Course

Any artistic gesture is the result of will and opportunity.

The art of sound is an expression of grace, clarity, and subtlety that cannot be forced or falsified.

Passages

Difficulties arise when appearance and reality do not correspond.

A false perception is created to conceal, while the purpose of true expression is to reveal.

Before there is understanding, there must be knowledge.

This is discernment, rightly dividing the real and the unreal.

Thus the composer, engaging awareness, unites the worlds within and those without.

Art as Contradiction

Curiosity is a driving force in the arts and sciences.

Complacency and apathy assure diminishing of consciousness; this is manifest in cultural decline. Measure what is known against what can never be known. Search, discover, experience, express.

Open the hidden gates.

Leaves Turn Upward

Atmospheres speak to the spirit.

Thus the elements the composer chooses from the palette of sounds.

Self, Nature, Sound

Observe the impress of nature upon the human world, as opposed to the common perspective.

Cultures move toward the natural world and away from natural reality according to the attitudes of the moment, but of all artistic expressions, the content of musical works is generally confined to the realm of the personal and social.

Whereas surrealism, pop art, and other emotionally charged forms like abstract expressionism have their musical counterparts in such styles as jazz fusion music, one must look to the classical tone poem and modern minimalism to get even a limited sense of the art of sound being used to convey objective perceptions of the world.  There are few analogous modes of a musical nature for concepts such as those of the "still life" form, landscape painting, or impressionism, because it is a matter of exhaustive theorizing and experimentation to come to terms with such concepts as an individual artist.

But, having settled these matters, the composer is exploring unique and fascinating sonic terrain while experiencing the unprecedented effects of sounds that are at once musical, non-musical, and engaged with human reality and the natural world in balanced measure.

Inevitability

In the moment now, the vast measure of common culture will vanish beyond memory.

This is the culture that serves the purposes of low-level communications, mass movements of groups, general, underdeveloped process of learning, propaganda, fad and fashion, and the perpetuation of a dim, materialistic grasp of the human condition. Its scenarios are untenable, its characters, grotesques.

It reflects populist social attitudes for the most part, and forms a constant, yet fortunately impermanent, aspect of contemporary life at any given point in history.

The artist must remain fixed upon the aesthetic and contemplative goals of expression, and be willing to work arduously, with elevated perspectives and long-term outcomes well-formed and executed, in order to avoid, and indeed, to act freely at a far distance from such banality. To do less is mere waste, while the artist who moves forward with vigor and rationality generates forces that bring the future into being, and does so as a catalyst of change unlike any other.

For This

What will be is present now, though witnessed and heard by very few.

The art of sound is, by nature, outside the interest of what might be generously called "the media-driven consumer".  This can not be an issue for any artist, since it has no bearing upon the creative mind and process.  The composer must experience, perceive, and act accordingly.  Nothing more.

Fragmentation Broadcast

Move forward, out of the recognizable, toward the hidden doorways.

Reach a destination where sounds lose familiarity, become uncanny, nebulous, and can be identified only with great effort. Listen beyond the mundane clamors, and with these perceptions recognize the change in perspective as thought is elevated with awareness.

That is to say, throw off the shackles of subjection to immediacy: listen, and hear.

New Ground Beneath

It is the creative synthesis of elements that draws the future towards the present.

Of all possible elements, it is the expression of the unexpected that is most difficult to evoke and sustain, but it is the most critical.  Without question, it must be illuminated, and it must perpetually illuminate.

Countenance Conflict

No expression is free of contention.

Yet expression is itself a form of resolution.  The composer will not be imposed upon for his reactions or opinions regarding subjects outside his interest and control, nor will he ever accept the cant that to refuse to be part of a given solution is to be part of any peculiar problem.

The composer's perspective is simple, and focused upon elevation of being: listen, and hear.

Find the Future

In contemporary terms, artists are subject to any number of what are called "narratives".

That is to say, those who are motivated to express experience through the arts, and especially the visual arts, dance, theater, and music, are surrounded by an ever-expanding number of cultural scenarios populated by self-serving groups with ideological agendas of an intellectually dubious nature.

These settings are anathema to the arts, and this critical point cannot be overstated.

Around and Within

Envision with closed eyes.

Listen, hear, and compose with the inner ear.

Simple Terms

There is far more to experience than what is thrust upon listener and composer every day.

It becomes increasingly essential to gain perceptivity beyond the mundane, for the clear reason that the commonplace, that is to say, the impermanent, is continually in the process of eliminating itself.

Real Time

Time past rises up in historical and contemporary expression.

What is articulated now is a shadow of what has been and what will be, but one must not accept the false impression that this is common knowledge. Few understand this, and few accept it, even among those who style themselves artists.

It Was Twilight

The composer gradually became aware of the hum of distant aircraft traffic.

There were intermittent bird calls, scattered insect noises, whispers of wind in dry grasses.

No Beat

The mood of the listener is not the composer's concern.

What I am interested in establishing are surroundings: atmospheres that open perception and imagination in any setting or state of mind.

Pause, Play

Expression not given to the common culture is none of its concern.

I am speaking, of course, about the culture that demands what it wants, nothing more,

What it wants is self- affirmation, whether it is pop claptrap, P.C. academic and political posturing, or any form of so-called "populist" grandstanding. There are other artists, with other visions, who will not be told what they will or will not accomplish and whether or not it is "acceptable".

Bear the burden.

Attainment

The state of civilization is reflected in the cultural arts.

Advancement in technology is only that.  Advanced culture demands advanced thought and a high degree of expression as its complement. Mere refinement is not merit. There must be perceptivity, curiosity, and willingness to take risks that reaches beyond the moment and the status quo.

Withheld, Obscured

Consider those things not revealed.

It may be necessary to renew the idea of  "secret societies", as they were known in the past, simply to continue to convey concepts of realism and objectivity to those capable of making such judgments.

The artist must trust perceptivity.  For the artist, the eye, and for the composer, the ear, must reveal insights that may be expressed.  This is especially critical in a culture which declines to the state in which one may call day, night, and night, day, only to be celebrated for claiming such "belief".

Promoveo, promovi, promotum.

Fact and Reality: Elevation

These are concrete musical works, composed, arranged, recorded, and produced like any other.

The major differences between these works and those of other composers and recording artists is that they are created by entirely unique processes and for purposes that not only serve the ends of arts and entertainment, but go beyond them.  Far beyond them, echoes the archetypal "mad scientist".

These albums incorporate both aesthetic principles and the results of scientifically valid, verifiable and replicable experimentation in sound design calculated to enhance perceptual experience.

These recordings are all, in fact, designed to clarify and expand the consciousness of the listener.

Distance and Fire

That the work of the artist is demanding is not an issue.

It is all quite simple.  The work must be done.  The culture will remain as it is, whether looking forward or backward, but the work must be done.

The Long View III

Any form of art presents risk.

One cannot be certain if a thing is worth doing at all.  But no artist will ask such a question.

Reflect, Refine

Weigh what has been accomplished, as composer, against what must be done.

The works themselves must leave nothing to explain, and convey all.  All works in progress will be reflective of these, and transcend them when complete.  These belong to the listener.

But all this is merely to say that the price of work is risk, sacrifice, and ultimately success and failure that can only be balanced by reason, and free will.

Express, Convey

Consider any novel that captures contemporary stream-of-consciousness thought.

Rather than rambling incoherence, such a narrative indicates the distraction and self- absorption of daily life in a representation of common dynamics of consciousness. Somewhere, a dog was barking.

It is difficult to say whether or not most would choose to think in such a manner, because such a state of mind does not reflect the choice to think, but rather dominance of unfocused impressions over the active intellect, such as it may be. The reader recognizes the mental processes involved, relates to the way the story is told, and is engaged.

In terms of literary style it is an effective formula. An analogous musical composition would be a mere amalgam of noise, and thus without value for the composer. What I want to bring into being are works that evoke a different manner of thinking, one of clarity and emergent insight.

Now, This Place

Consider a balance of human sounds and the natural world.

It is an error to think of humanity and nature as mutually exclusive.  Listen, and hear.

Media and Medium

Allow events outside the composer's will to happen.

Compose any artistic expression such that natural forces are engaged.

Spurious

It has become necessary to encourage perception of the objective world.

The insidious idea that reality will conform to individual or collective will is commonplace, and no more valid than at any time within cultural history. It pervades the arts, sciences, and media.

Ultimately, the cultural consensus will gravitate toward representations of the real, no matter how imaginatively expressed.  Thus these recordings, for example, enhance atmospheres rather than dominate the listener's attention. The reality of listening to these albums is simply this: the listener is able to think and perceive in a natural state of attention, as opposed to a state overcome by a surfeit of bland excess.  Escape from reality is not the point, but rather immersion in fullness of experience.

Inclination

Tradition will not be erased.

Progress will not be halted.  This is balance.

Perceive, Interpret

All expression is interpretation.

Experience, through all sensory impressions, the great mystery.

Unknown Unknowns

Some, actually, are curious as to why things are as they are.

But this is an act of defiance.  One who does not simply accept must remember this, in any set of circumstances.  If art and music are to be valued, they must change more than minds. They must themselves change, and in doing so change perceptions of being and consciousness.

Formality

It is sensory impression, not context, that completes experience.

Programmed to accept and engage only with specific contexts, the listener remains in known territory, and further, is unaware of any other.  And while the listener is not at fault, only the listener can change the situation.  The composer is in the act of exploration, and this is what work demands.

Limits

The future is unknown, though present.

For the composers, it is just over the horizon, that is to say, it is within earshot.  In the gradual, measured epochs of media and culture, there is only the present, continually revised.

Cult of Personality

Sound possesses character and identity.

Whether heard in music generally or in artificial sonic atmospheres, these qualities remain clear: character is a function of ethical considerations, and identity is the composer's expression.

And culture, events, and the collective mentality, especially, either shapes and defines the personal perspective of the composer, or the artist transcends the "common ground" and, by virtue of the total effect of the work, holds elitism in contempt, with disdain born of right reason.

Degrees

It is said the enlightened mind is capable of experiencing, from time to time, reality as it is.

The artist, on the other hand, gives expression to reality within the confines of experience.

Middle Way

Recognize moderation, if you will.

Rather than indulging extremes, choose subtleties; neither harsh nor without vigor, but dynamic, and elevated.  This is the art of sound, of shadings, colors, and contemplative engagement.

Zone Crossing II

The history of the uncanny recounts rare experiences of ineffable music.

Whatever its reality, the sounds heard by percipients of the extraordinary are extremely difficult to remember and virtually impossible to articulate.  I am not referencing the airs and reels of the Celtic "good folk", or the singing of Sirens, although these evoke common ideas of the supernatural, but rather a number of instances out of legend, some of which are said to have occurred within living memory. Notable episodes of this "music that is not music", of sounds that can neither be recreated nor their impressions forgotten, may be traced to Scotland, Eastern Europe, and, in the USA, North Carolina and Arizona.  But having no occasion of moment to share the details of my investigations into these peculiar areas, I can say that they inform, and continue, by continuing explorations to inform, all my own "music that is not music" whether these compositions suggest the classical tone poems or the ambient atmospherics of a more modest, if modern, nature.

Force, Impression

The idea leading to the act of expression is fully formed in certain situations.

In these circumstances, limits are set, and within these boundaries work is finalized.

Flash, Fashion, Elevation

Cultures are numerous, but share elements and essential forms.

Cultural elements tend to relate to values; essential forms, to permanence and transience.  Last week's news held the attention, then vanished.  Such things as the Brandenburg concertos remain constant. In more visceral terms, so does a recording like "Mississippi Queen", by the rock group Mountain, or a film like Bullitt.

Directed by tradition, strive for originality of expression. Directed by media, passively consume and vicariously engage.  The former reflects individuality, potency, progress; the latter, collective, or herd mentality.  In terms of cultural significance, expressions of both style and substance yield the lasting meanings.

Apparition, Vapor, Thunder

Focus yields outcomes, in art, politics, human relationships, and so forth.

This is no reason for the one who perceives work and the world differently to accede to collective values and ideas.  It is, in fact, a critical reason for one to think beyond the commonplace, and be unmoved by it.

Mindful

The world unfolds before the senses.

Art, and particularly sound art, is intended to express and represent, not to replace.

Attention Fragments

Consider direct and indirect musical communication, and the extent of the influence of each.

Now set attendant perspectives and attitudes aside, and come to terms with the idea of compositions in sound that are composed only to be perceived.

Thank Those Who Defend It For Freedom of Expression, and Whose Sacrifice Makes It Free

Opening

Merge sound and setting.

Within the dynamic of such an atmosphere, possibility and action can converge, thought finds form, and meanings become clear.  Music in other forms serves various purposes, but sound as expression of consciousness in real time opens the doors of perception.

What is Black Mountain School?

Take a moment beneath the surface of appearances.

The listener, to any of these albums, is simply asked to grasp what cannot be held, to perceive, however briefly, human experience before words and music.

Perspective in Listening

The choice, in everyday life, is often conscious focus or distracted consciousness.

Only one of the above is fit to establish and execute a course of action directed by reason.

Drive

To act merely for reward is not a virtue.

Moral reason demands that what is right, regardless of reward, or punishment, or loss, is that which must be done.  Yes, this is truth, even in the arts.

Culture, Consciousness

Told what to think, witness decline.

Question.  Continue.  Never compromise.  Elevate.

Sound, Vision, Balance

Originality is not absurdity.

It is expression of independent thought.

Present State

Listen now.

The question is not what do you hear?  The question is why is what you hear subject to opinion and preconceived expectations, rather than direct experience?

Scatterings

Identify every sound in the surrounding environment.

Observe each sound's placement, variations in tone and volume, juxtapositions with other sounds, and movements through the atmosphere.  Synthesize these elements as a musical score.