These two highly respected musicians have collaborated on a performance of outstanding experimental electronically manipulated and processed soundscape that questions the listeners expectations of what ‘music’ is or should be.
[Release page] A live recorded set of double bass and live electronic manipulation. What a prospect! These two highly respected musicians have collaborated on a performance of outstanding experimental electronically manipulated and processed soundscape that questions the listeners expectations of what ‘music’ is or should be. You do need the chops for it, it’s not exactly easy listening, but if you are prepared to put the effort in, this is a highly rewarding piece of music to listen to.
It’s a free release from the label Zeromoon, who specialize in highlighting experimental music of varying types. Their tag line is “Intelligent noise music of the non – entertainment genre,” which pretty much describes them perfectly. If you have a spare five minutes (or hours), they are well worth checking out, especially if you have any interest in how musical boundaries are being stretched and breached. It’s these types of creative output that straddle the line of music and sound that actually drive the progression of musical possibility. Unfortunately however, this stuff happening out on the edges is all too often overlooked. How many people listen to or even are aware of pioneering artists like Pierre Schaeffer or Karlheinz Stockhausen? Two people who are largely responsible for most of the techniques now commonplace in popular electronic musical forms from Hip Hop to Dubstep, but considered completely off the spectrum of ‘normal’ music in many people’s scaling systems. Yet it is artists such as these, way out on the boundaries who pioneer new techniques, which are in turn gradually incorporated into more mainstream productions.
This release is certainly a seriously intellectual effort, but given a chance, yields an astonishing array of emotive and captivating moments. This quite apart from the technical accomplishment on display. While I admire and fawn over this sort of geeky prowess, this is not the criteria by which music should be graded, music must be able to stand up by its ‘musicalness’ in its own right. Pure technical development is sometimes necessary, but really only becomes meaningful when applied appropriately in the right context. It’s like seeing the best guitarist in the world play a two hour solo, sure, it may be technically brilliant, but that in itself is not enough. Emotion, feeling and all those things which constitute being alive but are not always readily described by words alone are what music, or any art should be about. Expression, I think is the word I’m looking for. This release has what it takes to be a genuine piece of music which can speak to a listener in some way regardless of their knowledge of the processes going on behind the scenes.
For the more discerning, there is scope for plenty of beard stroking, what with double bassist Daniel Barbiero’s background in aleatoric composition, free improvisation and alternative methods of scoring for instruments. Then there is the multi award winning composer Professor Hilmy, who is the Director of the Electronic and Computer Music Studio at The George Washington University (Washington). Yes, I can picture the audience at this performance now.
It’s good for you, every once in a while, to plunge into those less familiar waters of the avant-garde. Listening to music that takes a bit of effort not only broadens your mind and widens your spectrum of influence, it also makes you feel clever and gives you something high-brow to drop into conversation at the next diner party you attend.
Live at Bella is available on Zeromoon. [Release page]
