SOUND PIECE ON MEMORY | explanation and sources

I originally thought of this idea while listening to Metal Machine Music. I was lying in bed and towards the end of the second piece i suddenly felt quite 'nostalgic', is maybe the best way to put it, however it wasn't about anything in particular in terms of a specific memory of mine. I then had the vague idea that I wanted to do a sound piece that evokes this sort of feeling that's kind of sad based off dissociation and forgetting time.

I have always been intrigued by this album and have sat and listened to it in bed a few times. At first the noise can be quite abrasive, however I personally find it can be quite soothing as it goes on and becomes one drifting motion.
Also the most annoying/more intriguing part about it is there isn't a lot written about it as critics at the time took it as a joke, however it is an experimental piece heavily influenced by the avant garde drones of La Monte Young and The Theatre of Eternal Music. I also read somewhere that Lou Reed tried to allude to some pieces of classical music, which i would like to know more about and be able to recognise it in sections, however i really don't know a lot about classical music to a point where i could recognise it being referenced.
There's also a few refrains/motifs throughout, which I wanted throughout my piece before i even realised there was one in this piece, as i think it is very important in terms of memory to have reoccurring aspects and also i am into writing and poetry at the minute, so i think it came from that too.
I think its also interesting as the piece takes patience to listen to which is interesting against our fast and over stimulating culture online. It makes me think of the Black Paintings by Ad Reinhartd where he uses different shades of black that you have to allow your eyes to adjust to.

Listened to some of La Monte Young and The Dream Syndicate as well as John Cale who was apart of that as well as being in the Velvet Underground with Lou Reed.

The contrast of high pitch and low pitch is gud

La Monte Young

sounds like a bird

NO PUSSYFOOTING BY BRIAN ENO AND ROBERT FRIPP
- similar to metal machine music, also really cool. dont think it is on youtube but its on spotify.


Also have been looking into shoegazer music as I think that the techniques used really create a distance between the sound and the listener which would be interesting in my composition.
I listened to a lot of compilations on youtube and also the album loveless by my bloody valentine as i think it is the pinnacle of the shoegazer style.


Did some more research into the shoegazer genre
https://www.reddit.com/r/MyBloodyValentine/comments/84rs1n/recently_fell_in_love_with_loveless_need_similar/
pet sound was the inspiration for loveless




like the intro to this and the guitar chords. Going to use a similar reverse guitar effect for the beginning of 'where did u go'.

Other Shoegazer type stuff:
jeff buckley the last goodbye - slide guitar at beginning
la femme
slowdive - slouvlaki
daydream nation - sonic youth
heaven or las vegas - cocteau
LSD and the search for God

https://www.reddit.com/r/shoegaze/comments/8l115q/what_are_your_ten_favorite_shoegaze_albums/

found this then it reminded me of the only lovers left alive soundtrack which i loveeeee


Drums in thissssss


The album Amir by Tamino has a similar Vibe as the two above, also.
these are some songs from the album:





this song came up in my recommended, and although it's not a big inspiration, the 'ah's and slide guitar type effect reminded me of this proj.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/3dr3cj/the_wall_of_sound_or_the_spector_sound_is_this_a/ mono vs stereo. an interesting discussion on the use of mono and the concept of a wall of sound.


Also, some songs by the 1975 have the vocal effect i intend to be going for and i think thats because theyre inspired by a lot of shoegaze stuff and things like that and a few tracks of theirs have a haziness im looking into at the minute.

Also the track of the same name on their second album which isnt on YT

While thinking of my idea and writing it down along with the inspirations, I began to think of what stuff i listened to over the summer and how that most likely is going to influence it whether i realise it or not and by accepting this, i can acknowledge it and use that to work on the idea more, and one of the types of music i was listening to was russian synth music as it sounds pretty cool.

Also found this cool piece by william burroughs and kurt cobain where kurt cobain did the guitar and burroughs the poem/story.

Also was reading about looping and polyrhythms when i watched a video on a guy who made a longest ever piece that never repeated itself using polymetre/polyrhythms. It made me think of 'It's Gonna Rain' by Steve Reich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Gonna_Rain

I also then thought of the CLASSIC song 'I Feel Love' by Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer as it uses a simple melody looped that creates its own polyrhythms giving the song a hypnotic aura.

As well as this was listening to a lot of George Harrison music where he uses a lot of mantras, which then lead me to think about how repetition in music is what makes it make sense, as if you make a 'mistake' theoretically, if you repeat it, it will begin to sound normal to the listener. An example of this is the album Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefhart. Also in german they have a word for an 'ear worm' which is a word for when a song catches on in your head. Also thought about how intrusive thoughts are looped, but i don't think that's relevant for this project.


REVOLUTION 9 by The Beatles


Also was listening to the song while my guitar gently weeps by the beatles and i was looking at the chord progression and it creates a drifting away effect.

I additionally saw a video on downwards key changes and the one about Penny Lane by the beatles is really interesting as although the key goes down, the mood goes up and creates a nostalgic effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc7MImrsCbo Songs with a Downwards Key Change

LOMAY LOMAY BY LOCKED CLUB - thinking of using this kind of fading in (on the second track) with where did u go piece.
Also somebody else by the 1975 has a spoken word part which also has given me ideas for the spoken word segment(s)

other stuff ive liked for a while and will likely be an inspiration:
plantasia - cool moog album.
machine gun the peter brötzmann octet - free european jazz, very non musical in a way and sounds like sound effects. imitates machine guns.
american prayer by the doors - mixture between music and poetry.


Some other cool stuff:
cosmic tones for mental therapy - Sun Ra
super sonic jazz - sun ra
the ugly one with the jewels and other stories by laurie anderson - a spoken word album
1979 - deru - this album is super atmospheric and i love the first track
gray - shades of... - experimental band that basquiat was in, super cool.
low by david bowie - in one song he sings a made up language and also the sound design is really cool.
oncle jazz - a cool and funky contemporary jazz album
iggy pop latest albums
the doors
neu 2 - german krautrock band .
pink floyd - the wall album is a conceptual piece and the transition between songs is super smooth and they vary in lengths.
syd barrett - listened to a lot of him and there are a lot of outtakes and slip ups which i think makes it really cool and the simple use of guitar.

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I have a lot of inspirations, as usual, which i quite ovewhelming, however I went thought the tracks and made notes on them and why they interest me and how i am intending to take parts away from them and which parts.
The main thing is how i am going to string the piece together, and i think i just need to experiment and see what happens and go from there. Also, i have no idea how musical or rhythmical it is going to be, as the question as to whats music and whats sound is very questionable. Maybe this is something i can play with in my piece.