I like to stand up for Degeneration…
Recording of Music should not merely be a dry Registration of an Event. It’s Qualities (like Color or Imperfections) should reflect the Music and it should give the right Atmosphere for the Mind to thrive in.
I always find that Distortion is a genuine Part of my Music… I’ve never been a Supporter of clean Music. Even the cleanliest Music often benefits from a slight Amount of Distortion, wether it being Hiss or just because of primitive Equipment. Minimal Music with Distortion always sounds better than the Same recorded super clean. An old Recording of an Opera has a certain Charm over it which is never possible to attain with perfect recording Techniques.
In the second Half of the 80’s there was an interesting Shift in Music. Psychedelic Bands suddenly started to do Albums which were recorded in the Studio with perfect Sound. Away with the Distortion and Imperfections went the Filth and Psychedelia in the Music. You can even feel how the clean Sound affects the Musicians who’s playing became more controlled. Those Bands which sounded weird, degenerated and dirty sounded like a caged impotent Beast on their Studio Albums.
For me, Distortions in all it’s minute Forms, wether it being Feedback, overloaded Sounds, Overmodulation, Hiss, bad Microphones, Deterioration of Tape, cracking Volume Faders, Disbalances of any Kind, failing Equipment, false Instruments etc, etc. are like the Flaws in the Psyche, translated to Sound. Like the overloaded high pitched Feedback you hear in your inner Ear when your Brain is overstimulated. The Swirling in your Head, of Sounds going in endless spiraling Circles, or Sounds spiraling into Oblivion, it is never a clean organized Sound. The Brain subconsciously is aware of all the Dirt Particles and other Imperfections in both Sound, Image, Touch and any other sensory Experiences. Sound and Image are distorted. Smell and Touch are as well. Everything is out of Position to a certain Degree. And Nothing is clean.
My Music should be a Reflection of my Innerworld. Since it’s not clean… my Music is not clean…
It’s like becoming in a State wherein it’s no longer clear if I started the Sound or if I’m being lead by it. Creativity, Confusion, Chaos… In this State I’m seldomly capable of giving the right Amount of Attention to my Recordings which would otherwise lead to more perfect Recordings. So yes, the Recordings are bad and full with technical Failures, but more than that, it’s a Reflection of the State of my Psyche at that specific Point in Time… The bad Recordings and imperfect Recording Surroundings (the Studio, recording Space etc.) therefor become not only a Reflection of my State while playing, it also interacts with me whíle playing… The Hiss, Feedback and Distortion, it subconsciously inspires me, stimulates me.
A sudden Burst of overmodulated Sound in my Plate Reverb can throw me in a mental Deep. Feedback may take me with it in a Spiraling Course. The constant Hiss already lays down a nice Carpet of Disfunction…
A Misstep, a Fall, a Mistake, a faulty Judgement, a Projection of the Self, a Cup which slides out of your Hands scattering on the Floor, a Crack in the Wall of your Livingroom, waking up screaming from a bad Dream, bad Memories, a Misunderstanding, a faded Color, being attacked by vicious Dogs on the Street, an Error in your Head, Discomfort, a Man talking on an imaginary Televisionscreen on your Bedroom Wall, looking at Yourself from two Meters above your body while sitting in Schoolclass, a distorted Image from the Past in an otherwise normal Environment in a small Town somewhere in the North of the Netherlands, your House burning, a Car Crash. The Colors of Reality would simply vanish when trying to hold on to Something which is destined to go…
Failures in Sound are for me a Reflection of Failures in the Mind. People always tend to strive for Perfection and Cleanliness… That’s why Plastic was invented. The Dirt in Sound is for me like the Yellowing of the Colors in 15th Century Paintings of Dutch Masters. And German Expressionist Painting would never have the same Impact when there would not have been a certain Degree of Disfunction. Even the Ruins of Persepolis look better than they would have ever in their full original Glory…
(Rayastre)
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