Tones, drones and arpeggios (featuring Revox A77)

[monaro0162]

I just watched this excellent documentary on minimalism and the music of La Monte Young and Terry Riley. The parts on tape loops, time shifting and phase difference to create infinite compositions using Revox A77s was fascinating. "Ahh the smell of the hot tape"
Tones, drones and arpeggios is on BBC4 and the iplayer, recommended. Any body else see it?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...uggid=b09tbfp6

[Andrew2]

Yes, and as someone who bought his first tape recorder in 1969 and did many 'compositions' with my similarly-equipped schoolmates I found it great viewing. The use of tape hiss as an instrument in itself ('it has a nice warm sound...') and hugely long echoes by running vast loops around mike stands etc coffee table certainly took me back. I have memories of a large loop going around the table legs and the dog taking too much of an interest. As for the smell of hot tape, we bought 5 3/4" (crikey, that was meant to be five and three-quarter inch) reels from Shudehill in Manchester for 12/6d a reel and when warm it had a vague smell of cabbages. Oh, happy days!

[dave walsh]

An excellent program [1/2] once again from BBC4 the greatest and cheapest Beeb channel that people who don't watch it claim nobody else does! Detectorists? They are wrong.

I almost flagged this this program up myself but thought I might have to pen a disclaimer in anticipation of a "septical" response as Popeye would say. I've also been following these techniques and composers since the sixties, not naively but it has always deserved attention. Einstien on The Beach-amazing.

If you look at Wire Magazine and the proliferation of "alternative" musicians well ...seems that everybody is one these days-slightly worrying perhaps but it might at least justify our original obscure interest. A bit like Dylan getting the Nobel Prize. As with "Free Jazz" but not the Schonebergs 12 note system, all this stuff is pretty much mainstream/crossover now. I like the bit in which the Tone Generator had to be given a bash to persuade it to cooperate. Tone and Drones was also bundled with Synth Britania which has been shown many times before but is brilliant, even for someone like myself who was never really into them that much. Like the first offering, lots of interesting technical stuff and then followed by SB at the BBC showing the gear in action! All recommended.

Dave W

[monaro0162]

I was unaware how much influence their work has influenced mainstream music. The reference to stretching time within the music to bring you in sync with the west coast terrain and long drives between cities was interesting, as was the part with Jarvis Cocker on phase shift.

How was the feedback loop achieved? The second machine fed back to the first via a speaker and mic, or through the guitar strings?

[dave walsh]

I think it would be your first suggestion monaro. I used to do something similar with a 30' loop of tape and two domestic recorders-it sometimes descended into aural chaos!

Dave

[tigger449]

It was a very good programme, even got my partner to watch it!