“. . . Back in autumn 1963 Samuel Barber was alone and driving through November rain in Iowa or Kansas. When he turned on his radio he heard Them playing his Adagio for Strings. Sick to death of his most famous composition, He turned the dial through the static Until once again, and clearly – The Adagio for Strings. When a third station, too, And then a fourth, were playing it, he thought He must be going mad. He turned off the radio And stopped the car and got out by a fence Staring at the endless open space in front of him Where someone on a tractor plowed On slowly in the rain . . . The president had been assassinated Earlier that day, but Barber didn't know it yet. He only knew that every station in America was playing His Adagio for Strings. He only knew he didn't know Why he should be responsible for such an esctasy of grief.”
—John Matthias, “A Note on Barber’s Adagio,” for Dónal Gordon.
Evermore
John Matthias
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Artist: John Matthias
Title: Evermore
Album: Stories From The Watercooler
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John Matthias is a composer/multi-instrument musician - he works frequently with Ninja Tune artist while still finding time to release his own albums.
“I came here to make a living - In this Hope and Glory, but I’m afraid,
and I can’t believe it when you can’t afford to have opinions, when it was ever thus and shall be evermore…”
“That music is the spur to all licentiousness the maestro doubts. His love unconsummated he embraces only sound. And it dissolves. And when the Angel asks him would he make his peace with God the dying Janacek replies but what is peace and what is would and what is god Janachkova. ”
—Boston Review | John Matthias: That Music is the Spur to all LicentiousnessForgotten series: John Matthias and Nick Ryan - <i>Cortical Songs</i> (2010)
I have decided that’s it’s never not fun to talk about what is and isn’t music. The discussions can be thought-provoking, plus there’s always the chance that somebody will lose it and tell the rest of the crowd that they’re ignorant and don’t know what they’re talking about.
Yeah, the possibility of that sort of free entertainment keeps me coming back to the scene of the crime.
So let’s talk about process music of a sort. For further proof that music can be generated from nearly any source material, I present Cortical Songs. John Matthias and Nick Ryan took the rhythmic patterns of firing neurons and used them as guideposts for an improvised performance by a string ensemble.
Without getting super-technical, the ensemble and solo violinist were partially controlled by a software simulator that mimicked a neural network, which in turn controlled 24 LEDs, one for each musician. Players would have parts written out but would play when their lights went on. The four movements represent various levels and configurations of improvisation and live interaction. Hmmm … maybe that was too technical.
Still, the results are certainly not what I expected. I thought for sure that there would be more jagged edges and uncomfortable rhythms. Instead, there are slowly-developing landscapes of sound, with swelling walls of dissonance, tensions that build and then suddenly vaporize, and even a few moments of roiling emotion. This is particularly true of the fourth movement, where it feels like a passionate story is being unfolded.
What I thought I would hear on Cortical Songs actually occurs during the wide-ranging set of remixes that follow. These re-imaginings take Cortical Songs to some places far, far away from their sources. A good remix is like that. You get to hear how the remixer frames the music in the mind. Dominic Murcott’s “The Bipolar Shuffle” is exactly what I was looking for: edgy, skittery rhythms that percolate & never sit still. There’s the spooky mood fog of Jem Finer’s “The Squid’s Terror of Dry Land” and the cinematic “Brain Bumper Remix” by Gabriel Prokofiev.
For a while, I thought that Thom Yorke’s “Neuron Trigger Mix” would win the day. In fact, it is a fine piece of disjointed rhythm that’s reminiscent of Photek. But Marcus Coates’ “0.2 - 20,000%” gets my vote. It sounds like music bounced off a slightly malfunctioning satellite. Much of the flavor of the original material is there, but it’s distorted in a foreboding way … and yet is still quite beautiful. Great stuff.
A tip ‘o the pencil to the label Nonclassical, who are doing the musical world quite a service by smooshing together new music and DJ-isms. Who knows, maybe a fight will break out.
[amazon_enhanced asin=”B002JP9I1Q” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000” text_color=”0000FF” /]
“They argue (the cognates) that a manifest Attached to shipment listing all colaterals and cogs, Codes and Codices for Mdme's Nothing Else Cockaigne Machine In fact are elegaic poems, that David sings for Jonathan, Gilgamesh for Enkidu. They inscribe themselves as Manifestos which proclaim their faith in algorythms of an Unknown field of force. They're cognizant and they can glow. They're coeternal and they rise to an occasion. Although they tell no story of their lives, their little trumpets blow.”
—John Matthias, quoted in: Jerimee Bloemeke and the effective poetic list | Bebrowed’s Blog“She feels like a theme in César Franck's sonata or a train ride to Cabourg-- A transcribed interview, a Google search before its time.”
—“The Housekeeper” in John Matthias. (2011). Collected Shorter Poems. Vol. 2: 1995-2011. Shearsman Books.
John Matthias - King of a Small Town
Full song lyrics: John Matthias - King of a Small TownThere’s a face that’s new in town has got me wondering, got me waiting. People say he’s just a clown, but I’m watching all his movements.
Because he’s giving all the signals and he’s good with all the details, I’m watching other people watching over him.
He’s got a line in big cigars and a hotel …
Full song lyrics: John Matthias - King of a Small Town
Forgotten series: John Matthias and Nick Ryan - <i>Cortical Songs</i> (2010)
I have decided that’s it’s never not fun to talk about what is and isn’t music. The discussions can be thought-provoking, plus there’s always the chance that somebody will lose it and tell the rest of the crowd that they’re ignorant and don’t know what they’re talking about.
Yeah, the possibility of that sort of free entertainment keeps me coming back to the scene of the crime.
So let’s talk about process music of a sort. For further proof that music can be generated from nearly any source material, I present Cortical Songs. John Matthias and Nick Ryan took the rhythmic patterns of firing neurons and used them as guideposts for an improvised performance by a string ensemble.
Without getting super-technical, the ensemble and solo violinist were partially controlled by a software simulator that mimicked a neural network, which in turn controlled 24 LEDs, one for each musician. Players would have parts written out but would play when their lights went on. The four movements represent various levels and configurations of improvisation and live interaction. Hmmm … maybe that was too technical.
Still, the results are certainly not what I expected. I thought for sure that there would be more jagged edges and uncomfortable rhythms. Instead, there are slowly-developing landscapes of sound, with swelling walls of dissonance, tensions that build and then suddenly vaporize, and even a few moments of roiling emotion. This is particularly true of the fourth movement, where it feels like a passionate story is being unfolded.
What I thought I would hear on Cortical Songs actually occurs during the wide-ranging set of remixes that follow. These re-imaginings take Cortical Songs to some places far, far away from their sources. A good remix is like that. You get to hear how the remixer frames the music in the mind. Dominic Murcott’s “The Bipolar Shuffle” is exactly what I was looking for: edgy, skittery rhythms that percolate & never sit still. There’s the spooky mood fog of Jem Finer’s “The Squid’s Terror of Dry Land” and the cinematic “Brain Bumper Remix” by Gabriel Prokofiev.
For a while, I thought that Thom Yorke’s “Neuron Trigger Mix” would win the day. In fact, it is a fine piece of disjointed rhythm that’s reminiscent of Photek. But Marcus Coates’ “0.2 - 20,000%” gets my vote. It sounds like music bounced off a slightly malfunctioning satellite. Much of the flavor of the original material is there, but it’s distorted in a foreboding way … and yet is still quite beautiful. Great stuff.
A tip ‘o the pencil to the label Nonclassical, who are doing the musical world quite a service by smooshing together new music and DJ-isms. Who knows, maybe a fight will break out.
[amazon_enhanced asin=”B002JP9I1Q” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000” text_color=”0000FF” /]
