The popularity of distressing, disintegrating sound.

[Arpangel]

These things are part of all types of music, from pop etc, to contemporary classical and avant-garde, and everything in between.
My theory is that it’s a reflection of of how people feel globally, either trying to introduce a quality that invokes a nostalgic memory, of better times, or, they are used to reflect what’s going on in the world right now, a slow decay, literally, disintegration. I know that’s exactly what I’m using it for in my music, the last thing I want is high fidelity.
"Technical quality" has become unimportant, it’s almost irrelevant to most people, especially younger listeners, all sound, of whatever quality, has become acceptable, it just depends on the context.
You’ve only got to look at some of the instruments that are available now, advertising lo-fi, low bit rate, bit reduction, dirty, anything but pristine and clean.
Where all this is going I don’t know, I like it, it won’t be thought about, like I am now, it’ll just be part of the scene, it already has, it’s interesting though, how things sometimes do a complete u-turn, from wanting ultimate fidelity, and to reproduce acoustic instruments as realistically as possible, to the point we are at now.

[Martin Walker]

Look up 'hauntology' and all will (probably) be explained.

EDIT: This video link will save you the trouble of looking up the term, and is a useful primer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/what ... s/p0729knv

Oh, and the duo Boards Of Canada are probably the best introduction to the whole genre in the musical sense (I own most of their output on CD): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boards_of_Canada

Martin

[Drew Stephenson]

I think these things come into and go out of fashion in cycles as new generations discover previous work and are subsequently inspired. Plus there's always the background level of people who have always embraced this kind of sound.

[N i g e l]

Boards of Canada

Allways reminds me of wobbly b&w films at school showing the Rhine all frothy with dead fish, shopping trollys and toxic heavy metals.

This video link will save you the trouble of looking up the term, and is a useful primer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/what ... s/p0729knv

That included a reference to "look around you" so Im guessing Synthesizer Patel is OK to watch ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2myFLUDB74

[note: he has done some mods to his Ebay bargain synth ]

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I think its only Hi quality sound that lets us apppreciate "distressing" to its full potential. Maybe its a compare and contrast thing - Lo-fi along side Hi-fi.....

[resistorman]

Distortion has always been a part of music since amplifiers were introduced. I think there's an argument to be made that it's much, much older once resonating bits were added to drums in Africa and more recently to snare drums.

[Drew Stephenson]

Distortion has always been a part of music since amplifiers were introduced. I think there's an argument to be made that it's much, much older once resonating bits were added to drums in Africa and more recently to snare drums.

Not to mention the over-blowing technique with brass instruments.

[awjoe]

What's the overblowing of brass about?

[Favedave]

Brilliant post! As I read it, I thought that most of your post would be used as a newspaper article about rock music in 1971 and be as relevant. Or, if changing some of the adjectives, be about the premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in 1913.

I think it's very healthy indeed to "muss up the hair" of the previous generation's sound. Or destroy it altogether. Although what you describe has never really been possible before to this extent since we have SO MUCH recorded music from the last 120 years. And we have the easily available electronic means to alter it in infinite ways.

Can't wait to see where we go!

[Arpangel]

Brilliant post! As I read it, I thought that most of your post would be used as a newspaper article about rock music in 1971 and be as relevant. Or, if changing some of the adjectives, be about the premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in 1913.

I think it's very healthy indeed to "muss up the hair" of the previous generation's sound. Or destroy it altogether. Although what you describe has never really been possible before to this extent since we have SO MUCH recorded music from the last 120 years. And we have the easily available electronic means to alter it in infinite ways.

Can't wait to see where we go!

Interesting comments.

Martin, BOC, when I first bought Tomorrow’s Harvest, it changed the very atmosphere, the chemical make-up of the air in my room, it was transcendental, you were immediately in another place, it was so evocative, of what? I’ll tell you, of everything, it was like a film running from the past showing me my whole life, Stars Of The Lid also have this affect on me, I say when people ask me if I’ve taken Acid, "no, but I’ve seen Stars Of The Lid"

[Drew Stephenson]

What's the overblowing of brass about?

Paragraph 3

[Martin Walker]

Stars Of The Lid also have this affect on me, I say when people ask me if I’ve taken Acid, "no, but I’ve seen Stars Of The Lid"

Hi Tony,

Thanks for introducing me to Stars Of The Lid!

With claimed influences including Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, and Brian Eno, it's hardly surprising that I love what I'm hearing

Looks like I'll be purchasing 'and their Refinement of the Decline' in short order.

Martin

[Drew Stephenson]

What's the overblowing of brass about?

Paragraph 3

And this time with the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overblowi ... 0a%20slide.