Re: [microsound] minimalism

[pelagius pelagius <pela_gius@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is an interesting discussion and I've enjoyed all of the responses so 
far.  I think it would be worthwhile to address the "functional" aspects of 
minimalism in a little more depth.  By functional I'm referring to the use 
of minimal sound to induce trance states, heighten one's perception of 
sounds, or as the soundtrack to a drug experience.

This tendency applies equally to the drone and repetition strains of 
minimalism and seems to span all of the proposed categories and time periods 
to some degree.  In the work of the early minimalists, the functional 
aspects are somewhat of an unmentioned presence but can be inferred by the 
composers' place in the hippy milieu and interest in Indian classical music. 
 In current "aesthetic minimalism" from guitar-based drone music to minimal 
dance or ambient music functionalism has moved to the forefront and replaced 
the conceptual or academic compostitional issues of the early minimalists.

Perhaps this functional tendency is the key to a transition between 
"boundary minimalism" and "aesthetic minimalism."  As the conceptual 
freshness of boundary minimalism wears through time, the funtional appeal is 
carried on in more popular strains of music.

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