Sound Drawings by Marco Fusinato

is there a connection between sound, vibrations and physical reality?

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Posted in academia on March 1st, 2010 by fresh good minimal | 3 Comments

Quote. Why do you like the sounds of electronic music?

“Because you need to. Because there’s a relentless progression from need to act, from gesture to thought, to that mechanic cultural condition. Input, output. The sequence is tight. The loops are relentless. Play your hand, find out what the dealer deals. The rest is the remix. Unpack the meanings, unstuff the fragments and the logic remains the same: the part speaks for the whole, the whole is an extension of the part. It’s a holographic thing.

As George Satayana said so long ago, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. That’s one scenario. But what happens when the memories filter through the machines we use to process culture and become softwear – a constantly updated, always turbulent terrain more powerful then the machine through witch it runs? Memory, damnation, and repetition: That was then, this is now. We have machines to repeat history for us. And the softwear that runs the machines is the text that flows through conduits like a flaneur of the unconscious.

These are tales told over and over so many time and in so many ways that the texts undergo rigor mortis while they hum with the speed of a thousand and one nights. Murmur to yourself and hear the voices in your head whisper back. That’s the logic. Press “return”. Process. It’s a tale of constant change unto itself. The circuitry of the machines is the emodiment of unthawed. Watch the flow: That’s the content versus context scenario of DJ Culture. Hardware, wetware, shareware, software: The invisible machinery of the codes that filter the sounds is omnivourous”. [Rhythm Science – Paul D Miller]

Posted in academia on November 11th, 2009 by fresh good minimal | 1 Comments

Quote: Electrochemistry

“In the human ear, sound is a mechanical movement of air molecules, bones, fluids and membranes. No such movement can stimulate brain cells to create the sensation of hearing. The brain responds not to vibrations but to electrical-chemical changes like those in a battery. There has to be a transducer, a device similar in purpose to a microphone, for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. The microphone inside the human head is the microscopic organ of Corti. It is the essential link in the hearing. Outside it is only delicate machinery, inside only electrochemistry”.

Posted in academia on October 29th, 2009 by fresh good minimal | 13 Comments

Tonto’s Expanding Head Band [71’-72’]

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Tonto este un instrument, acronimul de la The Original Timbral Orchestra, un sintetizatorul hibrid si urias construit de Malcom Cecil si Bob Margouleff la sfarsitul anilor ’70, cand se credea ca tehnologia va duce la un “sat global”. “Am vrut să creez un instrument care sa fie primul sintetizator polifonic multitimbral. Este diferit fata de tipul de polifonie prezentat de cele mai multe dintre sintetizatoarele de azi, la care apelezi la un patch de coarde şi tot ce iese din degetele tale sunt coarde. În cartea mea, “multitimbral” înseamnă ca fiecare notă cantata are o alta tonalitate a sunetului, ca si cum fiecare ar veni de la un instrument diferit. Am vrut să se pot reda live muzica polifonica multitimbrala utilizand cat mai multe degete din cate aveam si, daca e cazul, si picioarele”, spune Molcom. Totul a plecat de la un Moog III caruia i-au adaugat piese de pe te miri unde, salvate din foc, echipamente la mana a doua, module noi de la diferite companii sau fabricate de ei. Planurile le desenau pe fetele de masa din hartie ale unui restaurant din apropierea studioului. Pe masura ce timpul trecea, aveau nevoie de noi si noi module, astfel ca, in timp, instrumentul a devenit o adevarata nava spatiala. Era greu sa transporti masinaria uriasa pentru a face un live, asa ca majoritatea concerteleor se tineau in studio. Cei doi ingineri de sunet si-au dorit sa faca muzica care sa fie “timeless” si au reusit cu cele doua discuri de fata, clasice underground. Tot aceste albume l-au adus la usa lor pe Stevie Wonder, atunci in varsta de 21 de ani. Au lucrat si improvizat atat de bine impreuna, incat in patru zile aveau 17 cantece. Cateva dintre ele au aparut pe albumul de debut al lui Stevie. Mai jos, un scurt feature video de 4 minute despre asta.

Timewhys

The Boatman

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Posted in academia on October 15th, 2009 by fresh good minimal | 0 Comments

Morton Subotnick – Silver Apples of the Moon (1967)

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Albumul Silver Apples of the Moon a fost compus de americanul Morton Subotnick in 1967 pe primul Buchla Box construit. A fost prima compozitie electronica care a folosit un sequencer si primul LP electronic semnat cu o casa de discuri – Nonesuch. Intr-o perioada in care soundul electronic era foarte abstract, preocupat mai ales cu pitchul si timbrul, Subotrnick spargea gheata si includea ritmuri regulate. Rezultatul a fost unul neobisnuit si ciudat, care a atins mainstreamul si i-a adus faima compozitorului. Chiar si in prezent isi pastreaza aliura de album in afara timpului si nu mai auzi ceva care sa sune la fel. Asculta-l de mai multe ori, ca sa-l apreciezi la adevarata lui valoare. Click more pentru a citi despre Buchla.

side A

side B

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Posted in academia on October 12th, 2009 by fresh good minimal | 2 Comments

Quote. Everyone’s gone to the Moog

David Van Koevering in Williamsville sales office

“Moog is a Dutch name and rhymes with “rogue” and “fugue”. Many people, including musicians continue to this day to mispronounce the name. Bob even used to have a placard on his desk telling people how to pronounce his name. Several people unfamiliar with the existence of the real Bob Moog have told us that they assumed that the name was made up to resemble the sound of the synthesizer itself – MOOOOOOOOG! Cows moo, but synthesizers moog, and as David Van Koevering (the best Moog salesman ever) once said paraphrasing the sixties lyrics by Jonathan King: “Everyone’s gone to the Moog [Moon]”. [Analog Days – Trevor Pinch & Frank Trocco – 2002]

Posted in academia on September 23rd, 2009 by fresh good minimal | 0 Comments

Quote. Terry Riley. Critics & Criticism

“Yes, I do listen to critics. Of course, it’s easier to criticize than to do it. And it depends on who the critic is; a lot of critics write without much awareness of the kind of work hat the person they’re criticizing is doing. I’ve had some things written that just astounded me, that they could make these statements about past works that were so false. I guess they get confused with other people. So it’s as fallible as the person doing it. But I think a musician can listen to the critic. Critics can be teachers. You shouldn’t feel that because you’ve done this work you know everything about it. You are just one viewpoint on it. And it’s just something that came through you, it’s not something you own. The less ego you have towards that work, the better it is, from my view point. All you are responsible for is protecting it until you get it into a form where it’s being performed. Then it’s out there like everything else is. If you have ego towards it, that’s only going to create pain for you. That doesn’t mean that I’m beyond that. But I do recognize that the less attached I am to it once it’s out, the freer I’ll be to do my next work.” [Talking Music, William Duckworth, 1999]

Posted in academia on August 28th, 2009 by fresh good minimal | 9 Comments