[Fwd: Monkey Music]

[Brad Knox <B.Knox@latrobe.edu.au>]

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Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 09:24:36 EDT
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In a message dated 10/19/98 5:26:03 AM, Brad wrote:

<<sometimes knowing the setup/process/players can turn the sound
into a more satisfying thing or kill it completely for me, other times it 
just
doesnt matter (i once heard this amazing piece that turned out to be a few
contact mikes on some telephone lines in the desert -- i was kind of bummed
that no-one was actually *playing* but still very much enjoyed it)>>

 Reminds me of the distraction I've often experienced at some hi-tech
concerts, where the performers don't seem to be performing, just servicing 
the
equipment--makes it hard to tell whether what you're hearing is the 
"piece,"
or just prepatory maintenence; I'd rather be just hearing the sounds from a
radio. In person, I seem inadvertently to demand the increased and 
compelling
drama of watching something extraordinary being accomplished before my 
eyes,
by a charasmatic humanoid...it's as if music in person must also recognize
that's it's dance, too.
I love those found soundscapes from unattended miked wires, etc...but the
"sound itself" always makes me want to take on the challenge of taking 
control
at least a little, simply to add the presense of a human awareness; I guess
it's nothing more than species-self-absorption, but it adds Art to Nature,
which I always do find irresistable, no matter how infrequently there's an
actual synthesis...
One such synthesis which made an indelible mark on my future as a
music'n'sound maker was a radio glimpse, at least 20 years ago, of an
installation of miked wires in a sculpture gallery, with which the public 
was
encouraged to interact. The show consisted of selected "performances" from 
the
installation's recorded history, and as a revelation of both the wonder and
joy of plucked'n'vibrating wires, and the tantalizing confusion over 
"made-or-
found?" it'd be hard to beat. The memory's definitely still "generating 
more
art" around here...
dpc