#kosmische

Orbit Changers: music, films, & books that influenced the course of my life and artistic output

1967 — The Beatles

Easily my first musical love. I was part of an a cappella quartet singing Beatles songs when I was at Mother of Sorrows boarding school ~1967. The first music to get into my soul and for good reason. Now that I know some music theory, write songs, play piano, and am composing more traditional music since 2018 I have a better understanding of the magic of these four. This book is an incredible resource for digging into why, showing simple isn’t always so. It was interesting to learn that some of the parts that always stuck with me are a little dissonant in the midst of the perfect chord or harmony, just a moment of aberration can bring home the most beautiful moment.

1970 – 2001 — A Space Odyssey

The earliest transformative experience for me was screening 2001: A Space Odyssey when I was 10. That sparked the inspiration to explore altered states of consciousness through vague storytelling using sound and visual art. This showed me the possibilities of sound as music, that every audible occurrence in a composition could lead to interesting places. Kubrick was a master at using space, silence, and music to hint at things larger than humanity, showing a way to contemplate the void in the universe and in our existence. The film set me up to love not only science fiction but to be in awe of mystery and the unexplained, especially in conjunction with dark compelling musical selections that spoke to me. It’s easy to see the trajectory from this to my need to explore challenging sound and concepts in Illusion of Safety.

I’d also like to point out the track “Adagio” from Aram Khachaturian’s Gayane Ballet Suite remains one of the most beautiful compositions I’ve ever heard. Although it’s a classical piece it dovetails into my appreciation and love of what I consider real Ambient music. This kind of beauty is what I’m after in my project Twilight Furniture without other baggage.

1971 — Black Sabbath — Paranoid

War Pigs (This version shows the lyrics, very timely):

This album hit hard. I was primed to love rock music, and the down tuned heaviness spoke to me. They were slick well-crafted songs with hints of jazz and progressive tendencies and that SOUND was infectious. I loved their first 3 albums and think this was my gateway to loving heavy rock music, planting the seed to digging Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, through to Sex Pistols, Bauhaus, Jane’s Addiction & one of the best, Slayer’s Reign in Blood.

1980 — The Shock of the New

A 1980 eight-part series on the rise and fall of the modern art movement presented by critic Robert Hughes. I already knew and loved machine art, dada, and other ground-breaking revolutionary movements but this book/TV series helped with a deeper understanding of modern art’s swings, providing context, explanation, and inspiration for my exploration of audio/visual self-expression.

Early 1980’s coincidentally was an amazing time for music; the post-punk post-industrial offerings really worked for me.

1981 — Throbbing Gristle

Funeral in Berlin (a great document of their live sound, you can almost feel the spirits soaring)

My friend Jay Closser exposed me to the “Brave New Wave” while visiting him in L.A in 1980. Tubeway Army, Tuxedomoon, Chrome, Residents, Cabaret Voltaire, L.A.F.M.S. et al. blew me away hitting the perfect nerve. But the clear winner was Throbbing Gristle. 2nd Annual Report was my introduction to this very heavy bleak soundtrack to the modern post-Industrial age. Perhaps the next leap down from the ominous 20th Century classical of 2001 direct to pure fright with no subtlety, and of course with synthesizers! There’s a place for nuance and intimation but sometimes one just needs or wants the sledgehammer. Powerful stuff for my inner demons.

1982 — Thymme Jones/CHEER-ACCIDENT

One of my best friends since meeting in 1982 during my final year studying psychology at NIU. In living true to one’s nature (through honesty, creative freedom, & provocation) and musical inspiration, Thymme has been a beacon that has significantly altered my orbit. Exposing me to progressive & other music I would likely not have checked out. Along with the other members of his band Dot Dot Dot, we became the first iteration of IOS in 1983. They later morphed into his ongoing group CHEER-ACCIDENT. His work with IOS, solo (the brilliant minimalist piano works CD While, the very exposed singer-songwriter mode of Career Move), his work with other artists (the drums and the sound of Brice-Glace is Thymme’s doing) and their creative take on prog-rock/improv/simple songs that CHEER produce continue to inspire me. They are going on tour in July and out just in time You Smile – The Song Is Over CD/DVD on Cuneiform will be their 27th full-length release. Don’t miss them.

1983 — Philip Glass Ensemble/Koyaanisqatsi

My introduction to the work of Philip Glass was Music in12 Parts while I was at NIU and I was fortunate to see them perform there during the Glassworks tour. I was immediately taken by the immersive hypnotic nature of these cyclical works which struck me as very beautiful. Sometime in the late 80’s I saw the Ensemble performing live in front of a screening of the film Koyaanisqatsi. I was stunned by the powerful images as well as perfect use of music from director Godfrey Reggio. Glass had to be persuaded to provide the soundtrack. He was adamant in not wanting to do film soundtracks until he saw the prototype and agreed. The film itself is a masterpiece for me as social commentary on nature, humanity, and technology, with the perfect soundtrack.

1984 — AMM

Here is the full recording of the concert we saw. Combine + Laminates + Treatise Live At Arts Club Chicago 5/25/84

Not sure how I became aware of them, but fortunately by the time they performed in Chicago I was hip enough to know I shouldn’t miss it. When they played at the arts club on 5/25/84 It was the trio of Keith Rowe, John Tilbury, and Eddie Prevost. It was a master class on performing intuitive minimalist improvisation (but they were quite capable of noise & chaos). They continue to be a major influence on my approach to improvisation providing a lighter more spatial balance to the chaos, electronic noise, and density of Industrial and noisier forms that I gravitate towards. It was a touchstone for me to witness those extended techniques that are now embedded in the workflow of countless improvisers while communicating and interacting in such nuanced & seemingly inevitable ways (thanks to decades of collaboration). Especially Keith and his guitar/radio/magnetic pickup/object/noise approach that Jim O’Rourke soon adopted as his main methodology. I should add that he did make that modus operandi his own and used it while working with IOS from 1988-1992.

1988 — Hafler Trio

The early work of Andrew McKenzie as H3o came across as something completely new. While he did borrow heavily from an already decades long tradition, his methodology resulted in unique work. His early releases up to 1991’s Kill the King are very interesting & opened up using reprocessed sound, field recordings, tape loops, and voice as raw materials for constructing a vague narrative. Part Industrial, part ambient with a heavy nod to musique concrète cut-up methods, it is sound design with an undercurrent of mysterious trajectory like no other.

1990’s — Burt Bacharach

Thanks to my mother Patricia Burke I inherited a creative nature and a deep love for the music of Burt Bacharach. I didn’t love it back in the day when she was playing it, and during my teenage years through my 30’s I would not have given it a chance. At some point it sank in, creative pop with beautiful melodies, rich instrumentation, emotional depth, and elaborate arrangement, what’s not to love. The songs can be deceptively very complex. I tried singing “Promises, Promises” at karaoke once, and I couldn’t do it, even though I knew the song. I later discovered that it changes time signature every measure. Burt is a personal musical hero, and I hope his influence can be heard in my own songs and compositions.

Notable mentions

It was hard to skip these influences on my trajectory: Switched on Bach & Morton Subotnick’s Silver Apples of the Moon= Love of synthesizers!

Kosmiche music of mid 70’s such as Cluster/Klause Schultz/Gong, because of course more (but importantly DARK) synthesizers.