Experimental Music/Electronic Music by

Experimental Music/Electronic Music by https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve Find an example of electronic music OR experimental music online on YouTube or Spotify. Post a link on the Padlet. Briefly discuss how your piece connects with the philosophies of either John Cage or Edgar Varese. See my examples. en-us 2020-03-18 18:06:07 UTC 2020-04-01 21:00:48 UTC hello@padlet.com Whale Music (experimental) DG dana_gorzelany https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/464922102 For Cage there was no distinction between sound and silence, music and non-music, humanity and nature. While Beethoven probably would not have considered whale sounds music, Cage probably would. This video has over 5 million hits, more than most 21st century composers with channels on YouTube. :)]]> 2020-03-18 18:09:37 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/464922102 Feed the Animals by Girl Talk (electronic) EXPLICIT DG dana_gorzelany https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/464936350 In this album's 14 tracks, Girl Talk uses over 300 samples of music by other musicians. Varese adopted a similar approach with Poeme Electronique, although he primarily sampled environmental/industrial sounds (musique concrete) instead of music samples.]]> 2020-03-18 18:18:33 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/464936350 It's Gonna Rain by Steve Reich (electronic) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/466757332 This minimalist work incorporates elements of sampling and environmental sounds, specifically that of repeated text clips and static tape delays, utilizing two tape recorders (with the same recording). Though the devices were intended to align at the halfway point, the imprecise nature of such an idea resulted in a new development: phase shifting, in which the two tracks looped over each other before coming back into sync, and distancing themselves again. Varese focused on industrial sounds, but this element of using electronic "noise" to create "organized sound" holds true in the decade after Poeme Electronique.]]> 2020-03-19 17:53:26 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/466757332 Clay Preston : Sungazer - Bird on the Wing https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/482663588 This is an Electrojazz group that I’ve been following since 2015 due to their unique uses of electronic sounds and samples to completely re-imagine what we think of as jazz. They combine both physical instruments and electronic elements to create something unique. I feel like they have realized what Varèse talks about when it comes to new ideas and taking the tradition and building on it in order to arrive at something different and unique using the unique characteristics of electronic music. They have in no way denounced the jazz genre, but instead offer something new and fresh for the genre that comes at no expense of its tradition. ]]> 2020-03-30 16:33:53 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/482663588 Bon Iver - 22, Over Soon hanleemccart98 https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/482900730 This is a song by Bon Iver, whose music is defined as "Indie-Folk." A lot of his music is very popular. In his latest music from his past two albums released ("22, A Million" and "i,i") he includes more and more electronic "sounds" (as Varese would say) in his music. This song is an example of music that uses electronic "noises" or "sounds," reflected from Varese and Cage's philosophies of music.

]]> 2020-03-30 18:12:11 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/482900730 Motherboard - Daft Punk (Ethan G) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/483378714 This is one of my favorite pieces from this album. It's Daft Punk so of course, all electronic. This song is very rhythmic and I think, like Varèse, the rhythms create the form. I'm not really thinking about the beat when I listen to it. Also, it incorporates many modern examples of "sounds" rather than traditional music, with a section that sounds like an underwater soundscape (whale noise included)]]> 2020-03-31 00:28:42 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/483378714 DEAD BY DAYLIGHT https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/484337052 The reason I chose this particular one is because of the concept behind creating it. I would lean this particular creative tune towards Varese because of the belief that electronic music has access to more sounds/ noises that can be used heighten the experience and enter a level of expression in which one would not think is possible.

- Shaq]]> 2020-03-31 13:06:38 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/484337052 Metastasis - Iannis Xenakis (William R) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/484882808 This experimental work is similar to the ideas presented by John Cage, in that it is aleatoric, with the performers providing the broader sounds, and there are only distinctions of what timbres are to happen at certain moments. In this work, Xenakis allows the sounds of the different instruments to be fully actualized on the performer's accords, rather than specifically notating the specific notes and rhythms to be played. ]]> 2020-03-31 16:25:28 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/484882808 Billie by JacobTV (Sarah G.) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/484923456 "Billie" by JacobTV is an electronic piece for alto saxophone, piano, and a soundtrack. The piano plays a bluesy ostinato while the saxophone plays along with a soundtrack of interviews completed by jazz singer Billie Holiday. The saxophone part performs pitches and rhythms that are assigned to Holiday's speaking voice. Composed 44 years after Holiday's death in 1959, the piece closely follows Varese's compositional philosophy as JacobTV takes the non-singing voice of a notable jazz singer and creates music around it. As Varese took untraditional sounds and organized them, this piece finds music in the unexpected medium of Holiday's speaking voice.]]> 2020-03-31 16:41:25 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/484923456 The Last Contrabass in Las Vegas (Amanda B) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485083928 I think this piece relates to the philosophy of John Cage. This piece was written by Eugene Allen Kurtz for Bertram Turetzky and his wife. Just as a lot of Cage’s music sounds, this music seems to have a lot of “random” sounds and noise thrown together. This definitely tests what the common image of music composed in this time is. I believe that this piece, just like many of Cage’s pieces, was composed just to be listened to and to be transformed by, not to be analyzed.]]> 2020-03-31 17:49:29 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485083928 Stars make music https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485222830 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MmWeZHsQzs&feature=emb_logo
Step aside Holst, turns out the stars were already doing their own thing. This connects with Varese because it its a result of natural scientific laws. It connects with Cage because the sounds that stars create are not predetermined by human composer. However humans have made the motion of the stars audible and can manipulate it afterwards, they do not create the sound. ]]> 2020-03-31 18:59:00 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485222830 "Bacchus" - Miguel Alvarez-Fernandez (Kassie D.) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485363359

The piece connects to John Cage’s philosophy that anything can be music. One would not think that the conduction of electricity through the use of wine would be music, but by triggering different sounds (from a high pitched-siren like sound to a rumble similar to that of a motorcycle engine), one finds a way to express themself. Like many pieces by Cage, the piece is aleatoric and completely controlled by the performer. The performer can move the wine box wherever they desire for whatever length of time they desire to express whatever it is they wish to express. There is no specified length of time.

]]> 2020-03-31 20:19:39 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485363359 Hunt- Mythospheric - Colorblind https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485368002 I chose this piece because even though the piece is relatively new, the use of the electronics are coupled with the instrumental-ish sounds we are used to. There is a type of tonality that leads to a key. It connects with Varese. Varese wanted people to see that electronic music adds to the what is available. This song incorporates tone and electronics. ]]> 2020-03-31 20:22:45 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485368002 "Secret room" from Metroid by Hirokazu Tanaka (Riley W) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485405054 This piece connects to Cage's philosophy because it is similar to Tanaka's philosophy. The piece itself is very different from other videogame tracks of the time because it isn't a heroic theme or a melodic tune, instead it is an odd and eerie piece with a purpose in mind. all but one of the tracks in Metroid are like this one because Tanaka strived to make music that was a perfect unity of music and sound effect. He purposefully went against what his peers were doing in order to redefine the art of videogame music.]]> 2020-03-31 20:48:29 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485405054 Oscillations by Silver Apples (Experimental) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485410399 This music connects to Cage's philosophy because it uses noises other than conventional musical instruments to make the piece of music. There are several random sounds in this piece that remind me a lot of Cage's works. It differs a little bit though because of how the sounds are incorporated into an actual tonal piece of music.]]> 2020-03-31 20:52:46 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485410399 Kontakte, Karlheinz Stockhausen https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485411331 Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Kontakte” is an example of electronic music that most closely follows Varèse’s compositional philosophy. Notable musical aspects that are shared between the two composers are the random collection of ordinary sounds, the reliance on rhythm to guide the piece rather than the melody or harmony, and the sheer abstractness of the piece and its exploration of otherworldly ideas that were developing in other disciplines such as math or science. The piece really explores the scientific and irrational aspect of music and creates a new or alternative definition of it that listeners may not have previously been exposed to.]]> 2020-03-31 20:53:33 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485411331 The Dharma at Big Sur by John Adams https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485459441 I chose to use “The Dharma at Big Sur” by John Adams because it uses and displays the philosophies of both Varese and Cage, but does so in a more pleasing way that is easier to take in. The piece calls for electronic violin, harp, piano, orchestra and samples. The ways I see the piece reflect Varese’s philosophies is by form and rhythm. There is a form to the piece but it is hard to hear plainly and point out. There is also rhythm that connects the whole piece together, but they are complex and not in a meter. That description would make the piece seem chaotic, but Adams has written it and used such a strong process of developing the material that even with the loose form and rhythms there is quite a bit of familiarity for the listener to grab onto and not feel lost. The way I see the piece reflecting Cage’s philosophies is by how it uses and represents sound. By having the samples, harp, and piano play out of equal temperament the overall sound becomes purer. It allows the pitches and tones to speak for themselves and not be in a key as much. Also the freedom and almost improvisatory sounding violin playing matches that of Cage’s ideas of freedom toward music.

Casey ]]> 2020-03-31 21:32:45 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485459441 Remember Summer Days https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485576243 Vapor wave is apart of a sub-genre of electronic music called Utopian virtual. Utopian Virtual is chasing perfection, recording instruments, and making them sounds as clean and clear as possible creating a “perfect sound”. This Genre also includes images that correspond to the music. The images are clean cut perfect images of a utopian society, or an “aesthetically pleasing” setting. I think this genre corresponds with Cage and Varese because This genre is often criticized in some of the same ways that they were. People who create Utopian Virtual music follows Cage and Varese philosophies because it is created out side the confines of what is considered traditional composing.

]]> 2020-03-31 23:52:52 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485576243 Milton Rabbit - Ensembles for Synthesizer https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485610534 I chose to use this piece as an example of electronic music because it reminded me a lot of John Cage's philosophy. Rather than using conventional music that is pleasing to the ear, the composer of this work decided to use non-musical sounds in a "random" and "unplanned" fashion. There is no true tonal center or form to this piece, which is also similar to how Varèse described music in the first essay. Not every piece will fit into the same box, it's all about being unique. This piece, personally, gives music a new meaning and definition because of the technicality that the composer used and the uniqueness in sounds used.]]> 2020-04-01 00:41:22 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485610534 Crystallize by Lindsey Stirling https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485658207 Crystallize by Lindsey Stirling is a piece of electronic music. She named it bases off of how the human body is made up. "When we surround ourselves eternally with positivity and we create healthy and positive environments and we do good things for people and ourselves, we're made up of 70 percent water so the crystals in your body create actual literal inner beauty. That's what "Crystallize" is about.” Varese gave many of his pieces more scientific titles.

]]> 2020-04-01 01:49:07 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485658207 Excerpts from "history of the entire world, i guess" - bill wurtz (Jacob M yall) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485695032 This is an odd addition, particularly because the music itself, though short and semi-nonsensical, is generally diatonic throughout. The connection here is between Cage's inspirations and the inspirations seen both in the visuals of these excerpts and (partly) the music itself. One of the listed lineages of Cage's iconic sound is the Dada movement of the post-WWI era Europe. I feel this is where the connection between Wurtz and Cage is most seen. Wurtz's rapid-fire pace throughout both the original video and the excerpts listed below along with the quite silly presentation and non-nonsensical visuals that accompany them could quite reasonably be called Dada-ist.]]> 2020-04-01 02:42:34 UTC https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485695032 Hymn for the Weekend by Coldplay (remixed by Seeb) https://padlet.com/dana_gorzelany/b0wdg572byve/wish/485728337

This piece connects with the philosophies of Edgar Varèse, in that it utilizes the electronic medium of instrumentation which Varèse believed brought about “endless possibilities” for composers to express themselves. In this song written by Coldplay and remixed by Seeb, the freedom that Varèse found so enticing about the capabilities of electronic music is definitely a part of why the song was able to be created and recorded. However, I wonder if the current demands of pop music have prevented artists and bands like Coldplay from exploring the full realms of possibilities for electronic music.

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