Re: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting
> it seems plausible that toneshifting is merely the audio equivalent of > this process. in a stark environment (in this case, with very few sounds, > rather than few colors) the brain attempts to insert melody because that is > what it thinks should be there. perhaps an effort to maintain balance or > status quo, familiarity, normalcy, etc. Yes and no... I don't think it is the brain is simply inserting what it thinks should be there, as you put it, but the lack of melody is certainly a trigger effect, for any defined melody would ultimately destroy a toneshift. No, I think its more of a communicating and expression thing. The fact that really monotonous techno is indeed so stripped, yet so powerful, invites one to project onto it real imaginative emotions as opposed to just "filling in the blanks" in some mundane matter. The process you bring up is simply our psyche coping, where toneshifts are far more emotionally based. The reason why I gave it a name, and talk about this effect frequently is that I think it is far more important than we believe it to be, its not just some hum-drum thing that we should forget about... I again assert that now is the time to attempt a deep assessment of the music we created, but we are often too busy debating the philosophy behind it that we forget the importance of the music itself, aside from it being pretty neat-o and having produced good musicians, I truly feel that we created something entirely new, almost from the ground up (that is raw repetition, I am not referring to the techno or anything else that resembles non electronic music, to me, that is just "electronic music", not much new there). For instance, assuming Toneshifts are indeed a common and real thing, then it would be a new musical approach in that the artist is only half of the piece and the individual listener the other half, true and undeniable interaction, whereas before, music was almost entirely entertainment and/or interpretation... The other thing, I am very curious as to why techno even exists the way it does, and why does it bring some to tears. What is this "vibe" that permeates a techno room? I am beginning to think that almost tear jerking vibe is due to the toneshifts in that the listener is no longer being told what to feel, rather the joy and freedom of imagination is thick throughout, thus producing "vibe". This is obviously common with all musics, but rhythmic techno seems to carry itself on a whole different level, and justly so... Remember in Modulations, when I think Saunderson said that techno was the only way out, the only escape of such a desolate city? Well, everyone usually feels trapped somehow in some manner (if not, your probably an artist!! LOL!!), and techno was created to alleviate that feeling of being ultimately controlled... I also think that tonshifts have something to do with tribalism, and the creation of very mystical moments, for the repetition of the tribal dance sounds strange and powerful to them, and being primitive, their only option is a God who creates these magical sounds... darw_n "create, demonstrate, toneshift..." http://www.mp3.com/darw_n http://www.sphereproductions.com/topic/Darwin.html http://www.mannequinodd.com
RE: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting
toneshifting... It's very cool stuff...definitely bringing out a unique feature of our mind, but you can't really shake your ass to it like you can with the Surgeon =] t o double d set.go.recordings ++ this discussion is really beginning to tire me, but the following just occurred to me: when you reach a certain amount of feet under water, only a small portion of the spectrum of light penetrates. effectively you can only physically see black and white, because the other colors are not present. nevertheless, you perceive color because your brain inserts color where there is none in order to bring your environment more in line with what it thinks it should be... it seems plausible that toneshifting is merely the audio equivalent of this process. in a stark environment (in this case, with very few sounds, rather than few colors) the brain attempts to insert melody because that is what it thinks should be there. perhaps an effort to maintain balance or status quo, familiarity, normalcy, etc. blah, blah... h
Re: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting
Gwendel wrote: Talking about which... some time ago I let an interesting thread slip through, the one about "tone-shifting"... Darw_n wrote: Toneshifting (one word, for aesthetic reasons) is not a "style", it is a result... But generally, it only occurs with highly repetitive techno for anything complex or melodic becomes an oppressive agent... Simply put, toneshifting is when the listener projects his/her own melody onto the repetition, rather then the music project out to the listener. ie. When you're bored... the mind begins to wander. :) ~Askew _ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
RE: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting
More on the ambient tip...but if you're interested in seeing how toneshifting can trick you into thinking something is there that isn't, take a listen to Steve Reich's "It's gonna rain". Reich was an early experimental/ambient musician that would sometimes take spoken word stuff and chop it up into really repetitive segments..but in a very subtle way. Anyway, the repetitiveness starts to get ingrained in your head and before long, you start fogetting you are hearing words and they start to take on a more percussive nature. There are no fancy effects or anything, just repetitive speech which your mind starts to interpret as something different. It's very cool stuff...definitely bringing out a unique feature of our mind, but you can't really shake your ass to it like you can with the Surgeon =] t o double d set.go.recordings -Original Message- From: darw_n [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 1:39 PM To: Gwendal Cobert; 313@hyperreal.org Subject: Re: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting Toneshifting (one word, for aesthetic reasons) is not a "style", it is a result... But generally, it only occurs with highly repetitive techno for anything complex or melodic becomes an oppressive agent... Simply put (I have to get to class), toneshifting is when the listener projects his/her own melody onto the repetition, rather then the music project out to the listener. The track, as simple as can be is merely a vehicle for whatever is in the listeners head, a compromise between the artist and the listener, a truly interactive music (and I contend a relative first in modern popular music)... The reason for the term "toneshift" is that the general trend amongst listeners is to change a monotonous single repeating tone or rhythm into a major/minor note shift, usually occurring in 2 bar patterns... sorry about the laymen's music terms... darw_n "create, demonstrate, toneshift..." http://www.mp3.com/darw_n http://www.sphereproductions.com/topic/Darwin.html http://www.mannequinodd.com - Original Message - From: "Gwendal Cobert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <313@hyperreal.org> Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 7:30 AM Subject: RE: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting > Talking about which... some time ago I let an interesting thread slip > through, the one about "tone-shifting" - on Surgeon's Balance, one of my > favourite tracks remain Circles - one of the simplest things I've ever > heard, just a pounding, heavy percussive line with an alarm bell-like sound > increasing and decreasing in volume on top of it... would that qualify for > "tone-shifting music" ? > Gwendal > > > -Original Message- > > From: Myke Mitchell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 4:07 PM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 313@hyperreal.org > > Subject: [313] Surgeon > > > > > > Hey all, just thought I'd try and spark a little discussion > > here. I was > > going through some of my old vinyl and pulled out Surgeon's > > 'Comunication' > > album on Downwards from '96. DAMN, that's a KILLER album > > that I don't think > > I've heard anyone talk about yet. All tracks on this album > > are worthy of > > play. Wish he would do some work these days with that older > > feel to it, I > > love that stuff. Speaking of Surgeon albums, besides that and > > 'Basictonalvocabulary' has he released any other LP's?? > > Anyways Anthony > > Childs should be held up there with the Techno greats in my opinion. > > Pieces. > > > > MM > > __ > > ___ > > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at > http://www.hotmail.com. > > Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at > http://profiles.msn.com. > > > - > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > - > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting
Toneshifting (one word, for aesthetic reasons) is not a "style", it is a result... But generally, it only occurs with highly repetitive techno for anything complex or melodic becomes an oppressive agent... Simply put (I have to get to class), toneshifting is when the listener projects his/her own melody onto the repetition, rather then the music project out to the listener. The track, as simple as can be is merely a vehicle for whatever is in the listeners head, a compromise between the artist and the listener, a truly interactive music (and I contend a relative first in modern popular music)... The reason for the term "toneshift" is that the general trend amongst listeners is to change a monotonous single repeating tone or rhythm into a major/minor note shift, usually occurring in 2 bar patterns... sorry about the laymen's music terms... darw_n "create, demonstrate, toneshift..." http://www.mp3.com/darw_n http://www.sphereproductions.com/topic/Darwin.html http://www.mannequinodd.com - Original Message - From: "Gwendal Cobert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <313@hyperreal.org> Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 7:30 AM Subject: RE: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting > Talking about which... some time ago I let an interesting thread slip > through, the one about "tone-shifting" - on Surgeon's Balance, one of my > favourite tracks remain Circles - one of the simplest things I've ever > heard, just a pounding, heavy percussive line with an alarm bell-like sound > increasing and decreasing in volume on top of it... would that qualify for > "tone-shifting music" ? > Gwendal > > > -Original Message- > > From: Myke Mitchell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 4:07 PM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 313@hyperreal.org > > Subject: [313] Surgeon > > > > > > Hey all, just thought I'd try and spark a little discussion > > here. I was > > going through some of my old vinyl and pulled out Surgeon's > > 'Comunication' > > album on Downwards from '96. DAMN, that's a KILLER album > > that I don't think > > I've heard anyone talk about yet. All tracks on this album > > are worthy of > > play. Wish he would do some work these days with that older > > feel to it, I > > love that stuff. Speaking of Surgeon albums, besides that and > > 'Basictonalvocabulary' has he released any other LP's?? > > Anyways Anthony > > Childs should be held up there with the Techno greats in my opinion. > > Pieces. > > > > MM > > __ > > ___ > > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at > http://www.hotmail.com. > > Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at > http://profiles.msn.com. > > > - > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > - > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
RE: [313] Surgeon & tone-shifting
Talking about which... some time ago I let an interesting thread slip through, the one about "tone-shifting" - on Surgeon's Balance, one of my favourite tracks remain Circles - one of the simplest things I've ever heard, just a pounding, heavy percussive line with an alarm bell-like sound increasing and decreasing in volume on top of it... would that qualify for "tone-shifting music" ? Gwendal > -Original Message- > From: Myke Mitchell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2000 4:07 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 313@hyperreal.org > Subject: [313] Surgeon > > > Hey all, just thought I'd try and spark a little discussion > here. I was > going through some of my old vinyl and pulled out Surgeon's > 'Comunication' > album on Downwards from '96. DAMN, that's a KILLER album > that I don't think > I've heard anyone talk about yet. All tracks on this album > are worthy of > play. Wish he would do some work these days with that older > feel to it, I > love that stuff. Speaking of Surgeon albums, besides that and > 'Basictonalvocabulary' has he released any other LP's?? > Anyways Anthony > Childs should be held up there with the Techno greats in my opinion. > Pieces. > > MM > __ > ___ > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. - To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
