1.
Back in my music studying days, me and my Marimba friends (my marimba friends and I) were playing a piece of music called 6 Marimbas by Steve Reich.
25 minutes of mallet percussion minimalism, the piece consisted of 6 fast interlocking patterns that played together (on... wait for it... 6 marimbas) for 15 minutes without a single change, until finally, after increasing tension we'd all change 1 single note. although the change was tiny, the release of tension was incredible, 1 note out of 15 minutes!!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS?
Let me tell you. F*ckin hard... !
It requires some serious freakin concentration. We invariably f*cked it up the unison change to a different key and the 15 minutes of increasing tension that we'd worked so hard to build would dissipate like the soft on I got from Sasha Barren Cohen giving me a T-Bag.
Steve Reich's music can build tension through repetition, making you increasingly uneasy...
or, it can be calming and intricate... soothing as bro.
Like this one. He wrote some corkers... I love this. Listen to how cleverly it evolves... It grooves hard but it calms as well. Beautiful. I think it's the stuff that dreams are made out of.
2.
When I was a young child my parents packed my sister and myself into a rented BMW and we spent 4 weeks driving through Italy, France and Austria.
Driving through France along the autobahn/freeway/racecourse we drove through dozens of tunnels every day.
photo by fgfathome on flickr
Everytime we entered a gaping black hole cut into the side of a mountain we'd trade the fresh alpine air, dark green forests and crisp blue skys for a world of pulsing of florescent pools of light and flashing headlights.
Some of the tunnels were 10-20 kilometres long. It was easy to forget where you were while traveling through them. You have no sense of distance, where you came from or where you are going... On the other side of the tunnel you were often greeted with a vastly different landscape from the one you left behind.
3.
Listening to triple j (even though I've now officially grown out of it) last Sunday night, they featured an interview with Phoenix.
Thomas Mars (the singer of phoenix) was telling Zan Rowe that the inspiration for this instrumental song came from the rhythm of tunnels that he drove through, driving from Versailles to Paris.... The pools of light, the passing cars, lines on the road, repetition etc. it took me back to my trip as soon as he said it.
He also said he was listening to Steve Reich at the time. The combination of the tunnels and mesmerizing minimalism inspired him to write these songs.
Rad hey? Very interesting... Its nice to hear inspiration like that. Quite filmic. Their version of minimalism is cool, although I think Phoenix could have been a little more ambitious. I would have lost my sh*t if they'd stretched the opening out for another 5-10 minutes before changing to the accoustic guitar and then beat.
Part two is really pretty, a nice contrast to the first part... with words n' stuff.
There ya go....
Back in my music studying days, me and my Marimba friends (my marimba friends and I) were playing a piece of music called 6 Marimbas by Steve Reich.
25 minutes of mallet percussion minimalism, the piece consisted of 6 fast interlocking patterns that played together (on... wait for it... 6 marimbas) for 15 minutes without a single change, until finally, after increasing tension we'd all change 1 single note. although the change was tiny, the release of tension was incredible, 1 note out of 15 minutes!!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS?
Let me tell you. F*ckin hard... !
It requires some serious freakin concentration. We invariably f*cked it up the unison change to a different key and the 15 minutes of increasing tension that we'd worked so hard to build would dissipate like the soft on I got from Sasha Barren Cohen giving me a T-Bag.
Steve Reich's music can build tension through repetition, making you increasingly uneasy...
or, it can be calming and intricate... soothing as bro.
Like this one. He wrote some corkers... I love this. Listen to how cleverly it evolves... It grooves hard but it calms as well. Beautiful. I think it's the stuff that dreams are made out of.
2.
When I was a young child my parents packed my sister and myself into a rented BMW and we spent 4 weeks driving through Italy, France and Austria.
Driving through France along the autobahn/freeway/racecourse we drove through dozens of tunnels every day.
photo by fgfathome on flickrSome of the tunnels were 10-20 kilometres long. It was easy to forget where you were while traveling through them. You have no sense of distance, where you came from or where you are going... On the other side of the tunnel you were often greeted with a vastly different landscape from the one you left behind.
3.
Listening to triple j (even though I've now officially grown out of it) last Sunday night, they featured an interview with Phoenix.
Thomas Mars (the singer of phoenix) was telling Zan Rowe that the inspiration for this instrumental song came from the rhythm of tunnels that he drove through, driving from Versailles to Paris.... The pools of light, the passing cars, lines on the road, repetition etc. it took me back to my trip as soon as he said it.
He also said he was listening to Steve Reich at the time. The combination of the tunnels and mesmerizing minimalism inspired him to write these songs.
Rad hey? Very interesting... Its nice to hear inspiration like that. Quite filmic. Their version of minimalism is cool, although I think Phoenix could have been a little more ambitious. I would have lost my sh*t if they'd stretched the opening out for another 5-10 minutes before changing to the accoustic guitar and then beat.
Part two is really pretty, a nice contrast to the first part... with words n' stuff.
There ya go....
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