ar ti sts ( a nd a t o ta l 1 5. 5% o f wo m e n- o nl y, m i xed ,
and transgender acts) .
T h es e a re c er ta i n l y n u m b ers t o c h ew o n , wi t h fa i r l y wi d e- reac h in g
m ed i a c overa g e a n d m a n y n ews p a p ers a n d b l o g s c over i ng th ese
s ta t i s t i c s , a s wel l a s wo m en - l ed fes t i va l s s u c h a s l a s t yea r ’s Pers p ec t i ves Fes t i va l i n B er l i n m a k i n g t ra c k s i n c o u n t er i n g t h is m ass i ve d i s c rep a n c y i n fem a l e rep res en ta t i o n i n ex p er i m en ta l a nd elec t ro n i c m u s i c . C u ra t o rs a n d c l u b a n d l a b el own ers a re a l s o forc ed to
c o n fro n t t h e b i a s es i n t h ei r own p ra c t i c es . A rg u m en t s o f t here n o t
b ei n g en o u g h fem a l e o p t i o n s s l owl y l o s e g ro u n d , a n d t h e c o m m o n
exc u s e o f fem a l e o p t i o n s n o t b ei n g »o f a h i g h en o u g h q u a lity« o r
fi t t i n g i n t h e p ro g ra m m e revea l d eep er- s ea t ed s t r u c tu ra l p re ju dic es
i n m u s i c c u l tu res a n d t h e wi d er m u s i c i n d u s t r y.
Between pa tc hba y nuns a nd tec hno que e n s
A s i d e fro m t h i s s t ro n g c r i t i q u e o n t h e g ro u n d s o f fem a l e u n derrep res en ta t i o n i n el ec t ro n i c m u s i c , b a c ked by t h e n ec ess a r y n u m b ers , t h e o t h er n o ta b l e a rea c o n c er n i n g wo m en i n el ec t ro n i c m u sic
h a s b een t h e res u r rec t i o n o f fo rg o t t en o r n eg l ec t ed fem ale pio n eers . T h a n k fu l l y we c a n n ow n a m e s evera l ; Da p h n e Ora m , Elain e
Ra d i g u e, Del i a Der bys h i re, Pa u l i n e Ol i vero s , Ma r ya n n e A m ac h er,
L a u r i e S p i eg el , E l l en Fu l l m a n n , a s wel l a s n o t a s o f t en - m e n tio n ed
E l s e Ma r i e Pa d e, Ma d d a l en a Fa g a n d i n i , H i l d eg a rd Wes t erkam p,
S u s a n n e C i a n i , a n d I va n a S t efa n ov i , t o n a m e o n l y a fra c t i on . Th e
wo r k o f t h e U K- b a s ed H er N o i s e p ro j ec t , wh i c h c el eb ra t ed i ts ten th
a n n i vers a r y i n 2 0 1 2 , h a s d o n e m u c h t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h i s c h an ge
i n a t t i tu d es . L i n a Dz u verov i c , o n e o f H er N o i s e’s c o - fo u n d e rs, h u m o ro u s l y refl ec t ed u p o n t h e d i f fi c u l t i es o f fi n d i n g h o s t s i n th e sixty- fo u r ven u es t h ey a p p ro a c h ed a t t h e t i m e: »t h e t er m s »fem in ism «
a n d »s o u n d « were b o t h s o u n p o p u l a r t h a t t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f th e
t wo wa s l et h a l «. T h i s wa s over t en yea rs a g o a n d g l a d l y t h e situ at i o n h a s a t l ea s t s o m ewh a t i m p roved fo r b o t h o f t h es e p revio u sly
u n d es i red s u b j ec t a rea s s i n c e.
Yet am idst th is lau dable en th u siasm fo r wo m en pio n eers, an ar tic le by Abi B liss in Th e Wire M agazin e in April 20 1 3 desc ribes a
pro blem lu rkin g h ere to o ; pu ttin g th ese c o m po sers an d inven to rs
o n pedestals ru n s th e risk o f c reatin g m y th s o f w h at sh e jo kin gly yet
aptly refers to as »patc h bay n u n s«, n u r tu rin g a fetish izatio n o f th e
blac k an d w h ite ph o to s o f wo m en stan din g in fro n t o f vin tage syn th esizers an d h an dlin g th ese typic ally m ale- do m in ated elec tro n ic
m ac h in es. Th is n ow- fam iliar n arrative, w h ilst c o m m en dably c reatin g po sitive fem ale ro le m o dels, is pro blem atic in a dif feren t way;
it relegates wo m en in to per fo rm in g c er tain ro les an d raises th em
as c u rio u s exc eptio n s w ith in th e do m in an t n arrative o f h isto r y. An ec do tes by wo m en DJ s an d m u sic ian s, ran gin g fro m am u sin gly path etic to m o rally repu lsive, testif y to th e wo rr yin g perpetu atio n o f
sim ilar o pin io n s in m an y su ppo sedly »fo r ward- th in kin g« fields.
As J u dith B u tler argu es it, th e task o f gen der stu dies is essen tially two - fo ld; it is n o t o n ly to en qu ire h ow th e c atego r y o f »wo m en «
m igh t fo r exam ple bec o m e m o re fu lly represen ted, bu t also to u n derstan d an d c ritiqu e th e ver y c atego ries an d stru c tu res o f power
in w h ic h gen der disc o u rses o perate. W h ilst th e fo rm er is tac kled by
fem in ist ac tivism , su c h as th e wo rk o f n etwo rks like fem ale:pressu re
an d th e ardu o u s c am paign towards equ al represen tatio n , th e latter
seem s lo st in th e m u rky depth s o f th eo r y, leavin g m o re fu n dam en tal
qu estio n in g o pen to c ritic ism s o f bein g pu rely ac adem ic «, to o abstrac t fo r th e real wo rld an d u n fettered w ith real m aterial c o n c ern s.
I t’s a c o m plex qu estio n : h ow c an we talk abo u t fem in ism w ith o u t
sim ply assim ilatin g th e ro le an d figu re o f th e fem ale in to th e do m in an t disc o u rse? How c an we disc u ss th e c atego r y o f »wo m en « w ith o u t overlo o kin g th e restric tiven ess o f th e bin ar y o f bio lo gic al sex
(rec en tly pu blic ly exem plified by G erm an y’s n ew law o f a th ird sex).
Ze ro s + O n e s (c y b e r f e min ism 1 01 o r
b e tte r said 1 1 001 01 )
Th e term »c yber fem in ism « em erged sim u ltan eo u sly fro m two dif feren t en ds o f th e wo rld in th e early 1 990s. With bo th to so m e degree
in debted to D o n n a Harraway’s sem in al 1 985 »Cybo rg M an ifesto «,
Au stralian c o llec tive V NS M atrix fam o u sly dec lared »th e c lito ris is
a direc t lin e to th e m atrix« in th e c yber fem in ist m an ifesto in 1 99 1 ,
an d B ritish - bo rn Sadie P lan t’s c yber fem in ist wo rk Zeros + Ones:
Digital Women and the New Technoculture pu blish ed a few years
later, alm o st su c c eeded in brin gin g th e term in to th e m ain stream .
As Co rn elia So llfran k su m m arizes (see w w w.o bn .o rg), ju st as fem in ism befo re it was n o t a u n ified m ovem en t, c yber fem in ism’s »1 00
An ti- th eses o f Cyber fem in ism « sh ows h ow it h ad n o c laim s towards
c o m plete u n an im ity, an d h ow th e vario u s u n derstan din gs o f th e
term m ake it esc ape easy defin itio n .
Reac tin g again st th e do m in an t view of te chnolog y a s a p r ima r ily
m ale- o c c u pied do m ain , c yber feminism a ctiva te d conce p ts of cyberspac e an d th e eu ph o ric c o n n o ta tions tha t now g ive the »cy b e r-«
prefix a rath er dated yet perh aps e nd e a r ing 1 990s sla nt. It re injec ted th is exc item en t abo u t c yberculture into the somewha t sta le
en ergy th at th e sec o n d-wave fem inism of wome n’s lib e ra tion move m en ts o f th e 1 970s h ad in c u rred. Se cond -wave fe minism wa s cr itic ized fo r its essen tialisin g »ear th -mothe r-na ture « sta nce a nd le avin g th e m ale- do m in ated realm o f te chnolog y p re cise ly a s tha t – a
»m an - th in g«. Sadie P lan t’s strategy wa s ma nifold ; it includ e d a n a ltern ative h isto rio graph y o f digital culture throug h the fig ure of the
so - c alled »first c o m pu ter pro gramme r« Ad a Love la ce (1815-1852 ),
a refrequ en tin g o f th e psyc h o an aly tic sig nifica tion of »1«s a s ma le ,
defin ite, w h o le, a sym bo lic pen is a nd »0«s a s fe ma le , nothing ne ss,
»a lac k«, »n o t-w h o le« o r »n o t- o n e «, a sy mb olic va g ina , a s we ll a s
referen c es to th e h isto ric an d c o n te mp ora r y contr ib u tion of fe ma le
labo u r in tec h n o lo gy (fro m o perating te le p hone s to a sse mb ling ma c h in es in fac to ries). I n its fragm ente d a nd d e line a te d textua l sty le ,
th ese m ade c o m pellin g argu m en ts to a lig n wome n a nd te chnolog y
m u c h m o re c lo sely th an th ey h ad p reviously b e e n. Cy b e r fe minist
th eo rists were o f ten also n et- ar tists, ha cke rs a nd a ctivists using
ar t as an o u tlet, pu ttin g th ese idea s into a ction a nd co-op ting the
in tern et to explic ate c o n tin u ed n or ms a nd p re jud ice s. For a r tists
su c h as V NS M atrix, w h o sm u ggled the ir ima g e s a nd texts in va r io u s o n lin e an d o f flin e lo c atio n s, the inte r ne t ha d g re a t p ote ntia l to
be su bversive, yet pro blem atic ally, it still p re d omina ntly contr ib u ted to th e o bjec tific atio n o f wo me n a nd thus re p lica te d a g e -old
stereo types o f fem in in ity.
Harn essin g an d su bver tin g th e u top ic p ote ntia l of the inte r ne t ca n
be bro adly c o n sidered a c o re in te ntion of cy b e r fe minists. The sup po sed n eu trality o f tec h n o lo gy wa s und e r a tta ck for re p e a ting the
do m in an t stru c tu res u n der w h ic h it wa s cre a te d . This ca n b e compared to th at o f traditio n al m u sicolog y or music the or ie s, which
wo u ld also c laim a sim ilar n eu trality, ye t the d e b a te a round »fe min in e en din gs« ac ts to u n c over th is, a t le a st to some exte nt. The contin u ed predo m in an c e o f w h ite, m ale , a b le -b od ie d ind ivid ua ls in p ositio n s o f power an d th e c o n tin u e d ine q ua litie s for eve r yone e lse ,
w ith in m u sic an d tec h n o lo gy, is m et with a na ïve mystifica tion tod a y.
Yet th e fac t th at th e statu s qu o go es unq ue stione d is itse lf the most
m ystif yin g aspec t o f th e debate.
Wo rkin g to c ritiqu e an d expan d the notions of the fe minine a nd the
c atego r y o f »wo m en « in relatio n to te chnolog y wa s und e r ta ke n with
c o n siderable su c c ess by c yber feminism in the 1 990s. More tha n
twen ty years later h owever, th ere a re still fewe r wome n p rog ra mm ers by far, fewer c o n tribu tin g to the conte nt of the inte r ne t (with
ju st 8.5% o f fem ale Wikipedia editors a ccord ing to a Wikime d ia
su r vey in 20 1 1 ), an d a large an d not-much-d e cre a sing g e nd e r g a p
59
of women i n hi gh-tech j o bs. Wi t h so me i ncre m e nta l i n crea s es i n
re p resentati on, si nce c ybe r f e m i n i sm bo o me d, i t i s st i l l dif fi c u l t t o
b e opti mi sti c abou t asse ssi n g t he t o pi c o f wo me n a n d t e c h n o l o g y
tod ay. Recent debate su r ro un di n g t he i de a o f a f e m i n i st p ro g ra m ming l anguage and sub se que nt ho a xi ng a n d ho st i l i ty m a ke fo r m o re
worr yi ng and f asci nati n g i nsi gh t s i n t o ge n e ra l v i ews o n f e m a l es a n d
fe min i sm wi thi n techno l o gy.
Mi c ro - f e mi n i n e Son ic War fare
Whilst the representati o na l ba t t l e o f wo m e n i n e l e ct ro ni c m u s i c i s
s till bei ng f ought, other st ra t e gi e s a re re qu i re d t o ta ck l e t h e s ec o n d
p ar t of the two-f ol d pro bl e m o u t l i ne d by Ju di t h B u t l e r. T h a t i s , h ow
to q uesti on the ver y ca t e go r i e s i n w h i ch we t h i n k a n d sp ea k , t h e
ve r y categori es whi ch cre a t e t he ge n de re d subj e ct s we co m m o n l y
call »mal e« and »f emale « . Al t h o ugh t he m a i n wo r k s o f cy b er fem i nis m di d not deal at any gre a t l e ngt h w i t h so u n d, t he pu r po r t ed d ece ntral i zed, non-l i near a nd n o n- h i e ra rchi ca l na tu re o f cy b er n et i c
culture, and characteri z a t i o n s o f so un d a s a n e ph e me ra l , em a n a ting force, gi ves occasio n t o l i nk t he t wo a s so n i c cybe r f e m i n i s m .
Tara Rodgers’ work towa rds a f e mi n i st h i st o r i o gra ph y o f e l ec t ro n i c
mus ic i n her book Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and
Sound seems to strad dl e bo t h l eve l s o f t he t wo -f o l d ta s k . I n i n ter vi ews wi th women co mpo se rs, mu si ci a ns, DJs, a n d so u n d a r tis ts , she i s on the search f o r i ndi v i du a l a ppro a ch e s a nd a l t er n a t i ve
me thods and practi ces i n t h e ma l e - do mi n a t e d wo r l d o f so u n d a n d
e lec troni c musi c. On a mo re f u n da me nta l l eve l , a so n i c cy b er fem i nis m woul d del ve deepe r. Ge r m a n physi ci st H e r ma nn vo n H el m holtz made several hug e co n t r i bu t i o n s t o sci e n ce , a nd hi s wo r k o n
ac ousti cs l ai d the f oun da t i o n s f o r how mo st a n a l o gu e synt h es i zers
were and are desi gned a nd bui l t , a n d how di gi ta l so un d syn t h es i s i s
g e neral l y under taken to da y. H oweve r Ro dge rs ta ke s i ssu e wi t h t h e
unq uesti oned au thori ty t ha t H e l mh o l t z ’s f i ndi n gs have h a d , res u l ting in homogeni zed syn t h e si ze r de si gn pra ct i ce s u p u n t i l t o d a y. T h e
id ea of a god-l i ke crea t o r, a n a l yz i ng so u n d wave s, bre a k i n g t h em
d ow n i nto consti tuent si n e wave s, a n d re syn t h e si z i ng t h es e t o rec reate any ex i sti ng soun d, r i n gs l i ke a n a l l - t o o - f a m i l i a r na r ra t i ve.
Rod gers ref ers to the syn t h e si ze rs a nd i nst r um e nt s de si g n ed by
Jess ica Ryl an at Fl ower E l e ct ro ni cs, w hi ch a ct i ve l y i nco r po ra t e c h a otic and unpredi ctabl e syst e ms. S h e co u l d a l so h ave men t i o n ed
other synthesi zer and e l e ct ro n i c i n st r um e nt de si gne rs o u t s i d e o f
the mai nstream who, a l t ho ugh n o t wo me n, h ave un de r ta ken s i m i lar pursui ts, f or examp l e M i ch e l Wa i sv i sz , Ro b H o rdi j k , a n d Pet er
Blasser. H er f ocus on wo m e n i s cl e a r f o r o bv i o us re a so ns, b u t t h ere
is s pace f or a more nu a n ce d di scussi o n , n a me l y a s sh e i s keen t o
e mp hasi ze that the per pe tu a t i o n o f do mi n a nt cu l tura l pra ct i c es c a n
b e e nacted by i ndi vi du a l s o f a n y ge nde r ; be i n g f e ma l e do es n’ t n ec e ss ari l y make you a f emi n i st , j ust a s be i n g ma l e do e sn’ t n ec ess a r i l y
make you a mal e chauv i ni st .
I f S a d i e Pl a n t ’s a n a l ys i s d own t o t h e l evel o f t h e »0 «s a n d »1 «s o f
b i n a r y c o d e d i d n o t g o fa r en o u g h t o d ec o n s t r u c t t h e b in ar y o f
»m a l e« a n d »fem a l e«, o r i t s m u l t i p l e a n d r h i zo m a t i c s ty l e made its
i n t en t i o n t o o d i f fu s e, a fu r t h er a p p ro a c h , wh i c h h a s b een d evelo ped
s i n c e c y b er fem i n i s m a n d b o o m ed i n t h e 1 990 s , c a n b e c o n sidered.
L u c i a n a Pa r i s i ’s Abstract Sex c h a l l en g es fu n d a m en ta l a ss u mptio n s
i n b i o l o g y a n d evo l u t i o n a r y t h eo r y a n d ta c k l es wh a t i s o f ten taken t o b e t h e u n a ss a i l a b l e t r u t h c l a i m s o f Da r wi n i s m a n d n eo - Darwi n i s m , wi t h t h e a l t er n a t i ve evo l u t i o n a r y t h eo r i es o f Ly n n Margu lis
a n d E l a i n e Mo rg a n . T h e ver y i d ea s o f »s u r v i va l o f t h e fi t t es t«, c o m p et i t i ven ess , a n d g en et i c s u p er i o r i ty, wh i c h p er va d e m o d ern c o n c ep t i o n s o f evo l u t i o n , m u s t a l s o b e s een wi t h i n t h e s o c i a l co n texts
u n d er wh i c h t h ey a ro s e a n d p ro s p ered . Op en i n g u p a t h i rd way beyo n d t h e c o n s t r i c t i o n s o f b i n a r y m o d es o f t h o u g h t , a n d zo o m in g in
o n b a c t er i a l s ex a n d i t s c o r res p o n d i n g b i o - t ec h n o l o g i c a l d evelo pm en t s ( e.g . i n g en et i c en g i n eer i n g ) , s h e o f fers a n o t h er a l t ern ative
v i ew o n wh a t c o u l d b e c a l l ed c y b er fem i n i s m , t h o u g h s h e h erself
d o es n o t u s e t h e t er m .
Mi c ro - fem i n i n e wa r fa re, fo r Pa r i s i , g ra n t s a p o t en t i a l t h i rd way o u t
o f t h e p ro b l em a t i c b i n a r y g i ven t o u s i n t h e s i m p l e c a t eg o ries o f
»m a l e« a n d »fem a l e«, a n d t h e d o m i n a n t d eb a t e wh i c h c h a ra cterizes
t h e fem i n i n e a s p a ss i ve a n d d i s o rd ered ( n a tu re) , a n d t h e m a sc u lin e
a s a c t i ve a n d o rd ered ( c u l tu re a n d t ec h n o l o g y ) . Fu s i n g t h is w ith
t h e c o n c ep t »S o n i c Wa r fa re« s u r veyed by S t eve G o o d m a n in h is
b o o k o f t h e s a m e n a m e, s h ows n o t o n l y h ow s o u n d c a n b e u sed as
a wea p o n i n a l i t era l s en s e b u t a l s o o n t h e m u c h l ess ta n g i b le level
o f v i b ra t i o n a l fo rc e, o f b o d i es a f fec t i n g a n d b ei n g a f fec t ed by o th er
b o d i es . On e o f t h e t h ree d efi n i t i o n s o f »u n s o u n d «, a s s o u n ds n o tyet- h ea rd , p rov i d es t h e rea l m o f p o t en t i a l i ty l i n k i n g t h e »c y ber« o f
c y b er n et i c s , c y b er fem i n i s m , a n d a s o n i c c y b er fem i n i s m .
T h e c y b er fem i n i s t u t o p i a wh i c h s u g g es t ed a c o m p l et e a ss i milatio n
o f t h e b o d y i n t o t ec h n o l o g y, c a n a l s o h owever b e rea d a s riskin g
t h e d i s a p p ea ra n c e o f »wo m a n « i n t o t h e m a c h i n e. A s Pa r i s i pu ts it in
referen c e t o c y b ers ex a n d b i o ( d i g i ta l ) t ec h n o l o g i es , we a re in dan g er o f wi t n ess i n g »t h e u l t i m a t e d rea m o f d i s em b o d i m en t « a s th e triu m p h o f t h e p a t r i a rc h a l o rd er. A n ew c o n c ep t i o n o f fem i n i n e desire
i s n eed ed , o n e t h a t g o es b eyo n d s t ereo ty p i c a l i d ea s o f fem i nin ity. I n
a t h eo r y t owa rd s a n o n t o l o g y o f v i b ra t i o n a l fo rc e, G o o d m a n states,
»i f we s u b t ra c t t h e l evel o f h u m a n p erc ep t i o n , ever y t h i n g m oves«. I t
i s l ess a q u es t i o n o f wh a t m i c ro - fem i n i n e s o n i c wa r fa re m i g ht so u n d
l i ke, a n d m o re a q u es t i o n o f wh a t i t m oves .
A n n ie G oh i s a n a r t i s t , res ea rc h er, a n d freq u en t c o ntribu to r
t o CT M Fes t i va l . Fo r t h e 2 0 14 ed i t i o n , s h e c u ra t ed t h e pan el
»S o u n d , G en d er, Tec h n o l o g y – ›W h ere t o ‹ wi t h c y ber fem in i s m? « wi t h g u es t s S a d i e Pl a n t , Fen d er S c h ra d e, Su san n e
K i rc h m a y r, a n d Ma r i e T h o m p s o n .
61
1 0 1 wo m e n i n
electronic music
By A n t y e G r e i e - R i pat t i
Fo l l owi n g recent deba tes on the meagre propor ti on of wome n
i n t e c h n ology a nd m usic – at l east i n the publ i c sphere, e.g.
f e s t i val s , publica tions, o r i nsti tu ti ons - we asked musi ci an an d
a u t h o r A ntye Greie-Ripa tti for fur ther refl ecti on on the yet-t obe -wr i t t en her-sto r y of women i n el ectroni c musi c. O ver th e
p as t f ew yea rs, the investi gati on on the hi stor y of femal e
p i o n e e rs a nd a ctivists has fi nal l y begun. It i s underl i ned by
G re i e - R i p a tti thro ugh a pe rsonal col l ecti on of 1 0 1 names of in f lue n t i a l f e ma le a r tists, showcasi ng the ri ch potenti al and abu n d a n c e o f wom en in the f iel d of el ectroni c musi c. Such a l i st is
o f c o u rs e inf inite a nd is imper fect by nature, as i t can never be
c o m p l e t e d. The co mpila tion's fragmentar y approach i ndi cat e s
t he n e e d f or f ur ther wo r k and research, especi al l y beyond t h e
We s t e rn sphere. No doubt we must l ook fur ther, and hopefu lly
t h i s l i s t o f f or wa rd-loo k ing women may ser ve as an i mpetus in
this directio n. For us and for ever yone el se.
Rec en tly I tau gh t 1 3 -year- o lds a lesso n abo u t elec tro n ic m u sic – fro m Th erem in to Skrillex via Elian e Ra d ig ue , Pe a che s, a nd Gr ime s.
W h en CTM c o m m issio n ed m e to w rite abo u t fem ale pio n eers in elec tro n ic m u sic , I h ad o n ly o n e w ish : t o find a s ma ny a s p ossib le . In the
last years, to m y great relief, th e h isto r y o f fem ale pio n eers h as begu n to be explo red. M y ow n c o n tribu tion is just a b e g inning ; the ta sk
is wo r th y o f do c to ral researc h . I h o pe th is list w ill be filled over tim e w ith th e n am es o f m o re in n ovato rs, p ote ntia lly from contine nts a nd
c o rn ers o f th e wo rld to w h ic h I h ave little ac c ess. Elec tro n ic m u sic h as traveled fro m th e ac adem ic c ontext of its e me rg e nce to club s,
fro m private h o m es to per fo rm an c es in pu blic spac es. Here are so m e wo m en w h o h ave pu sh ed elec tronic music for wa rd ; d ig d e e p e r !
Timeline (sorted by date of birth)
Be for e 1 9 00
1 93 0s
1 94 0s
J o ha nna Ma gda le na Be ye r
1 888– 1 944, D E/US: F irst rec o gn ized elec tro n ic piec e o f m u sic ever.
L isten in g tip: J o h an n a M . B eyer Music O f
The Spheres (1 938).
Elia ne Ra digu e
*1 932, Fran c e: M in im al dro n e c o m po ser,
m u siqu e c o n c rète, syn th esizer, u sed th e
ARP 25 00 m o du lar system an d tape, h as
been c reatin g c o m po sitio n s fo r ac o u stic in stru m en ts sin c e 200 1 , extrem e m in im al m u sic , ver y in flu en tial u p an d in to th e 21 s t c en tu r y.
Anne tte Peacock
*1 941 , US: Re cord e d exp e r ime nta l e le ctro n ic rap in 1 970s, I'm the One (1 972 ).
On e o f th e first a r tists to fe e d voice into a
syn th esizer.
1 9 1 0s
Cla ra Ro c km o re
1 9 1 1 – 98, US: Vir tu o so per fo rm er o f th e
Th erem in , th e first elec tro n ic m u sic in stru m en t; c o llabo rated w ith Pro f. L eo n Th erem in to refin e th e in stru m en t.
1 9 2 0s
Else Ma rie Pa de
*1 924, D K : Pro du c ed m u siqu e c o n c rète an d
slow, elegan t, disso n an t elec tro n ic m u sic
th at o n ly existed o n tapes.
Cha rlo tte »Be be « Ba rro n
1 925 – 2008, US: To geth er w ith h er par tn er c reated th e first elec tro n ic film sc o re to
Forbidden Planet (1 95 6).
Da phne Ora m
1 925 – 2003, UK : Th e u n su n g pio n eer o f
tec h n o. B u ilt h er ow n stu dio fo r experim en tin g w ith elec tro n ic m u sic in th e 1 940s.
I nven ted th e Oram ic s draw in g- so u n d system . Co - fo u n der o f th e B B C Radio ph o n ic
Wo rksh o p.
Ru th W hite
*1 925, US: Elec tro n ic m u sic pio n eer u sin g
th e M o o g syn th esizer. Co m po ser o f Flowers
of Evil (1 969), an d Shor t Circuits (1 970).
Ma dda le na Fa ga ndini
1 929– 20 1 2, UK : Elec tro n ic m u sic ian an d
televisio n pro du c er. Co - c reato r o f pro to tec h n o sin gle, »Tim e B eat/Waltz I n Spac e«
(1 962). M em ber o f th e B B C Radio ph o n ic
Wo rksh o p.
Pa u line Olive ro s
*1 932, US: I n flu en tial c o m po ser, c en tral
figu re in th e develo pm en t o f po st-war elec tro n ic ar t m u sic . Wro te n ew m u sic th eo r y
o n c o n c ept o f »D eep L isten in g« an d so n ic
awaren ess.
Yo ko Ono
*1 933, J P: F lu xu s per fo rm an c e ar tist. I n c lu ded elec tro n ic an d so u n d ar t in h er early »h appen in g« experim en ts.
De lia De rbyshire
1 937– 200 1 , UK : Style: m u siqu e c o n c rète.
J o in ed th e B B C Radio ph o n ic Wo rksh o p.
Created th e first c o m plete elec tro n ic m u sic sc o re fo r T V.
Anne a
*1 937,
F lu xu s
Vassar
Lo c kwo o d
NZ /US: Created field rec o rdin gs.
ar tist. Elec tro n ic m u sic teac h er at
Co llege.
Ma r ya nne Am a c he r
1 938 –2009, US: Co m po ser, per fo rm er an d
in stallatio n ar tist. I nvestigated ph ysio lo gic al an d psyc h o ac o u stic ) ph en o m en a, su c h
as »o to ac o u stic em issio n «, in w h ic h th e ears
th em selves ac t as so u n d- gen eratin g devic es. Wo rked exten sively w ith site- spec ific
spatialisatio n o f so u n d. I n flu en tial teac h er.
We ndy Ca rlo s
*1 939, US: I n terpreted c lassic al wo rks an d
film sc o res o n M o o g syn th esizer, n o tably
The Shining an d Tron .
Pril Sm ile y
*1 943, US: Pla ye d a sig nifica nt role in the
develo pm ent of the Columb ia -Pr ince ton
Elec tro n ic Music Ce nte r a nd its p rog ra mme .
Her first ele ctronic p ie ce , »Eclip se « (1 967 ),
wo n first p r ize a t the Inte r na tiona l Ele ctroa c o u stic M usic Comp e tition.
Mic hè le Bokanowski
*1 943, Fra nce : Comp ose r of comp u te r music fo r film a nd d a nce with stunning sound
qu ality. L iste ning tip : Tabou (1 983–1 984 ).
Alic e Shield s
*1 943, US: Te chnica l d ire ctor of CPEMC.
Co m po ser of comp lex e le ctronic voca l
wo rks, in clud ing the imp or ta nt »Stud y for
Vo ic e an d Ta p e « (1 968).
La u rie Spi eg el
*1 945, US: One of the first to exp e r ime nt
w ith c o m p u te rs & a lg or ithmic comp osition.
Ma ggi Pa yne
*1 945, US: Comp ose r, flu tist, vid e o a r tist, rec o rding e ng ine e r/e d itor, a nd histo ric al rema ste r ing e ng ine e r who cre a te s
elec tro ac oustic, instr ume nta l, a nd voca l
wo rks. Cu rre ntly Co-Dire ctor of the Ce nter fo r Co n te mp ora r y Music a t Mills Colle g e
(Oaklan d, CA). Te a che s re cord ing e ng in eerin g, c omp osition, a nd e le ctronic music.
Su za nne Ciani
*1 946, I T/US: Ma d e sound e f fe cts for Star
Wars . Stu d ie d comp u te r-g e ne ra te d music
at Stan fo rd Unive rsity ’s Ar tificia l Inte lligen c e L abs in the e a r ly 1 970s.
Hilde ga rd Westerkamp
*1 946, D E/CA: Comp ose r, ra d io a r tist, a nd
so u n d ec olog ist, g ive s sound sca p e wor ksh o ps an d le cture s inte r na tiona lly, p e r for ms
an d w rites .
63
Laur ie And erson
* 1 947, U S : Composer, pe r f o r ma nce a r t i st ,
tap e-bow vi ol i n wi th ma gne t i c ta pe i n st e a d
of ho rse hai r, MIDI, e t c. S he deve l o pe d a
talk in g sti ck, a si x-f o o t- l o ng ba t o n - l i ke
M IDI control l er that c a n a cce ss a n d re pl i cate sounds, and i s the f i rst a r t i st t o h ave a n
ar tis t-i n-resi dence at NASA.
Ch ristina Kubisch
* 1 948, DE: S ound ar ti st , » E l e ct r i ca l Wa l k s«
s eries of works, studi e s e l e ct ro m a gne t i c
rad iati on whi ch turns in t o e l e ct ro n i c so u n d
walk s, and al so devel o pe d new he a dph o ne s
for the purpose.
C i o D o r ba n d t (C io D ’O r )
*1 95 8, D E : C o l o g n e- b a s ed DJ a n d p ro duce r, ra n ges fro m wa r m t ec h n o - d er i ved t o
a m bi e nt pro d u c t i o n s .
Ton e Å s e
* 1 965, N O: Wo r k s wi t h b o t h el ec tro n ic
s o u n d p ro c ess i n g a n d a c o u s t i c s ou n d o n
vo i c e.
Fra n ce J o b in ( i8 u )
*1 95 8, FR/CA : Mi n i m a l d i g i ta l m u s i c c o m po se r, a udi o a r t , t o d a y u s es va r i o u s a n a l o gu e a nd d i g i ta l t ec h n o l o g i es , rel ea s es o n
t he l a be l L I N E .
Ba r b a ra H a lla m a ( Ba r b n e rd y )
* 1 965, DE : DJ i n Mu n i c h , t o o k p a r t i n 1 990s
g a ra g e p a r t i es , t o d a y i s a c u l tu ra l in itiat o r fo r B er l i n’s »S u p p o r t Yo u r L o c al G h ett o « even t s , p u b l i s h es m i xes ext en s i vely o n
SoundCloud.
M i ya M a sa oka
*1 95 8, U S : E l ec t ro a c o u s t i c wo r k s fo r ko t o
a n d e l e ct ro n i c s , fi el d rec o rd i n g s , l a p t o p,
v i de o a n d wr i t t en s c o res fo r en s em b l es ,
cha mbe r o rc h es t ra s , a n d m i xed c h o i rs .
195 0s
1960 s
Ch rist ine New by (Cose y Fa n n i Tut t i ,
Cos mosis)
* 1 951, U K: Industri al mu si c, ro o t s i n pe rform ance ar t, co-f ounde r o f ava n t-ga rde
g rou ps Coum Transmi ssi o ns, T hro bbi ng
Gris tl e and Chri s & C o se y. L i st e ni n g t i p:
G udr un G u t
*1 96 0, D E : Fo u n d i n g m em b er o f E i n st ür ze n de Neu b a u t en , a n d Ma l a r i a ! . Fo u n d e d t he l a be l Mo n i ka E n t er p r i s e, fi rs t s o l o reco rd 20 06, t ec h n o s o n g wr i t er.
Selflessness ( 2004) .
Iku e Mor i
* 1 953, JP: Drummer, di gi ta l co mpo se r, v i sual a r ti st, drum mach i n e s, di gi ta l pe rcuss ion, ex peri mentati on w i t h mu si ca l f o r m.
Carla Scalet t i
* 1 956, U S : Harpi st, co m po se r, a nd mu si c
tec hnol ogi st.
Zeena Par kins
* 1 956, U S : Besi des s ta nda rd a n d e l e ct r i c
harp s, her work al so i nco r po ra t e s Fo l e y,
fie ld recordi ngs, a na l o gu e synt h e si ze rs , sampl ers, osci l l at o rs, a n d h o me ma de
ins truments.
Pamela Z
* 1 956, U S : Processes h e r vo i ce i n re a l time to create dense, co mpl ex so ni c l a ye rs in her sol o works t ha t co mbi n e expe r i me ntal extended vocal t e ch n i qu e s, o pe ra t i c
b e l canto, f ound obj ect s, t ext , a n d sa m p led concrète sounds. U se s so f t wa re a l o ng
w ith custom MIDI contro l l e rs t o ma ni pu l a t e
s ound and i mage wi th ph ysi ca l ge stu re s.
Laetitia Sonami
* 1 957, FR/U S : Compose r, pe r f o r me r, so un d
ins ta l l ati on ar ti st. Desi gns a nd u se s he r ow n
ins truments al ong wi t h we a ra bl e t e ch n o l og y f or her composi tio n s a n d so n i c st o r y
s tor y tel l i ng.
El i s abeth Schimana
* 1 958. , AT: Composer, pe r f o r m e r, a n d ra d io a r ti st practi ci ng and re se a rchi n g m u si c olo gy, ethnol ogy, spa ce - bo dy e l e ct ro ni cs,
g e nder, ar t, and techno l o gy.
Ka f f e M a t th ews
*1 961 , U K: I n fl u en t i a l s o u n d a r t i s t a n d d i g i ta l mu si c c o m p o s er, m u l t i - c h a n n el c o m po si t i o n, f o u n d ed »Mu s i c fo r B o d i es « a n d
bui l ds so n i c fu r n i tu re.
A n a - M a r i a Av ra m
*1 961 , RO : S p ec t ra l m u s i c s ty l e, a c o u s ma t i c, h e t e ro p h o n i c a n d t ra n s fo r m a t i o n a l . E l e ct ro n i c m u s i c a n d c o m p u t er a ss i s t ed
mu si c. Wo r k s c l o s el y wi t h c o m p o s er I a n c u
D u m i t re scu .
Va l e r i e O l u ke m i A » Ke m i«
O l usa n ya ( Ke m is t r y )
1 96 3 – 9 9, U K : Pi o n eer i n g d r u m’ n’ b a ss a r ti st a s pa r t o f t h e DJ d u o Kem i s t r y & S t o r m ,
co - f o u n de d t h e Meta l h ea d z l a b el .
J a n e C o n n e e ly ( DJ S t or m )
U K: H i gh l y reg a rd ed a s t h e fi rs t l a d y o f
dr u m ‘ n’ ba ss , c o - fo u n d ed Meta l h ea d z b a c k
i n t he e a r l y 1 990 s , i nvo l ved wi t h a l l fem a l e
DJ/ M C - co ll ec t i ve Fel i n e.
S a sk i a S l e g e rs ( M iss D ja x)
*1 962, N L : Tec h n o a n d a c i d DJ, fo u n d er o f
D j a x Re co rd s .
S usa n n e K i rc h m a y r ( E le c t r ic I n d ig o)
*1 965, AT: DJ, c o m p o s er, m u s i c i a n , s p a t i a l - t e mpo ra l p l a c em en t o f s u b t l y t extu red
so u n ds, f o u n d ed t h e i n t er n a t i o n a l c o l l ec t i ve
f e ma l e : pre ss u re.
R i z M a sl e n ( N e ot rop ic )
*1 965, U K: Key b o a rd i s t , b u i l t a h o m e s tu d i o
i n t he e a r l y 1 990 s , c o l l a b o ra t ed wi t h 4 h ero
a n d Fu tu re S o u n d o f L o n d o n .
B jör k G u ðm u n d s d ót t ir ( B jör k )
* 1 965, I S : E l ec t ro n i c m u s i c p ro d u cer an d
s o n g wr i t er, c o n n ec t ed U K c l u b s o u n d w ith
el a b o ra t e s o n g wr i t i n g a n d i n n ova t ive pro d u c t i o n . I n fl u en t i a l rec o rd : Debut ( 1 993).
B ev S t a n t on ( A r t h u r L ove s P la s t ic , ALP)
* 1 966, B S : Down t em p o el ec t ro n i c a, qu eer
c u l tu re.
Vic k y B e n n e t t ( Pe op le L ike U s )
* 1 967, U K : Mu s i c a n d s o u n d c o l l a g i st, radio
m a ker, m u l t i m ed i a a r t i s t , s o u n d fi l ms, c u rren t l y r u n s t h e s h ow »DO o r DI Y« o n W F M U
ra d i o.
Ke iko U e n is h i ( o. b la a t )
J P/ U S : K n own fo r h er wo r k s t h a t fo rm ed
t h ro u g h ex p er i m en t s i n res t r u c tu r in g an d
a n a l yz i n g o n e's rel a t i o n s h i p wi t h s ou n ds in
s o c i o l o g i c a l , c u l tu ra l , a n d /o r p syc h olo gic al
env i ro n m en t s .
E lle n Fra t z ( E lle n A llie n )
* 1 968 , DE : B er l i n t ec h n o DJ wi t h h er ow n
l a b el a n d n et wo r k , B p i t c h C o n t ro l .
M e r r ill B e t h N is ke r ( Pe a c h e s )
* 1 968 , CA : B ea t a n d s o n g wr i t er, pio n eeri n g b ea t s , s ex u a l i ty, o t h er n ess , v i d eo ar tist,
i n fl u en t i a l rec o rd : The Teaches O f Peaches
(2000).
A n d re a Polli
* 1 968 , U S : Di g i ta l m ed i a a r t i s t , a d dresses
i ss u es rel a t ed t o s c i en c e a n d t ec h n olo gy in
c o n t em p o ra r y s o c i ety.
Te r re T h a e m lit z
* 1 968 , J P/ U S : C r i t i c a l l y c o m b i n es th em es
o f i d en t i ty p o l i t i c s – i n c l u d i n g g en d er, sexu a l i ty, c l a ss , l i n g u i s t i c s , et h n i c i ty a n d rac e –
wi t h a n o n g o i n g c r i t i q u e o f s o c i o - eco n o m i c s , s ty l es i n c l u d e el ec t ro a c o u s t i c c o m pu ter
m u s i c , c l u b - o r i en t ed d eep h o u s e, a nd m o re.
M a r in a Ros e n f e ld
* 1 968 , U S : S o u n d a n d v i s u a l a r t i s t , in flu en t i a l tu r n ta b l e- a s - i n s t r u m en t wo r k .
I r is G a r re lf s
* 1 969, DE / U K : C o m p o s er a n d p er fo rm er o f
raw vo i c e i n t o m a c h i n e n o i s es , c u rato r o f
t h e L o n d o n - b a s ed S PR AW L s er i es .
Be th Co le m a n (DJ Singe )
*1 969, US: Co - fo u n der an d in - h o u se DJ o f
So u n dL ab, an in n ovative tu rn tablism ar ts
gro u p dedic ated to c reatin g lo c atio n - spec ific per fo rm an c es o f so u n d an d visu al ar t,
m aster stylist o f illbien t gen re.
1 970s
Sa c hiko Ma tsu ba ra (Sa c hiko M)
*1 970, J P: M in im al elec tro n ic c o m po sitio n ,
sem in al wo rk Sine Wave Solo (1 999).
Ba rba ra Mo rge nste rn
*1 97 1 , D E: B eat- blastin g elec tro n ic m u sic
an d so n gw riter, first wave bedro o m pro du c er m ovem en t in B erlin .
Re kha Ma lho tra (DJ Re kha )
*1 97 1 , UK /US: Alm o st so lely respo n sible
fo r pu ttin g B h an gra m u sic o n th e western
plate- o s- ph ere, DJ, pro du c er, c u rato r, an d
ac tivist, fu ses th e I n dian gen re o f B h an gra
m u sic w ith in tern atio n al h ip- h o p an d dru m
beats. Ru n s an in fam o u s c lu b n igh t in NY,
also an ac tivist.
Bevin Ke lle y (Blevin Ble c tu m )
1 97 1 , US: Elec tro n ic c razy lapto p pu n k,
m u ltim edia c o m po ser. Par tn ered w ith Kevin
B lec h do m to fo rm th e du o B lec tu m fro m
B lec h do m .
Mo nika Kru se
*1 97 1 , D E: Su c c essfu l tec h n o DJ, m u sic
pro du c er an d rec o rd label ow n er.
Le ila Ara b (Le ila )
*1 97 1 , I R/UK : I D M - derived perso n al irregu lar am bien t, elec tro n ic po p.
Andre a Pa rke r
*1 97 1 , UK : DJ an d c lu b m u sic pro du c er, sam plin g, rem ixes, bass. L isten in g tip:
»Ballbreaker« (1 998).
J o Tho m a s
*1 972, UK : Uses m u lti- speaker system s an d
w rites fo r vin yl, tape c assette, an d digital
m edia. G o lden Nic a award in D igital M u sic fro m Prix Ars Elec tro n ic a, releases o n
En tr'ac te label.
Ma ja Ra tkje (So lve ig Kje lstru p)
*1 973, NO: Co m po ser an d per fo rm er, expressive vo ic e in digital m u sic , elec tro ac o u stic c o m po sitio n , par t o f th e n o ise ban d
Fe- m ail, releases o n Ru n e G ram m o ph o n e,
plays th erem in , lapto p, an d vio lin .
Ca ro line He r vé (Miss Kittin)
*1 973, F R: Elec tro c lash DJ, sin ger, an d
so n gw riter.
Ta ra Ro dge rs (Ana lo g Ta ra )
*1 973, CA: DJ an d elec tro n ic m u sic ian ,
w ritin g abo u t so u n d an d au dio tec h n o lo gies, pu blish ed th e im po r tan t bo o k Pink
Noises (20 1 0).
Nic o le Lizé e
*1 973, CA: Co m po sitio n w ith u n o r th o dox in stru m en t c o m bin atio n s th at in c lu de
th e Atari 2600 video gam e c o n so le, o m n ic h o rds, stylo ph o n es, reel- to - reel m ac h in es, Sim o n an d M erlin h an d h eld gam es,
an d karao ke tapes.
J e ssic a Ryla n (Ca n' t)
*1 974, US: D esign s an d bu ilds m o du lar
an alo gu e syn th esizers, rh y th m boxes, an d
disto r tio n pedals, fo u n ded F lower Elec tro n ic , pro du c in g editio n s o f h er u n iqu e
in stru m en ts.
Missre pre se nt
UK : D ru m ‘n’bass DJ an d pro du c er, per fec ted th e ar t o f pro du c tio n , n ow wo rkin g as
par t o f Silen t Co de.
Cha nta l Pa ssa m o nte (Mira Ca lix)
*1 974, ZA/UK : Co m po ser, per fo rm er, DJ
an d so u n d ar tist, releases o n Warp Rec o rds.
He idi Mo r tenson
*1 975, D K: Ele ctronic song wr ite r, sing e r,
an d pro duce r, skille d e ne rg e tic live p e rfo rm er, ente r ta ine r, a d va nce d live sa mp le
beatbox- to-b e a t te chniq ue s, live p roce ssin g, em ploys wid e ra ng e of ou tb oa rd e ffec ts, m ixing , a nd loop te chniq ue s.
Ma tha ngi »Maya« Arulp rag asam (M.I. A .)
*1 975, UK/SL : multime d ia a r tist, p ione e rin g »rest- of-thewor ld « view a p p roa ch in of fc lu b m u sic, of f-ra p p e r.
Ma gda le na Chojnacka (Mag d a)
*1 975, P L /US: Minima l te chno DJ/p rod ucer, c lo se to Ritchie Haw tin’s Minus la b e l.
Sa ra (Tha t Fucking Sara)
*1 975, D K : Ea r ly tur nta b list, e nr iche d nig htlife w ith h ip hop, d isco, e le ctro, g r ime , ja zz,
so u l, I talo d isco in Cop e nha g e n a nd Be r lin.
Ma nu e la Barile
I T/PT: Wor ks in the r ura l re g ion of the
m o u n tain ra ng e of Gra lhe ira (S. Pe d ro d o
Su l M u n ic ip a lity ), focuse s on p la ce -b a se d
pro jec ts a nd on socia l sound / sound in
c o m m u n ity.
J e nnife r Ca rdini
*1 974, F R: DJ an d pro du c er livin g in
Co lo gn e, G erm an y.
Tu jiko No riko
*1 976, J P: Uniq ue e le ctronica song wr ite r
an d film m ake r, re le a se s on Ed itions Me g o,
favo u rite g e a r : MP C 2 000.
Esthe r Ve nro oy
*1 974, NL : Au dio ar t, em ployin g elec tro n ic an d digital tec h n iqu es in c o m po sitio n s,
wo rks at th e I P EM (I n stitu te fo r Psyc h o Ac o u stic s an d Elec tro n ic M u sic ).
Ryo ko Akama
*1 976, J P/UK: Comp ose r, d ig ita l music to
elec tro ac oustic, e colog y of sound , d eve lo ps perso na l instr ume nts, involve s a Ge iger c o u n te r in he r wor k.
J o ha nna Fa te m a n
(Le Tigre , Sw im With the Do lphins)
*1 974, US: Keybo ards an d sam ples, m ade
a five- so n g c assette en titled The Struggle
Am i Yo shid a
*1 976, J P: Extre me va r ie ty of voca liza tion,
elec tro ac oustic p e r for ma nce .
for the Full Exercise of Woman's Equality
(1 999).
Alexa ndra Drö ne r & J o ha nna Gra bsc h
(Sic k Girls)
D E: DJ - team fo r grim e, du bstep, UK u n dergro u n d, gan gsta rap, B - m o re an d digidan c eh all. Ru n th e par ty series »Revo lu tio n
N° 5 « – a so u n d c o n c ept w ith n o lim its.
Hild So fie Ta fjo rd
*1 974, NO: Elec tro ac o u stic n o ise m u sic ,
experim en tal elec tro n ic s, also par t o f Spu n k
an d n o ise du o Fe- m ail.
Yô ko Higa shi (ha m a Yô ko )
*1 974, J P/F R: Fearless elec tro n ic m u sic pro du c tio n an d c o m po sitio n , u n iqu e,
ac o u sm atic , an arc h istic , pitc h - tran spo sed
ato n al c h an tin g, sam ples, disto r tio n s, an d
paroxysm al rh y th m s.
Chlo é Thévenin (DJ Chloe)
*1 976, F R: DJ, a r tist, a nd comp ose r a imin g to m ake the d a nce floor more b e a u tiful,
so f ter, m o re inte llig e nt, more op e n.
Gina V. D'Orio
*1 976, D E: Ma in for me r voca list from Ge rm an D igital Ha rd core b a nd EC8OR a nd
m em ber o f Cob ra Kille r, d istor te d e le ctronic h ard c o re p rod uction.
Alexa ndra Card enas
*1 976, CO : Live cod e r, ha s a p a ssion for
c o de an d he r e le ctr ic g uita r a nd sup e rcollider, invo lve d in the live cod ing sce ne in
M exic o City.
J a m Ro stron (Planning torock)
UK : Qu eer sy nth-p op e le ctronica song wr itin g, expand ing g e nd e r p e rce p tion.
65
Jo cely n Samson (JD S a mso n )
* 1 978, U S : Producer, so ngw r i t e r, a nd DJ
b es t known as membe r o f t h e ba nds L e
Tig re and the MEN , a l so pa r t o f e l e ct ro activi sts U l tra-Di sco t h a t suppo r t t h e O ccupy movement.
Kri s tin Er ickson (Kev i n B l e ch do m)
* 1 978, U S : Ex peri men ta l e l e ct ro ni c m u si cian/per f ormance ar ti s t l ow-f i , po p di st o rtion, noi se, comedy-l a pt o p a n a rch y. Pa r t o f
the duo Bl ectum f rom B l e ch do m.
Natalie Ber idze (TBA )
* 1 979, GE: Innovati ve se l f- pro du ci n g e l e ctronic musi ci an, uni qu e cro ssove r o f t e ch no, indi e, cl assi cal i nf l u e nce s, f i l m sco re s,
w rites al l her musi c i n FL S tu di o.
Laura Escudé
* 1 979, U S : Vi ol i ni st, m u si c pro du ce r, co mp os er, control l er-i st, mu si c t e ch n o l o gi st ,
and Abl eton Cer ti f i ed Tra i n e r, de si gn e d a n d
p layed shows f or Jay-Z a n d Ka nye We st .
Mer ja Kokkonen (Isla j a )
* 1 979, FI: H er musi c i s no ta bl y psych e de l i c
and ver y i nti mate usi n g a l a rge va r i e ty o f
ins tr uments.
19 80s & alr e ady
pion eers
Sara Ab del-Hamid (Iko n i ka )
* 1 9 80, U K: El ectroni c mu si ci a n, pro du ce r,
DJ, garage and house, dubst e p,
re leases on Hyperdub l a be l .
Mar ia Chavez
* 1 9 80, PE: S ound ar ti st , a bst ra ct tu r nta blis t, curator, and DJ b a se d i n N YC , use s
b roken vi nyl .
Hel e na Gough
* 1 9 80, U K: Power f ul expre ssi ve mu si qu e
concrète f or the 21 st c e ntur y. L i st e ni n g t i p:
Mikroklimata ( Entr ’ act e , 20 1 0 ) .
Kater y na Zavoloka
* 1 9 8 1 , UA : El ectroni c pro du ce r, pe r f o r m e r, and sound ar ti st, cr i sp I D M -i nf l ue nce d
p roducti on, uni que co l o u r, i n t e r we ave s
s ampl i ng of U krai ni an f o l k e l e m e nt s usi n g
ins truments f rom Wal d o r f, Dave S m i t h , a nd
Native Instruments.
Hi l dur Ing veld ardóttir G uð n a dó t t i r
( Hi l dur ness)
* 1 9 82, IS : U se of el ect ro n i ca l l y t re a t e d ce l lo s ounds f or drone an d n o i se mu si c.
Merr isa Camp bell (C o o l y G )
* 1 9 82, U K: Producer, DJ a nd re m i x a r t i st ,
d ub organi zer, genre-de f yi ng, ba ss-i nf l ue nc ed R&B-l aced trac k s, re l e a se s o n H yp e rdub l abel .
Ro sa M e n k m a n
*1 9 8 3, N L : A r t i s t a n d t h eo r i s t wh o fo c u s es
o n a cci de nt s i n b o t h a n a l o g u e a n d d i g i ta l
me di a ca l l ed g l i t c h es , c o m p ress i o n s , feed ba ck a n d o t h er fo r m s o f n o i s e.
A sma M a ro of ( DJ A s m a , on e h a lf of
N guz un guzu )
To ur DJ f o r M. I . A . , m i xed t h e Vi c k i L eek x
mi xta pe , sty l e: fu tu r i s t i c g l o b a l b a ss , c l a ss i l y hybr i d c l u b m u s i c , b a ss m u s i c , t ro p i c a l /
gl o ba l ba ss , t ra p, s ea p u n k , m o o m b a h t o n ,
a n d o t h e r I n t er n et- s p awn ed g en res .
M a ya J a n e C ole s
*1 9 87, U K: Mu s i c p ro d u c er, a u d i o en g i n eer
a n d DJ, a l so p a r t o f el ec t ro n i c d u b d u o S h e
I s Da n ge r, w i t h L en a C u l l en .
Vi ck y Wi cke n d e n ( L a d y V D u bz )
U K: L o ndo n d r u m’ n’ b a ss . Fo u n d i n g m em be r o f t he »Fem i n i n e Ta keover« m ovem en t
a l o ngsi de MC L a d y B l a zer.
C l a i re B o uc h e r ( G r im e s )
*1 9 8 8, CA : B ea t a n d s o n g wr i t er, i n s t r u me nt s a re key b o a rd s a n d sy n t h es i zers ,
use s l o o pi n g a n d l a yer i n g t ec h n i q u es , p a rt i cul a r l y w it h vo c a l s ; m a n y o f h er s o n g s
f e a ture l a yers o f over fi f ty d i f feren t vo c a l
t ra ck s w hi c h c rea t e a n »et h erea l « s o u n d ,
j ust si gne d t o J a y-Z’s l a b el .
B onus : N ew A rt i sts
to Watc h- O u t Fo r
L i n a Ba ut i s t a
CO : Li ve c o m p o s i t i o n b u i l t- u p wi t h a m pl i f i e d so un d s fro m t h e env i ro n m en t , t h e
vo i ce , a nd th e g en era t i o n o f a l g o r i t h m s fo r
pro ce ssi ng a n d l o c a t i o n i n s p a c e.
Ka t e S i mko
U S / U K: M i n i m a l h o u s e p ro d u c er, c o m p o s er.
Ti n ke r
U S : m e l o di c ta ke o n i n s t r u m en ta l h i p - h o p
a n d be a t- dr i ven b a ss m u s i c .
L a ure l H a l o
U S : E l e ct ro n i c m u s i c i a n wr i t t en t ec h n o,
a m bi e nt , a n d sy n t h - p o p, u s i n g sy n t h es i ze rs, dr um m a c h i n es , a n d s a m p l ers , a s wel l
a s vo i ce , pi a n o, el ec t r i c g u i ta r, a n d v i o l i n .
H o l l y H e r nd on
U S : D i gi ta l m u s i c , l a p t o p - a n d s o f t wa reba se d pro d u c t i o n a n d p er fo r m a n c e.
C h r i st i n a Rya t ( RYAT )
U S : Pro du c er, c o m p o s er, m u l t i - i n s t r u m en ta l i st , vo ca l i s t , a n d s o u n d m a n i p u l a t o r o n
l i ve e l e ct ro n i c s , i n s t r u m en t s , p ed a l s , a n d
so f t wa re , sig n ed t o t h e B ra i n feed er l a b el .
J e ssy L a n za
U K : E l ec t ro n i c R n B - i n fl u en c ed c l u b m u sic
wi t h h a u n t i n g vo c a l s .
P h a r m a kon
U S : p ower el ec t ro n i c s /d ea t h
m u s i c , n o i s e.
i ndu strial
C h r is t in e C le m e n t s ( Va c c in e )
U S : Du b s t ep p ro d u c er, rel ea s es o n labels
H o t fl u s h a n d N o n p l u s .
E m a J olly ( E m ika )
U K /CZ: C o m p o s er a n d s o u n d design er, u s es N a t i ve I n s t r u m en t s , n ew, dark,
d own t em p o d u b s t ep, rel ea s es o n Nin ja
Tu n e l a b el .
Kyoka
J P: H eav y ro u g h s o u n d res u l t i n g i n a bro ken
p o p - b ea t wi t h ex p er i m en ta l yet d a n c eable
r h y t h m s , s ta r t ed wi t h ta p e rec o rd er as h er
t oy by c u t t i n g a n d ed i t i n g , l a t er b egan to
u s e sy n t h es i zers a n d c o m p u t ers , re leased
h er d eb u t o n ra s t er- n o t o n i n 2 0 12 .
K it o & Re ija L e e
AU : Pro d u c er d u o fo r d u b s t ep - p o p tu n es.
S a ra h Fa r in a
DE : B er l i n's d i g i ta l DJ o f g r i m e, d u b s tep an d
fo o t wo r k .
N in a K rav iz
RU : m i n i m a l t ec h n o DJ a n d p ro d u c er.
J e n n if e r L e e ( Tok im on s t a )
U S : DJ a n d p ro d u c er, u s es l i ve i n s t r um en ts,
p erc u ss i o n , d i g i ta l m a n i p u l a t i o n , a n d du sty
vinyl.
Fe r h iwot Ta d e ss e ( DJ L e e )
* 1 98 8 , E T: DJ a n d ra d i o - p ro d u c er in Eth iopia.
A n t ye G re ie - R ip a t t i ( * 1 969, E a s t Germ an y ) i s a vo c a l i s t a n d s o n g wr i t er, p ro du c er,
p er fo r m er, p o et , a n d c a l l i g ra p h er, cu rren tl y l i v i n g i n H a i l u o t o, F i n l a n d . S h e pro du c es a n d p er fo r m s u n d er h er own n a m e an d
a s AG F, a n d h a s rel ea s ed o n l a b els su c h
a s Or t h l o n g Mu s o r k , A s p h o d el , N exso u n d,
a n d h er own AG F Pro d u c k t i o n , a s well as
o n K i t ty-Yo a s h a l f o f t h e t h e el ec t ro - avan tg a rd e- p o p d u o L a u b.
T h e a u t h o r wi s h es t o t h a n k t h e
Fem a l e: Press u re n et wo r k !
67
transmissions
Rabih Beaini
b e a i n i / / COHEN : a c a s e s t u dy
By K at e r i n a L e i n h a r t
Ra b i h B ea ini’s M or phine Records expl ores a l i mi nal space
­b e t we e n club culture a nd the avant-garde, i n whi ch techno is
u n m o ored by insurgent noi se. T he l abel i s among three
h i g h l i g h ted a t this yea r ’s CTM Festi val , al ong wi th PAN an d
Ed i t i o n s M ego, f or their expl orator y approaches to genre an d
s o u n d i t self. Recent yea rs have al so seen such l abel s l ooki ng
b a c k wa rds in tim e to sourc e for ward-thi nki ng sound, presenti n g m usica l va ngua rds from past generati ons al ongsi de
co n t e m p o ra r y young ex peri mental i sts. It i s from thi s momen t of
hi s t o ri c a l disjuncture tha t CT M 20 14 – Di s C onti nui ty – take s
it s i n s p i ration, a s demo nstrated by the presentati on of Beai n i’s
mo s t re c e nt pro ject f o r M orphi ne. In 20 13 , the l abel rel ease d a
re t ro s pective tr ilo gy of works by synthesi zer i mprovi ser
Ch a r l e s Co hen, w ho se work has remai ned l argel y unknow n
o u t s i d e his im media te a r ti sti c communi ty despi te over four
d e c a d e s ma k ing music. For CTM Festi val ’s 15 th anni versar y
e d i t i o n , Bea ini a nd Co hen per form i n the j oi nt programme ,
»U n C ontrol « .
Charles Cohen
B eain i grew u p o n L eban o n’s M editerran ean c o ast du rin g a perio d o f c ivil war. With o u t fo rm al disc iplin ar y stru c tu res at h o m e o r
in sc h o o l, h e says h e o rien ted h im self th ro u gh direc t experien c e in
th e c o n text o f a so m etim es vo latile »su r vival enviro n m en t«. Th ese
years spen t develo pin g c ritic al awaren ess an d adaptability c o n stitu ted h is earliest exerc ises in im provisatio n . He didn’t jo in u p w ith
th e m ilitias, n o r align w ith th e traf fic kers aro u n d B eiru t’s h arbo u rs.
»M y dad at th is tim e did n o t say, do n’t go w ith th ese peo ple. He
n ever to ld m e th is. I ju st did n o t do it by m yself. An d m y frien ds at
th at tim e kn ew n o t to brin g m e in side th eir bu sin esses. Th ey n ever
even tried, n o t even o n c e, to invo lve m e in an y th in g, n o t even c arr yin g, o r h o ldin g a gu n in m y h an d… An d th at was n o t fear, bu t I kn ew
th ere was so m eth in g w ro n g in th e po litic al system . I c o u ldn’t take
an y dec isio n o r be o n a side w ith so m eo n e else’s ideals, bec au se
th o se ideals were o f ten c h an gin g.«
As a DJ an d pro du c er, B eain i n ego tiates de- territo rialized, m u table
so u n dwo rlds largely c reated th ro u gh im provisatio n an d rec o rded
in o n e- take sessio n s. He began h is c areer in m u sic DJ in g first in
L eban o n , th en I taly af ter leavin g arc h itec tu re sc h o o l. Rec o gn ized
fo r h is raw, in du strial- in flu en c ed tec h n o, h is so u n d in tegrates redem ptive, freew h eelin g stran ds o f L eban ese fo lk so n gs an d c lassic al I n dian ragas, free, spiritu al, an d c o sm ic jazz, n o ise an d m o du lar elec tro n ic s – all bro u gh t in to eru ptible dialo gu e o r dism an tled
an d rec yc led fo r par ts, th eir residu al en ergy still stin gin g an d sin gin g th ro u gh to n al o r stru c tu ral skeleto n s. »Th ere’s always a sen se
o f m elan c h o ly, a weird dark feelin g, an d th ere’s always a brigh t
th in g, a bit o f h o pe,« h e says o f th e resu ltin g play w ith disso n an c e.
»An d th ese two th in gs are always expressed in m y m u sic , o f ten sim u ltan eo u sly.«
B eain i em brac es ato n ality an d o ppo sitio n as par ts o f librato r y prac tic e. »Yo u star t realizin g h ow to live in it, h ow to, in a way, u n derstan d th e c o de o f it,« h e says, liken in g th e pro c ess to ac c lim atin g
to th e an arc h ic m etro po litan rh y th m s o f B eiru t, o r in tern alizin g th e
abstrac t, explo rato r y lo gic o f avan t- garde elec tro n ic c o m po sers
su c h as Sto c kh au sen o r Cage. Th is is pedago gic al, as well as perso n al. »I like th at peo ple gain th eir ow n c o n sc io u sn ess abo u t th in gs
an d kn ow th at th ere are o th er ways, an d th ere are o th er wo rlds –
n o t ju st th is wo rld th at is draw n in fro n t o f u s,« h e explain s. »Th ere
is an o th er th in g o u t th ere, an d yo u ju st n eed to star t learn in g h ow
to listen .«
I n h is live an d DJ sets as M o rph o sis, he p ushe s liste ne rs to confront
th eir ow n lim itatio n s, even ru ptu re the m. »I have to ca p ture the m
in to a c age an d star t th row in g th ing s a t the m,« he sa ys. »Tha t’s the
o n ly way. B ec au se if th ey are free in a fie ld , I ca nnot re a ch the m.«
Yo u h ave to lu re listen ers in , h e sa ys, sp e a k to the m in the ir own
lan gu age, th en deto n ate an d set the m fre e .
B eain i fo u n ded M o rph in e as a p la tfor m for sha r ing such music,
w h ic h h e c o n siders an edu c atio na l tool. He d e scr ib e s the la b e l,
kn ow n fo r an alo gu e, o u tsider tec hno from the like s of Hie rog ly p hic
B ein g (aka J am al M o ss aka I AM THATIAM a ka The Sun God ) a nd
P h iladelph ia- based experim en tal noise d uo Me ta sp lice , a s a multiplic ity o f ideas w ith o u t stylistic stricture s g ove r ning its ou tp u t. The
label m ain tain s stro n g allegian c e to its p e r ip he ra l p osition to the
dan c e m u sic in du str y, issu in g release s withou t much hy p e a nd minim al ar tist pro m o tio n . B eain i is n ot a iming for a unive rsa lly p a la table so u n d; h e says h e ac tu ally wa nts to filte r Mor p hine ’s a ud ie nce
to disc o u rage appro priatio n . B u t the la b e l’s re le a se s have come to
c ritic al rec o gn itio n , n o t as pro du cts of ha p ha za rd exp e r ime nta lism,
bu t deliberate an d dedic ated n o - bullshit fre e for m.
»I do n’t wan t to c all it pio n eerin g , b u t in a wa y, ye s, it’s insp ire d ,«
B eain i says o f M o rph in e. I t do esn’t sub scr ib e to tre nd s, b e ca use
tren ds fall; it’s n o t preten tio u s. It’s just a stor y, a conta ine r for
stro n g an d sin gu lar vo ic es. »I wo uld n’t p u t a ny thing tha t would a g e
o u t,« h e says. »I wo u ld like m u sic on the la b e l to sta y e te r na l, time less in a way.«
B eain i first en c o u n tered M o rph in e la b e l a r tists Me ta sp lice throug h
h is in terest in th e Am eric an n o ise sce ne . »The ir sound wa s a new
fo rm o f sc i- fi,« h e rec alls in a rec ent e ma il inte r view from Le b a non.
»Fu tu ristic to n es based o n an im provisa tiona l str ucture , a nd incre d ible tec h n iqu es o n th eir gears.« Throug h imp rovise d d ia log ue , the
du o in stru m en talizes disc o m fo r t with the ma nip ula tion of sonic extrem es. Th eir so u n d esc apes litera l inte r p re ta tion, b u t its a f fe ctive ,
c o rpo real power is u n den iable. »This is a ve r y ra re ca se of g e nius in
m y o pin io n ,« B eain i says. »I n a wa y, it’s like g oing insid e a b a r a nd
sc ream in g at peo ple. Peo ple do n’t und e rsta nd wha t you’re sa y ing ,
bu t th ey u n derstan d th at th ere’s some thing g oing on. Some p e op le
w ill fo llow yo u o u t, an d so m e peop le just sta y sitting a t the ta b le .
Th e peo ple th at go o u t w ill do th e revolu tion with you, eve n if the y
didn’t kn ow it was a revo lu tio n go ing on. The y we re just ca r r ie d by
th e stren gth o f th is sc ream in g gu y in wha teve r la ng ua g e .«
69
Ke nneth_Lay ( aka hai r _ l o ss) o f M e ta spl i ce h a d be e n co l l a b o ra t i n g
w ith f el l ow Phi l adel phi a expe r i m e nta l m u si ci a n C h a r l e s Co h en a s
C olor Is Lux ur y, and i t wa s h e w h o i nt ro duce d B e a i ni t o C o h en’s
early recordi ngs as Gho st w r i t e rs w i t h Je f f C a i n . C o he n h a s b een
d evel opi ng hi s own mu si ca l di sci pl i ne , no ta bl e f o r i t s styl i s t i c c o n tinuity, f or the past 40 ye a rs. H e i s o ne o f t he f ew a r t i st s t o own
and have mastered Do na l d B uch l a ’s M u si c E a se l , a ra re p o r ta b l e
sy nth esi zer bui l t f rom t wo m o dul e s o f t he B u ch l a 20 0 S e r i es , fro m
w hic h he procures an expa n si ve so u n d pa l e t t e w i t h t h e i n tu i t i o n ,
nuan ce, and caref ul l i s t e n i n g o f a v i r tu o si c i n st r um e nta l i st .
»The worl d of el ectroni c mu si c a s i t wa s u n f o l di n g i n t h e e a r l y 1 970 s
re s e mbl ed an Odd Fel l ows pi cni c, e me rgi n g pe l l me l l o n t h e o u ts kir t s of the 60s pop expl o si o n« , C a i n w r i t e s i n a re f l ec t i o n o n
C ohen publ i shed on th e i nn e r sl e eve o f Music for Dance and Theatre . »A new genre of soun d wa s be i n g co n j u re d f ro m st ra n ge l o o k i n g
b oxes, makeshi f t whatno t a n d w hi r l i gi g co nt ra pt i o n s. An evo l v i n g
land scape shaped by a n u n l i ke l y co nt i n u u m o f pra ct i ti o n ers –
e rudi te and other wi se, t h e l i ke s o f Te r r y Ri l e y a n d M o r t o n S u b o tnick shari ng audi ence su bse t s w i t h l e ss f l u e nt ro ck a nd ro l l s ta l war ts. A mi dst thi s ha pha z a rd ba ckdro p, C h a r l e s C o he n q u i et l y
s lip ped i n through a si de e n t ra nce . We l l , m a ybe no t a l wa ys s o q u i e tly. Charl es’ pi oneeri ng wo r k wa s, a nd co n t i n u e s t o be ext ra o rd i narily ori gi nal and ref re sh i n g… . u n i qu e l y ca pa bl e o f br i ngi n g u n i m ag ined worl ds to l i f e. «
Be ai ni was i ni ti al l y struck by t he dr um se qu e nce s a nd pa t t er n s fro m
the B uchl a synth and M a t r i xD r um s o n t he t ra ck » Da nce o f th e S p i r i t
Catchers« f rom G hostw r i t e rs’ Remote Dreaming a l bum – t h en o n e
of Cohen’s f ew works t o have be e n o f f i ci a l l y re l e a se d. » I t h o u g h t i t
was so revol u ti onar y fo r i t s t i me , « he sa ys. » I t h a d n o re f e ren c e t o
any th i ng that was yet p ro du ce d un t i l t h a t e ra – ’ 79 – a nd [wa s ] s t i l l
fre s h nowadays. « A l i m i t e d r u n o f 1 2”s ha d be e n i ssu e d i n 1 98 0, a n d
Kenneth_Lay pu t Beai ni i n t o u ch w i t h C o h e n t o di scuss t h e p o ss i b ility of a repress, whi ch m o r ph e d i nt o a l a rge r pro j e ct w hen C o h en
g ave Beai ni access to de ca de s wo r t h o f o l d re e l ta pe s. » I h a t ed t o
p u t ou t a si ngl e pi ece f ro m a n a r t i st , a re pre ss a nd a re mi x o n t h e
B-s ide. It sounded a bi t l i ke a ›DJ f r i e n dl y‹ wo r k , a n d t hi s i s s o m ething I al ways tr y to avo i d o n t h e l a be l , « B e a i n i re f l e ct s. »Th e overall s cheme i s to reach pe o pl e t ha t a re n’ t n e ce ssa r i l y DJs, b u t t h a t
would l i ke somethi ng di ve rse l y re l a t e d t o da n ce m u si c. «
Muc h abou t the col l ect i o n re so na t e d w i t h B e a i n i – t he i n fl u en c es
of Af ri can and Indi an m usi c i n C o h e n’s pa t t e r ns, hi s co m m a n d a n d
c reati ve dexteri ty wi th ra re i n st r um e nt s. ( B e a i ni hi m se l f wo r k s p r i mari l y wi th anal ogue ge a r – dr um m a chi n e s, synt h e si ze rs , a n d s eq ue ncers, pl us a couple o f st r i n g i n st r um e nt s: t h e kudede , t h e santur , a rababa , a Chi ne se h a r p. ) M a n y o f C o h e n’s t ra ck s h a d b een
re c orded not i n studi o s, bu t a s sco re s f o r mu si c a n d t he a t re p i ec es or i n l i ve per f orman ce o r i m prov i sa t i o n se ssi o ns. C o h en’s m u s ic a l so had the added va l u e o f i nt ro duci n g a hi st o r i ca l p ers p ec tive to Morphi ne. Whi le B e a i n i ’s pro duct i o ns a s M o r pho s i s n o d t o
v intage house and tech n o cur re nt l y expe r i e nci n g a re n a i ss a n c e, a s
we ll as the krau t musi c o f pi o n e e r i ng Ge r ma n a r t i st s l i ke C o n ra d
Sc hni tz l er ( wi th whom C o h e n co l l a bo ra t e d f o r t he spl i t L P C to C
in 1 985, ul ti matel y neve r re l e a se d) , o r S un Ra ’s reve l a t o r y a s t ra l
j a z z , t h e l a b el ’s rep er t o i re l a c ked a n y d i s t i n c t c h ro n o l o g i c af filiat i o n . C o h en’s wo r k s , s o m e p ro d u c ed 35 yea rs p r i o r, exem p lified an
ea r l y b reed o f el ec t ro n i c fo l k d i s c er n a b l e i n m o re rec en t d a nc e m u s i c t h a t s t i l l s o u n d ed res o l u t el y c o n t em p o ra r y. Fro m h ere, th e idea
fo r a ret ro s p ec t i ve s er i es t o o k s h a p e.
T h o u g h wel l es ta b l i s h ed i n t h e i m p rov i s a t i o n a l , ava n t- g a rd e, an d
j a z z s c en es o f t h e E a s t C o a s t , C o h en h a s , u n t i l rec en t l y, fl ow n u n d er t h e ra d a r. Du e t o a p referen c e fo r p ro c ess over p ro du c tio n
a n d i m p rov i s a t i o n a l p ra c t i c e, a rel a t i vel y m i n o r p erc en ta g e o f h is
m u s i c h a s ever a c tu a l l y b een rec o rd ed . »I m p rov s ess i o n s a re o f ten
rel a t ed t o t h e m o m en tu m o f m u s i c , t h e b i r t h a n d d ea t h o f so u n d«,
B ea i n i ex p l a i n s . »T h es e s ess i o n s a re n o t reg u l a r l y m ea n t t o be rec o rd ed a n d even tu a l l y rel ea s ed . « On l y wi t h m o re rec en t d evelo pm en t s i n p o r ta b l e, a f fo rd a b l e, a n d rea s o n a b l y g o o d q u a l i ty so u n d
rec o rd i n g eq u i p m en t h a s t h e i m m o r ta l i z a t i o n o f s u c h s ess i o n s bec o m e p o ss i b l e, res u l t i n g , i n B ea i n i ’s wo rd s , i n d o c u m en t s markin g
t h a t m o m en tu m .
Charles Cohen: A Retrospective of Early Works, 1 978–1 989 , a vin y l t r i a d c o m p r i s i n g Music for Dance and Theatre , Group Motion ,
a n d The Middle Distance wa s rel ea s ed i n N ovem b er 2 0 13, alo n g
wi t h a 12 ” o f t wo »Da n c e o f t h e S p i r i t C a t c h ers « Mo r p h o s i s rem ixes.
( T h e fi rs t Mo r p h i n e C D rel ea s e o f t h e m a t er i a l i s fo rec a s t fo r th e
fo r t h c o m i n g yea r. ) I t ’s n o t c l ea r exa c t l y wh y, a f t er s o m a n y years,
C o h en h a s en t r u s t ed B ea i n i wi t h ta k i n g c a re o f h i s wo r k , no r c an
B ea i n i fu l l y a r t i c u l a t e wh a t exa c t l y m a d e t h e u n d er ta k i n g s o im po rta n t . »I t wa s t i m e fo r t h i s t o c o m e o u t , « h e s a ys s i m p l y.
At CT M 2 0 1 4 , fo l l owi n g t wo yea rs o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , B eain i an d
C o h en wi l l m eet a n d p l a y t o g et h er fo r t h e fi rs t t i m e. T h e pro g ra m m e i n c l u d es s o l o p er fo r m a n c es fro m b o t h a r t i s t s , a s well as a
j o i n t l i ve s ess i o n wi t h B ea i n i ’s U p p erg ro u n d Orc h es t ra , a l o ose c o ll ec t i ve o f s el f- d es c r i b ed j a z z n o m a d s wh o ex p l o re t h e i n t ersec tio n
o f j a z z a n d a n a l o g u e el ec t ro n i c s i n i m p rov i s a t i o n .
By c o l l a b o ra t i n g wi t h C o h en a n d i ss u i n g p a r t o f h i s m u s i c a l legac y, B ea i n i a l s o, i n s o m e wa y, rei fi es i t . B u t h el p i n g v i ta l i ze Co h en’s
l eg a c y a l s o a d va n c es B ea i n i ’s b ro a d er a s p i ra t i o n s fo r Morph in e,
s h a red by CT M a n d , a rg u a b l y, m o s t wh o c o n t r i b u t e t o mu sic in
s o m e wa y : t o p rovo ke c r i t i c a l t h o u g h t a ro u n d m u s i c a n d express i ve p ra c t i c e, a n d t o fa c i l i ta t e c o m m u n i c a t i o n a c ro ss g en e ratio n s,
s p a c es , p l a c es t h ro u g h »t h i s s p rea d i n g t o o l , wh i c h i s t h e v i nyl.« Th e
em i ss a r y? »T h e em i ss a r y, yea h . Tra n s m i ss i o n . «
Ka t e r in a L e in h a r t ea r n ed h er B. A . fro m I t h a c a C o l l eg e in 20 1 1,
wi t h a fo c u s i n c u l tu ra l s tu d i es a n d c r i t i c a l t h eo r y. S h e i s a rec ipien t o f a U S Fu l b r i g h t res ea rc h fel l ows h i p i n et h n o m u s i c o l ogy, an d
c o n d u c t ed fi el d wo r k o n r i tu a l m u s i c i n Mo ro c c o fro m 2 0 12 – 1 3. Sh e
c u r ren t l y wo r k s wi t h CT M Fes t i va l .
71
F r o m F o l k C u lt u r e to O p e n
C u lt u r e : C o n t i n u i t y,
d i s c o n t i n u i t y, a n d t h e m u s i c a l
h ac k By P e t e r K i r n
Ag ai n s t the ba ckgro und of the Musi cmakers
H a c k l a b a t CTM 2 0 1 4 and the theme of Di s
C o n t i n uity, Peter K ir n expl ores what i t means
t o s h are. He co mpa res fol k cul ture and musi c
t e c h n o lo gy’s ta ke o n open cul ture, as ar ti sts
re m i x t he ver y to ols they use to per form.
The f ol k tune »Di nk’s S o n g« , a l so k now n a s » Fa re T h e e Wel l «, rece ntly had a promi nent ro l e i n t he C o e n bro t he rs’ f i l m Inside Llewyn Davis . It’s cal l ed »Di nk ’s S o ng« be ca use t he wo ma n wh o o n c e
s ang i t was named Di n k . As t o l d by Ame r i ca n si nge r a n d fo l k l o r i s t
Pe te S eeger, the stor y i s t h a t m u si co l o gi st Jo hn L o ma x f o u n d Di n k
among l abourers worki n g o n t h e M i ssi ssi ppi Ri ve r l eve es d u r i n g
the Fi rst Worl d War. D i n k sa n g he r mo ur nf ul me l o dy i n t o L o m a x ’s
rec order whi l e she was wa shi n g cl o t h e s.
That song has l i ved o n i n cove rs by Pe t e S e e ge r, Jo a n Ba ez ,
Dave van Ronk, Jef f B uck l e y, B o b D yl a n, Ann a M cGa r r i g l e, a n d
Rog er McGui nn. In ea ch re n di t i o n, t h e a ch i n gl y pre t ty mel o d y reveals some new f acet o f i t s o de t o l o n gi n g a n d re gre t .
Thi s i s the essence o f how m u si c wo r k s – o r, a t l e a st , how i t h a d
worked i n f ol k musi c f o r m i l l e nn i a . L e a r ni n g » D i nk ’s S o ng« i s a n exe rcise i n human-to-hum a n a cce ss, sha r i n g, a n d va r i a t i o n . B efo re
the remi x ( or »remi x cu l ture ‹ ) , t he re wa s t h e › c over‹. B e f o re c overs ,
there were si mpl y peopl e si ngi n g so n gs.
Coul d el ectroni c mu si c a nd t h e t e ch n o l o gy o f mu si c - m a k i n g
eve r have the i mmedi a cy o f so m e o n e si ngi n g? C o ul d so f t wa re o r a
c irc ui t ever be shared l i ke D i nk ’s so n g?
That chal l enge i s th e h e a r t o f t he h a ck .
Musi c cul ture i s f un da m e nta l l y a bo u t co nt i n u i ty a nd di s c o n t i n u ity. It i s the act of transmi ssi o n – l yr i cs a nd me l o di e s, st r uctu res a n d
tec hni ques, l earned f ro m o ne a n o t he r a nd t ra nsf o r me d a n d s h a red
ag ain. Musi c technol o gy ca n do v i o l e nce t o t h o se hu m a n c o n n ec tions i n myri ad ways, f ro m t e ct o n i c t o subt l e . Re co rdi ngs m i g h t s u g -
g es t yo u d o n’ t h ave t o s i n g a s o n g i n o rd er t o rec rea t e i t . So f tware
c rea t i v i ty c a n s eem n o t h i n g m o re t h a n b u n d l es o f l o o p s a n d sam p l es , a r ra n g ed by p res et fo r m u l a .
B u t t h es e s a m e t ec h n o l o g i es a re p a r t o f m u s i c c u l tu re . Baez
a n d B u c k l ey l ea r n ed »Di n k ’s S o n g «, i n fa c t , t h a n k s t o L o m a x’s po r ta b l e Ed i s o n rec o rd er ; n ow, s u rel y t h a t a c c ess h a s ex p l o d ed with th e
I n t er n et . A n d m u s i c i a n s n o t o n l y s t i l l s i n g , b u t a l s o ta ke o n elec tro n i c s a n d m a c h i n es a s t h ei r »vo i c e« . Mu s i c i s m a d e o n m a c h i nes, bu t
s t i l l by h u m a n s , fo r h u m a n s .
T h e c r i t i c i s m t h a t m u s i c a l t o o l s s h a p e t h e m u s i c t h ey pro du c e
i s d ea d o n . B u t t h ere’s a n ext l o g i c a l s t ep t o res p o n d t o t h at c o n c er n . To freel y s h a p e m u s i c a n d t ra d e m u s i c a l i d ea s , yo u n ee d to be
a b l e t o ta ke a h a n d i n s h a p i n g t h e t o o l s , t o o. Yo u h ave t o be able
t o h a c k yo u r i n s t r u m en t .
To a l ess t ec h n i c a l l y l i t era t e c u l tu re, t h e wo rd »h a c ker« is ass o c i a t ed wi t h s ec u r i ty p ro b l em s a n d b rea k- i n s . I t refl ec t s a view o f
t ec h n o l o g y a s s i n i s t er, n o t t o b e ta m p ered wi t h . B u t d evel o p er c o m m u n i t i es , wh o s e u s e o f t h e t er m p red a t es t h i s o t h er m ea n i n g , take a
d i f feren t v i ew. » H a c k i n g « i s a b a n n er fo r i n g en u i ty a n d u n ex pec ted
c rea t i v i ty, fo r p ra n k s a n d c l ever n ess a n d ra p i d l y c o n c o c t ed tran sfo r m a t i ve i nven t i o n . I t rewa rd s s h o r t c u t s a n d g ro u n d - u p k n ow ledge
a n d b rea k i n g r u l es . A n d h a c k i n g h a s b ec o m e a c o m m u n a l even t –
t h e t ec h n o l o g i c a l eq u i va l en t o f a c l a m b a ke o r a k n i t t i n g c i rcle o r a
b a r n ra i s i n g . Devel o p ers s ta g e h a c ka t h o n s a n d h a c kd a ys , co m peti n g a n d c o l l a b o ra t i n g i n c o l l ec t i ve g ro u p s .
On c e th ey star t to wo rk in gro u ps, th ere are parallels between o pen
c u ltu re – even in tec h – an d fo lk c u ltu re. Here’s h ow th e I n tern atio n al Fo lk M u sic Co u n c il defin ed fo lk c u ltu re in a 1 95 4 Sao Pao lo c o n feren c e:
»Th e fac to rs th at sh ape th e traditio n are: (i) c o n tin u ity w h ic h lin ks
th e presen t w ith th e past; (ii) variatio n w h ic h sprin gs fro m th e c reative im pu lse o f th e in dividu al o r th e gro u p; an d (iii) selec tio n by th e
c o m m u n ity, w h ic h determ in es th e fo rm o r fo rm s in w h ic h th e m u sic
su r vives.«
Th e versio n c o n tro l so f tware G it, w h ic h is th e basis o f po pu lar
ser vic e G itHu b an d u sed fo r ever y th in g fro m c o de to rec ipes (an d
n ow, elec tro n ic m u sic al in stru m en ts), h as fu n dam en tal c o n c epts th at
are equ ivalen t. A » c lo n e« c o pies a repo sito r y o f in fo rm atio n direc tly,
retain in g th e lin k to th e o rigin al – c o n tin u ity. A »fo rk« allows so m eo n e
to c reate a versio n th at is th eir ow n – variatio n . An d th o se c h an ges
c an th en be »m erged« in to a sh ared versio n – selec tio n . O f c o u rse,
th is defin itio n requ ires an o ral traditio n ; th e G itHu b website alo n e
wo u ldn’t qu alif y. B u t it’s tellin g th at h ac kers gath er w ith o n e an o th er,
an d th at m u sic al h ac kers h ave do n e th e sam e.
I n 2007, I h o sted Create D igital M u sic ’s first » m aker« even t in
New Yo rk to brin g to geth er a c o m m u n ity o f m u sic al inven to rs, in c lu din g »h ac ked« c reatio n s. Th e series was c alled M u sic m akers, o r Han dm ade M u sic , an d h as been replic ated in tern atio n ally. I n th e su m m er
o f 2009, an o n lin e get- to geth er c alled a glo bal » h ac kday« o n Create
D igital M u sic was fo llowed sh o r tly by th e first So u n dClo u d- o rgan ized M u sic Hac k Day, an even t w h ic h h as spread in fo rm ally aro u n d
th e wo rld.
CTM Festival h as fo r so m e years h eld c o llabo rative even ts, h o stin g Sh are, M ariu s Watz’ »G en erato r.x«, an d vario u s o th er pro jec ts
an d wo rksh o ps. L ast year, CTM Festival bu ilt o n th at traditio n w ith its
first editio n o f th e M u sic M akers Hac klab. Th ere, c reato rs – fro m in stru m en talists to fash io n design ers – wo rked to geth er to devise n ew
m ean s o f playin g m u sic . Visu al an d so u n d ar tists wo rked to geth er to
allow th eir c reatio n s to speak to o n e an o th er ; inven to rs fo u n d n ew
ways o f c o n n ec tin g per fo rm an c e to im age an d so u n d. A gro u p o f ar tists jo in ed UK sin ger an d pro du c er I m o gen Heap to u se h er team’s
wearable glove in ter fac e. Th ey bu ilt n ew in ter fac es between th e digitally sen sin g gloves an d m o re traditio n al fo rm s, c o m bin in g its u se w ith
c ellists, sin gers, an d dan c ers, m easu rin g h ear tbeats an d tu rn in g th e
waggle o f a fin ger in to a syn th esized so u n d o r im age.
Th e exerc ise is n o t sim ply tec h n o lo gy fo r its ow n sake, n o t o n ly
sc ien c e fair pro jec ts m ean t to dazzle an d im press. Hac kin g th e perfo rm an c e in ter fac e m ean s th e ability to retu rn tec h n o lo gy to th e h u m an sc ale.
With th e c o m plexity o f to o ls to day, m an y tec h n o lo gies h ave to
be bo u gh t in sh rin k-w rapped boxes, en c ased in m etal an d plastic th e
u ser dare n o t o pen . An d develo pin g a system in h ardware o r so f tware
do esn’t au to m atic ally pro du c e so m eth in g th at c an m ake sen se w ith
th e h u m an gestu re o r u tteran c e.
Perh aps th at’s w h y th e h ac k is so im po r tan t – an d w h y it m atters to
take th in gs apar t. Even learn in g a so n g isn’t always easy. M elo dies c an
o f ten be repeated ro te. B u t perh aps yo u wan t to learn th e gu itar par t
o n th e Osc ar I saac / M arc u s M u m fo rd versio n o f »D in k’s So n g«. Th at
m igh t m ean h o u rs disassem blin g an d re- assem blin g c h o rd c h an ges
an d gu itar pattern s – reverse en gin eerin g, as th e h ardware geeks
wo u ld say. Th e tran sm issio n is still o ral, bu t so m e assem bly is requ ired.
Th o se assem bly skills are th en ba d ly ne e d e d in music tools, whe the r
en gin eerin g n ew in stru m en ts o r simp ly find ing a wa y to g o a round
presets. O th er w ise, th ere wo u ld b e little d isce r nib le d if fe re nce b e tween c o n su m in g m u sic an d m a king it; the re ne e d s to b e continuity, yes, bu t also variatio n . M aking music wa nts to b e more tha n just
pressin g play.
L ikew ise, if m u sic is em o tio na l u tte ra nce a nd not just the p rod uctio n o f so u n d, th en yo u h ave to te st the ou tcome . Music te chnolog y
sh o u ld still h it yo u in th e h ear t, the toe s, the g u t. Tha t me a ns te sting
th e inven tio n s in th e wo rld o f p e r for ma nce . So, we ’re p le a se d this
year to au ditio n th ese tec h n o lo g ie s in front of a ud ie nce s, in re a l time ,
w ith m istakes an d live players swe a ting .
Th e M u sic M akers Hac klab at CTM 2 0 14 will culmina te not with a
set o f presen tatio n s o r a sh ow- a nd -te ll, b u t a p e r for ma nce in HAU2 .
We h ave to play o u r inven tio n s , stoma chs full of b u tte r flie s, in the
sam e ro o m , n o t safely h idden be hind the wor ld of socia l ne twor ks,
u plo ad sites, an d stream s.
We’ll also m ake an en sem b le ou t of »Wre tchUp «, a mob ile a p p
bu ilt by F lo rian G ro te an d m yself in colla b ora tion with Mouse on Ma rs
an d Ru per t Sm y th , as th e ar tist/deve lop e r te a m p la ys the a p p live . Inside is an o pen - so u rc ed m ic ro c osm of sha re d culture : the a p p’s cod e
is available as o pen so u rc e so f twa re , r unning on the lib p d lib ra r y b uilt
o n Pu re Data. Pu re Data, in tu rn , b uild s on ye a rs of contr ib u tions from
a c o m m u n ity o f u sers, an d th e pa tch Wre tchUp r uns on a t CTM b uild s
o n th at as well as m o dified patc he s.
Th ese pro jec ts bu ild o n yea rs of histor y. In the Ha ckla b, Le on
Th erem in’s pio n eerin g 1 920s c ircuit will live a g a in in a re mixe d d e sign by An drey Sm irn ov, th en ap p e a r in p a r ticip a nts’ own p roje cts.
Syn th esis libraries n ow represent d e ca d e s of re se a rch in sound , cod e
bases th at evo lve over m an y years. This is te chnolog y tha t is consta ntly reu sed, n o t dispo sed. An d w ha teve r my th of from-scra tch cre a tion
peo ple m igh t im agin e, ever y ele ctronic p rod uction – b uilt on p rop r ietar y to o ls o r free o n es, sim ple circuits or comp lex one s – sta nd s on
th e sh o u lders o f gian ts, to qu o te Isa a c New ton.
I t’s easy to im agin e th at th es e a re e litist e nd e avours, wa ys of justif yin g fan c y silver lapto ps an d ta b le ts for those with the income to
bu y th em . No th in g c o u ld be fu r the r from the tr u th. Emb e d d e d p roce sso rs are explo din g at a rate th at thre a te ns to ca tch up with the huma n
po pu latio n , n ew c o m pu ters approa ch stunning ly low costs (the Ra sp berr y P i at $25 ), an d so u n d c ircuits ca n b e ma d e from eve n simp le
c o m po n en ts. Th ese to o ls draw a line a cross a ce ntur y of te chnolog ic al in n ovatio n in so u n d.
Th e qu estio n , th en , is o n e o f lite ra cy a nd community. The te chnolo gy is ever y w h ere, as plen tifu l a nd p e r va sive a s the huma n p op ula tio n . Now, c an we, to geth er, m ake those ma chine s sing?
Pe te r Kirn is a c o m po s e r, e le ctronic musicia n, a nd
visu alist, an d ru n s c reate d ig ita lmusic.com. He is the
fo u n der o f M u sic m akers a nd co-p re se nts this ye a r ’s
Hac klab w ith Darsh a Hewitt.
73
T h e O u t e r n at i o n a l
Condition
By I o n D u m i t r e s c u
Ro m an i a n musicia n a nd D IY archi vi st Ion Dumi trescu expl ore s
t h e c re at i ve evolu tio n of experi mental musi c i n E astern E uro p e
b e fo re , d u r ing, a nd f o llow ing the fal l of the Iron C ur tai n. He
a d o p t s O u ter na tio na lism a s a framework for consi deri ng the
cu l tu ral p ro ductio n of na tions peri pheral to Western economic
a nd p o l i t i ca l a xes o f power, whose hi stori es of musi cal i nnova t ion
a re o n l y n ow beginning to gai n broader i nternati onal awarene ss.
I nt e rn a t i o n a l
Thro ughou t the 20 t h ce n tur y, f o r va r i o u s po l i t i ca l , h i st o r i c a l , a n d
e c onomi c reasons, a we a l t h o f w r i t i n g ha s be e n publ i sh e d i n N o r t h
Ameri ca and Europe, d o cum e nt i n g, co nt extua l i z i ng, a nd ca t eg o r i zing ar ti sti c ex pressi on f ro m gl o ba l cu l ture s a n d de t e r m i n i n g t h ei r
p lace i n the histor y .
At a f i rst gl ance, »i nter n a t i o n a l « m i gh t j u st de si gna t e a ne u t ra l ec o nomi c real m of transna t i o na l t ra de re l a t i o ns, bu t upo n f u r t h er i n s p e cti on del i neates a co n t i n e nta l se pa ra t i o n be t we e n devel o p ed
and under-devel oped gro ups o f co un t r i e s, w i t h f a r-re a ch i n g c o n s e q uences f or ar ti sti c t ra j e ct o r i e s a nd cul tura l pro du ct i o n. Reg a rd ing the musi c market, the U S , Ja pa n , a nd t h e U K do m i n a t e i n rec o rd
s ales, f ol l owed by Fran ce , Ge r m a ny, C a n a da , S pa i n , Au st ra l i a , a n d
a few more. One coul d sa f e l y a ssu m e t he se co un t r i e s re pres en t , t o
a ce r tai n extent, the Int e r n a t i o n a l m u si c i ndu st r y.
Ye t f or decades now, a n o t he r sh a pe l e ss wo r l d ha s be e n d evel o p ing a t the peri pher y of t he I nt e r n a t i o n a l sphe re . C o m pr i se d o f m a n y
d ive rse countri es wi th co m pl ex so ci o - po l i t i ca l hi st o r i e s, t h i s o u t er
d omai n hol ds some co mm o n f e a tu re s re ga rdi n g m o de s o f m u s i c
p roducti on, consumpti o n , a nd pro l i f e ra t i o n . To da y f o r t hi s o u t erworld we have di verse n a me s. O ne o f t he m o st ( i n ) f a m o us i s »wo r l d
mus i c« ( »musi que du m o nde « ) ; a no t he r t e r m l e ss f re que n t l y u s ed
b u t randoml y appeari n g i s » O u t e r na t i o n a l « .
O f c o u rs e i t i s a b l u r r y m a p, wi t h l o t s o f i n t ers ec t i o n s , exc eptio n s,
a n d i n d i s t i n c t b o rd er l i n es . B ra z i l s ta n d s o u t a s a p a r t i c u l a r exam ple
wi t h i n t h e Ou t er n a t i o n a l s p h ere, a l rea d y i n t h e 1 960 s m a n a gin g to
rea c h o u t t o t h e wo r l d t h ro u g h i t s c u l tu ra l p ro d u c t i o n i n s p ite o f a
h a rs h d i c ta t o rs h i p a t h o m e. A s s ta t ed i n Oswa l d d e A n d ra d e ’s Manifesto Antropófago , t h e Tro p i c a l i a m ovem en t c a n n i b a l i zed Western
c u l tu re a n d t ra n s g ress ed g en res a n d t er r i t o r i es , wi t h Tro p i c alia rec o rd s rel ea s ed t o g rea t s u c c ess b o t h i n E u ro p e a n d B ra zil. B raz i l i a n m u s i c i a n s s et fo o t i n t h e I n t er n a t i o n a l h i s t o r y ver y ea rly o n .
T h e c a s es o f a r t i s t s l i ke Fel a Ku t i o r B o b Ma r l ey a d d t o t h e fo ggin ess o f t h e I n t er n a t i o n a l - Ou t er n a t i o n a l d i s t i n c t i o n . On c e a r rived in
L o n d o n o r N ew Yo r k d u r i n g t h e 1 960 s a n d 1 970 s , t h ei r mu sic in fl u en c ed Wes t er n s o u n d s fo rever, revea l i n g wh o l e n ew g en res an d
i n s ta n t l y b ec o m i n g i n t er n a t i o n a l l y fa m o u s .
Outerna tiona l
Fro m t h e o u t s et , t h e Ou t er n a t i o n a l d o m a i n s eem s d efi n ed by o bs c u r i ty, g rey m a rg i n s , u n eq u a l t i m es o f ex p o s u re, d a r k s p o ts, freq u en t a m n es i a , a n d v i o l en t s h i f t s . Du e t o t o ta l i ta r i a n reg i m e s, wars
( wa r m o r c o l d ) , p o s t- c o l o n i a l l a c k o f a u t o n o m y, o r j u s t pover ty,
t h e Ou t er n a t i o n a l b o d y o c c u p i es a s p a c e o u t s i d e o f h i s t o r y, so m et i m es c o n s i d ered a n ec h o o f t h e I n t er n a t i o n a l c o re b u t m o stly u n k n own . Ma n y a r t i s t s i n t h es e p er i p h era l reg i o n s were a c t i ve fo r a
few yea rs i n t h e ea r l y 1 960 s t h ro u g h l a t e 1 970 s , a n d t h en disapp ea red wi t h a l m o s t n o t ra c e. I n s o m e c a s es , en t i re m u s i c sc en es
wo u ld disappear o r radic ally tran sfo rm , as in I ran befo re an d after th e 1 979 revo lu tio n , in Ro m an ia af ter Ceau sesc u ’s J u ly th esis,
an d in Tu rkey between c o u ps d’état. Already we m u st separate two
ph ases o f Ou tern atio n al pro du c tio n in regard to th eir spec ific h isto ric al c o n ditio n s. Th e first wo u ld ro u gh ly exten d fro m th e 1 960s to
th e 1 980s, th e sec o n d fro m th e 1 990s th ro u gh to th e presen t day.
Un like th e I n tern atio n al m u sic sc en e, th e Ou tern atio n al is an u n even terrain , per fo rated by n u m ero u s h o les an d disc o n tin u ities an d
m arked by lac k o f m em o r y an d arc h ival c o n sc io u sn ess. Th ese o u to f- h isto r y ar tistic expressio n s n ever c o n so lidate; th ey lin ger in partial iso latio n an d h ard- to - trac e gen ealo gies. Th e spec tre o f disappearan c e is always o n th e h o rizo n . Even to day, I n tern atio n al an d
Ou tern atio n al stan dards fo r m u sic pro du c tio n an d dif fu sio n are
c o m pletely dif feren t. Fo r in stan c e, Ro m an ian m an ele – th e c o n tem po rar y Rro m a m u sic th at h as spread aro u n d th e Balkan s w ith differen t flavo u rs an d m o du latio n s – is livin g o f f th e weddin g in du str y.
M u sic ian s release sin gles an d Yo u Tu be video s ju st to en su re th e
flow o f weddin g gigs (sim ilar to dabke o r h alay ar tists). So m etim es
th e m u sic is h ybridized w ith po p an d dan c e beats in an attem pt at
th e m ain stream , bu t lo c al m an ele stars u su ally earn th eir m ain m o n ey at m afia bo sses’ fam ily even ts. M an ele m u sic n ever gets aired o n
radio (a c h arac teristic w ith c lear sh ades o f disc rim in atio n towards
th e Rro m a peo ple) w h ile T V statio n s h ave em brac ed it perio dic ally in a tablo id way. Alth o u gh th ere are h u n dreds o f m an ele ar tists,
th ey all o perate th ro u gh two o r th ree agen ts, an d rec o rdin g an d
pro du c tio n is lim ited to ver y few stu dio s.
Th e overlappin g o f th e m ain stream an d u n dergro u n d is a c o m m o n c o n tem po rar y Ou tern atio n al paradox. Th e m an ele c ase is ver y
tellin g, bein g bo th u n dergro u n d an d overgro u n d, h avin g m illio n s
o f listen ers bu t n ever sh ow in g u p in lo c al to ps. Even if o r th o dox
(Western ) m arket pro c edu res o perate in so m e o f th ese bo rder so c ieties, w ith states jo in in g th e Eu ro pean Un io n , o th ers m ain tain an
Ou tern atio n al dyn am ic w ith kin sh ip in du stries, m ass pirac y, an d
u n fettered c o pyrigh t in frin gem en t.
D ig g in g in the N e the r wo rld
Th e I n tern atio n al sph ere is self- su f fic ien t. I t lives o u t o f its ow n
pro du c tio n an d c o n su m ptio n . I t’s h ard to pen etrate fro m th e o u tside, alth o u gh it to u c h es th e far c o rn ers o f th e glo be. I n tern atio n al
m u sic an d sto ries w ill always c o m e to yo u ; it’s h ard to avo id th em .
On ever y c h an n el, th ro u gh ever y so c ial n etwo rk an d m u sic platfo rm , I n tern atio n al patrim o n y is sh o t fro m a u biqu ito u s c en tre in
all direc tio n s. I t’s a Sh akin’ Steven s po ster in a Him alayan sh ac k
o r a Co c a- Co la add in a Siberian village. By c o n trast, th e Ou tern atio n al is always h idden , m azy. To day, o n e still h as to invest a lo t
o f ef fo r t an d patien c e to ac c ede to th o se regio n s, searc h in g lo c al
Yo u Tu be c h an n els o r Tro jan - in fested dow n lo ad fo ru m s, fo r ph o n erec o rded Ku rdish o r Azerbaijan weddin gs, o r th ro u gh a ju n gle o f
po p- u p w in dows. Alth o u gh CD s are so m etim es released, th ey w ill
alm o st n ever be in dexed o n D isc o gs o r sim ilar I n tern et arc h ives.
M eteo rites (o u tsiders) do o c c asiona lly b re a ch the Inte r na tiona l
m arket, bu t rarely is a w h o le Ou te r na tiona l sce ne or g e nre expo sed. Take th e c ase o f Om ar So u le y ma n, who sur fa ce d in the We st
af ter a few h u n dred albu m s alrea d y re le a se d in his countr y. It’s
tru e th at »albu m « in Ou tern atio n a l ja rg on of te n me a ns a re cord e d
live weddin g per fo rm an c e. B u t Soule y ma n is just one a mong hundreds o f dabke ar tists th at h ave b e e n mould ing this g e nre for the
past twen ty years.
» I hate Wo rld M usic « – Dav i d By r n e
Th e »wo rld m u sic « n ic h e h as flo ur ishe d for the p a st twe nty ye a rs
th ro u gh dedic ated pro m o ters, lab e ls, a nd fe stiva ls. Alre a d y he avily c ritic ized, it c o n tin u es to sh ow music from the »wor ld «, b u t we
n ever see fo lk m u sic fro m Eu ro pe a nd Nor th Ame r ica in the se fe stivals, o r c o n tem po rar y su bjec ts p e r for ming the p re se nt-d a y music
h ybrids o f th eir »wo rlds«.
»Wo rld m u sic « is th e rest o f th e wor ld tha t the »ma in wor ld « ha s
ac c epted ideo lo gic ally, th e pro file of the »sava g e « re sha p e d a nd
repac ked to m ake it digestible (p rofita b le ) insid e the Inte r na tional in du str y. Th e c o n c ept o f wo rld music se e ms extra cte d from a
P R debate, th e o u tc o m e o f a m arke te r ’s b ra instor ming . Und e r this
u m brella, m u sic ian s (albeit great one s) a nd g e nre s a re of te n d isplayed as exo tic - prim itive w ith acoustic instr ume nts, re p re se nting
th e »traditio n al« felt as lo st o r ar tif icia lize d in the We st. Wor ld music presen ts n o n -Western m u sic ia ns, usua lly withou t te chnolog y,
fro m areas apparen tly to tally iso late d a nd uncha ng e d for hund re d s
o f years. Th e past pu lsates in th e p re se nt, withou t contextua liza tio n o r distin c tio n . »Wo rld« ar tists a re re p re se nte d a s ta me d a nd
h arm less in digen o u s; th e fo rm er c olonie s a re a g a in infa ntilize d a nd
exh ibited as su c h . Th e m arket structure s p inp oint the g lob a l »surro u n d« so u n d, m easu rin g an d exp osing the We st/Nor th ra d ius.
Fo r th e Western c o n su m er an d remorse ful for me r colonia list, wor ld
m u sic is pu re. I t reso n ates w ith New Ag e e thos, p re se nting music
c u ltu res as u n altered by th e tribu la tions of civilize d , ur b a n, We stern develo pm en ts. Th e o c c iden tal sp e cta tor is thus g limp sing himself as a less ratio n al, less develop e d sub je ct, b u t more se nsitive ,
over w h elm in gly em o tio n al, an d real . This is the sp e cta cle of the
o u tside sph ere, th e exo tic vitrin e full of »a u the ntic« ite ms tha t ha s
bec o m e a su bstitu te fo r spiritu al exp e r ie nce s.
Wo rld m u sic is n o t in tern atio n al, b u t is some how a n inte nsifica tio n o f I n tern atio n al an d Ou tern ationa l d ivisions. One will neve r
get to h ear, in wo rld m u sic festivals, conte mp ora r y hy b r id ize d a nd
elec trified Ku rdish h alay, Ro m an ia n ma ne le , Bulg a r ia n or ke stra s
o f c h alga, Peru vian c h ic h a, Palestinia n d a b ke , Mexica n na rcocorrido, o r m an y o th er gen res an d sty le s. The e f fe r ve sce nt conte mpo rar y m u sic o f th ese n eth er wo r ld s is tr uly le f t ou tsid e b e ca use
o f u n c o n tro lled ten sio n s, pro blema tic a f finitie s, a nd ha rd -to-fra me
expressio n s.
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The abandoned congress hall on Mount Buzludzha, Bulgaria, built by
the communist par ty in 1 981. Photo by Gabriel Basha.
I n th e first stage o f th e po st-1 989 tran sitio n , State- ow n ed labels
disappeared in a few years leavin g a n o - m an’s lan d w h ere pirac y, D I Y c assette repro du c tio n , an d blac k m arket beh avio u r ru led.
By th e late 1 990s, th e vin yl wareh o u se o f Elec trec o rd in Ro m an ia was ran do m ly em ptied, th e c atalo gu e disc o n tin u ed, an d fin ally
th e wareh o u se itself dism an tled, w ith th e rem ain in g rec o rds bein g
(literally) dro pped by tip lo rr y at th e du m p. M u sic lovers an d do ers adapted yet again , em ployin g n ew m o des o f m u sic pro liferatio n , c ru m m y lo c al pro du c tio n , an d u n so ph istic ated replic atio n
tec h n o lo gies.
Re c up e ratio n
T h e O ut e rn a t ion al Sce n ar io
The hi stori c pattern us ua l l y go e s l i ke t hi s: At so me po i nt du r i n g t h e
1 96 0s, ( many ti mes eve n 1 965 spe ci f i ca l l y) , t h e re wa s a n »o p en ing «. In Romani a, Egypt , I ra n , Tur ke y, T h a i l a n d, a nd B ra z i l, A m er i can a nd European mus i c sudde nl y pi e rce d t h ro u gh wa l l s. Th e c a p i talis t medi a machi ne wa s spre a di ng i t s i n f o r ma t i o n f a st e r a n d fa s t er
on a l l conti nents, wi th a pro f o u n d i m pa ct o n l o ca l po p c u l tu res
around the gl obe. Youn gst e rs i n Tu r ke y we re l i st e ni n g t o A m er i can army radi o stati ons ba se d n e a r I z m i r, f e e di ng f i rst h a n d fro m
the pop cul ture of the We st . I n Ro ma ni a , Ge ne ra l S e cre ta r y o f t h e
Romani an Communi st Pa r ty N i co l a e C e a u se scu’s br i e f » e n l i g h t en ment« peri od af ter 1 965 bro u gh t j a z z a n d po p mu si ci a ns li ke L o u i s
Armstrong, Li onel H ampt o n, a n d C l i f f Ri ch a rds t o B uch a res t , wh i l e
Eng li sh and Ameri can mu si c wa s he av i l y a i re d o n t he ra d i o. U S
p re s i dent Ri chard N i xo n v i si t e d Ro ma ni a i n 1 969.
All thi s sudden ex posu re spaw ne d t h e f i rst h ybr i ds o f t h e Ou t er n a tiona l sphere. In Turkey t he re wa s a n expl o si o n o f psyche de l i c ro c k :
Baris Manço, Erki n Ko ra y, C e m Ka ra ca , M o ğo l l a r, Ü ç H ü re l . I n Ro '
mania a beatrock scen e e me rge d: S i n cro n , Ro s u s i N e gr u , S i d era l ,
' '
P hoeni x , and others.
The »openi ng« happen e d t o va r yi ng de gre e s a nd l a st e d b et ween
te n and f i f teen years. U sua l l y i t wa s f o l l owe d by a ne ga t i ve c l o s u re,
w hether through cul tura l revo l u t i o ns o r re tur ns t o so ci a l to ta l i ta r i anis m, and a cl i mate o f a r t i st i c a n d i nt e l l e ctua l re gre ss wa s rei n s tated. Western pop cu l ture , o n ce a cce pta bl e , be ca m e re g a rd ed a s
a s of t power weapon. Du r i ng t he 1 970s a n d 1 9 80s, ma ny c o u n t r i es
(e s p eci al l y Romani a) re st ra i n e d t h e i n f o - f l ux f ro m t he Wes t a n d
s te e red towards nati ona l i st pro pa ga n da .
T h e p s eu d o - u n d erg ro u n d m u s i c ret rea t ed fu r t h er i n t h e 1 980s
a s i s o l a t i o n i n c rea s ed . E x p er i m en ta l b a n d s d i s a p p ea red o r tran sfo r m ed , rel ea s i n g o n l y n a i vel y u t o p i a n , ea sy l i s t en i n g tu n es an d alb u m s . B u t i n p a r t i a l i s o l a t i o n o t h er g en res em erg ed , u n expec ted
m u ta n t s l i ke p ro t o - m a n el e, a s o r t o f p ro l eta r i a n p a r ty/res tau ran t
m u s i c , a n I n d i a n - Or i en ta l 8 - b i t c o m b i n a t i o n . G en er i c , A zu r, Alb a t ro s , To m i s J r. , Î n g er i i N eg r i a re em b l em a t i c a r t i s t s o f t h is gen re
fro m t h e l a t e 1 98 0 s t o ea r l y 1 990 s .
The Iron Cur ta in
B eh i n d t h e I ro n C u r ta i n , t h ere wa s u s u a l l y o n e l a b el p er co u n tr y:
E l ec t rec o rd i n Ro m a n i a , Mel o d ya i n t h e S ov i et U n i o n ( by far th e
l a rg es t i n t h e E a s t er n b l o c ) , Mo i ra s i n H u n g a r y, Ba l ka n t o n in B u lg a r i a , Yu g o t o n i n Yu g o s l av i a , A m i g a i n G DR . T h es e l a b el s were n o t
a l i g n ed wi t h t h e l aws o f l o c a l o r g l o b a l m a r ket s . A l t h o u g h natio n al
p o p u l a r a r t i s t s were a i red o n ra d i o a n d T V a n d fea tu red in yo u th
m a g a z i n es a n d l o c a l p o p t o p s , p a r ty p o l i t i c s s t i l l ty p i c a l l y d ic tated
t h e a r t i s t i c p ro d u c t i o n , wi t h d ec i s i ve p ower over t h e n u m b er o f rec o rd s p ress ed a n d t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f l i c en s es fo r p l a y i n g l ive. L ab el s h a d c l ea r p o l i t i c s reg a rd i n g t h e m u s i c o f m i n o r i t i es , a nd were
o b l i g ed t o rel ea s e a c er ta i n n u m b er o f a l b u m s wi t h »t ra d itio n al«
m u s i c , a s d efi n ed by t h e i d eo l o g y o f t h e g i ven p er i o d . Ever y th in g
wa s m a d e a c c o rd i n g t o a p l a n t h a t h a d t o b e reg u l a r l y re- ch ec ked
by b u rea u c ra c y a n d c en s o rs h i p.
C o n s eq u en t l y, b a n d s a n d a r t i s t s c o n c er n ed wi t h ro c k , j azz, an d
s o m e o t h er Wes t er n - i n fl u en c ed p o p h a d a h a rd t i m e p l a y i n g an d,
m o s t o f a l l , rec o rd i n g . B u t t h e c u l tu ra l p ro d u c t i o n p l a n s o f t he state
were n o t a l wa ys s o ef fec t i ve. I n Ro m a n i a , b efo re C ea u s es c u’s m in ic u l tu ra l revo l u t i o n o f ’ 71, Wes t er n c o n ta m i n a t i o n s s ta r t ed to give
r i s e t o n ew s o u n d s , b a n d s , a n d s tu d en t fes t i va l s a n d ven u es fo r th is
n ew m u s i c .
Th e presen t- day m u sic o f th e Ou tern atio n al sph ere is alm o st n o n existen t o n So u n dClo u d, M ixc lo u d, o r o n lin e platfo rm s su c h as
J u n o o r B eatpo r t. I f o n e wan ted to m ap th e m u sic al lan dsc ape o f
Eastern Eu ro pe in detail, o n e wo u ld h ave to u n dergo to tally differen t pro c edu res o f diggin g. Exc avatin g in th is n eth er- sph ere h as
n ever been easy, in c ities w ith few rec o rd sto res an d an atro ph ied
c u ltu re o f arc h ivin g. D iggin g o r researc h in g in Ro m an ia is do n e
w ith in dead pre- ‘89 in stitu tio n s o r gh o st arc h ives, o n th e I n tern et
o n Yo u Tu be an d lo c al eBay- type platfo rm s (trilu lilu .ro, o kazii.ro ),
in peo ple’s h o m es, an d at flea m arkets. I t is based o n ru m o u rs an d
lo st an d fo u n d tapes.
Af ter dec ades, Ou tern atio n al regio n al h isto r y h as been par tially
»re- sc an n ed«, an d fragm en ted h isto ries h ave c o m e to ligh t. Fo llow in g th e c o llapse o f th e Co m m u n ist blo c , Western Eu ro pean in stitu tio n s pro gressively rec u perated m an y o f th e visu al ar tists an d
m u sic ian s o f th e 1 960s an d 1 970s. Rec u peratio n , re- c o n stru c tio n ,
re- en ac tm en t, an d diggin g h ave been th e bu zzwo rds o f th e last fifteen years. Th u s a w ide ran ge o f frin ge expressio n s, so u n ds, an d
m u sic h as been disc overed in th e fo rm er so c ialist c o u n tries, an d
c o n n ec tio n s, c o m m o n bac kgro u n ds, o r en dem ic c ro ssbreeds h ave
been m ade visible an d c o n textu alized.
B u t even to day, en tire c o n tem po rar y so n ic realm s are in ac c essible to th e Western /No r th ern h em isph ere. M u sic al m asters o f th e
first perio d o f Ou tern atio n alism h ave rem ain ed exterio r to ro c k,
jazz, elec tro n ic a, an d po p h isto r y. To n am e a few : Ko u ro sh Yagh m aei, Ah m ad Z ah ir, Ro dio n G.A., FSB, Sven G rü n berg’s M ess, Sim o
L azarov, Czeslaw Niem en , Erkin Ko ray, K rzyszto f Ko m eda, M in i,
M eh rpo u ya, Aris San , Oko, Ch aran it Sin gh , Farid El Atrac h e, Orh an
G en c ebay, Tem pan o, San Ul L im , William On yeabo r. Th e pro c ess
o f resu r fac in g th e gian ts o f th e first perio d o f th e Ou tern atio n al is
still o n go in g, th ro u gh passio n ate Western labels like G rey Past Rec o rds, Stru t Rec o rds, F in ders Keepers, Su blim e Frequ en c ies, an d
P h araway So u n ds.
Ro d io n G. A .
A typic al c ase o f Ou tern atio n al de stiny b e hind the Iron Cur ta in is
th at o f Ro dio n G.A. Ro dio n Ro s c a b e g a n ma king music d ur ing the
'
Ro m an ian c u ltu ral o pen perio d be twe e n 1 965 a nd 1 972 , colle cting
rec o rds at h o m e an d in n eigh bo ur ing Hung a r y a nd exp e r ime nting
w ith m akin g h is ow n rec o rdin gs. He d eve lop e d his own DIY te chn iqu es o f rec o rdin g an d editin g, b e coming , by the la te 1 970s, a
pro to - bedro o m pro du c er. He wa s a p ione e r by ma king his own
ec h o gen erato rs o u t o f Tesla reel-to-re e l ma chine s, sa mp ling p a r ts
fro m previo u sly rec o rded trac ks with Rod ion G.A. a t Ra d io Cluj in
o rder to m an u fac tu re n ew trac ks. He a lso ma na g e d p r imitive multitrac k rec o rdin g by sw itc h in g an d me rg ing le f t a nd r ig ht cha nne ls,
addin g gu itar, syn th s, beats, an d FX. Af te r finishing a new tra ck he
wo u ld sen d th e tape to Radio Clu j to a ir.
All trac ks featu red o n last year ’s histor ic re le a se The Lost Tapes
(Stru t, Fu tu re Nu ggets, Am bassador ’s Re ce p tion) we re ma d e like
th is, in Ro dio n Ro s c a’s apar tm ent. His tota lly uniq ue p rod uction
'
m eth o ds are o n e o f th e reaso n s his sound is ha rd to tra ce . Alth o u gh o n e m igh t rec o gn ize sh ad e s of kra u trock or othe r fa milia r
c o sm ic syn th textu res, th e gen ealog y b e twe e n his cre a tive ou tp u t
an d th at o f th e West is bro ken . D ue to the p a r ticula r circumsta nce s
an d u n iqu e m ean s o f pro du c tio n , his musica l imp r int se e ms fa b r ic ated o n an o th er plan et. Weird prole t-g a la ctic skins with visce ra l
fu zzy frequ en c ies do m in ate h is sound unive rse , a long with a focus
o n c lassic m elo dy. B etween 1 979 a nd 1 987, Rod ion G.A.’s song s
reac h ed n u m ber 1 in th e radio c h ar ts a cross Roma nia , b u t the b a nd
rarely per fo rm ed live. On ly two of the ir tra cks eve r saw re le a se ,
bo th appearin g o n Elec trec o rd rock comp ila tion Format ii Rock 5 .
'
Ro dio n G.A.’s appearan c e at CTM 2 0 14 ma r ks the b a nd ’s first p e rfo rm an c e o u tside th e I ro n Cu r tain.
Io n Du m itre sc u is c u rren tly par t of the Postsp e cta cle p roje ct, d e d ic ated to explo rin g th e po litic al d ime nsions of p e r for ma nce a nd
c reative ac tivity, an d is a c o - fo und e r a nd me mb e r of the Fu ture
Nu ggets m u sic c o llec tive in Ro m a nia . The g roup ha s re le a se d two
albu m s: Sounds O f The Unheard From Romania a nd Steaua de
Mare (Am bassado r ’s Rec eptio n /Fu ture Nug g e ts 2 0 12 , 2 0 13). He
is also a c o - c u rato r o f Ro dio n G.A.’s The Lost Tapes , re le a se d via
Stru t Rec o rds in 20 1 3. *** w w w.fu ture nug g e ts.com
T h e D e at h o f
Wo r l d M u s i c
By J o h a n Pa l m e
O n 29 J u n e 1 9 87, a t seve n o’ c loc k in t h e eve n in g , a m e e ti n g
wa s h e ld a t a p u b in c e n t ra l L on don . Pre se n t we re f i f te e n
m e n a n d fou r wom e n , a ll B r it ish or Am e r ic a n , re p re s e n ti n g
in d e p e n d e n t re c ord c om pa n ie s a n d m e d ia org a n i z a ti o n s .
T h e t it le of t h e p ropose d a ge n da wa s t h e ra t h e r c r y p ti c » I n t e r n a t ion a l Pop L a b e l Me e t in g « , a n d t h e ba sic s u g g e s ti o n
wa s on e of c o-op e ra t ion : t h a t t h e la be ls in q u e s ti o n wo u l d
p ool re sou rc e s, wor k t h e pre ss, pu t ou t a c a sse tte c o m p i l a t ion t og e t h e r. An d, it wa s de c id e d , a s t h e ve r y fi rs t a n d ve r y
c e n t ra l issu e , t h a t it wou ld b e don e u n d e r a n ewl y c o i n e d
g e n re n a m e , a n ew m a r ke t c a t e g or y, a n ew box i n th e re c ord st ore : »wo r l d m u s i c « .
Director Clarence Peters sets up a shot for a new music video with the singer
Lace. Photo by Team Capital, w w w.teamcapital.info
Director Clarence Peters sets up a shot for a new music video with the singer
Lace, Photo by Team Capital, w w w.teamcapital.info.
77
79
T he p ar tici pants al l shared a ce n t ra l pre mi se : t ha t w h a t t he y di d a s
rec ord compani es was vi ta l l y i mpo r ta n t . T h e » m a r ke t « i n B r ita i n ,
they had obser ved, system a t i ca l l y excl u de d a l l m u si c t ha t wa s n’ t
(in their own words) »A mer i ca n o r a l o ca l co py o f i t « *1) . Al l o f th em
worke d , of ten ti rel essl y and w i t h o u t ma k i ng a si gni f i ca n t pro f i t , t o ward s c hannel l i ng other typ e s o f m u si c o n t o t h a t » ma r ke t « , i de n t i f y ing ar tists they thought wo ul d a ppe a l , se t t i n g t he mse l ve s up a s
p rod uce rs and provi di ng studi o s, cre a t i n g co l l a bo ra t i o n s a c ro ss
b ord e rs , provi di ng marketi ng m a t e r i a l s. Wo r k i n g t o ge t h e r, a s t h e
»world musi c record compa n i e s« , wa s o n l y a no t he r l o gi ca l st ep i n
their wor k to bri ng musi c f ro m o u t si de B r i ta i n t o t he l o ca l pub l i c ,
as inte rmedi ari es. They were do i n g w ha t t he y saw a s a go o d d eed .
O f course, the tal e of t ha t Ju n e eve ni n g m e e t i n g i s ra t he r fa mous by now, at l east i n ce r ta i n ci rcl e s o f de ba t e , t o t he po i n t o f
b e ing hackneyed cl i ché. Th e va l u e s a t ta ch e d se e m pa i nf ul l y na ï ve,
the trop es and choi ce of wo rds f ro m a di f f e re nt e ra . T h e pu bl i c t h a t
d id ind eed buy i nto »worl d mu si c« i s a gi n g a n d di sa ppe a r i ng. A n d
ye t, that ver y central i dea, th a t o f t he go o d, ha rdwo r k i ng i nt e r m ed i aries , has a persi stence tha t se e m s t o t ra nsce nd a ny spe ci f i c sty l e,
lang uag e, or l abel . It ex i sted l o ng be f o re Ju n e 29, 1 9 87, a nd i t ver y
muc h has conti nued to i nf l u e nce t he wa y pe o pl e t h i n k a bo u t m u s i c
d is trib u tio n, no matter that n o -o n e publ i sh e s C ha r l i e Gi l l e t t Wo r l d
c omp ilations anymore.
I s houl d know, because I ’ ve ce r ta i nl y be e n pa r t o f t ha t t re n d .
From 2007 to 20 1 0, I ra n a bl o g a bo u t m u si c f ro m a gl o b a l
p e rs p ec tive. Bef ore that, a stude nt ra di o sh ow. Af t e r wa rds, a tu m b lr micro bl og. Throughou t, m i xe d w i t h mo re h e a l t h y cr i t i ci sm, I ’ ve
s hare d tracks and trends fro m t h ro u gh o u t t h e mu si ca l wo r l d. I ’ ve
hated on worl d musi c and i t s va l u e s, ye t t o a n ext e n t ce r ta i n l y b een
p ar t of them. In that sense, I j o i n t h e ra nk s o f t h e o l de st o f e t h n o mus icologi sts, recordi ng f o l k so ngs o n ta pe t o ma ke t he m be t t er
k now n. I conti nue the work o f Fo l k wa ys re co rdi n gs i n t h e 50 s, c o l lec ting commerci al l y vi abl e re co rds a mo ng t he po o r. I ’ m a n a l o g o u s
to p e op le that produce compi l a t i o n s o f o l d h i gh l i f e o r ch i ch a rec ord s , or of genres f rom the pre se nt da y, w h e t he r Ve n e z ue l a n ra p tor hous e, the musi c of the S a he l , o r S o u t h Af r i ca n k wa i t o -t i n g ed
hous e . And i n one sense I’ m n o t re a l l y t ha t di f f e re n t f ro m a l l t h o s e
Europ ean and A meri can m u si ci a ns w ho have co l l a bo ra t e d wi t h ,
s amp led , and produced musi ci a ns f ro m o t h e r pa r t s o f t he wo r l d ,
w he ther they’ re named Pau l S i m o n o r D i pl o.
T he s e producers, execu t i ve s, bl o gge rs, DJs, f a n s, a nd w r i t ers
all have di f f erent i deol ogi ca l pre m i se s a nd wo r l dv i ews. T h e i r m u s i c
and meth ods are al most un re co gni sa bl y di ve rse . T h e i r ow n co n t r i b u tions can range f rom min i m a l – l i ke me , t h e bl o gge r – t o be i n g
the act th emsel ves. There m a y o r m a y no t be a po i nt t o a ppl y i n g
the s tand ard obj ecti ons to wo r l d m u si c – t ha t i t ’s exo t i f yi n g, m a i n tains a constructed nor th– so u t h o r e a st–we st di v i de , o r i s over l y
c onc e rned wi th f ake noti o n s o f a u t h e nt i ci ty. S o me a re l i ke th a t ,
s ome not . Bu t we’ ve al l got o n e t h i n g i n co m m o n: t ha t i n t e r m e d i a r y
nature, that posi ti on betwee n a l o ca l pu bl i c a n d mu si c f ro m so m ew he re else. And that proba bl y m a ke s mo re di f f e re n ce , i n t h e en d ,
than the par ti cul ar i deol ogi ca l t ra ppi ngs i n w hi ch we i n t e r m e d i a ries mig ht wrap oursel ves.
Ultimatel y, the l i cense to co n t ro l t he f l ow o f mu si c i s a st r uctu ra l
p os ition i mbued wi th a gre a t a m o un t o f powe r. Al l ta l k o f gl o b a l i -
z a t i o n n o t wi t h s ta n d i n g , o u r wo r l d i s o n e o f s h a r p d i v i s i o n s . T h ere
p ers i s t va s t d i f feren c es i n res o u rc es , p r i v i l eg e, a n d a c c ess t o th e
wo r l d ’s ea rs . Wes t er n E u ro p e a n d N o r t h A m er i c a h ave a m u s ic b u y i n g p u b l i c , a »m a r ket « i f yo u wi l l , wi t h m o re n et res o u rc es t h an
a n yo n e el s e. I t ’s a l s o wh ere t h e l a rg e m a j o r i ty o f i n t er n a t i o n a lly
s p rea d i d ea s a re fo r m ed , a n d wh ere »g l o b a l « m ed i a i s h ea d q u art ered a n d r u n . A n d i f wh a t t h e i n t er m ed i a r i es t h i n k i s t r u e, t h en a c c ess t o t h o s e res o u rc es , t h o s e c en t res wh o s e i d ea s t ra m p l e over
t h e wo r l d , i s d ep en d en t o n g o i n g t h ro u g h t h e i n t er m ed i a r i es .
A r t i s t s t h u s fi n d t h em s el ves i n a p o t en t i a l l y i n fer i o r p o s i t i o n in
t er m s o f p ower t o t h e i n t er m ed i a r i es ; i f t h ey wa n t t h o s e res o u rc es
a n d t h a t a c c ess , t h ey h ave t o g o t h ro u g h t h es e m i d d l em en . ( Yes,
t h e m a j o r i ty c er ta i n l y a re m en ) . T h e i n t er m ed i a r i es , i n tu r n , h ave
a c h o i c e o f wh a t exa c t l y t o p u b l i s h o r p ro m o t e, a n d c a n u s e t heir
l evera g e t o d i rec t p ro d u c t i o n , m a r ket i n g , a n d even t h e m u s i c i t s elf.
S u re, s o m e o f t h i s rel a t i o n s h i p ex i s t s wi t h m ed i a a n d rec o rd c o m p an i es s h a r i n g a l o c a l i ty, b u t t h e g eo g ra p h i c a l d i s ta n c e a n d t h e h u g ely
d i v i d ed g l o b a l p ower s t r u c tu re a m p l i fi es i t m a ss i vel y. T h i s i s t ru e
even wi t h s u p p o s ed l y eq u a l c o - o p era t i o n . H owever m u c h yo u t r y to
m a s k i t , t h ere’s n o es c a p i n g t h e b a s i c fa c t t h a t o n e p a r ty i s d ep en den t o n t h e o t h er fo r a c c ess t o a p o t en t i a l l y h u g e s o u rc e o f i n c o m e.
W h y d o es t h i s m a t t er? Wel l , o bv i o u s l y t h e b a s i c p rem i s e o f p u tt i n g even m o re p ower i n t h e h a n d s o f p eo p l e fro m Wes t er n E u rope
a n d N o r t h A m er i c a i s p ro b l em a t i c : p r i v i l eg ed p eo p l e c o n t i n u a lly
b en efi t t i n g fro m t h e i n h er i t ed c o l o n i a l sys t em o f t h ei r a n c es t o rs t h at
c a u s ed t h e i n eq u a l i t i es i n t h e fi rs t p l a c e. T h a t a s i n g l e, rel a t i vely
h o m o g en o u s s o c i a l g ro u p h a s c o n t ro l over a l m o s t a l l m u s i c o n th e
m a r ket h ere i n E u ro p e ( b o t h l o c a l l y p ro d u c ed a n d i m p o r t ed ) i s a n o t h er p ro b l em . B u t i t a l s o d i rec t l y i n fl u en c es t h e m u s i c , a n d we’re
a l l t h e p o o rer fo r i t .
On a ver y b a s i c l evel , a n y s o r t o f i n t er m ed i a c y wi l l i nvo lve
a l evel o f s el ec t i o n . W h et h er i t ’s t h e c o m p i l a t i o n - m a ker c u ra t in g
t h ei r c h o i c e o f p re- ex i s t i n g t ra c k s , t h e A &R rep res en ta t i ve h av in g
t h e p i c k a m o n g n ew a r t i s t s , t h e p ro d u c er d ec i d i n g t o s t rea m l in e
a l l s o r t s o f m u s i c i a n s i n a p a r t i c u l a r d i rec t i o n , o r t h e m a r ket er u si n g p a r t i c u l a r l y t ren d y a n d c o n fo r m i s t g ra p h i c d es i g n , i n t er m e dia r y p ro c ess es wi l l a l wa ys i nvo l ve red u c i n g d i vers i ty t o fi t p a r t i c u lar
i d ea s . T h i s i s even m o re d i s t i n c t l y t r u e wh en i t i nvo l ves a t ra n slat i o n , a n a d a p ta t i o n o f m u s i c c rea t ed i n o n e c o n t ext fo r a n ew a udien c e. ( O f c o u rs e, yet a g a i n , t h i s i s g rea t l y a m p l i fi ed by g eo g ra p h ic
d i s ta n c e a n d d i f feren c e i n res o u rc es ) . S el ec t i v i ty, g en era l l y, i s alrea d y by i t s ver y n a tu re red u c i n g t h e va r i ety o f m u s i c t h a t rea c hes
t h e E u ro p ea n m a r ket .
B u t b eyo n d t h a t , we h ave t o t h i n k a b o u t wh a t k i n d o f s el ec tivi ty h a p p en s . S el ec t i v i ty i s ra rel y ra n d o m ; i t fo l l ows p a t t er n s t h a t a re
t h em s el ves s t r u c tu ra l , p a t t er n s o f p ower a n d p r i v i l eg e. I n t h e c l ass i c s ty l i n g o f wo r l d m u s i c fro m t h e 1 98 0 s a n d 1 990 s , t h i s wo u l d in vo l ve t h i n g s l i ke exc l u d i n g a n y t h i n g t h a t wa s i n a n y wa y t h rea t en i ng,
m a k i n g s u re t h e m u s i c wa s a s n eu t ered a n d h a r m l ess a s p o ss i ble,
o r overem p h a s i z i n g t h e c o n c ep t o f »ro o t s «, d en y i n g t h e p o ss i bili ty o f a c t i n g i n m o d er n i ty t o a n yo n e b u t t h ei r c o n s t r u c t ed »N o r th «.
Or, t h e o b s ess i o n wi t h fi n d i n g m u s i c »fo rg o t t en by s o c i ety«, B u e n a
Vi s ta S o c i a l C l u b - s ty l e, d en y i n g t h e va l u e o f t h e ta s t es o f t h e m aj o r i ty o f t h a t l o c a l i ty ’s p o p u l a t i o n .
Or l et ’s ta ke a n exa m p l e fro m m o re rec en t i n t er m ed i a c y. T h e B ra-
J o ha n Pa lm e is a freelan c e w riter a nd a b oa rd me mb e r of
th e Cin em Afric a festival in Sto c kholm, Swe d e n. He wr ite s
exten sively o n m u sic , po litic s an d the g lob a l ima g e of Afric a. Fro m 2007 to 20 1 1 h e ran the cr itica l music b log
B irdseed’s Tu n edow n .
Th is text was o rigin ally w ritten for the online ma g a zine
Audimat N° 1 , pu blish ed in 20 1 3 by the Toulouse -b a se d
m u sic festival L es Siestes Elec troniq ue s.
*** w w w.les- siestes- elec tro n iqu es.com
*** w w w.revu e- au dim at.fr
Director Clarence Peters sets up a shot for a new music
video with the singer Henri Soul. Photo by Team Capital,
w w w.teamcapital.info
zilian gen re fu n k, in Eu ro c en tric m edia o f ten »baile fu n k« o r »Rio fu n k«,
grew o u t o f th e po o rer n eigh bo u rh o o ds in th e c ity in th e 1 990s, in flu en c ed c h iefly by bass an d freestyle m u sic c o m in g o u t o f M iam i. Fro m
th e ver y begin n in g, fu n k c o n tain ed bo th m ac h o, h ard- edged so n gs
m o stly c o n su m ed by m en , an d m o re ro m an tic so n gs m o stly c o n su m ed
by wo m en . I f yo u listen to early c o m pilatio n s o f th e m aterial fro m B razil, th e divisio n is alm o st fif ty- fif ty. B u t as so o n as Eu ro pean an d No r th
Am eric an c o llec to rs an d c o m pilatio n - m akers star ted sh ow in g an in terest in th e gen re, th e ro m an tic , fem ale- o rien ted style was all bu t erased
fro m its h isto r y, an d th e o n ly th in g th at m ade it ac ro ss was th e su ppo sedly »m asc u lin e« so u n d. I t’s as if a c o m bin atio n o f patriarc h al m ale
do m in an c e, th e relatively few wo m en am o n g c o llec to rs, an d stereo types abo u t th e favelas all fell in to plac e to sh u t h alf o f th e m u sic o u t.
(I t pro bably didn’t h elp th at th e jo u rn alist th at »bro ke« th e gen re in th e
m ain stream US press was Neil Strau ss, au th o r o f The Game ).
Th e stru c tu ral po sitio n o f th e in term ediaries m atters. Even if in ten tio n s are c o m pletely in n o c en t o r even n o ble, th e po sitio n itself is th e
pro blem . I f h isto r y an d th e so c ial sc ien c es h ave tau gh t u s an y th in g, it’s
th at th e tro u ble in term ediac y c au ses wo n’t go away u n til th at stru c tu ral
po sitio n so m eh ow c h an ges. An d to a c er tain exten t, th at is prec isely
w h at is h appen in g righ t n ow.
Par t o f th e paradigm sh if t in m u sic pro du c tio n an d distribu tio n , o f
c o u rse, h as to do w ith th e I n tern et. Relatively free ac c ess to m aterial
o n a site like Yo u Tu be m ean s wo rd o f m o u th , w h ic h , at least in th eo r y,
is m u c h m o re likely to spread ac ro ss bo rders, even between th e po o r
wo rld an d th e ric h . Additio n ally, th e wealth o f m aterial readily o n o ffer allows in dividu als to disc over m u sic beyo n d rec o rd c o m pan y c atalo gu es, sh o u ld th ey w ish to do so. To an exten t, th e I n tern et h as star ted
to ren der in term ediac y irrelevan t. B u t th ere’s an o th er stru c tu ral fac to r
th at’s po ssibly even bigger. Af ter all, even o n th e I n tern et m o st peo ple
rely o n lo c al tastem akers to filter th eir c o n su m ptio n . Th e sin gle m o st
im po r tan t n ew stru c tu ral elem en t is th e rapid develo pm en t o f th e h ardware in du str y, an d th e way pro fessio n al tec h n o lo gy h as go n e fro m bein g pro h ibitively expen sive to readily available ac ro ss th e wo rld. I n n o
m o re th an th ree o r fo u r years, th e tec h n ic al qu ality o f rec o rded so u n d,
im ages, an d pro m o tio n al m aterials h as skyro c keted in c o u n tries th at
u sed to rely o n o ld stu dio s, ph o to c o pied po sters, an d grain y DV, an d
th e m u sic c reated is prac tic ally u n rec o gn isable.
A video like th e o n e fo r Nigerian sin ger Davido’s trac k »Dam i
D u ro «, direc ted by c o m patrio t Claren c e Peters, sh ows ju st h ow stark
th is c h an ge is. Fu ll o f pro fessio n ally sh o t im ages o f per fec tly c o if fed
peo ple ridin g c ars an d th row ing a round mone y throug h a d a r ke ne d
c itysc ape, w ith m in u te details a nd cu tting monta g e s, it sty listica lly a nd
tec h n ic ally o u tstrips th e vast ma jor ity of Europ e a n a nd Nor th Ame r ic an m u sic video s. Th e pro lific Pe te rs is just one of d oze ns of new music
video direc to rs n ow film in g bea u tifully shot, a mb itious clip s in cr isp HD
ac ro ss Afric a an d th e wo rld.
Th is c h an ge h as star ted to ma ke a n imp re ssion fa r b e yond the or ig in al au dien c es. I n M ay 20 1 2, th e sing le »Olive r Twist« by a nothe r Nig e rian , D ’Ban j, en tered th e to p ten of the Br itish cha r ts. Re ma r ka b ly, it d id
so w ith pro m o tio n al m aterials and a music vid e o cre a te d for the Nig e rian pu blic , c o pied straigh t ac ross for the new » ma r ke t«. The most d ire ct
o f th e in term ediaries were su dde nly from the g lob a l sou th the mse lve s.
Th e c o n c ept o f »afro beats« (with a n »s« , it’s not Fe mi Ku ti we ’re
talkin g abo u t h ere), West Afric a n-sty le d p op music with conte mp ora r y
pro du c tio n prim arily rec o rded a nd cre a te d in Nig e r ia a nd Gha na , is
h ittin g o f f in a m ajo r way am o n g young p e op le in much of Europ e , a nd
we’re seein g diaspo ric o u tc ro p p ing s like » UK a frob e a ts« copy ing its
style w h o lesale. A sim ilar sto r y is ha p p e ning in the Sou th Afr ica n house
sc en e, w h ere trac ks like »Tu rn Me On« by Bla ck Cof fe e a nd »Hiya Ka ya «
by Ken tph o n ic h ave wo rked th emse lve s d e e p into UK ur b a n ra d io, a g a in
w ith o u t reso r tin g to exo tif yin g mid d le me n.
Are we seein g an im pen ding shif t of music’s ce ntre s? Will p e op le
aro u n d th e wo rld lo o k to L ago s a nd Joha nne sb urg for insp ira tion? It’s
po ssible – let’s n o t fo rget th at simila r thing s have ha p p e ne d b e fore ,
n o t least w ith th e J am aic an m u sic ind ustr y tha t sta nd s q uite a p a r t from
»wo rld m u sic « an d h as do n e so for d e ca d e s. Or we mig ht e nd up with
a m o re m u tu al, o pen exc h an ge like the one tha t ha s long cha ra cte r ise d
th e relatio n sh ip between Paris a nd va r ious Fre nch ex-colonie s. At the
sam e tim e, let’s n o t fo rget th at this top la ye r of b e st-se lling Afr ica n music is still distribu ted th ro u gh US-b a se d multina tiona ls a nd is ve r y much
in lin e w ith th e sellin g po in ts o f inte r na tiona l p op.
An d yet, th ese n ew ly c o n fide nt syste ms of d istr ib u tion a nd ma r ke tin g break a power fu l illu sio n : tha t of the p oor, hid d e n a r tists from the
th ird wo rld n eedin g a h elpin g ha nd from inte r me d ia r ie s, a nd this mig ht
ju st fin ally an d c o m preh en sively kne ll the d e a th of wor ld music.
* 1 ) A n de rs on , I an (2 0 0 0 ) The Histor y of World Music , internet res ource:
w w w.f root s m ag.c om /c on t e n t /f e atu res /world _mus ic_his tor y
81
ASTA
The Hague, the Netherlands
YAAM
Berlin, Germany
Text by Ti m Terpstra and Guy Tava re s; P ho t o by C h r i st i a n va n d er Ko oy
Text an d ph o to by B ian c a L u dew ig
The ASTA compl ex i n T h e H a gue ’s ci ty ce nt re wa s bu i l t i n t h e ea r l y 1 92 0 s a n d , a t r u e m o n u m en t o f a rc h i t ec tu ra l d es i g n , b ec a m e o n e o f
the most presti gi ous Du t ch m ov i e t h e a t e rs. I n 1 9 96 t he bui l d i n g wa s t ra n s fo r m ed i n t o a c o m m erc i a l n i g h t c l u b ( h o m e t o s u p ers ta r DJ s su c h
as Tiësto and thus sarca st i ca l l y re f e r re d t o a s t h e »Ast h m a « by l o c a l s c en es t ers ) . S i n c e t h e ea r l y 1 990 s t h e ASTA a n d s u r ro u n d i n g ven u es
s uch as Vol tage ( a f orme r C a r i bbe a n di sco t h e que ) a nd I e t s Vr i j ers ( t h e re- s q u a t t ed fo r m er a l t er n a t i ve m u s i c b a r, N a s ta s ta ) , p l a ye d a defining rol e f or both the l o ca l po pul a r cl ub cul ture a n d t he m y r i a d o f s m a l l yet i n t er n a t i o n a l i n n ova t i ve a r t a n d m u s i c m ovem en t s . D u e to
d rug, vi ol ence, and bank r upt cy i ssue s, t h e ASTA cl o se d, reo p en i n g i t s d o o rs s evera l t i m es u n t i l t h e l i g h t s wen t o u t p er m a n en t l y i n 2009.
In 2 0 1 0 the TodaysA r t f e st i va l j o i ne d f o rce s w i t h seve ra l cu l tu ra l c o l l ec t i ves t o o c c u py t h e ASTA b u i l d i n g , i n a s ta t em en t a g a i n s t t he c ity’s
new A nti -S quatti ng Law, a s we l l a s a ga i nst pro po se d a r t s a n d c u l tu re b u d g et c u t s a n d o t h er i ss u es . Pro t es t ers c r i t i c i zed t h e c i ty ’s a bsu rdly ex pensi ve pl ans to »re deve l o p« t he ne a r by S pui pl e i n squ a re by tu r n i n g i t i n t o a m eg a l o m a n i a c c u l tu ra l c en t re, h en c e a l s o q u estio n in g
The Hague’s dubi ous »E u ro pe a n C a pi ta l o f C ul ture 20 1 8« c a n d i d a c y. A s m a n y p a r t i c i p a t ed i n t h e va r i o u s a c t i v i t i es o rg a n i zed i m m ediate ly af ter the ASTA’s o ccu pa t i o n , t he f i re de pa r t me nt de cl a red ( by d ec ree o f t h e m a yo r ) t h e b u i l d i n g a s u n s a fe fo r p u b l i c u s e, t h ou gh n o t
long bef ore i t had been a f u l l y- l i ce nse d e nt e r pr i se t ha t a t t ra c t ed l a rg e c rowd s . T h e s q u a t t ers were fo rc ed t o m ove o u t i n a m a t t er o f days.
L o c ated at th e site n ow o c c u pied by th e ARENA en ter tain m en t c o m plex in B erlin , th e YAAM (Yo u n g Africa n Ar ts Ma r ke t) b e g a n in 1 994
as an asso c iatio n fo r yo u th an d c u ltu re. I t qu ic kly develo ped in to a so c ial fixtu re, a m eetin g plac e fo r ar tists, musicia ns, ur b a n sp or ts, a nd
a leisu re an d rec reatio n area. Th e YAAM was fo rc ed to relo c ate af ter two years du e to n ew plan s fo r the ARENA site . Af te r moving into
its n ew h o m e at th e en d o f th e n earby Cu vr ystraß e, th e YAAM h o sted a th ree- day o pen in g par ty, atten de d by 1 0 000 p e op le . Howeve r,
as th e YAAM h eld an in terim ren tal c o n trac t, th ey were again fo rc ed to m ove in 1 998; a sh o ppin g c en te r wa s p la nne d for the 9000 m 2
lo t, w h ic h was n ever bu ilt. Th e in du strial bu ildin g w h ere th e YAAM c lu b u sed to be was even tu ally to rn d own, b u t a ny new constr uction
plan s fo r th e site failed. D espite its lo n g o dyssey, th e YAAM c o n tin u ed to be an im po r tan t plac e fo r B er lin culture until tod a y, eve ntua lly lan din g at th e Ostbah n h o f, w h ic h it m u st vac ate in 20 1 4 to m ove in to a n eigbo u rin g bu ildin g, w h ic h cur re ntly house s the te chno club
M agdalen a (see page 83).
Lef t derel i ct and empty f o r a l o n g t i me , t h e o l d ci n e ma wa s fi n a l l y »ren ova t ed « a n d a n ew c a s i n o o p en ed i t s d o o rs i n 2 0 13 . A n d so th e
s tor y of the ASTA ends, a n o t he r typi ca l exa m pl e o f t he ma n y v i s i o n l ess u r b a n ren ewa l p l a n s i n T h e H a g u e, p l a n s t h a t d i s reg a rd a n y h istorical conti nui ty, aesthe t i c va l u e , a nd hu m a n- sca l e so ci o - ec o n o m i c a n d c u l tu ra l a c t i v i ty.
Sin c e 1 999 th e em pty lo t at Cu vr ystraß e h as been u sed as an o pen air galler y an d h an go u t spo t by th e Sp re e . Whe n, in 2 0 1 2 , the BMW
G u ggen h eim L ab wan ted to appro priate th e lo c atio n fo r six weeks w ith an ar t pro jec t, lo c al pro tests we re so inte nse tha t the La b d e cid ed to lo c ate in B erlin - M itte in stead. A n ew in itiative evo lved fro m th e pro tests: Cam p Cu vr ystraß e/Fre ie Cuvr y Bra che . As most a ctivists lef t, n ew in h abitan ts m oved in to th e Cam p’s in frastru c tu re: h o m eless, dro po u ts, pu n ks, an d yo u n g id e a listic p e op le from a ll ove r the
wo rld th at c an’t af fo rd th e ren t in th eir n ew h o m etow n . I n 20 1 3 Cam p residen ts began to bu ild h u ts, inte nsif y ing constr uction in ord e r
to get ready fo r w in ter, an d a sm all village em erged. On e o f th e last free n o n - c o m m erc ial areas in B erlin, the Ca mp is consta ntly und e r
m en ac e o f evic tio n . »We are still h ere an d we wan t to stay! « reads th eir Fac ebo o k page. Sin c e 20 1 1 th e site ha s b e e n und e r the owne rsh ip o f Nieto G m bH M u n ic h , w h o plan th e c o n stru c tio n o f flats an d sh o ps in 20 1 5.
.
83
HACIENDA
Manchester, Great Britain
Club Maria am Ostbahnhof
Berlin, Germany
Text and photo by Mi cha e l D u f f i e l d
Text an d ph o to by B ian c a L u dew ig
The i coni c H aci enda ni gh t cl u b o pe ne d i n 1 9 82, i n a f o r m er ya c h t s h owro o m i n Ma n c h es t er. I t s i n t er i o r, d es i g n ed by B en Kel l y, u sed th e
ind ustri al warehouse spa ce i n a wa y t h a t se t i t a pa r t f ro m o t h er n i g h t c l u b s a t t h e t i m e. I n i t s ea r l y yea rs , i t p l a yed h o s t t o p er fo r m an c es
by the l i kes of the S ton e Ro se s, T he S mi t h s, a nd ba n ds si g n ed t o Fa c t o r y Rec o rd s , s u c h a s A C er ta i n Ra t i o, t h e Du r u t t i C o l u m n , an d th e
Hap py Mondays, bu t l i ve m u si c wa sn’ t pro f i ta bl e f o r t he c l u b. B efo re t h e en d o f t h e d ec a d e t h i n g s s ta r t ed t o c h a n g e, wi t h t h e i ntro du c tion of regul ar cl ub ni g h t s by DJs such a s M i ke P i cke r i n g, J o n Da S i l va , a n d Dave H a s l a m , a s wel l a s wi t h t h e a r r i va l o f t h e rave an d ac id
house scenes. U l ti mate l y t he cl u b wa s r u i n e d by a n i nva si o n o f r i va l d r u g d ea l ers a n d t h e v i o l en c e a n d m o n ey p ro b l em s t h a t fo l l owed in
the ir wake. Despi te the n e ga t i ve re pu ta t i o n i t h a d deve l o p ed , t h e H a c i en d a reta i n ed a s t ro n g c o m m u n i ty. I t c l o s ed d own i n J u n e 1 997.
Clu b M aria am Ostbah n h o f star ted in 1 998 at th e Straß e der Pariser Ko m m u n e 2, w h ic h was th en a c omb ina tion of a n e mp ty sta irca se
an d so r tin g fac ility bu ildin g, an d par t o f th e fo rm er East G erm an po st o f fic e statio n an d c argo/parc el colle ction p oint ne a r Ostb a hnhof.
M aria am Ostbah n h o f was h o m e to vario u s types o f elec tro n ic an d experim en tal m u sic , bu t also h eld tra d itiona l conce r ts by influe ntia l
ar tists an d ban ds. Th e c lu b was fo rc ed to c lo se o n 2 J an u ar y 2002, du e to u rban develo pm en t pro jec ts . It he ld a n exte nsive New Ye a r ’s
par ty leadin g u p to its c lo su re. Th e o ld bu ildin g was dem o lish ed, bu t n ew c o n stru c tio n plan s were n eve r re a lize d , a nd the lot re ma ins
em pty even to day.
The bui l di ng was sol d- o f f a nd de mo l i she d f o r re deve l o pm en t i n 1 998 . Va r i o u s fea tu res o f t h e H a c i en d a , even t h e b r i c k wo r k , were so ld
at aucti on, and the pro ce e ds do na t e d t o cha r i ty. T he H a ci en d a m ea n t a l o t t o p eo p l e; t h ey were n o t i m p ress ed by t h e a p a r t m en t bu ildin g
that was bui l t i n i ts pl ace . T h e pro pe r ty deve l o pe r t o o k t h e c o n t rovers i a l d ec i s i o n t o u s e t h e H a c i en d a n a m e a n d t h e m a r ket i n g was c riticize d as a cl umsy attem pt a t l i nk i n g t wo i n co mpa t i bl e co n c ep t s . T h e m o s t c ra ss g es tu re t h e d evel o p er m a d e a r r i ved i n t h e fo r m o f th e
ad ver ti si ng sl ogan »now t he pa r ty’s ove r, yo u ca n co m e h o m e«, wh i c h wa s d i s p l a yed o n h o a rd i n g s a ro u n d t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t e.
I n 2003 th e M aria Clu b reo pen ed in a n earby fo rm er bo at en gin e m an u fac tu rin g bu ildin g. Th e em pty b uild ing stood r ig ht a t the r ive r
Spree, n ext to Sc h illin gbrü c ke. Th e gro u n ds an d bu ildin g were ow n ed by th e c ity o f B erlin , w h o wan ted to se ll the p rop e r ty for use in the
c o n troversial investo r c o n stru c tio n pro jec t, »M edia Spree«, a pro jec t th at envisio n ed a big h o tel an d o f fice comp lex. The p roje ct’s sta r t
was delayed, bu t M aria Clu b dec ided to sh u t dow n in stead o f c o n tin u in g fo r a lim ited tim e an d fo r an inse cure fu ture . O the r p roje cts
m oved in sin c e th en , in c lu din g M agdalen a Clu b an d ADS Clu b. As it tu rn ed o u t, th e gro u n d was c o n tamina te d a nd cle a ning e f for ts we re
to o expen sive fo r investo rs. Su rprisin gly, th e c ity dec ided to o n c e again ren t th e lan d an d bu ildin g to a cultura l op e ra tor – this time to
th e YAAM (see page 8 1 ) w h ic h in 20 1 4 fac es evic tio n fro m th eir th ird h o m e, c u rren tly n ext to o n e o f Ma r ia ’s for me r home s. Club Ma r ia
am Ostbah n h o f h o sted th e CTM festival eigh t tim es in its h isto r y.
85
Fá klya
Budapest, Hungar y
Club Zentrale Randlage
Berlin, Germany
Text by members of the U l t ra h a ng Fe st i va l . P ho t o by Ká i ro l y Zó l yo m i
Text an d ph o to by B ian c a L u dew ig
O nce, at the begi nni ng o f t he new mi l l e nn i u m , I f i nd m ys el f a t t h e F á k l ya c l u b, a t s o m e k i n d o f i n d u s t r i a l - t ec h n o - E B M p a r ty. T he ven ue s eems dark, si ni ster a n d de ca de nt , h a rsh n o i se , pu m pi n g r h y t h m s , c o n s ta n t s m el l a n d d en s e feel o f s m o ke, n o a i r, a n d n o wa y to see
three meters beyond. I pa ss by a si de ro o m , w h e re I se e a h a l f- n a ked b a l d g u y g et t i n g a n ew ta t t o o, j u s t l i ke t h a t , o n h i s b l eed i ng h ead.
I wal k on, i nto the crowd.
I n 2003 th e Zen trale Ran dlage ven u e o pen ed o n th e gro u n d flo o r o f Sc h ö n h au ser Allee 1 72, featu rin g s e le ct eve nts a nd p a r tie s. Gra d ually it grew in to a n eigh bo u rh o o d in stitu tio n w ith a u n iqu e m ixtu re o f experim en tal ar t an d m u sic . As th e re sid e ntia l a re a a round Ze ntra le
Ran dlage c h an ged rapidly in to a favo u red distric t fo r n ew B erlin ers w ith h igh in c o m es, as well as fo r fore ig n inve stors, la te -nig ht d a nce
par ties were pu t to a sto p du e to pressu re fro m c o n do ow n ers an d th e po lic e. New c reative c o n c epts evolve d a t the Ze ntra le Ra nd la g e
fro m th o se n ego tiatio n s, fo r in stan c e presen tin g u n iqu e regu lar even ts th at star ted earlier an d c o m bin e d a r ts, p e r for ma nce , film scre e nin gs, jam sessio n s, an d m u sic per fo rm an c es fro m breakc o re to c o n tem po rar y m u sic . O th er par ts o f th e b uild ing we re occup ie d by studio s an d reh earsal spac es o f m u sic ian s su c h as Ch ristian e Rö sin ger, M edien gru ppe Teleko m m an der, Pu pp e tma sta z, Ra z Oha ra , or Je a ns
Team , all o f w h o m also regu larly frequ en ted th e c lu b’s bar an d stage. Th is c o n tribu ted to th e bu ildin g’s evolu tion into a n imp or ta nt p la tfo rm an d m eetin g po in t fo r th e B erlin o f f- sc en e.
F ák lya ( meani ng torch ) i s si tu a t e d next t o o n e o f t he m a i n ra i l wa y s ta t i o n s i n c en t ra l B u d a p es t , a n d u s ed t o b el o n g t o t h e S o c i a list Reg ime’s network of Cul tu ra l C e nt re s. Fo r de ca de s, su ch ce n t res p rov i d ed g u i d ed rec rea t i o n t o t h e wo r k i n g m a ss es . On l y p ro g ra m m es app roved by the Commun i st pa r ty, re spo nsi bl e f o r t h e h e a l t h y d evel o p m en t o f »t r u e c o m m u n i s t s «, c o u l d r u n h ere. Fo l l owi n g t h e fa l l of Co m munism i n H ungar y, bo t h t h e di re ct co n t ro l o f C u l tura l C e n t re p ro g ra m m i n g , a n d s ta t e s u b s i d i es , d i s a p p ea red . Fo r t h e l a s t t wen ty- th ree
ye ars, most such i nsti tu t i o ns co u l d no t f i nd t he i r ro l e i n t he n ew l a n d s c a p e, a s l o c a l g over n m en t s a t ta c h n o i m p o r ta n c e t o c u l tu re, leavin g
it w ithou t resources an d bu dge t s. H un ga r y’s C u l tura l H o u s es t h u s s ta n d a b a n d o n ed a n d i n d ec a y. I n t h e ea r l y 1 990 s , fo l l owi n g th e fall
of the S oci al i st regi me , t e ch n o eve n t s we re m o st l y i l l e ga l a n d h el d o n t h e o u t s k i r t s o f t h e c i ty, i n a b a n d o n ed fa c t o r i es o r a s o p en airs o n
the hi l l s of Buda ( the we st e r n pa r t o f B uda pe st ) . T he r i se o f F á k l ya a s a n u n d erg ro u n d el ec t ro n i c m u s i c c l u b i n t h e m i d -1 990 s c aptu res
the m oment when tech no m u si c ca m e dow n t ow n , se cu r i ng a fo o t h o l d o n l y t o l a t er b ec o m e a t ren d fo r t h e m a ss es .
As the l ocal governme n t gra dua l l y re cl a i me d co n t ro l , i t bec a m e i m p o ss i b l e t o c o n t i n u e h o l d i n g wi l d raves i n t h i s res i d en t i a l a rea . Nowad ays the pl ace i s som e k i nd o f cu l tura l ce n t re w i t h h a l l s a n d ro o m s ava i l a b l e fo r ren t , o f fer i n g d a n c e l ess o n s fo r c o u p l es , a n d h o ldin g
commerci al retro par tie s, ro ck di sco pa r t i e s, o r gra du a t i o n even t s fo r h i g h s c h o o l s tu d en t s .
Th e n o tic e o f term in atio n c am e u n expec tedly in th e su m m er o f 2007; th e fo rm er ow n ers, w h o h ad been exp rop r ia te d d ur ing the wa r time
perio d, h ad stepped u p an d c laim ed th eir pro per ty du e to th e righ t to restitu tio n . M ediatio n talks w ith the he lp of the d istr ict’s a d ministratio n regardin g an in terim u sage did n o t su c c eed, as th e pro per ty’s L o n do n ow n ers did n o t wan t to ma ke a ny comp romise s. Eve r yone
h ad to m ove o u t by fall 2007, af ter w h ic h th e bu ildin g sto o d em pty fo r two m o re years befo re plan s fo r re mod e ling the sp a ce for comm erc ial u sage were realized. Half o f th e sto refro n t rem ain s u n u sed to day.
87
Lo o k i n g B e yo n d t h e B e at:
Discontinuities in Berlin’ s
M u s i c a l L a n d s c a p e By H e n n i n g L a h m a n n
Kathy Alberici
T h e i m a ge of Ber lin a s a popc u l tu ral centre m ight sti l l be
d o m i n at ed by its techno scene,
b u t t h e l a ndsca pe ha s sta r ted to
s l ow l y o p e n up towa rds a wi der
sp e c t ru m of musica l undercurre n t s . H e n ning La hma nn, ed i tori n - c h i e f of Ber lin-ba sed musi c
we b s i t e No Fea r o f Po p, ta kes a
closer l ook.
Shapednoise
I n th e prefac e to Lost and Sound , a sto c ktakin g o f th e B erlin elec tro n ic m u sic sc en e at th e en d o f th e n o u gh ties, To bias Rapp su ggests th at it m igh t be to o early fo r th e draf tin g o f a pro per h isto rio graph y o f tec h n o an d its en tan glem en t w ith th e c ity. Yet fo u r years
later, despite provin g its u n dau n ted vitality ever y sin gle weeken d
in c o u n tless c lu bs ac ro ss tow n , tec h n o n o stalgia is in fu ll blo o m .
I n h is an th o lo gy Berlin Sampler fro m 20 1 2, Fren c h jo u rn alist Th éo
L esso u r dedic ates a w h o le qu ar ter o f h is bo o k to th e ph en o m en o n ,
im plic itly defin in g tec h n o as th e pin n ac le o f th e c ity’s m u sic al develo pm en t. Th at it ef fec tively am o u n ts to B erlin’s c o n tin u in g c o n tribu tio n to wo rld c u ltu ral h eritage sin c e 1 989 h as by n ow bec o m e
a c o m m o n plac e perc eptio n .
However, w h ile o f c o u rse th ere h as always been m u sic m ade in
th e c ity aside fro m tec h n o, o n ly in rec en t years h as a dif feren t sto r y
begu n to u n fo ld in th e sh adows o f th e over- arc h in g c lu b sc en e, a
sto r y n o t exc lu sively, yet in large par t, to ld by B erlin’s ever- grow in g
expat c o m m u n ity. D istin c t fro m th e dan c e c o m m u n ity, w h ic h h ad already star ted to bec o m e m o re in tern atio n ally sh aped af ter th e tu rn
o f th e c en tu r y, th o se ar tists m ay h ave c h o sen B erlin as th eir tem po rar y o r perm an en t h o m e w ith o u t h avin g been attrac ted by th e c ity’s
repu tatio n as a tec h n o m ec c a. M o re pro saic ally, w h at alm o st ever yo n e m en tio n s are th e favo u rable ec o n o m ic c o n ditio n s th at m ake
th e G erm an c apital so m u c h m o re af fo rdable th an an y o th er m ajo r
c ity in th e Western h em isph ere.
Th e wo rk o f th o se n ew ly arrived ar tists do es c h allen ge th e
do m in an c e o f dan c e m u sic in B erlin . Still, a c o m m o n den o m in ato r is h ard to fin d. W h at c o n n ec ts th e psyc h edelic so u n dsc apes o f
Swedish im proviser Olle Ho lm berg aka M o o n W h eel w ith th e fu tu ristic beats o f Ho u sto n n ative L o tic , o r in w h at way do es th e experim en tal pro to - dan c e o f Au stralian pro du c er P h o ebe K iddo relate to
th e fierc e n o ise attac ks o f M ilan’s Sh apedn o ise? I f an y th in g, w h at
th ey c reate is a bro adly u n dersto o d versio n o f po p, »a m u ltiplic ity
o f ar tistic prac tic es th at derive fro m an d ac tively par tic ipate in c ertain c u ltu res o f th e ever yday«, as defin ed o n th e webpage o f B erlin Cu rren t, th e pro jec t in itiated by CTM Festival to u n ear th so m e
o f th e ar tists th at represen t th is »n ew« stran d o f B erlin’s diversif yin g m u sic al c o m m u n ity – to be w itn essed du rin g th e festival, w h en
B ritish c o m po ser Owen Ro ber ts an d h is en sem ble sh owc ase th eir
»Rec yc led Hyperprism P lastik fo r Am plified Ch am ber En sem ble«,
an d experim en tal m u sic ian Kath y Alberic i sets o u t to m u sic ally explo re th e G D R’s o ld Fu n kh au s, visu ally ac c o m pan ied by film m aker
M ar th a J u rksaitis.
Even m o re dif fic u lt th an fin din g c o m m o n m u sic al gro u n d between th e vario u s ar tists, h owever, is assessin g th eir im pac t o n B erlin’s sc en e. Fo r m an y c o n tem po rar y m u sic ian s, th e em ergen c e o f
th e I n tern et Age h as dim in ish ed th e sign ific an c e o f an ac tu al lo c u s
o f c reativity. As th e existen c e o f a lo c ally fixed c o m m u n ity m ay be
disregarded, c u ltu ral pro du c tio n c an h appen an y w h ere. Th is n o t
o n ly h o lds tru e fo r th e ar tists th em selves, bu t also fo r th o se w h o
pu blish th eir m u sic . Two labels th at in rec en t years h ave tu rn ed in to
c h arac teristic exam ples o f n ew develo pm en ts in th e c ity’s m u sic al
lan dsc ape, PAN an d Hu m an Ear M u sic , are bo th ru n by expats w h o
m o re o r less ac c iden tally en ded u p in B erlin . An d alth o u gh c o m -
m o n ly iden tified as »B erlin - based la b e ls«, ne ithe r PAN’s Bill Kouligas n o r HEM ’s J aso n G rier c o n sid e r the ir e nd e avours a re a l p a r t
o f th e c ity’s sc en e. M o re th an th at, eve n if he ma na g e d to e sta b lish
h is label as a gen u in ely lo c al ven ture , sa ys Gr ie r, »I would ima g ine
HEM wo u ld appear to be a sc en e unto itse lf. Tha t’s just Be r lin’s na tu re«. M o stly c o n n ec ted th ro u gh the ir own ne twor ks tha t a re g lob a l
at least as m u c h as th ey are lo c al, the cha ng ing musica l la nd sca p e
w ith in th e c ity itself rem ain s sc atte re d a nd fra g me nte d .
Fo r n ow, disc o n tin u ity w ith in the p reva le nt na r ra tive of Be r lin
as th e c ity o f tec h n o is m ain ly pro p e lle d by a nd cha nne lle d throug h
in stitu tio n s su c h as th e Sen ate- af filia te d Musicb oa rd a nd the p rojec ts fu n ded by it, fo r in stan c e B er lin Cur re nt. By sta r ting to ma p
th e n ew ly em ergin g »sc en e«, th u s b oosting the visib ility of music ian s th at stan d apar t fro m th e c lub s, those org a niza tions a tte mp t
to asso c iate th e m u sic w ith a m o re b roa d ly ou tline d notion of Be rlin as an in tern atio n al c u ltu ral c e ntre . Whe the r this e f for t ha s a lready c o m e to fru itio n in th e eye s of the wid e r a ud ie nce is a d ifferen t qu estio n .
B erlin is attrac tive as a plac e to live a nd wor k for its p e rce ive d
»o th ern ess« . Th u s it appeals m o re d ue to wha t it is not – not a s expen sive, n o t as restric tive, n o t as » se ttle d « or » finishe d « a s othe r
c ities – th an w h at it ac tu ally stan ds for. In this se nse , it se r ve s a s a n
em pty vessel, to be filled w ith th e id e a s a nd exp e cta tions of a r r ivin g m em bers o f th e tran sn atio n al cre a tive cla ss. For most a r tists,
m ovin g h ere is ver y m u c h abo u t » this ima g ina r y Be r lin I sta r te d to
bu ild u p in m y m in d«, in th e wo rd s of Columb ia n-b or n musicia n
an d c u rren t M u sic bo ard sc h o larship hold e r Lucre cia Da lt, who re leases o n HEM .
W h atever sh ape th e B erlin musica l la nd sca p e ma y ta ke in the
n ear fu tu re, it w ill m o st likely rem a in in a str ug g le with the ima g e of
B erlin as a tec h n o c apital, a stan d ing now wr itte n in stone . This is
already eviden t in th e disc o u rses of tod a y. While the fa d ing cohor t
o f n atives an d first-wave n ewc o m e rs mour ns the lost u top ia of e a r ly
to m id-1 990s M itte wo n derlan d, those exp a ts who a r r ive d b e fore
th e tu rn o f th e dec ade lo n g fo r a byg one p a ra d ise tha t oste nsib ly
still existed o n ly a few years ago. To se e the p a st in eve r-b r ig hte r
c o lo u rs m irro red again st th e prese nt’s p e rce ive d sta le ne ss is ce rtain ly n o t exc lu sive to B erlin’s musica l la nd sca p e . Bu t since the
fall o f th e Wall an d th e su bsequ e nt op e ning of se e ming ly e nd le ss
po ssibilities am idst th e c ity’s ru in s a nd a b a nd one d sp a ce s, fe e ling
stu c k in past m ar vels appears to b e a na r ra tive so p a r ticula r to Be rlin th at by n ow it m ay be c o n side re d the a r tistic community ’s only
tru e c o n tin u ity. Fo r th e in c o m in g musicia n, this situa tion mig ht eve n
provide c o m fo r t, fo r it spares th em the sub tle ob lig a tion to a d a p t to
an y predefin ed an d settled sc en e. Howeve r, it ultima te ly a lso me a ns
th at it w ill be h arder if n o t im po ss ib le to le ave a ny sig nifica nt a nd
lastin g m ark o n B erlin’s m u sic al h e r ita g e . Eve n for the city ’s e me rg in g experim en tal po p u n derc u rrents, tra nsie nce re ma ins the city ’s
o n ly persistin g featu re.
He nning La hm a nn is a music wr ite r b a se d ou t of Be rlin . W h en h e is n o t wo rking on his PhD the sis in p ub lic
in tern atio n al law, h e ru ns the online music ma g a zine
No Fear o f Po p, an d w rites for e ste e me d inte rcontine ntal m u sic pu blic atio n s. *** w w w.nofe a rofp op.ne t
89
Photo: Traianos Pakioufakis
An ex p e r i ment dedica ted to chal l engi ng consensus i n the mu sic
a n d a r t wor ld, »A nonym onth« wi l l hol d i ts fi rst i nstal ment wi th in
t h e CT M / tra nsmedia le co ll aborati ve programme of 20 14. Cre a t e d a n d l e a d by M a t D r yhurst, »Anonymonth« wi l l take shape a s
a wo rk s h o p a t the f estiva ls, expl ori ng ways to fur ther experi m e n t
w i t h an o n ym ity a nd dissent i n creati ve fi el ds. In a shor t, i ntrod u c t o r y t ext , D r yhurst ex pla ins the moti vati ons behi nd the i ni ti at ive ,
a n d s o m e o f its hoped-f o r resul ts. »Anonymonth« wi l l be p u blish e d t h rougho u t Febr ua r y i n par tnershi p wi th V V V NT / avänt / ,
a n o n l i n e j o ur na l, f or um, a nd proj ect space for shari ng ways of
t h i n ki n g w ith broa d impa ct and maki ng practi cal connection s
a c ro ss d i s ciplines. Visit w w w.anonymonth.com for more deta ils.
»A n o n y m o nth« a lso represe nts a wi der expansi on of PAN, a l a b e l
t h at s i n c e 2008 ha s plo tted a space where cl ubl and can conve rse
w i t h t h e ava nt-ga rde, a nd on whi ch Dr yhurst col l aborates w it h
f o un d e r B ill Kouliga s. Buildi ng a non-l i near, ­a nti -chronol og ic a l
­­c o l l e c t i o n , the la bel do es not subscri be to a si ngul ar styl e; rath e r,
i t i s i n t e re sted in identif ying uni que and unor thodox express ive
vo i c e s a n d br inging them into di al ogue, expl ori ng thei r i nterse c t i o n s an d the wa ys they ref e rence one another.
C urat e d by CTM a nd Ko uligas, PAN’s CTM 20 14 presence sp a n s
var i o u s events over the f esti val week, presenti ng ar ti sts whose
wo r k b re ak s f ro m convention and easy cl assi fi cati on.
Ma t Dr yhu rst is an ar tist a nd te chnolog ist b a se d in
San Fran c isc o. He c o -r uns PAN with Bill Koulig a s,
an d ser ves as D irec to r of Prog ra mming a t Gra y Are a .
He presen ts wo rk an d sp e a ks re g ula r ly und e r his own
n am e an d in c o llabo ra tion with Holly He r nd on a s
K AI RO.
*** w w w.kairo.io
*** w w w.m ath ewdr yh u rst.com
*** w w w.pan - ac t.c o m
Anonymonth
By M at D ry h u r s t
I believe th at th e peo ple w h o h o ld th e m o st power fu l o pin io n s abo u t
c o n tem po rar y c u ltu re are also th e o n es w h o stan d to lo se th e m o st
by vo ic in g th em . »An o n ym o n th « is an experim en t design ed to redu c e
th e liability o f expressio n fo r peo ple in th e pu blic eye, an d o bser ve
w h at m ay o c c u r if th ey spo ke freely. Th e first editio n is c o n c en trated
o n m u sic ian s, h owever it wo u ld be in terestin g to expan d fu tu re experim en ts to o th er disc iplin es.
»An o n ym o n th « invo lves a ver y sim ple c o n c ept. Over th e c o u rse o f o n e
m o n th , a piec e w ill be pu blish ed daily o n a spec ially dedic ated website. Par tic ipatin g ar tists w ill privately selec t a n u m ber, an d th eir piec e
w ill be pu blish ed o n th e c o rrespo n din g day o f th e m o n th .
Neith er I n o r o th er par tic ipatin g ar tists o r th e pu blic w ill kn ow w h o se
c o n ten t is po sted o n w h at day. I w ill, h owever, pu blish all o f th e n am es
o f c o n tribu tin g ar tists alo n gside eac h an o n ym o u s po st. Th is provides
a c o m bin atio n o f an o n ym ity an d asso c iatio n , invisibility an d c redibility. Th e pu blic w ill n o t kn ow w h o po sted a par tic u lar ar tic le, h owever
th ey w ill kn ow th at it is fro m a repu table so u rc e.
Th is pro jec t spaw n s fro m a c o n c ern th at in a fragile m u sic al ec o n o m y,
th ere is sign ific an t in dividu al risk attac h ed to levellin g dissen t towards
an in c reasin gly c en tralized an d in terc o n n ec ted in frastru c tu re o f ar tists, labels, press, an d c u ltu ral fac ilitato rs.
On th e o n e h an d, it is rem arkable th at in a tim e o f su c h au sterity th ere
is still a th rivin g m u sic al c u ltu re to speak o f, bu t th e so lidarity in tegral
to keepin g th is c u ltu re aflo at also ru n s th e risk o f c reatin g a c o n sen su s th at m ay bec o m e in c reasin gly dif fic u lt to c h allen ge.
Th e radic al h yperbo le o f m u sic oug ht to b e he ld und e r close scr utin y in 20 1 4.
I am n o t alo n e in o bser vin g th at in ma ny wa ys, the music ind ustr y is
petrified, literally an d figu ratively. The sha p e s a nd for ms in which we
privilege, c ritiqu e, an d distribu te me d ia d og g e d ly re se mb le a more
pro spero u s tim e, despite even g e ne rous p re d ictions p ointing to the ir
dem ise. M o st spen d all o f th eir time on the inte r ne t, a nd ye t ma ny of
u s treat I n tern et- n ative fo rm s o f exp re ssion with a ske p ticism tha t ca n
bo rder o n reac tio n ar y.
On e o f th e great privileges o f a n Inte r ne t e ra is the p ossib ility of a
m u ltitu de o f ef fo r tlessly ac c essible comp e ting na r ra tive s. It p rovid e s
u s w ith o ptio n s to express o u rs e lve s q uickly, che a p ly, a nd in a la cr ito u s respo n se to u n fo ldin g c o n d itions, which wa s simp ly not p ossib le
w ith th e release o f ph ysic al m edia . The fu ture sta b ility of most ind e pen den t prac titio n ers in all asp e cts of musica l culture is fa ce d with
grow in g u n c er tain ty, c o m po u n d e d by the g lob a l fina ncia l cr isis, a nd
yet we persist in presen tin g a fa ca d e of confid e nce , ne a tly confine d
debate an d trivial c h atter. Perh a p s we ne e d to she d our id e ntitie s to
ac c elerate th e disc u ssio n to w h e re it ne e d s to b e .
Radic al po litic al u n its, fro m Wikile a ks to Anony mous, have shown
h ow a c o m bin atio n o f dispersed ne twor k p owe r a nd a nony mity ca n
be h u gely in flu en tial in c reatin g sig nifica nt infra str uctura l awa re ne ss
an d c h an ge, an d »An o n ym o n th « is a n exp e r ime nt to se e wha t would
h appen if sim ilar tac tic s were app lie d to the wor ld of music. I have no
idea w h at it w ill pro du c e, h oweve r a m re solu te in the b e lie f tha t experim en tal m edia o u gh t n o t pro d uce p re d icta b le re sults.
91
D i g i ta l c u lt u r e i n
t h e a f t e r g low
By K r i s to f f e r G a n s i n g
Fo r 1 5 ye ars, tra nsmedia le, B erl i n’s
f es t i va l f o r a r t a nd digita l cul ture,
a n d CT M have closely colla borate d t o p re s e nt one o f the wo rl d’s
l a rg e s t a n n ua l pla tf o r ms f or refl ect i o n o n t h e cultura l signif icance of
n ew t e c h n olo gies a nd digital cul tu re . I n t h i s a r ticle, K r isto f f er
G an s i n g , t ra nsmedia le’s current
A r t i s t i c D i rector, ou tlines how
a f t e rg l ow, t he them e o f the festi va l ’s 27 t h e dition, ca n be und ers t o o d as a dia gno sis of the curre n t s tatu s o f po st-digita l cul ture,
w he re m e d i a technologies and
m e d i a t i c p ra ctices tha t were once
t re a s u re ( d ) a re tur ning into trash.
Kr ist off e r G a n si n g i s Ar t i st i c D i re ct o r o f t h e
transmedi a l e f e st i va l f o r a r t a nd di gi ta l cu l tu re, B er l i n .
*** w w w.t ra n sm e di a l e .de
Photos: Garbage dump in Phnom Penh. Photo by John Einar Sandvand, Cambodia Tales, Sandvand/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0);
Marina Bay Light and Water Show. Photo by William Cho/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
© Ar twork by The Laborator y of Manuel Bürger
T he Po st-D ig ital C o n d itio n
I n rec en t years, th e term »po st- digital« gain ed po pu larity fo r desc ribin g a n ew kin d o f c ritic al m edia prac tic e, th ro u gh w h ic h a yo u n g gen eratio n o f D I Y ar tists
an d m akers h ave been revisitin g an alo gu e pro du c tio n
an d distribu tio n m o dels su c h as Z in es, an alo gu e prin t,
an d ph o to graph y. M o st o f ten , th ese types o f prac tic es
are n o t h appen in g c o m pletely o u tside o f th e digital bu t
in in c reasin gly h ybrid fo rm , su c h as in th e po st- digital
pu blish in g c u ltu re desc ribed by peo ple like Alessan dro L u dovic o, w h ere n ew an d o ld c o - exist an d m u tu ally feed eac h o th er. Fu r th erm o re, th e po st- digital »m ovem en t« c an be seen as a respo n se to an d even a reac tio n
again st th e perpetu al u to pian ism an d c o rpo rate h igh glo ss o f m ain stream ed digital c u ltu re. At th e sam e tim e
as th e po st- digital c an be seen as a c ritic al an d ar tistic respo n se o f th e so c alled »digital n atives« towards
th eir oversatu rated tec h n o lo gic al enviro n m en ts h owever,
th ere are sign s th at po st- digital is bec o m in g m o re like a
»c o n ditio n « applyin g to all fo rm s o f prac tic e »af ter th e
digital«. Rec en tly, m ajo r bu sin ess perso n ae su c h as Ren e
Oberm an n , th e fo rm er CEO o f D eu tsc h e Teleko m , h ave
been u sin g th e term po st- digital to desc ribe a so c iety
in w h ic h th e digital is n o t »sexy« by itself an y lo n ger bu t
sim ply a kin d o f n atu ralized enviro n m en t w h ere in n ovatio n n ow h as to h appen o n o th er term s th an th e pu rely
tec h n o lo gic al. I n th is c o n text, th e tran sm ediale festival
asks h ow th e po st- digital c an be »de- n atu ralized« an d
u n dersto o d as bein g c o n stru c ted th ro u gh spec ific so c ial,
po litic al, an d ec o n o m ic c o n ditio n s o f a so c iety n ow in esc apably m arked by th e argu ably revo lu tio n ar y tran sfo rm atio n s o f glo bal digital n etwo rk tec h n o lo gies.
D ig ital C ulture in the Af te rg low
Th e star tin g po in t o f th e 20 1 4 tran sm ediale festival is to
c o n sider th e po st- digital as an »af terglow« m o m en t o f
th e digital: af terglow bein g th at m o m en t o f deep tw iligh t
w h en th e du st th at h as risen fro m th e ear th in to th e atm o sph ere is tem po rarily lit u p, as well as bein g a term
th at refers to th e eith er po sitive o r n egative m en tal after ef fec ts o f dru g u se. af terglow is m ean t to c o n ju re th e
am bivalen t state o f digital c u ltu re, w h ere w h at seem s to
rem ain fro m th e so - c alled digital revo lu tio n is a fu tu ristic
n o stalgia fo r th e sh in y h igh - tec h it o n c e pro m ised u s bu t
th at is n ow c ru m blin g in o u r h an ds. Th e c h allen ge th at
th is m o m en t po ses is h ow to u se th at state o f po st- digital
c u ltu re in between trash an d treasu re as a c h an c e fro m
w h ic h to inven t n ew spec u lative prac tic es. Th ese sh o u ld
resist n o stalgic o r defeatist ideas, yet still u se waste as a
star tin g po in t fro m w h ich to d e a l with the b ur ning issue s
o f to day. Th e af terglow is the mome nt a f te r the d ig ita l
revo lu tio n , w h ic h is n ow tur ning into d ust a s we str ug g le
to fin d n ew pathways in the wa ste la nd s of its a f te r ma th. In
wakin g u p fro m th e »dig ita l ha ng ove r«, we find ourse lve s
in th e m idst o f pressin g issue s such a s the cor r up t e colo gy o f tec h n o lo gic al resource s (mine ra ls, me ta ls, a nd e waste), m ass su r veillance , exce ssive b ig d a ta sche me s,
an d th e po st- digital live s tha t the se p he nome na imp a ct
o n a daily basis.
Takin g th e af terglow p he nome non a s a me ta p hor for
th e presen t c o n ditio n o f d ig ita l culture , wha t is the »d ust«
th at is still su spen ded insid e its g lossy sur fa ce a nd wha t
c an we disc over w ith in it or exp e r ie nce throug h it? The
h ypes o f B ig Data, Sm a r t Citie s, Ga mifica tion, Inte r ne t
o f Th in gs, Fablabs... all te ll of a n incre a se d d isinte g ra tion
o f th e divisio n s between culture , na ture , a nd te chnolog y.
At th e sam e tim e, th e discussion sur round ing the se p he n o m en a is tied to th e dig ita l p a ra d ig m with its p romotio n o f an tiseptic , h igh-te ch simp lifica tion of eve r yd a y
life, an d o ppo r tu n ities f or a ll. Bu t the se hy p e s ca n a lso
be seen fro m th e persp e ctive of the ir intima te conne ctio n to waste: in th e wa y the y p romote exce ss, exp loita tio n , an d th e wastin g o f re source s of the ma te r ia l, huma n/
an im al, an d m en tal wo rld . In this se nse , the d ig ita l ha s in
fac t always been a c lassic ca se whe re wha t is ce ntra l to
existen c e – trash an d d ust – is b e ing p ushe d ou t to the
m argin s. Sim ilarly, th e cha ng ing cond itions for our onlin e/o f flin e existen c es for m a p e rsp e ctive tha t twists the
po st- h u m an disc o u rse into one of b od ie s a s the »tra sh of
th e m ac h in es«, an d m aking eve r yd a y life into e mb od ie d
tran sitio n s in between tra sh a nd tre a sure .
Th e iro n y is th at to d a y, it se e ms a s if the d ig ita l itse lf
is bec o m in g th e trash tha t re fuse s to g o awa y. If the d ig ital is bec o m in g like th e »d ust« tha t is shining insid e the
tw iligh t, we m ay bask a little in its b e a u ty, b u t a lso urgen tly n eed to develo p new voca b ula r ie s a nd p ra ctice s
th at pro ac tively reth in k culture for the mome nt a f te r. In
lin e w ith th e overall festiva l a p p roa ch to the the me a f te rglow, th e tran sm ediale 2 0 14 p rog ra mme tra ce s cultura l
tran sitio n s th ro u gh th e tra sh tha t now ma ke s up our p ostdigital existen c e, in terms of its me d ia tic ma te r ia ls, sub jec ts, an d em ergin g po litics.
T h e au t h or w i s h e s t o t h an k Tat iana Bazzichelli for her contrib u tions to this
t ext as c o- c u rat or of t h e t ran s med iale conference p rog ramme.
93
By A n d r e a s L . H o f b a u e r
Andreas L. Hofbauer i s a phi l o so ph e r, psycho -hi st o r i a n,
and a u thor, and f reque nt co n t r i bu t o r t o CT M ’s di sco urse
p rog ramme. In hi s vari o u s bo o k s a nd n u m e ro us pu bl i sh e d
ess ays, he has recurrent l y a ddre sse d e co n o mi c a nd so cial a spects of cogni ti ve sci e nce . Tra nsl a t o r o f seve ra l
b ooks by S l avoj Zi zek, a n d o f ce r ta i n wo r k s by T h o ma s
D e Qui ncey, J eremy Be n t h a m, M a rsh a l l S a h l i n s, To m M cC ar thy, i nter al i a.
* * * w w w. al hof bauer.wo rdpre ss.co m
M ake it so that it’s e asy to un d e rstan d ...
Su m m arize th e issu es so m eh ow, w h ile leavin g spac e fo r readers to
th in k. O f fer a situ atio n an alysis. Provide an over view. W h at’s th at
th in g abo u t tim e? Frac tu res an d c o n tin u u m . M em o r y an d o blivio n .
D I Y h isto r y an d digital to o ls. I s th is an expan sio n o f th e state o f
siege o r th e exten sio n in to in fin ity o f a New G o lden Age? I s an yth in g th ere at all? Can n o th in g disappear? Yo u h ave 1 5 000 c h arac ters. Fo u r pages, m agazin e fo rm at, exten ded.
Well... Righ t... I like m y pu blish ers. I also like th e an c ien t So ph ists. I always h ave. Espec ially G o rgias. Th erefo re, th e an swer c o u ld
o n ly be: Ch ild’s play (paígn io n )!
Re ly o n the le g ac y
W h en tr yin g to u n derstan d w h at is h appen in g today , apparen tly
o n e h as already ac c epted yesterday an d to m o rrow, w h eth er w illin gly o r o th er w ise. Here th e h isto ric al experien c e is c o nveyed diplo m atic ally (m ean in g two - fac edly). I t c reates (a) fu tu re, w h ic h c an
be pu t to u se at th e presen t m o m en t. Th ese days, o n th e o n e h an d,
th e pro liferatio n o f digital m edia h as u n do u btedly pu t fo r th an u n expec ted prevalen c e o f extern ally ac c essible m em o r y, w h ile, o n
th e o th er h an d, th e statem en t There will be no revolution with-
René Luckhardt, Untitled. Oil/Canvas. Private Collection
DisContinuity &
Presence
of
Mind
Mia ow !
Ma r le n e Die t r ic h a s spy X 27, fe m a le c om p ose r an d c r y p to g ra p h e r, in J ose f von S t e r n b e rg’s film Dishonored
out memor y still rem ain s valid. W h ere o th ers h ave failed, an d rem ain ed u n n o tic ed in th eir tim e o r were in ten tio n ally m argin alized
in to o blivio n , is plac ed in a n ew c o n text. Our grandchildren will
fight the battle to a better conclusion [Die Enkel fechtens besser
aus] h as been th e watc hwo rd o f h o pe sin c e th e G erm an Peasan ts’
Wars o f th e 1 6 th c en tu r y. W h at fo r th e m o m en t seem s h o peless o r
like defeat w ill even tu ally bec o m e a bridgeh ead fo r th e n ew fro n tier. B u t today ? Un der th e prem ises o f glo bal c apitalism an d in th e
digitally n etwo rked sph ere, in so m e plac es th ere is a c er tain resign atio n spreadin g that nothing works and nothing ever will again .
Retro m an ia, rapid stan dstill, th e m o n o to n y o f keepin g o n . I t is exac tly th at keepin g o n w ith it, th at c o n tin u ity, w h ic h brin gs abo u t
destru c tio n , said B rec h t. * 1 ) Th e basem en t c an n o t be c leared o u t
befo re th e an th o lo gies h ave already piled u p to th e h eigh t o f skysc rapers. An d th e sky is n o lo n ger sc raped, ju st c lo u ded an d c lu ttered w ith trash . Th e blu e o f th e sky an d blu e o f n o o n – m erc ilessly
o bstru c ted. Perm an en t refresh in g an d u pdatin g seem s to in stan tan eo u sly en h an c e ever y statu s an d eac h rec o rded date. A presen t
so h eavily lo aded w ith m em o ries dips as equ ally in to th e past as it
do es in to th e fu tu re. Alth o u gh en dless evo lu tio n ar y variatio n s are
gen erated, th e revo lu tio n rem ain s den ied, th e su dden c h an ge [ Um sc h lag] do es n o t o c c u r. Even th e sc o pe o f th e o n es w h o stu c k to
th e gestu re o f th e to come an d tried to h o ld th is again st an y po sitive stan c e o r h o pe fo r an arrival o r even t in th is wo rld, gets n arrower an d n arrower. Th is c o m m o n disillu sio n m en t resu lts fro m th e
fac t th at so m e dec ades ago th ere still existed an en th u siasm abo u t
im m an en c e, c o n tin gen c y, arbitrarin ess, an d referen tiality, en dless
lin kin g an d so o n , bu t n owadays th is h as all bec o m e u biqu ito u s an d
disappo in tin gly u n in spirin g. Th e fren zy o f asso c iatio n s leads to fatal iso latio n . Co n sen su s reality resu lts in early sen esc en c e. Ever yo n e is reliably wo rkin g away at h is ow n legac y [ Vo rlass] , w ritin g
h im self in to th e ac c o u n tin g bo o ks, fo lio s, an d atten dan c e rec o rds
o f th e presen t day, so m ew h ere be twe e n consume r b e haviour, b log
en tries, So u n dClo u d an d Yo u Tu be contr ib u tions, a nd succinct p olitic al c o m m en tar y. Posthumous Papers of a Living Author is wha t
Ro ber t M u sil c alled it.
Ever yo n e is an au th o r, all are active , eve r yone is p a r t of a g ra ssro o ts m ovem en t, ever yo n e par ticip a te s. Eve n the a ctua lly ma nifested an d vio len t stru ggles fo r recog nition or re g ime cha ng e , civil
wars, an d wars again st terro r, docume nt the mse lve s on countle ss
c h an n els. Presiden ts give th eir o rd e rs via text me ssa g e a nd wa tch
in real- tim e as th ey appear to w rite histor y, while g iving the ir op inio n s via th e u su al c h an n els. Th e fact tha t it come s d own to d oub le en tr y bo o kkeepin g is th e disc reet ta sk of the inte llig e nce se r vice s.
Needs
An d w h y sh o u ld we be c o n c ern ed with such a sud d e n cha ng e a nd
its revo lu tio n , m y dear frien d? Who should ca re if it occurs, is on
th e rise, o r if it was n ever even p ossib le or e f fe ctive in the first
plac e? An d an y way... W h at a po o l, e sp e cia lly for the cre a tive cla sses an d th e ar tists, w h o fo r all eter nity have me re ly b e e n q uoting
an d c o pyin g, w h ile m akin g su re to cove r the ir tra cks a s much a s
po ssible. Carpin g, n o th in g m o re. And on top of a ll this – time ! The
psyc h o an alyst w ill tell yo u so m ething a b ou t log ica l time , re lig ious
sc h o lars evo ke im pen din g do o m [ Fr ist], q ua ntum p hysicists a tte mp t
to per fo rm n o table experim en ts, a nd tire d histor ia ns of p hilosop hy
refer to Au gu stin e, sin c e w h o se time a nd whose line of q ue stioning
n o t m u c h h as ac tu ally c h an ged.
M ay th e sc ien tists an d tec h nicia ns, the sp oile d id le rs in the
garden o f kn ow ledge, th e po litic a l a d visors a nd Inte r ne t e nthusiasts, an d th e relaxed arc h ivists, look nob ly d own on our rough and
charmless needs and requirements , a nd a s Nie tzsche a lre a d y sa id
– w h at th e h ec k? I f th e weigh t o f histor y ha s a lwa ys b e e n some th in g th at o n ly th e stro n g c o u ld b e a r, the sup p ose d ly inta ng ib le
perm an en t state o f n ow beyo n d the e nd of histor y re q uire s a ve r y
spec ial weigh tlif ter.
M o re o r le ss c he e r f u l wa ys t o es c a p e t h e
mise rie s
L ike Sau l, o n e is stru c k by ligh tn ing a nd b e come s a whole new p e rso n , an d c h an ges h is life (w ith o u t a ctua lly inve nting a ny new for m
o f c h an ge). On e c an , fo r exam ple, the n b e come a n or thod ox Comm u n ist an d represen t iro n h ardn ess a nd ze a lous exp e cta tion. Le t’s
c all it th e Badio u m eth o d.
On e is h it o n th e h ead by an ob scure ob je ct tha t fa lls from
th e sky, an d th en attem pts to rediscove r a u the nticity throug h e nd less re- en ac tm en ts. * 2 ) Su c h pro jects ca n eve n b e comme rcia lly a nd
pro fessio n ally assisted by a c o ach, b u t one should b e ca re ful not
to iden tif y w ith th e c lien ts to o m u ch. Le t’s ca ll tha t one the Na zr ul
Ram Vyas m eth o d.
On e bec o m es a vic tim o f Alzhe ime r ’s d ise a se or a ma ssive
h ead in ju r y, o r addresses sim ilar ca se stud ie s of the p sycholog ica l
o n to lo gy o f c erebral u n c o n sc io u s : The Ma la b ou me thod .
On e bec o m es a ju n io r pro fess or of a rchiva l scie nce in a cluste r
o f exc ellen c e. An ac adem ic m eth od .
95
Thro ugh the medi ati on o f o bscure ge o sci e nt i st s, o ne me e t s Ct h u l h u
and Paz uz u ( or thei r sha dows o r co r pse s re spe ct i ve l y) i n t h e r u i n s
of a Syri an ci ty, i magi ne s u n h o l y sexua l a ct s w i t h t he m – o f c o u rs e
w itho u t any eroti c enga ge m e nt – a nd t h e n gi ve s bi r t h t o h i m s el f a s
a Sp ecul ati ve Real i st. A l so a re ce nt l y i n cre a si ng a ca de m i c m et h o d .
M ay be even a theol ogi ca l o ne .
Ob j e c ts a n d a lit t le b it of h is t or y re pea tin’
(o r m a y b e n o t )
The N ew al ways seem s t o a ppe a r a f t e r a f ra cture ( a t l e a s t s i n c e
God H i msel f spoke ‘Anochi o n M o un t S i na i ) , a nd t he n be c o m es a
c ont i nuum and i s i n tur n re pl a ce d i n t h e next f ra cture by t h e n ext
New. At ti mes, precurso rs t o a f ra cture a re i de n t i f i e d a n d s ta t ed ,
and m ay even be repea t e d. T h e y do no t re m a i n t he sa me , b u t t h ey
return. In any case, the N ew se e ms t o be no t qu i t e a s n ew a s i t
would l i ke to appear.
If one l ooks aroun d, o ne i s co n f ro nt e d w i t h a st ra n ge i l l u s i o n .
T he hi stori ans tri ed to po r t ra y t h e hi st o r i c eve n t a s i t actually h a p p e ned ( Ranke) . Bu t the f a ct t ha t no t hi n g a ctua l l y h a ppe n e d wa s j u s t
obvio us obj ecti on and co r re ct i o n. M u ch mo re i m po r ta n t , h owever,
was that obj ect and ar ti f a ct – t h e ev i de n t i a r y m a t e r i a l s o f h i s t o r i c a l
res e arch, so to speak – f e l l be h i n d. Re l a t i o n sh i p co n t ext s, c o r rel a tion networks, pol i ti ca l a nd e co n o mi c f i e l d de f i n i t i o ns, a n d s t r u c tural ref erence system s i n cre a si ngl y re pl a ce d a n y a ctu a l m ea n i n g
of the obj ect i tsel f. Cr ypt s a n d m u m m i e s, f e t i sh o bj e ct s a n d j ewe ls , were deci phered n o t o nl y i n H e rgé ’s co m i c a l bu m s a s c a r r i ers
of messages, and there f o re ul t i m a t e l y be ca me supe r f l uo u s a s m a teria l . Ol d and di r ty g o ds e nd u p i n m u se um di spl a y ca se s , t o b e
walked around and sta re d a t , o r o n t h e a sse mbl y l i ne s o f t h ei r m a ss
rep roducti on and mass di st r i bu t i o n.
Bu t i s i t so? Isn’ t i t a l l a bo u t t h e o bj e ct , w h i ch f a sci na t e s m e a n d
w ill not l et go? Is i t no t t h e o bj e ct t ha t co nsta nt l y e l ude s m e? T h e
ob jects ( among whi ch – a s so o n sho ul d be a ppa re n t – o n e m a y a l s o
inclu de subj ects) , bu t a l so t h e co r re l a t i o n s a nd t h e t ra i l o f referen c e s , insi st upon somethi n g t ha t go e s be yo nd t he t wo - si de d c o n c ep t
of p o ssi bi l i ty and real ity. T he re i s n o t j u st a n a r t i f a ct , w hi ch o n o n e
s id e i mposes i tsel f or i s i so l a t e d, a nd t h e de f o r ma t i o n o r i n fo r m ing of that ar ti f act thro ugh o ur so ci a l st r u cture s o r o ur d i s c u rs i ve
p rocesses on the othe r. O bj e ct s, t hro u gh t h e i r i n si st e nce a s men-
tal objects ( tonal vi bra t i ng i n t he bro a de st se n se ) , a l wa ys rem a i n
transmi tters of messag e s. Ye t , f o r t he m o st pa r t , t he t ra nsm i t t ers d o
not know what they are t ra n sm i t t i n g ( a nd t h a t i s a l so no t t o s a y t h a t
only a human mi nd can be i m pl i e d w h e n re f e r r i n g t o t ra n s m i t t ers ) ,
b u t al so the reci pi ents do no t have t he me a n s t o a n swe r t h e q u es tion of what these transm i t t e rs wa nt f ro m t he m o r w ha t t h ey m ea n
to s ay. Does it take (a) place? a nd What does the Other want, and
want specifically of me? a re co nse que nt l y n o t qu e st i o n s t h a t c a n
b e answered, bu t that a re a nswe re d f o r. H e re i t i s no t a bo u t b r i d g ing the gap between eve nt a n d expe r i e nce , bu t a bo u t e n du r i n g t h i s
d is crepancy and l eavi n g i t o pe n .
When assumi ng th a t bo t h me ssa ge a nd o bj e ct a re s u p er fl u ous f or hi stor y, as the y a re n o t hi n g m o re t ha n f un ct i o na l a g en t s ,
we come across a hi dde n i de a l i sm , w hi ch a l so h a ppe n s t o b e ver y
German: »Characteri st i c o f Ge r ma n i de a l i sm, bo t h i n t he o l o g y a n d
in epi stemol ogy, i s the a po t h e o si s o f m ove m e nt ove r re a li ty, fu n c tion over substance, powe r ove r m a t t e r. [ . . . ] C h a nge a nd h i s t o r y
b ec o m e fu n d a m en ta l a t t r i b u t es o f t h e d i v i n e, a n d d i v i n i ty i s su bjec t
t o t h e g en era l fa t e o f t h e t i m e. A l t h o u g h b o t h F i c h t e a n d H eg el h ave
p o i n t ed o u t t h a t t h e m ovem en t o f d i v i n i ty, wh i c h t h ey d es cribe, is
n o t a m ovem en t i n t i m e, b u t h a s a ›l o g i c a l c h a ra c t er‹, i t rem ain s o bv i o u s t h a t s u c h m ovem en t c a n n o t m a n i fes t i t s el f i n a n y o t her way
t h a n i n t i m e. . . « * 3) Yet t h ere, wh ere a n y s u b s ta n c e c a n b e c o nver ted
i n t o a fu n c t i o n , s o m e en t h u s i a s t i c a l l y wel c o m e t h e g rea t est o f all
a c h i evem en t s . We, h owever, s ee i t a s a c r i s i s , wh i c h i s by n o m ean s
m erel y o n e o f h u m a n i ty.
Fine slic es, mic rophones, a nd ga rmen ts
T h e rel a t i o n s h i p b et ween fra c tu re a n d t i m e, fra c tu re a n d d uratio n ,
d i s - c o n t i n u i ty a n d c o n t i n u i ty, s h o u l d b e c o n s i d ered fro m a d if feren t
p ers p ec t i ve. T h u s , we a rg u e t h a t by c o n t em p l a t i n g t h e m a teriality
a n d a f fec t i v i ty o f a m en ta l o b j ec t , t em p o ra l s ta s i s ( a n d s ta s i s m ean s
b o t h »s ta n d s t i l l « a s wel l a s »tu r m o i l a n d c i v i l wa r«! ) l o s es its h igh
s ta n d a rd s . E s p ec i a l l y i n t h e i n t er p l a y b et ween i m a g e a n d s ou n d, it
c a n b e ver y wel l d em o n s t ra t ed t h a t i n a s ta t e o f d i s - c o n t i n u i ty, frac tu re ( t h ere) a n d d u ra t i o n ( g o n e) a re n o t m u tu a l l y exc l u s i ve, bu t are
s t i t c h ed t o g et h er. Reg a rd i n g t h e rel a t i o n s h i p b et ween s o u n d an d
fi l m , Mi c h el C h i o n s p ea k s o f i n - d i s c o n t i n u i ty : A n eo l o g i s m o f do u b l e n eg a t i o n wh i c h i n t en d s t o s h ow h ow c o n t i n u i ty c a n b e repres en t ed t h ro u g h i n t er r u p t i o n o r va r i a b i l i ty – p a r t i c u l a r l y wi t h regard
t o t h e vec t o r i z i n g s o u n d t ra c k . * 4 ) B i l l Vi o l a a d d i t i o n a l l y s ta t es fo r th e
v i d eo i m a g e i n g en era l : »Tec h n o l o g i c a l l y, v i d eo h a s evo l ved o u t o f
s o u n d ( t h e el ec t ro m a g n et i c ) , a n d i t s c l o s e a ss o c i a t i o n wi t h c in em a
i s m i s l ea d i n g s i n c e fi l m a n d i t s g ra n d p a ren t , t h e p h o t o g ra p hic pro c ess , a re m em b ers o f a c o m p l et el y d i f feren t b ra n c h o f t h e gen eal o g i c a l t ree ( t h e m ec h a n i c a l /c h em i c a l ) . T h e v i d eo c a m era , bein g
a n el ec t ro n i c t ra n s d u c er o f p h ys i c a l en erg y i n t o el ec t r i c a l im pu lses , b ea rs a c l o s er o r i g i n a l rel a t i o n t o t h e m i c ro p h o n e t h a n it do es
t o t h e fi l m c a m era . « Fo r t h i s rea s o n , t h ro u g h c u t s i n t i m e, t h e flowi n g fa b r i c o f t o n a l i ty b ec o m es a ka i ro t i c * 5 ) a n d r h y t h m i c g arm en t
fo r t h e i m a g e. »T h e fa b r i c o f a l l v i d eo i m a g es , m ov i n g o r s t i ll, is th e
a c t i va t ed c o n s ta n t l y sweep i n g el ec t ro n b ea m – t h e s t ea d y stream
o f el ec t r i c a l i m p u l s es c o m i n g fro m t h e c a m era o r v i d eo rec o rder
d r i v i n g i t . T h e d i v i s i o n s i n t o l i n es a n d fra m es a re s o l el y d i v i sio n s in
t i m e, t h e o p en i n g a n d c l o s i n g o f t em p o ra l wi n d ows t h a t d em arc ate
p er i o d s o f a c t i v i ty wi t h i n t h e fl owi n g s t rea m o f el ec t ro n s . T hu s, th e
v i d eo i m a g e i s a l i v i n g d y n a m i c en erg y fi el d , a v i b ra t i o n appeari n g s o l i d o n l y b ec a u s e i t exc eed s o u r a b i l i ty t o d i s c er n s uc h fin e
s l i c es o f t i m e. « * 6 )
B u t wh a t i s m ea n t h ere by »exc eed s o u r a b i l i ty«? I s th is n o t
m o re o f a res em b l a n c e? U l t i m a t el y, n o s u b j ec t i s ever i n t he n ow,
b ec a u s e t h e t i m e o f t h e eg o i s d i a c h ro n i c , b u t i t s s p eec h is itself
i n t er r u p t ed by a n o p en i n g a n d c l o s i n g o f t h e u n c o n s c i o u s . Th e tim e
fo r u n d ers ta n d i n g fo r m s a l o o p t h a t i s ret ro a c t i vel y ef fec t i ve , an d is
c o n t i n u o u s l y b ro ken a n d c ro ss ed . H ere, t h e i m a g i n a t i o n i s a bro ken
fra m e, a s p l i t fa n ta sy fra m e, b u t a t t h e s a m e t i m e fa n ta sy sc reen .
T h e i m a g i n a t i o n d o es n o t c o nvey t h e s t ra n g en ess o f t h e wo rld, bu t
a t ta c h es i t s el f t o o b j ec t s i n o rd er t o d ea l wi t h t h em : A s t ra ngen ess
t h a t i s s h a red wi t h o t h ers , a rea l i z a t i o n , a p res en t t h a t i s a l ways alrea d y a s h a red p res en t . Fro m t h i s p ers p ec t i ve, t h e t er m p res en c e o f
m i n d ta kes o n a wh o l e n ew m ea n i n g . B ec a u s e i t i s n ever n aked o r
n ew, n ever m erel y a g h o s t o r a reven a n t , va r i a t i o n ( o f s o m eth in g),
o r a p o c a l y p s e o r a d ven t .
P io n e e rs
Presen c e o f m in d is an swerin g to an em bo died kn ow ledge [ K ö rperw issen ] . »Th e way in to th e bo dy o f kn ow ledge, in to th e w isdo m o f
th e ear th , is a sec ret passage. I t ru n s u n dergro u n d. On e c an o n ly
en ter step- by- step, an d o n ly u n der th e prem ises th at eac h respec tive step provides. No c h an c e fo r h igh - flyers.« * 7 )
Th e rejec tio n o f th e c arefu lly ten tative appro ac h in favo u r o f in c reasin g ac c eleratio n – full speed ahead – in to c atastro ph e is th erefo re to be distru sted to th e h igh est degree. W h eth er th eo retic al
frac tu re pilo ts o r kam ikazes, th e rec en tly em ergin g apo c alyptic an d
n ih ilistic to n e in ph ilo so ph y leads o n ly to … deser ts. I n c iden tally, th e
gestu re o f su c h n ih ilistic ac c eleratio n , w h ic h is m ean t to address
th e pro blem s o f th e 21 s t c en tu r y in fac e o f th e failu re o f bo u rgeo is
liberalism an d M arxism , is th e n ew editio n an d rec u rren c e o f w h at
Arm in M o h ler already desc ribed in 1 95 0 as th e basic featu re o f th e
»c o n ser vative revo lu tio n « th at began in 1 9 1 8 * 8 ) . Th is is n o t w ith o u t
a c er tain iro n y in m an y ways.
Th e sen se o f u n bridled fu n in evitably ru n s o u t fo r th e m edial
en th u siast, an d if n o t, th en yo u sh o u ld still give h im a c o n so lin g pat
o n th e sh o u lder
An d th e pio n eer? Th e pio n eer u ltim ately relies o n h is en tren c h m en ts. He digs, rem ain s faith fu l to th e ear th , bec au se h e tru sts in
h is steps, h is feet, an d th e walk [ G an g] . He h as n o t fo rgo tten h ow
to walk, also to walk away, an d h ow to deal w ith th in gs [ Um gan g] * 9 ) .
He bu ilds n o wall [ Wan d] , bu t sews h is garm en t [ G ewan d] . Th erefo re, h e n eed n o t c o n stan tly rec o rd ever y th in g, presen t it, an d do c u m en t it. I t sh o u ld be additio n ally n o ted at th is po in t th at B ill D ru m m o n d is w ith o u t a do u bt also a pio n eer, an d »Th e1 7 « a pio n eerin g
ac h ievem en t.
A c o lo ssal N ew E n g lan d lan d sc ap e p ain tin g d e stroye d by f lashlig ht
I n an extra sh o r t play – w h ic h , by th e way, was n ever per fo rm ed o n stage, n o rec o rdin g o f w h ic h was ever released, an d th at was n ever
bro adc ast as a radio play, bu t was prin ted an d c an fo r tu n ately still
be read – H.P. L ovec raf t, Esq. m eets th e ar tist P ic km an , w h o h appen s to be c arr yin g h o m e o n e o f h is h u ge pain tin gs fro m th e Federal Ar t Clu b, fro m w h ic h h e h as ju st been expelled. Even befo re
th e c u rio u s L ovec raf t c an view th e pic tu re m o re c lo sely in th e ligh t
o f a flash ligh t, it begin s to disso lve an d m elt w ith slu rpin g so u n ds.
Un der th e ligh t o f th e lam p, it rapidly bec o m es sm aller an d sm aller,
th en disappears.
pic km an : schaudernd
: es h at sein en bru der geh o lt, lovec raf t ..
lovec raf t: u n d o h n e diese gu te tasc h en lam pe h ätte es au c h
u n s u n d die gan ze m en sc h lic h e rasse geh o lt ..
ku tlyo o : von ganz ferne, fast schon aus einer anderen welt
u rgh ll u rgh ll rh yll n iarh c h ll ediso n ediso n o n kh tph o t
o n kth tph o t! * 1 0 )
I n c o n trast to th e iro n ic title, »L ovec raf t saved th e wo rld«, an d in
view o f th e two m o re o r less frigh ten ed gen tlem en , we draw th e
equ ally iro n ic c o n c lu sio n th at to o m u c h po r table elec trific atio n is
u n h ealth y. Pain tin g Cth u lh u an d o th er all- c o n su m in g fo rc es o n th e
wall, h owever, is n o way o u t (an d c er tain ly n o t fo r Cth u lh u ). Th ere-
fo re: D o n’t m ake it per fec t, an d d e finite ly not so much tha t the
Ac adem y w ill like it, m ain tain c onta ct with the most re mote , re m ain vu ln erable an d tru e to yo u r idiosy ncra sie s, ke e p d ig g ing , le a r n
n o n - Eu ro pean lan gu ages.
Th is leads u s less to a c o n c lu sion, b u t ra the r to the b e g inning .
So is th ere a lu c ky [ geglü c kter] – a nd le t’s not forg e t tha t the Ge rm an wo rd G lü c k [ lu c k] rec irc u lates e ty molog ica lly to Lücke [g a p ] –
way to be contained in the present, like a number without any awkward lef tover fraction? * 1 1 ) An d h ow, if it is not a n a nima l tha t live s
like th is, bu t...? W h at presen c e o f mind would b e ne ce ssa r y for such
a life? An d w h at kin d wo u ld be n ee d e d in ord e r to avoid such a life?
I t also f o llows: me rrie r p o ss i b i l i t i es i n t h e
f ac e o f the situatio n
A taste fo r sym bo ls (J o h an n G eo rg Ha ma nn) is re q uire d . He r me tic
pain ters o f th e c o lo ssal an d c o m pose rs of the sy ncop e . Poe te sse s
an d fem ale c r ypto graph ers. Ch ildre n’s p la yg round s. A re ce ssional priesth o o d o f Atro po s * 1 2 ) . M an ufa cture rs of re fine d tob a cco a nd
go o d tailo rs. Un tim ely c o n tem po ra r ie s a nd che e r ful trop e s.
I t’s th at sim ple.
Translated from the German by Alex Paulick-Thiel.
* 1 ) Se e H e i n e r M ü l l e r, Fat ze r ± Ke u n e r, i n : Heiner Müller Material. Texte und
Kommentare , L e i pzi g: Re c l am , 1 9 89, p. 32 .
* 2 ) c f. i n t h i s c on t ext t h e ext raordi n ar y an d brilliant novel Remainder (R ichmond / Surrey
2 0 0 6 ) by Tom M c C ar t h y.
* 3 ) J ac ob Tau be s , D i al e k t i k u n d A n al ogi e , i n : s ame au thor, Vom Kult zur Kultur , München:
Wi l h e l m Fi n k , 1 9 96 , p. 2 07 f.
* 4) c f. M i c h e l C h i on , Audio-Vision , Be rl i n 20 12 , p p. 176 –179.
* 5 ) T h at t h e kai ros c an be t h ou gh t of as a » lucky moment« has its orig in in the fact that
i t l arge l y re pl ac e d t h e adve rb harmoi (»at the ap p rop riate time« ). This d erives from
harmos – f u gu e , gap, j oi n t . Kairos i t s e l f b ecame a common word b ecaus e it
prac t i c al l y an d f i gu rat i ve l y s u gge s t s h ow to us e this g ap : When weav ing wef t
an d warp, or k i l l i n g w i t h a s pe ar, w h e n o ne p enetrates throug h the g ap in the armor
of t h e oppon e n t (u s u al l y at j oi n t s ). For the relations hip of tonality to the kairotic
an d f u r t h e r e ty m ol ogy s e e A n dre as L e op old Hof b auer, Diverse Verbindlichkeiten ,
Wi e n : Pass age n , 1 9 9 8 , pp. 2 1 1 –26 0 ; an d on kairotic instantisation the contrib u tion
by Wol f gan g E rn s t i n t h i s vol u m e .
* 6 ) Se e Bi l l Vi ol a, T h e Sou n d of O n e L i n e S canning , online text,
w w w. i e m e d.org/pu bl i c ac i on s /qu ade rn s / 12 / The_Sound _of_O ne_Line_Scanning _
Bi l l _ Vi ol a. pdf.
* 7 ) D i e t m ar Kam pe r qu ot e d i n Si e gf ri e d Z i elins ki, [... nach den Medien]: Nachrichten
vom ausgehenden zwanzigsten Jahrhunder t , Berlin: Mer ve, 2 0 1 1, p. 1 0 1.
* 8 ) c f. A rm i n M oh l e r, D i e kon s e r vat i ve Revo lu tion in Deu ts chland 1 9 18 – 32 , Darms tad t:
Wi ss e n s c h af t l i c h e Bu c h ge s e l l s c h af t , 1 9 94 (4 th ed ition), es p ecially p. 97 and 111.
* 9 ) We s pe ak i n t h i s c on t ext , t h e re f ore , n o t of kósmos b u t of komoi , the d runken,
s ou n di n g an d s i n gi n g proc e ss i on s w h i c h are old er than the Dionys ia.
* 1 0 ) H an s C arl A r t m an n , h ow l ove c raf t s ave d the world , in: s ame au thor, Die Fahr t zur
Insel Nantucket . T h e at e r, N e u w i e d an d Berlin: Luchterhand , 1 969, p. 418.
Tran s l at e d as :
pi c k m an : shuddering
i t ’s got i t ’s brot h e r, lovecraf t...
l ove c raf t : an d w i t h ou t t h i s t rus ty flas hlig ht it would have g otten us and
t h e e n t i re h u m an race...
k u t l yoo: from far, almost from another world
u rgh l l u rgh l l rh y l l niarhchll ed is on ed is on onkhtp hot
on k t h t ph ot !
* 1 1 ) Se e Fri e dri c h N i e t zs c h e , On the Uses and Disadvantages of Histor y for Life
(2 n d U n t i m e l y M e di tat i on ), t ran s l . by R . J. Holling d ale, Camb rid g e: Camb rid g e
U n i ve rs i ty Pre ss , 1 9 97, p. 61 .
* 1 2 ) At ropos i s t h e t h i rd of t h e Fat e s , t h e on e that cu ts the thread .
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