Randall McClellan had been exploring the ancient tradition of using sound in a spiritual context for over 15 years when he created a series of concerts featuring constantly evolving, multi-layered melodies in the early 1980s. During the performances, the audience relaxed on the floor in dimly lit rooms to bring their bodies and minds into harmony.
When Indian spiritual music became popular in New York City in the mid-1960s, one of the youngest artists was the least impressed. Charlemagne Palestine, known for his long ritualistic pieces without religious references, grew up in Brooklyn. The strong cultural environment of the Hasidic movement there shaped his early life, as he sang as a boy soprano in the synagogue choir.
With 10k+ archived releases, Sounds Central's proprietor, Paul Paulun, tells a personal history of music and sound art.
The soundtrack for an imaginary film, harmonising electronics and a vocal language based on traditional Persian music. 44-minute mix with works by Aktuala, Lady June, Muslimgauze, Sussan Deyhim & Richard Horowitz and others – realized between 1972 and 2020.
39 minutes of ideas being expressed with sound: made up trains, works with found sounds, or a collective approach in making music – realised by Amy Taubin, Angus & Hetty MacLise, Tom Recchion, Tuli Kupferberg and others.
‘I want to put as many aspects of myself into music as I can, as much as possible of being alive, intensely conscious on all levels.‘ With this attitude, American composer Laurie Spiegel developed her concept of Slow Change Music in the mid-1970s at Bell Labs in New Jersey, using the prototype of a computer system to control synthesizers.
A mix of ethnological recordings, found sounds and pirated material formed the basis for the performances of the radical theatre group Magazzini Criminali from Florence. In 1980, they used ambient music by Jon Hassell without permission. The composer was impressed – and collaborated with the group on an adaptation of Jack Kerouac's iconic beat novel ‘On the Road.‘
Snapshots of national pride, cars, country music and the human abyss behind respectable facades – 51 minutes with Amiri Baraka, Ann Magnuson, Henry Rollins, Madeline Ridley and others.
An invented language, imitations of field recordings, or the idea of a visual work with sound allow these tracks to express something as yet unknown. 38 minutes with Buffy Sainte-Marie, Gazelle Twin & NYX, Glynis Jones, Valentina Goncharova and others.
Aware of musical traditions and eager to incorporate the latest technology in his productions, Haruomi Hosono is one of the most versatile and influential figures in Japanese popular culture. 44 minutes with various collaborations and solo works by the co-founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Trance is an important aspect in Angus MacLise’s sound works. The drummer, composer, poet and calligrapher was a link between Beat culture, New York City’s art scene in the Sixties and the hippies. 78 minutes with material by an originator who never released a record during his short life.
Ten pieces about the mysteries, realities and prospects of airwaves. 30-minute mix with works by The Android Sisters, Dan Lander, Negativland, Phil Harmonic and others.
