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Re: [microsound] noise?



Noise music is the de-mystification of musical process since anyone,
even a musically untrained person, can make "noise".  The elitist
aspects of creating music are shattered by the concept of noise.  

There is a rich 20th century history behind this art form, spanning from
Futurism, Dada and Performance art movements through to Musique
Concrete, Free Jazz and Industrial music.  John Cage had an affinity for
everyday noise as well as silence, Xenakis used very un-musical source
material for his electroacoustic compositions and Sun Ra used one of the
first MiniMoogs to create noisy, chaotic passages in his compositions.
Noise may also be seen, in some sense, as "an aesthetic outgrowth of
existential thought". 

A lot of what is characterized as noise music is what I think of as
"Power Electronics".  I think this may be the more defined genre of
which David Michael is referring to.  It's not very listenable, but
that's not really the point, combined with the raw graphic imagery it is
the perfect embodiment of post-modern angst and alienation.

There are those of us- I'll include myself here since I've worked in
this area of sound for almost 20 years -who are striving to use noise
elements in ways that are not only listenable but also evocative.  I've
found noise music to be very conducive to abstraction which, as an
outgrowth of my interest in painting, became one of my primary concerns
early on.  

For reference, I will now go over to the mp3 site and post up three of
my noise-oriented tracks if you wish to hear my angle on this:  

http://www.mp3.com/pbk

or you can hit up the mp3 link at my site address:

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/pbkrecordings

Best wishes to all on the list, 
PBK

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