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‘The grave of the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke in Novodevichye Cemetery in Moscow is surmounted by a stone on which is engraved a rest beneath a fermata with a triple forte noted at the bottom: A very, very loud extended silence.’

- John Biguenet, Silence (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), p.49.

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and hence we study music

can you hear the music?

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Me listening to a "medieval version" of a modern song that has multiple melodic and harmonic lines, knowing that polyphony did not become a prominent musical texture until the renaissance era

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Interesting Musicians: Ichiko Aoba

↓ Listen as you read ↓

Born 1990, Japan-based singer and acoustic guitarist Ichiko Aoba released her first song at age 19. Inspired by singer-songwriter Anmi Yamada and Studio Ghibli and Disney soundtracks, she has made music throughout her life and become known for her acoustic sound and unique song texture. In 2020, she founded her independent label hermine.

Aoba plays clarinet, piano, accordion and flute, as well as being active in narration, radio hosting, stage production and art festivals, as displayed on her website. She has released seven studio albums, defining her music as 'depicting fictional worlds full of warmth'.

In 2020, she released 'Windswept Adan', an album conceived as the soundtrack to a fictional film. She has also won the prestigious soundtrack award at the Mainichi Shinbun Movie Awards for her work composing the soundtrack and main theme for Amiko (2022).

With warm vocals accompanied by soft guitar that never oversteps, it's very easy to let Aoba's songs lull you into comfort. Her sonority is very well controlled to convey a feeling of warmth and softness, and she sources this from her dreams, where she often has out-of-body experiences.

I greatly encourage you to spend some time listening to her work, and I can guarantee you'll walk away having gained something for the better.

Happy listening, and lots of love as always,

Xander

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Different Musicians: Colin Stetson

I have encountered the devastating news that I need to actually blog on this blog after a few vague reblogs so here it is! Interesting information on a very interesting musician, Colin Stetson.

Stetson works out of Montreal, Canada and can play saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, french horn, flute and cornet! He got a full scholarship at the school where he studied music, the University of Michigan.

He has a number of interesting extended techniques (unusual techniques not often taught) on the saxophone that include circular breathing, playing multiple notes at once, vocalising into the instrument ('growling'), playing ultra high altisissimo notes, playing microtones, vocalising with the reed and clicking the valves as percussion. He truly uses the sax as an extension of his own body.

He's an incredible composer and soundtrack composer, and his use of extended technique on the soundtrack to Hereditary even led New Yorker critic Anthony Lane to describe it as seemingly "scored for violins, percussion, a humpback whale, and bats." His music is wide and diverse, and I encourage you to listen to more than just the snippet on this blog post.

His solo work includes incredible original music, and inspirations and reimaginings such as SORROW, a reimagining of Henryk Gorecki's 3rd Symphony. His soundtracking career has grown drastically in recent years to include Texas Chainsaw Massacre 7 and Golden-Globe nominated The Menu, and collaboration on the soundtrack of Red Dead Redemption 2. His soundtracks can be compared to those of the likes of Volker Bertelmann (specifically Bertelmann's recent manipulation of the pump organ and recording techniques, and historic work with prepared piano)

I've loved listening to Stetson's work as research for this, and finding out more about him as an incredibly interesting and admirable musician. I hope you enjoyed this brief summary and that it inspires you to dive deeper into his work.

Lots of love as always,

Xander

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IT'S ME GIRL I'M THE ANGEL OF MUSIC SPEAKING TO YOU INSIDE YOUR BRAIN LISTEN TO ME GIRL LEAVE THE BOY WE DON'T NEED HIM COME WITH ME AND SING MY SONGS WE'LL HAVE MUSIC TIMES IN CAVES DO DO DO DO YEAH YOU NEED ME GIRL YOUR FREE WILL IS AN ILLUSION

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thisis so cool

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its so fail that theres like 50 metals but most of them are super rare and also shitty

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fuck that guy

Happy Wagner’s Death Day

🫀💥⚰️

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the sound a bass guitar makes is a gender.

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need a music moodboard gif collection immediately or else i am going be unbelievably sick and die

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TWO HEADS IN A FRAME LOOKING AT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL J. ALBERT | YOUNG AMERICAN ARTIST, 2020

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