# An Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music: A 7 Vol. Electroacoustic Classical Series



## SeptimalTritone (Jul 7, 2014)

I've been so highly interested in electroacoustic classical music... it's time I actually purchased some music and systematically explored this vast body of work.

I just got volumes 1 and 6 on amazon. The descriptions below:

"Sub Rosa presents part 1 of a vast anthology of noise and electronic music to be released during the next years in seven volumes. An Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music Vol. 1 begins in the 1920s, with the Russolo Brothers, and looks at each decade in turn -- Var‚se, Cage, Schaeffer, Xenakis, the great pioneers -- and shows the first traces of a music that was necessarily revolutionary: electronic music, created from nothing (and hence to be entirely invented). Some pieces on these CDs are certainly classics, but there are others, which, though old, were distributed informally or never even released. The more contemporary pieces are, wherever possible, previously unreleased. In fact, more than the half of what we listen here is unreleased and unpublished. This 2xCD comes as a Digipak with 24 page booklet." Artists include: Luigi & Antonio Russolo, Walter Ruttman, Pierre Schaeffer, Henri Pousseur, Gordon Mumma, Angus Maclise, Tony Conrad & John Cale, Philip Jeck, Otomo Yoshihide & Martin T‚treault, Survival Research Laboratories, Einsturzende Neubauten, Konrad Boehmer, Nam June Paik, John Cage, Sonic Youth, Edgard Var‚se, Iannis Xenakis, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Pauline Oliveros, Ryoji Ikeda."

"The sixth installment from this series documenting experimental music in the 20th and 21st centuries, and it's another excellent and comprehensive one, featuring an informative 52-page booklet guiding you through the artists. Features tracks by: Z'ev, Sunn O))), Daniel Menche, Henry Cowell, Stephen O'Malley, John Wiese, John Duncan, Christian Vogel and many more."

The sounds in electroacoustic classical are so real and visceral, and transport one to a higher mental state. I'm starting this thread to encourage myself, and everyone on TalkClassical, to explore electroacoustic classical, including the composers contained in this anthology. My knowledge is quite paltry and there is so much I haven't heard: in the first volume, I only know the Cage, Varese, and Xenakis works, and in the sixth volume, I haven't heard any of it before! Here are some other resources for further exploration:

Member some guy's thread
youtube channels https://www.youtube.com/user/seb84mewstrucci
https://www.youtube.com/user/ka1eidoscopic
https://www.youtube.com/user/John11inch
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCicMFHQyiZBq5OsIvXQZS-A
https://www.youtube.com/user/OMaclac

Looking forward to much discovery.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Here are some more albums in the same vein:


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I just found more in that series on iTunes. I look forward to continuing my journey into beautiful and unusual sonic landscapes too.

Morton Feldman month is coming up and it will be cool to parallel his trend with those of these marvelous artists.


----------



## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

That series is available on spotify and I love dipping into it! There's something really satisfying about electronics and the most enjoyable compositions can really take you to another place


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I clicked the link https://www.youtube.com/user/John11inch from above, and then clicked the first item as posted here below. It sounded like harmonic water droplets, but only a few (listen to see what I mean by "a few"). Does this read like a reasonable description?


----------



## SilverSurfer (Sep 13, 2014)

Hello, I've got a couple of those Cds (nr. 7, for instance, includes a new recording of Romitelli's Trash TV Trance, special for that compilation), and some others by Sub rosa, a mythic Belgian label full of music never heard before.
I discovered it with "Lilith stone", an electroacustic work by Scott Gibbons, aka Lilith, formerly on Adam & the ants, made only from recorded sounds of stones, astonishing.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Thanks guys for this thread. I just added some more music on my list to check out.


----------



## SeptimalTritone (Jul 7, 2014)

ArtMusic said:


> I clicked the link https://www.youtube.com/user/John11inch from above, and then clicked the first item as posted here below. It sounded like harmonic water droplets, but only a few (listen to see what I mean by "a few"). Does this read like a reasonable description?


Thanks for the listen! Often contemporary music goes at a slower pace than common practice music. But this is a virtue, not a drawback, because the slower pace and understated expression allows us to more deeply tune into our minds with the music at a more visceral, breathy level. That Hosokawa piece does a great job at taking one through the slow journey of water, mind, and nature.


----------



## SeptimalTritone (Jul 7, 2014)

SilverSurfer said:


> Hello, I've got a couple of those Cds (nr. 7, for instance, includes a new recording of Romitelli's Trash TV Trance, special for that compilation), and some others by Sub rosa, a mythic Belgian label full of music never heard before.
> I discovered it with "Lilith stone", an electroacustic work by Scott Gibbons, aka Lilith, formerly on Adam & the ants, made only from recorded sounds of stones, astonishing.


Thanks for alerting me to Lilith stone by Scott Gibbons. It actually doesn't sound much like stones at all because it's so processed, but I like the work a lot!


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

What I love about these forms of music is the musical puns and the morphing of sounds which are processed to sound like something which it is not. So it plays around with the listener's ears.

That is what makes these pieces so intriguing.


----------



## SeptimalTritone (Jul 7, 2014)

Last night I listened to the first disk of volume 6. Incredible, incredible! The first half of the disk is very concrete/acousmatic based, whereas the sound half is very noise/generated. I liked the Martinez (very acousmatic), Raaymakers (complex textures and prepared piano), Furudate (emotionally charged!), and Hijokaidan (zen-like noise assault) a lot.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Thanks for the review, septimal. I will look into volumes 6 and 7 first then move backward in the series.


----------



## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Vol. 6 has been in my shopping cart, mainly because I was interested in Sachiko M's work. This thread reminded me of the album, and I purchased it today.
I just listened to Sachiko M (wonderful piece of extreme minimalism) and then started from the beginning. Martinez's piece is fascinating, very well constructed composition consisting of concrete sounds (ignition, engine, siren, etc.) It's like an art work of Robert Rauschenberg. I am looking forward to going through the rest.


----------



## SilverSurfer (Sep 13, 2014)

SeptimalTritone said:


> Thanks for alerting me to Lilith stone by Scott Gibbons. It actually doesn't sound much like stones at all because it's so processed, but I like the work a lot!


You're welcome, I think it's amazing, and indeed you can only identify sand or that stone rolling at the brilliant beginning.
BTW, I bought it just after reading in the back cover "This record is only made of stones", didn't know Lilith but I could not help trying that challenge!
In fact, it is easier to listen than I thought, with some " dark techno" sequences.


----------



## SilverSurfer (Sep 13, 2014)

Stones, Air (human voice "in orgasmic state", never had an special interest on that Cd Redwing) and Water on *Imagined compositions for water*, currently re-listening:

http://www.red-noise.com/discography-lilith.html


----------



## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

That stones piece reminded me of Christian Wolff's Stones, though it is an acoustice work.

I finally finished listening to Vol. 6. (I had a slight cold this week and it was difficult to go through the harsh noise works with heavy rhythm. ) I knew almost none of the composers, except for Cowell and Sachiko M. I prefer works of musique concrète type, raw sounds of instruments or materials, and quiet pieces (roughly the first half of disc-1, the latter half of disc-2, and Sachiko M). This is a very intriguing, fascinating compilation.


----------



## SeptimalTritone (Jul 7, 2014)

^ Yeah, I really liked Tzvi Avni's Vocalise in disc 2 in particular. Electrouacoustic music can be an outstanding platform for vocal elements.


----------

