Music Not Music

zhao

there are no accidents
pulling an all-nighter to deliver 2 projects because earlier in the week I've done nothing except fuck-around.

and the tragectory of the long night went like this: got tired of beats of any sort pretty quickly. by 1 AM I was on a strict diet of acoustic guitars. by 3 AM even Nick Drake wore out his welcome and

when I get sick of all music, I listen to Non-Music Music. i.e. ambient noise/sound art: Asmus Tietchens, Stephen Mathieu, Toshimaru Nakamura, Aube. it is now 7:30 AM and I'm thoroughly, completely loving every minute.

anyone else have similar experience? what sustains you in the long haul?

tired and wired, hands on the keys and mouse, surrounded by ultra sparse clicks, beeps, drones and high-tones. wouldn't trade this feeling for anything.

well, maybe 3 hotties and a jacuzi :)
 
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droid

Guest
confucius said:
when I get sick of all music, I listen to Non-Music Music. i.e. ambient noise/sound art: Asmus Tietchens, Stephen Mathieu, Toshimaru Nakamura, Aube. it is now 7:30 AM and I'm thoroughly, completely loving every minute.

anyone else have similar experience? what sustains you in the long haul?

tired and wired, hands on the keys and mouse, surrounded by ultra sparse clicks, beeps, drones and high-tones. wouldn't trade this feeling for anything.


Ambient music is perfect for late night computer work. I often find myself listening to the same Eno or Biosphere LP over and over...
 

bassnation

the abyss
droid said:
Ambient music is perfect for late night computer work. I often find myself listening to the same Eno or Biosphere LP over and over...

i might be kind of weird in this regard, but i find working to a selection darkcore does it for me. its hardly background music, but your mind goes off on two tracks, one following the rhythm, the other on the work. i kind of forget i'm listening to it, but it keeps me going.
 

zhao

there are no accidents
it seems that in this situation, the further removed from any kind of musicality the better. even eno I would get tired of after a while because the tones are still very "musical", and there is still a kind of progression, how ever randomized or abstract (Thursday Afternoon is a favorite).

but Asmus Tietchens and the like... sooooooo nice. just hums and gentle layers of static. fine grains of grey-scale textures and tiny particles. inexhaustible.
 
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droid

Guest
bassnation said:
i might be kind of weird in this regard, but i find working to a selection darkcore does it for me. its hardly background music, but your mind goes off on two tracks, one following the rhythm, the other on the work. i kind of forget i'm listening to it, but it keeps me going.

Beats are good for the daytime - but (and maybe this is due to the fact that you have to be more quiet at night), I find that you need something softer for all-nighters...

(Though not strictly ambient) '17 seconds' and 'Low' (B side) are probably 2 of my faves..
 

gumdrops

Well-known member
i listen to that b-side of that smojaphace EP that AFX put out on MEN with his remix of the bug's song on the a-side. when i first heard it i thought it was my stylus fucking up.
 
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droid

Guest
confucius said:
but Asmus Tietchens and the like... sooooooo nice. just hums and gentle layers of static. fine grains of grey-scale textures and tiny particles. inexhaustible.

Ah.. I like a bit more melody myself... hums and static tend to blend in too much with the background noise of the machines...
 

bassnation

the abyss
confucius said:

mind you, after that afx discussion we had a while back, i've been listening to selected ambient works I & II quite a bit while working. theres some really disturbing tracks though which jar a bit - but when they flow its wicked.
 

zhao

there are no accidents
droid said:
blend in ... with the background noise of the machines...


but see that's it. that's the Bees Fukin Knees right there.

I've long had this idea of designing sound environments for public places where there is noise polution, to use a randomized pallette which works WITH the existing sonic situation, thus turning annoying, repetitive sounds into gorgeous Musique Concrete. in a xerox-copy place for example. or shopping malls... to use the ever present layers of sound objects as a part of a whole, as elements in a grand composition... just the idea makes me happy. :D

now to get corporations to pay me large sums to turn their retail outlets into works of art...
 
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droid

Guest
Maybe instead of listening to a record I should just turn everything on at once then? ;)

Ive got so much equipment in my gaf at the moment that the fans alone can nearly be heard at the front door...
 

zhao

there are no accidents
have I told you guys recently how much I love this board and every mother in it?? it's the only place in the world where I can talk about stuff like this, stuff that I think about all the time... even my best friends look at me strange when I get on these trains.

I LOVE DISSENSUS!!! AND I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!



oh damn... think I should go to bed soon...
 

zhao

there are no accidents
ok I'm calmer now. sorry for out-burst. having a beer and waiting for shit to render.

we had a Frenchie/Concrete thread earlier, it's a subject I don't know all that much about.

can anyone recommend some "nice" Musique Concrete? "nice" meaning non-annoying, things one can find pleasure in repeated listening, and suits the purposes I've described above?

I've heard some Schaefer or what not and while being very interesting it wasn't "nice".

cheers
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
I love the ambient stuff too at those times. Aphex SAW, little bit of susuma yokota, asteroth. Maybe a bit of autechre too.
 

polystyle

Well-known member
All night ration

Aaah yea , working at night, all night , love that mood / mode .
Agree with you all on the various musiks mentioned so far as serving during the quiet hours
(well, actually haven't tried a Darkcore set - yet) ...
Side 2 of Low and Heroes (no Secret Life tho' ) , Abdulmajid , Crystal Japan ...

Lately after coming across Keith Jarrett's '70's piano works (missed 'em first time around and wouldn't have gone near say, 10 years ago), stuff like solo Bremen-Lausanne , Paris and Koln concerts work interchangeably as the singular sound of piano notes playing simple , sometimes semi classical always flowing into other stuff in - between and bears replaying a few times without barely noticing (unless I want to) until the sky begins lighting up the East over the river .
In a flow state ...
 
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droid

Guest
polystyle desu said:
Side 2 of Low and Heroes (no Secret Life tho' )

LOL.. snap! Ive often thought about taking a stanely knife to that tune, like the South Africans used to do to offending Bob Marley tracks on vinyl LPs...
 

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
when my ears need clearing out I listen to the old field recordings by Lawrence Gellert and Alan & John Avery Lomax

:)
 

henry s

Street Fighting Man
Bongwater (in general), Too Much Sleep (in particular) got me through many an all-nighter in my grad school days...their music has such a stimulating somnambulance to it, quite appropriate for sleep-deprived states...also, Terry Riley, Rainbow In Curved Air...and yeah, MBV's Loveless, which Kevin Shields has always said was recorded during major sleep deprivation...so, I have a tendency to soundtrack all-night sessions with music that matches the mood...
 

zhao

there are no accidents
well it's morning, 1 of the projects is done and looking niiiice... I've opened the windows and King-Tubby is glorious flowing into the room along with the first rays of sunshine. A Sweeten Dub to be exact. perfect. :D
 
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