If you're in the mood to blow your mind
I've had a love for early postmodern music for the last year or so. I think it's about time I shared it.
This stuff really is meant to blow your mind. Hypnotic, mind-altering, so on, you can think of it in any sense you like, but I won't go on. It's separate from the culture of Timothy Leary and psychedelia--its purpose and intention doesn't try for a mass appeal.
It's called 'minimalist' by most people, and it's important to remember it's still high music, intended to be heard and listened to intensely. It goes back into the sixties, and really, you could describe it as the genesis for electronic music.
But that would be a mistake. Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass were, and have been intimately involved with the humanity of their music. It isn't techno.
It's greatest ability is to wipe clean the slate of the subconscious. Steve Reich's purely instumental works do this, leaving you with only the cool dialogue of the prefrontal cortex. You're left with patience, where there was selfish craving.
Steve Reich~Four Organs
That's not to say that their music isn't textured, or narrative; Terry Riley certainly has something to say from this more recent peice:
Terry Riley~The Book of Abbeyozud
This stuff really is meant to blow your mind. Hypnotic, mind-altering, so on, you can think of it in any sense you like, but I won't go on. It's separate from the culture of Timothy Leary and psychedelia--its purpose and intention doesn't try for a mass appeal.
It's called 'minimalist' by most people, and it's important to remember it's still high music, intended to be heard and listened to intensely. It goes back into the sixties, and really, you could describe it as the genesis for electronic music.
But that would be a mistake. Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass were, and have been intimately involved with the humanity of their music. It isn't techno.
It's greatest ability is to wipe clean the slate of the subconscious. Steve Reich's purely instumental works do this, leaving you with only the cool dialogue of the prefrontal cortex. You're left with patience, where there was selfish craving.
Steve Reich~Four Organs
That's not to say that their music isn't textured, or narrative; Terry Riley certainly has something to say from this more recent peice:
Terry Riley~The Book of Abbeyozud