The HNW-Q No.7: Clive Henry

Listen ! Micro-Sounds for the Inner-Ear !

Dear readers,

this is the seventh installment of the HNW-Questionary. And “seven” seems to be the magic number here in this now pretty undead genre. I am seduced (with an acerbic and diabolic subtone) to call HNW the seven-possible-paradigms-music. No new approaches possible - only repetitions. Repetitions are not a priori bad, like LaMonte Young once said “I am wildly interested in repetition, because I think it demonstrates control”. But the musical versatility, dexterity and skill needed to put into close and controlled proximity identity and difference, control and repetition, chaos and order, silence and sound, tradition and innovation is constantly and totally underestimated in HNW.

That’s the tragic development in HNW: a complete switch from the serious to the ridiculous has taken place; from HNW as a necessary aural exploration and singular expression to "HNW" as a worn style or genre. A few signs: several important, serious, silent, and fragile voices interested in "pure sounds" (without any crude metaphors, stupid mimesis of "natural" sounds, dull ana-logics or silly narratives and other futile decorations as a backdrop) like Lungwash, Ghost/Ruine, KT disappeared and one of the most important and most inventive HNW-projects ever A View from Nihil will hopefully return soon (last sign: an unreleased 2012 track posted 10/7/13, listen here). Vast Glory has sadly not found the support and the critical company and estimation it really deserves. On the other hand a giant amount of new HNW- "artists" ("ha ha !") appeared and artistically already dead veterans decided to stay. Why? - obviously to repeat themselves as uninspired and tiresome as it gets ! What is really left of the serious aural research ? Please start to discover your honesty and stop all this silly it-hurts-my-ears-it's-radical-crap right now !

Sadly quality control is also a dirty word in the musical underground. But what’s the reason ? A severe misconception about the intricacies of producing “high quality” experimental-free-form-music ! To say it in a classic philosophical terminology: the subject-side is made too strong here. Conceptualism is in retreat. Sounds are again oppressed by all too human and all too subjective desires and tastes ; a severe regression towards pre-Cage-aesthetics. Sounds are not sounds anymore, but the expression of something else (mostly accompanied by totally idiotic titles, and cover-artworks).That's why most of the HNW-soundworlds today are musically totally irrelevant and by no means an alternative to the aural crap contaminating our planet day and night on all possible frequencies and channels ! 

HNW is like pop-music now. A predictable and ridiculous assemblage of worn, bleached out, totally de-radicalized formulas, sounds and ideas produced mainly by childish posers for a pre-existing, unchanging, ill-informed, stone-deaf and dogmatic audience. A sinister Begleitmusik for the brain-dead zombies of late capitalism: living in basements, praising blocked out desires and negativity tout le jour. Without knowing anything about the deeply affirmative character of negation and opposition ! It seems, that anyone who owns a few distorters and a recording-device believes that he is already a musician. Ridiculous. The soundworld of a real musician is never limited by the capacity of the used machines and instruments. It is only limited by the capacities of the musician's brain to imagine and invent unheard sounds and mixtures of sounds. In the process of invention, technical limitations could be chosen deliberately out of conceptual reasons. But: aural fantasy and "technical" reality have to ignite themselves mutually in the creation of a briliant musical work. Consequently the aural fantasy precedes the chosen “instrument” and not vice versa ! 

One decisive question remains unanswered: What is an outstanding microsound-composition and what justifies its release ? The sheer amount of HNW-releases documents, that such solid criteria weren't found and developped yet (despite a handful attempts to look out for quantitative and qualitative criteria). Nevertheless it is possible ! The "spirit" of HNW still remains to be unveiled and re-discovered ! There are regularities, restrictions and infinities in aural sculpturing. And there is already a huge and infinitely rich history of microsonic compositions (that dates back at least one-hundred years). If you want to be decisive as an artist - start to study the works of the real musical masters. Most of the ideas used in HNW are recycled, old hats ! The so called "free expression" is very hard to achieve (it has to be the realization of the formless self). Never forget: self-betrayal and free self-expression are close friends ! So please be careful when you enter this an-archic deathtrap. Or go ahead and make a fool out of yourself. PERIOD.

It might be a naïve illusion, that there is a chance to correct the distorted image of HNW with the HNW-Q, but anyway, this blog will not stop to filter out the real important voices in this so young and paradoxically at the same time already deceased musical genre. And today it is time for one of the very few singular voices in “HNW”. I am very proud, that Clive Henry, one of the most versatile artists in the field of experimental and multi-non-genre-free-non-(con)form-music, decided to complete the HNW-Q. And Clive Henry will definitely bring your braincells into motion with his thoughts and ideas formulated as the seventh HNW-Q (allusion here to one of his major works named after a film by Michael Haneke “Der siebente Kontinent”- get it here). Burying with his releases the whole "HNW"-archè-tectonic under a aural mikado-pile of astonishing aural recablings, micrological inventions and unheard of frequencies and adventurous soundscapes. 

And he is definitely piling into HNW (if you like the football imagery in this context) in a poetic manner with his soundworlds. Clive Henry is one of the few artists in HNW, who is capable to implant interfaces, bridges and seams in between the future and the past: the classics of electroacoustic-music and avantgarde-music (from Stockhausen, Pade, Lucier, Nono, Koenig, Xenakis, Lachenmann, Cage, Tudor, Oliveros, Parmegiani, Radigue, Karkowski, Kosugi, Schaeffer etc etc etc.) and the unausgeschöpften possibilities of aural research in the infinitely small world of microsounds making the listening at once a challenge and a pleasure. 

Clive Henry and his works always remind me of the reasons, why I got interested in HNW in the first place a few years ago. At that time HNW seemed to develop into a new form of serious and free aural research in the field of micro-sounds. Opening music again (after this giant opening round the 1950-1970’s into stochastic, minimal, free-improvisational, fluxus, serial, post-serial and based-on-chance-operations-music-forms) to the level below traditional musical organisation of sounds - below the level of the musical note. Underneath the musical note lies the realm of microsound, of sound particles lasting less than one-tenth of a second. Recent technological advances allow us to probe and manipulate these pinpoints of sound, dissolving the traditional building blocks of music -- notes and their intervals -- into a more fluid and supple medium. The sensations of point, pulse (series of points), line (tone), and surface (texture) emerge as particle density increases. Sounds coalesce, evaporate, and mutate into other sounds. 

In an impressive row of "Number pieces" Clive Henry tries to re-embody, re-assemble all the still undiscovered aural energies, sonic desires, and blind spots of "HNW". I call them "Number Pieces" since all his HNW-works bear roman numerals (the allusion to John Cage's late works is deliberately here). In his number pieces you can almost feel the desire to weld the worlds of electroacoustic, subintervallic, free-form-music to one singular hybrid. I can imagine how difficult all the microsonic, micrographic and microscopic operations and decisions are. Trying to make the frequencies coalesce - sequencing them. A process close to welding, maybe. Keeping the sounds at the edge of fitting together exactly - make them tremble, float or vibrate in between.  Alchemistic in a way - trying to reach and work out of the sonic prima materia - silence. Henry puts noise into spacetime like a woodcutter puts inlaid works into wooden furniture. The reason: making out of HNW a trance-genre-music and trans-genre-music again.

Hopefully this gateway of infinite possibilities - provided by the most ambitious composers and technologies of our times  (we sometimes call the present) - towards a rigorously and deliberately post-pre-human, non-anthropomorphic, or machinal soundworld remains open. Whether this happens under the name HNW (obviously this acronym is beyond interesting now) or not is not decisive anymore. More decisive is the deliberate turn to discover the infinitely small: to become "Meister des kleinsten Übergangs". Clive Henry in a way demonstrates, that a synthesis of experimental musician's craftmanship , artistical integrity and truthfulness is still possible. You should definitely give - for example - : XVIII. Der Siebente Kontinent (Altar of Waste 2013), XIII (Vagary Records 2012) or VI (self-released split with DBC), or the (for sure impressive) XX (a huge 6 C90 Box, available here) an attentive listening. Or visit Clive Henry's site here and here.

A lot would change in the "HNW"-world if more artists would follow the artistical credo written down by the polish composer Lucia Dlugoszewski: "The first concern of all music in one way or another is to shatter the indifference of hearing, the callousness of sensitivity, to create that moment of solution we call poetry, our rigidity dissolved when we occur reborn - in a sense hearing for the first time." ,Clive Henry (and the other artists already featured on my blog) has opened new trajectories and channels for HNW (now written crossed out).

So, what are you waiting for ? Sound-sculpturing has to be as abstract as possible. Good soundworlds should not remind the listener of anything pre-existing. Good sounds are ab-solute - (derived from the Latin absolutus) - cut off. Good sounds should transcend their sources and make them unrecognizable. Good soundworlds bring aural processes to the ear - be they static or not. All sounds fall into time and space - they are processual - and HNW is no exception. Consequently the more the sounds are cut off from already existing and well known "natural", "machinal", "environmental sounds" or "instrumental" soundworlds the better. The majority of the HNW- sounds are pointless and dull, because the used sounds weren't filtered out or cut off rigorously enough from all too known soundworlds to build up pure aural phenomena or implant a pure aural process. HNW-sounds nearly always remind of something else: absolute sounds are sadly scarce articles here. A shame ! So please open your ears for soundcolors, space, time, density, volume, rhythms and textures ! Try to produce aural micro-shiftings. Try to create a wall consciously, that lasts only 3 minutes with clearly planned nano-second-shiftings and nano-sound-events ! 1 minute is already an eternity in music !  The times of long monolithic walls are hopefully and definitely over. It's not the capacity of the medium (Cassette, CD-R, etc.), that decides how long the wall is ! It's you and your artistic consciousness and versatility .....

You can attend a Clive Henry performance - live on Halloween:
WITH LUMPS | CLIVE HENRY | ROBIN FOSTER | SETH COOKE & IAN WATSON
Café Kino | 108 Stokes Croft | Bristol | BS1 3RU
Thursday 31st October 2013  | £5
Read more HERE

This is the HNW-Q No.7 brilliantly completed
by Clive Henry:

The HNW-Q No.7:

[1] I discovered and invented HNW for myself, when several experiences piled up on top of one another. The more material aspects were traceable to a childhood love of the sound of rain on the outside of a tent, as well as early experiments with my 4-track - pushing the faders into crackling oversaturation. The more abstract and idealistic aspects were traceable to an afternoon in my 21 st year, spent staring into a black hole; followed by further, shorter periods staring into that hole in later years. Both of these aspects were underpinned by the sheer sensual pleasure that sound gives me.

[2] The initial radicality of HNW would be preserved, if it had ever existed in the first place.

[3] HNW is the name of a sub-genre in “Noise”. Iʼm not a great fan of genres in general, because they create pigeon holes; which are rarely useful. However, H.N.W. is interesting, as its been founded on rather “black and white” terms - bands can often be “mathy” or “progish”, whereas projects tend to either be HNW or not. So it comes with rather rigorous and strict parameters and boundaries, which do conspire to delineate it from other works of sound. These also make it a rewarding space in which to work: I often seem to work harder and more creatively under restraining conditions. Beyond my first few projects, which were a little sub-genre fixated, I think this is the first time that Iʼve knowingly placed myself in a “genre” and paid any respect to its boundaries. Iʼm not interested in paying homage to any genre or tradition - I believe in essentially two kinds of music/sound: good, and bad; however, as I said, the extreme limitations of HNW have made it interesting to explore and bend. So Iʼve done what Iʼve wanted to, as regarding HNW; sometimes Iʼve kept close to the “tradition”, and other times Iʼve strayed pretty far - whilst trying maintain the “feel” of HNW.

[4] HNW is not boring, easy or an excuse to be boring or lazy. Though this could be said of any amount of “genres”.

[5] I begrudgingly humour the acronym H.N.W. “Harsh Noise Walls” sounds like a good description for something, but as a name in itself, its somewhat silly. No?

[6] HNW is pure sound, and aspires to a purity. I do see HNW as pure sound - I find it hard to attach emotional (etc) content to it. I donʼt see it as violent or extreme, or representative of painful aspects of existence; nor do I completely understand the notion of “themes” in the genre. For me, its just a concentrated exploration of aesthetics and sensuality - this search for a “perfect” sound. This “perfect sound” will change every time I look for it, and past “perfect sounds” might be discarded in time; but at the point of exploration/recording, I feel that that is the pursuit Iʼm undertaking. Careful, microscopic sculpting of the textures, using the slightest tweaks of pedal knobs; for hours on end: thats the work. Once the textures are found and recorded, there they are - nothing more, nothing less. Just a very beautiful, distilled, concentrated sound; presented in an almost clinical state for contemplation. Everything and nothing. A notion of purity rings loud in a lot of HNW. When I first got into it, I was obsessed with careful, concentrated listening - seeing how apparently “static” patterns in fact repeated themselves with variations and difference (weʼre back to Feldman and his rugs, here). I even objected to samples (for example) being used in walls, because they contaminated this “purity”. Now I will sometimes listen with that concentrated focus, or just let the sound wash over me, fill the room - I feel both are entirely valid. Iʼll even flick through a new album, in place of a proper listen - something I would never do with any other genre (Iʼm always compelled to listen from beginning to end). I donʼt see this as remotely disrespectful at all - its like a quick hit of the textures/colours of the track in question.

[7] The sounds of machines are normally pretty prevalent in HNW; or, to be more precise, the sounds of electronics are. A fairly standard HNW set-up might involve a white noise generator being fed through a chain of pedals. The human operator tweaks the signal until they find something satisfying, and then records the signal. During the recording they might make minor adjustments, or may not touch the equipment at all. So, once the human has made various choices in preparation, in layman terms, its the electronics that do all the “work” thereafter. HNW is probably one of the least “human” of musics, and whether this is good or bad, its certainly very interesting - thereʼs a clear parallel with the ideas of Giuseppe Pinot-Gallizio and his “industrial painting”; with the works being created by machines and sold by the metre. Compared to the average HNW track, the supposedly “cold/inhuman” tones of techno look positively warm with humanity. Its like listening to machines talking to themselves - or more precisely, playing chinese whispers. The idea of a device that can create music without human input or guidance is something that has always appealed to me; though weʼll need to achieve AI before that can happen.

[8] HNW helps the nature of existence to be revealed. I realise that sounds just a little pretentious, but bear with me. I often find that HNW puts me into an introverted (or rather a more introverted) and contemplative state; presenting a “safe” place where the full horror of our individual isolation becomes apparent and can be considered. The “enclosing” effect that a wall can have on me, reminds me of the fundamentally singular nature of human existence and relationships. Its nothing I take any pleasure from - quite the opposite - its just the incontrovertible fact of the matter: I am “inside”, and everything else is “outside” - to put it in its simplest terms. I find that walls stimulate thought on this matter, without the overwhelming horror that can occur with these ideas. HNW as mirror.

[9] Monolithic Walls are presumably long, static walls. I have no idea. Ha.

[10] The Future of HNW would be something I donʼt think about much.

[11] The Death of HNW would be something I think about even less.

[12] HNW should be related to a mirror, a puddle or DPD to understand it better.

[13] Singularity and Originality in HNW are interesting ideas, because the “given” precepts and limitations would seem to conspire against them. But, of course, within these boundaries are a wealth of sounds; and different people follow different paths. Thereʼs much too much emphasis placed on novelty, in matters of “art”; and singularity and originality shouldnʼt be desirable targets for anyone. Just pursue what you find interesting, for your interest. I have no desire to further, or add to, any tradition. Also, Art is bollocks.

[14] HNW should be called Static Minimalism, because it sounds slightly less silly than HNW, and gives it a serious edge.

[15] HNW should not be called Static Minimalism, because it still sounds silly. Only now it sounds serious too.

[16] The permanent repetition of the HNW-Mantra (No ideas, no change, no dynamics, no development etc. ) leads to no ideas, no change, no dynamics, no development, presumably.

[17] Volume in HNW is important enough - ideally the sounds should assert their dominance over the space in which they are being listened to - though this may not require much volume. Regardless of the volume deployed, the static nature of HNW means that it transforms the listening environment; from smothering it at high volume, to delicately colouring it - like a perfume - at a low volume. No matter how loud its played, the silence that follows the end of a track is always more deafening.

[18] Distortion in HNW is the fundamental process occurring - for me at least. Funnily enough, I remember experimenting when I was much younger; piling distortion pedals on top of one another - the sound was always an increasingly weak, unattractive mush. (I can even remember an old “industrial” metal band called Optimum Wound Profile, whose guitarist chained several distortions together to make something he called “barrier noise” - named after the sound that cars made when they scraped against the track sides in computer games.) I like the absurdity of chaining a ton of distortions together - its stupidly crude and crass, pleasingly low-tech. At the same time, the subtle tweaking of the knobs has a magical, “mad scientist” aspect, which is equally appealing. Whilst every part of me should object to the pedal fetishisation that goes on, it has a curious charm to it - something arcane and archaic.

[19] My Unconscious is as much of a mystery to me normally, as it is when Iʼm immersed in HNW. However, when so immersed, I often feel “quietened”; as if my conscious thought has slowed or even stopped - thus achieving an “empty” state. This is very much the same state that occurs when a black hole (as mentioned earlier) catches me, though achieving it via HNW removes the noticeable tinge of frustration and melancholy. Iʼve always wanted a mediative music, but I have yet to fully explore that side of things. 

[20] Narratives, Analogies and Metaphors in HNW are quite doable, in sound terms. Obviously you can title your new release “Just as humans have a prior right to existence over dogs by virtue of being more highly evolved and having a superior consciousness, so women have a prior right to existence over men”, and then accompany it with a wall of static noise; but actually depicting that notion in terms of sound is a much more difficult and interesting proposition. Samples of speech or other sounds are obvious tools to be used, but otherwise youʼre left with very little room to manoeuvre, given the limiting aspects of HNW. Iʼm often drawn to very formal gestures in my attempts: dynamic cuts, very gradual change or processing, “blocks” of sound - I often conceive my tracks in a visual sense, as much as in an aural sense.

[21] Time and Space in HNW are very important concepts, in that HNW locally redefines them around the listener. I find that time can “stop”, as such; and space, well, thereʼs a sense of encroachment - both these have a “stilling” or isolating effect on me. People often seem to characterise wall-noise as harsh or brutal, but I rarely feel this. I donʼt think the sounds, as such, have this or any effect on me, but their deployment certainly does. The durational, overtly static nature of HNW, can envelop the listener and seclude them - temporally and spatially; so that they are left with just themselves and the sound. It promotes a sense of isolation; a sombre state which I sometimes find studious, sometimes “blank”.

[22] HNW is absolute Nothingness. But itʼs also eternal delight.

[23] My HNW amplifies my white noise generator, more often than not. Though I suppose you could make a case for it amplifying THE ETERNAL SILENCE THAT FEW DARE FACE.

[24]Minimal Music and Cosmic Drones are fairly obvious cousins of HNW. Thereʼs a clearer link there, in my opinion, than with HNWʼs supposed parent, “Noise”. “Minimal Music”, “Cosmic Drones” and HNW are all overtly contemplative, immersive musics; normally with a textural emphasis. I feel like these musics ask the listener for submission to the notion of an other greater than them.

[25] Conceptualism is the unspoken, shameful secret of HNW.

[26] The main ingredients of brilliant HNW are a possibly never-ending, collective work-in-progress, I imagine. But an attention to detail and a strong personal vision will serve you well - and obviously youʼll want to somehow get hold of “good ears”.

[27] The purpose and the concept of my HNW are the usual: distraction from the vanity of existence, pursuit of personal pleasure, pursuit of self-knowledge, attempts at meaningful communication of any knowledge gained…

[28] The distinction between ANW / HNW is more genre hair-splitting; but it does indicate a wonderfully grey area. For me personally, when I have been asked for ANW-angled tracks, I try to produce something using HNWʼs building blocks that is even more overtly meditative. Not necessary restful or pleasant, but something that might demand a different description than “HNW”.

[29] The philosophy of HNW can change - thereʼs a philosophy of HNW? I can see some ideas and thinkers that could be associated with HNW, but Iʼm unaware of any recognisable school of thought. However, those associated ideas and thinkers can change everything.

[30] My first words about HNW were pretty damning as I remember. I had been aware of its emergence as a “genre” through talk of it on the Troniks forum. It seemed to be hip, new and often ridiculed. Anyway, I remember very clearly a HNW label posting its newest releases, and I found the wording to be pathetically laughable. My memory insists that the label spiels said “completely static!” and “totally unchanging!” - or words to that effect. I remember thinking that it sounded like a very unpromising waste of time - as if the level of itʼs stasis was any indicator of quality… It reminded me of a lot of metal advertising,  which (echoing the genreʼs often “simplistic” notion of “progression”) would often revolve around a band being the “heaviest/fastest/slowest/etc” - as if, again, this was any indication of quality. Extremity is good for grabbing attention, but less good for maintaining it.

[31] My final words about HNW would be ……………………

[32] The phrase I would like to add to this questionary is ”know thyself”.

Thanks a lot to Clive Henry - for his version of the HNW-Q

Cordial thanks for his immense aural inventions, and micro soundworlds !

Contact here

You can attend a Clive Henry performance - live on Halloween:

WITH LUMPS | CLIVE HENRY | ROBIN FOSTER | SETH COOKE & IAN WATSON

Café Kino | 108 Stokes Croft | Bristol | BS1 3RU

Thursday 31st October 2013 | £5

Read more HERE