Tag Archives: music without words blog

Jan 20 2012
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Bands, Reviews

Why is Postrock a Dirty Word?

Got sent a link to this band’s site recently, they’re called Capillaries and they’re from Atlanta, GA. Their music is indeed instrumental and I wondered if I am allowed to call it post rock or has this become a dirty word? I think bands have always hated being labelled. I know it’s difficult to endure having your creativity pigeon-holed, but it simply serves the purpose of description. It can be kind of handy sometimes. Granted, it is a lazy method, but it’s one we can all understand, particularly in music (RIYL). But we do it for literature and art also because well, let’s face it, we all borrow from one another, and then we add our unique stamp or interpretation and it becomes something else. I think derivative should be a dirty word, because even though I have used it before (ashamedly so), I think we’re all at risk from being labelled derivative at some point or another. It can be damaging to the creative spirit to think you must come up with something from nothing. We’re all prone to influence and inspiration.

‘Good writers borrow. Great writers steal’. T.S.Elliot.

The Capillaries don’t mind being labelled post rock from what I gather, which is great. It’s not an offensive term. It’s just become a broad one. I don’t think anyone was ever offended of being labelled a rock band. According to Wikipedia, the phrase postrock has been bandied about since the Velvet Underground days and used in every decade since, to describe the more avant-garde genres reactive to the mainstream.

The Capillaries music is pretty cool. I’m not very familiar with the genre, but I’ve enjoyed listening to their album and reading about the bands they say have influenced them like Mono and This Will Destroy You. Into the History of Light is heavy on the guitar and drums, and makes judicious use of some other instruments from time to time which is nice. There are some nice swimmy sounds and the beats are nifty in parts but a little too intense and distracting for my taste. If you like post-rock, I think you’ll probably like these guys.

Thanks for sharing your music Neal.

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Jan 01 2012
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Composers, Musicians

Profile: Peter Broderick

I’m sure Peter Broderick’s debut album Float will turn up on this blog some day. It is essential listening for any instrumental and neoclassical music lover. But today I’m not going to limit Broderick’s contribution to one album. He is a prolific maker of beautiful music and at only 25 yrs of age, looks set for a big career.

‘I think my favourite instrument will always be the piano. All I have to do is touch one note and I think it sounds so beautiful. And all pianos are different, so I love to hear the different tones of the different instruments.’ Broderick (MiL interview)

Primarily a pianist and violinist, Broderick also plays banjo, musical saw and mandolin. Creative impatience and tenacity saw him become a multi instrumentalist at a young age and a session musician.  He has released 12 recordings in only 3 years and got his confidence to start putting it out there while playing with Danish band Efterklang. The band invited Broderick to join the band in 2007 after he’d sent them some samples of his work through Myspace. Moving from his home town of Carlton, Oregan to Copenhagen, Denmark for his new posting, Broderick said, ‘it feels like my music career (and maybe my life in general) didn’t really begin until I moved to Europe. I don’t know if my music just fits better in Europe.’ (Broderick, MiL interview).

Initially Broderick’s compositions were restricted to one or two instruments. He felt he needed to limit his music in some way and within those confines he was better able to explore and create. His instrumental music while plaintive is never maudlin, rather it remains crisp, glacial and as uplifting as it is melancholy. Influenced by German born, British film score composer Max Richter, Broderick’s music often has a narrative quality and has scored films himself in recent times (Music for Confluence, Jennifer Anderson & Vernon Lott documentary, Grace & Mercy, documentary by Justin Yarborough) and written music for dance (Falling from Trees and Music for Congregation with KMA).

But Broderick’s music does not sit quietly in the neoclassical genre, it moves around and takes shape in various forms including folk and in various collaborations with other musicians including Machinefabriek, Nils Frahm, Jeff London and Laura Gibson among many others. He has explored recording with his own vocals in his more recent years, bringing his music well and truly out of any pigeonholes one might want to put it into.

‘I also draw inspiration from film scores that have returning themes throughout.’ Broderick (The Milk Factory interview)

Broderick’s website is nifty. His ‘About’ page answers reader questions with a sound file complete with accompanying music. Amongst these sound bites, he admits that he wished he could have written Dreamer by Tiny Vipers and that Bruce Cockburn’s If a Tree was a song that has somewhat shaped his style because his mum used to have it high rotation in their home when he was growing up.

A very recent and lengthy interview with Broderick at Amazingly Blog.

With The Notes in my Ears third party blog dedicated to Peter Broderick’s discography. Weird, but awesome.

Broderick’s Flickr

www.peterbroderick.net

You can buy Peter Broderick’s music from Boomkat and Type Records

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Dec 29 2011
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Articles, Reviews

Review: Hibernate and Home Normal Christmas Show

In a recent review I wrote for German music website Tokafi, I was sent along to Hibernate And Home Normal‘s Christmas show at The Victoria in London’s super cool suburb of Dalton. The show included performers Wil Bolton, Ithaca Trio, Machinefabriek, Konntinent, Isnaj Dui, Talvihorros and The Boats. It was an amazing experience, read about it here.

Please visit Tokafi, a fantastic website for anyone who loves music of all kinds. They have a great mission statement about how they’re trying to rise above the current state of music journalism and break down the barriers between the ‘classical’ and ‘rock’ worlds. ‘After all: Music is a form of human expression, and as such it can elevate your mind and broaden your horizon – if you only rid yourself of expectations and the constant urge to qualify as “bad” all the sounds that merely don’t appeal to you. Come with us on a journey and discover your music!’

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Oct 14 2011
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Uncategorized

A Genius is the One Most Like Himself

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Sep 24 2011
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Composers, Musicians

Profile: William Basinski

I had first heard about William Basinski from my brother. I had listened to some pieces but mustn’t have been in the right head space for it because it did not really make much of an impact. At first. Then, in 2010 I saw Antony and The Johnsons at the Sydney Opera House. The support act was William Basinski & Johanna Constantine, his ambient, sonorous creations a fascinating partner to Constantine’s repetitive and hypnotic dance. All of a sudden Basinski made sense.

A classically trained musician, Basinski also studied jazz saxophone at University and has been creating experimental music and media for 25 years. In August and September 2001 Basinski began work on what would become his most recognised piece, The Disintegration Loops. As he began digitising a bunch of 20 yr old tape loops he’d had in storage, he realised this attempt at preservation was actually destroying the tapes. ‘As they played, flakes of magnetic material were scraped away by the reader head, wiping out portions of the music and changing the character and sound of the loops as they progressed, the recording process playing an inadvertent witness to the destruction of Basinski’s old music.‘ Pitchfork Review

As Basinski listened to the digital playback of his lost analogue recordings, he witnessed the devastation of 9/11 through his NYC apartment window, an apt soundtrack to the horrors unfolding. What resulted from this period was a creation of a series of pieces that Basinski would become famous for. The loops of music became, under Basinski’s guidance, an ethereal masterpiece.

‘Haunting and melancholy soundscapes explore the temporal nature of life, resounding with the reverberations of memory and the mystery of time. His epic 4-disc masterwork, The Disintegration Loops, received international critical acclaim’ William Basinski’s Website

William Basinski’s music reminds me of the eerie, hymnal scores of Angelo Badalamenti. It is perfect music for writers, artists and anyone wanting to work under the influence of a certain mood. It’s the sort of music that doesn’t distract. Instead it penetrates subconsciously, allowing you to become fully immersed in the mood Basinski creates and yet allows freedom to think and create. It repeats and vibrates, soothing and at the same time insistent.

His concerts and installations and films made in collaboration with artist-filmmaker, James Elaine have been presented internationally, most recently at The Venice Biennale of Music, Venice, Italy, Happy New Ears Festival, Belgium, FOCUS ONE Festival, Poland, Filosophia Festival, Carpi, Italy, and Cite de la Musique, Paris, among others. Basinski’s latest albums, 92982 and Vivian & Ondine were released in 2009 on 2062/USA and distributed internationally.

His entire catalog is available for digital download through iTunes, Amazon.con, and numerous legitimate digital retailers worldwide and you can listen to excerpts of Basinski’s catalogue on his website.

A short Interview with Basinski can be read at Headphone Commute.

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Sep 10 2011
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Articles, Composers, Film Music

Rock Stars and Film Scores

‘We’d watch the film together, and he’d pause the film at a certain point and say ‘Look at [that character's] face here. Write some music about that expression.’  Johnny Greenwood

Over the last few years I’ve discovered that musicians from some of my favourite bands have either collaborated or single-handedly scored films, some gaining critical success and awards.

When you take a look at this considerable list of names, you won’t be surprised by the musicians who have pursued the composition of music without words.

Mike Patton – Crank, Crank 2, A Perfect Place – YouTube interview with Mike Patton about his work on Crank

Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) -  The Social Network (collaboration with Atticus Ross), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (US version)

Neil Young – Where the Buffalo Roam, Dead Man

Air – The Virgin Suicides

Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) – Into the Wild

Queen – Flash Gordon

Toto – Dune

Brian Eno – The Lovely Bones

David Byrne (Talking Heads) – The Last Emperor (Ryuichi Sakamoto), Young Adam, This Must Be the Place

Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) – Bodysong, There Will be Blood, Norwegian Wood, We Need to Talk about Kevin - The Independent Interview with Greenwood about score work

“I think cinema has a unique appeal to musicians. The fact that, mostly, an audience will sit in the cinema quietly and listen to what you have done and that you have the audience’s attention is a great incentive. Music in films can move people in a way that is different to a song or gig.” David Arnold

Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy) – About a Boy

Daft Punk – Tron:Legacy

Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) – Local Hero, The Princess Bride, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Wag the Dog (and many others)

Cat Stevens – Harold and Maude

Johnny Marr  (The Smiths) – The Big Bang,  Colours, Mojo interview with Marr about his score work

‘Suddenly he was right on my shoulder, just like Frank from Blue Velvet, shouting in my ear: ‘Make it sound like the fucking cops!’ I immediately started making a sound with my guitar that I’d never been able to make before!’ Johnny Marr

Damon Albarn (Blur) – Ravenous (with Michael Nyman), Ordinary Decent Criminal, 101 Reykjavik (with Einar Örn Benediktsson), The Boy in the Oak

Nick Cave and Warren Elsis (Nick Cave and the Badseeds) – The Proposition, The Assassination of Jesse James, The Road, Lawless (all collaborations with Warren Ellis)

Clint Mansell (Pop Will Eat Itself) – Black Swan, Moon, The Wrestler, The Fountain, Pi, Sahara, Requiem For a Dream (and many more)

Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) – Lilly Was Here, Beautiful Girls, The Ref, Cookie’s Fortune, Alfie (new version, collaboration with Mick Jagger) – cool interview here about his scoring work

David Bowie – Buddha of Suburbia

Ry Cooder – Paris Texas, Crossroads, Last Man Standing, The End of Violence, Primary Colours, The Long Riders, Geronimo (and many more)

Tom Waits – Night on Earth, One from the Heart

Kevin Shields and Brian Reitzell – Lost in Translation

NME published an  interview with Johhny Marr and Trent Reznor offering some insights as to the draw card scoring film can offer a rock musician.

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Aug 23 2011
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Articles, Film Music

Film and Music Collaborators

It’s not surprising that the collaborations between film directors and composers has resulted in some of the greatest films across all genres and from all corners of the globe.

Emotive, powerful and versatile, music is the perfect compliment and boundless inspiration for any writer, director or artist’s creative vision.

Music has a strange and powerful way of permeating our subconscious and attaching itself irrevocably to our memories and experiences in this world. It goes without saying that the ultimate accompaniment to any film experience then is music.

Think of some of the great films that have benefited from this special kind of creative marriage; La Dolce Vita, Once Upon a Time in America, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Doctor Zhivago, Blue Velvet, Batman, Leon, True Romance, Rushmore, Interview with a Vampire, Spirited Away, to name a few.

For me, those films have become unforgettable in my mind because of the way the score interacts with the film and narrative. It doesn’t always happen that films are made better by their score, but that’s a story for another time.  Let’s take a look at some of the best partnerships in film to date.

Nino Rota and Federico Fellini – Fellini’s film from The White Sheik to Federico Fellini’s Orchestra Rehearsals, (including La Dolce Vita, 81/2, Roma)

Ennio Morricone and Sergio Leone – Leone’s films from his first, A Fistful of Dollars, to his last, Once Upon a Time in America

Henri Mancini and Blake Edwards – The Pink Panther Films, The Party, Gunn, The Great Race, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Victor/Victoria

Maurice Jarre and David Lean – Doctor Zhivago, A Passage to India, Lawrence of Arabia, Ryan’s Daughter

Elmer Bernstein and Martin Scorsese – Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, Bringing out the Dead

Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch – Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks (TV and film), Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive

Danny Elfman and Tim Burton – The Nightmare Before Christmas, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Planet of the Apes, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, Batman Returns, Ed Wood,

Eric Serra and Luc Besson – Le Dernier Combat, Subway, Le Grand Bleu (The Big Blue), Nikita, Atlantis, Leon (aka The Professional), The Fifth Element, Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc and Arthur and the Minimoys.

Elliot Goldenthal and Neil Jordan – Interview with a Vampire, The Butcher Boy, In Dreams, The Good Thief

Joe Hisaishi and Hayao Miyazaki – Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke

Hanz Zimmer and the Scott brothers – Black Rain, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Hannibal

Mark Mothersbaugh and Wes Anderson – Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

 

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