Droopy's Corner

Friday, October 25, 2013

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

Monday, August 26, 2013

MY READING TRACES #20

(photo and traces by SKG)

Friday, August 2, 2013

MY READING TRACES #21

(Exagmination, reprint 1961, faber and faber)

(photo / traces by SKG)

In memoriam

Walter de Maria

(1. Oktober 1935 - 25. Juli 2013)

We will never forget you !

Friday, July 26, 2013

MY READING TRACES #18

( Paul de Man - Blindness and Insight)

Photo / Traces by S.K.G.

Thanks for reading my blog !

Have a nice day !

Stay tuned and expect the unexpected !

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The HNW-Q No.6: Grégory Henrion

(Mur blanc - trou noir)

Dear Readers,

this is the sixth installment of the HNW-Q. I am very proud, that one of my favorite HNW-artists from France Grégory Henrion (the second one is of course Vomir) known for his awesome and always intriguing pure sounds embodied as Angström (or in short Å) one of the best HNW-projects on this planet agreed to complete it. He is also the head of the important label "Anarchofreaks Production" (click here - to see what's planned, what's available and here to listen) and the main organizer of the first two European HNW Fests. The next event organized partly by Henrion will be "Bruitisme" on 27.July 2013 in Maxeville, France "un journée autour de l' improvisation et de la liberté" (click here for informations). The Anarchofreaks label supported many interesting artists (to name a few): the absolutely fantastic poly-textured Gluttoness - Black Massive (2012), one giant-size Vomir- Tape-collection (I missed, sadly) (2012), one of the first Static Mantra releases, Bördel Noir - Hors (2012) and a lot more, but take a look yourself.

It is especially thrilling to read Henrion's version of the HNW-Q in comparison to the one completed by James Killick (click) a few days ago. It is a good depiction of the musical janushead of HNW or of the inner tensions the HNW-sound seems to contain, always already somewhere in-between: embodiment or disembodiment. [As a consequence of this originary split, fissure or bifurcation in HNW I have split my review section into "Remarkable HNW-Albums" and "Remarkable Sound-Art-Oddities" a few months ago to treat both tendencies as conceptual and reflected as possible with an appropriate hermeneutical grid.]

Since the beginning it was perfectly clear for me, that Henrion is the most important interpreter, translator and performer in the tradition of Vomir's now classical and unbeatable idea of european HNW as a "secular monestary"(cf. Perrot in: The Wire and my own text about this complex, click here). I can say without further restrictions, that I have discovered HNW in its original form through the lenses and musical prisms invented and provided by Grégory Henrion and Roman Perrot (maybe the inventors and katalysators of HNW). In a certain sense this is still HNW for me. Their sounds are in a certain sense unbeatable, untouchable -- a "counter-eternal" formulation of the HNW-sound: “monde noir, désert croissant: une machine solitaire ronfle sur la plage, une usine atomique installé dans le désert” (Deleuze/Guattari).

Grégory Henrion's HNW is HNW in nuce - in a nutshell, in a capsule, in an (en)closed chamber -- created necessarily in a serial form. Angström's works are physical excercises in pleasure and pain at once - serious lessons to learn to be oneself without being related to others - free singularities in a community without unity - maybe close to what Gilles Deleuze once called an "anarchie couronnée". A deliberate and resolute step towards seclusion and retreat - in this sense foremost made for himself and not directed to others. "Nothing, after all, might be nothing other than nothing. Perhaps transparency allows one to "see" the void, that is blinding and "hear" the silence that is defeaning. (...) The question that remains is how to build a void that is not a plenum but a trace of the void. To fashion such a void would be to construct nothing or beinahe nichts", like Mark C. Taylor wrote once.

In this sense Angström's HNW is strictly non-related to any form of interiority, of creativity and of "self-realization" in Art ! (cf. the german concept-artist Gerhard Merz Video posted yesterday, or click here). That's what I would call the strong and serious modernist orientation of this form of HNW - anything that could be a reminder or residue of playfulness or content is in brackets here. How it is related to the idea of the sublime - rests to be examined. Consequently it wouldn't be difficult to rhizomize Angström's sounds with the classics of modern art (from Mies van der Rohe, Mondrian, Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Walter de Maria, Mark Rothko, Donald Judd to name a few).

If I had to write about Angström's HNW (what will happen here on my blog sooner or later) I would relate it to more ideas taken from Mille Plateaux by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. In Mille Plateaux D/G have conceptualized music as a war machine against the state apparatus and its binary political logic of inclusion and exclusion, majority and minority and so on. For them music is considered capable of a total deterritorialisation, which means music has the force to restructure and break the conceptual apparatus of the state, which mainly has to do with identity-politics. Art in general and music could and should restructure society according to the deleuzian concept of a "devenir-imperceptible". For this purpose, as they write in MP: "Il est évident qu'il faut un son très pur et simple, une émission ou une onde sans harmoniques, pour que le son voyage et qu'on voyage autour du son(réussite de LaMonte Young à cet égard).C'est seulement quand la matière est suffisamment déterritorialisée qu'elle fait surgir elle-même comme moleculaire, et fait surgir de pures forces." and furthermore: "un bloc sonore, qui n'a plus de point d'origine, puisqu'il est toujours déjà au milieu de la ligne, qui n'a plus de coordonnées horizontales et verticales, puisqu'il crée ses propres coordinées, qui ne forme plus de liaison localisable d'un point à un autre, puisqu'il est dans un temps non pulsé: un bloc rythmique déterritorialisé, abandonnant points coordonées et mesure, comme un bateau ivre qui se confond lui-même avec la ligne, ou qui trace un plan de consistance" (D/G, Mille Plateaux).

If you are willing to accept the aforementioned as a backdrop - you can see, that Henrion's HNW is important for anyone really interested in the classic HNW-sound. I remember quite well - to put it in a more anecdotical manner - that my first four HNW-purchases were Angström's "unchanging insurrectional Harsh Noise Walls" (quote from the backcover of "Que crève") "Trépanation" (2010) and "Écartèlement" (2010) from the charmingly entitled 4-CD-Box "Pus" (AFP 2010) and his "Que crève la vieux monde"(Toxic Industries, Xi011, 2010) together with Romain Perrot's landmark pieces Renonce and Proanomie. I was intrigued and thrilled immediately (so I can only recommend to all you newbies in HNW to get a copy of these four recordings). Henrion's HNW-works are definitely always a good starting and ending point (if you are interested in ouroboric or self-reflexive images) - to memorize, incorporate and embody (almost like a "monk" from an anarchic order) the HNW-trias: purity - minimalism - seclusion over and over and over and over again ! HNW is HNW - and everything else is everything else (to modulate a famous sentence by Ad Reinhardt).

Later on I purchased everything from Angström: from "c'est toi le maître, c'est toi le criminel, et, ironie, c'est toi l'esclave, c'est toi la victime" (AFP 2010, on BAVE, the collection - that put France on the HNW-map), "Billot" (AFP 2011), "Untitled I,II " (Sweet Solitude 2011), "La chute des anges rebelles" (Slow Death 2011), "Toute une histoire" (Victimology Rec. 2011) , "Noire" (AFP2013, sadly sold out too fast for me), to "Néant hors du vide"(on the canadian B.C.R.-label 2012) and the impressive both sonically and conceptually "Enfermement" (AFP 2012 - part of the HNW-Swap 2012/13, download here).

If you risk a look at his blog, his bandcamp-site - you can get an impression of this great HNW-artist. So if you don't have Angström on your list or map yet - please give yourself a try and support this great HNW-artist from France - it is always a hit and never a miss !

P.S. If you are interested in the main ideas of the HNW-Q please consult all earlier versions or the main page - here you find a more general descrition of it. It should be clear how it works - now - so the general text is not reproduced here again! - click here for further informations [SKG]

This is the HNW-Q No.6 brilliantly completed
by Grégory Henrion:

The HNW-Q No.6:

[1] I discovered and invented HNW for myself, when I discovered Vomir and this mix between noise and minimalism.

[2] The initial radicality of HNW would be preserved, if there was an inquisition but it may be too late.

[3] HNW is noise purity and love of isolation.

[4] HNW is not with variation.

[5] I…………………….. the acronym H.N.W. ………………

[6] HNW is pure isolation by noise.

[7] The sounds of machines are repetitive.

[8] HNW helps the nothingness to be revealed.

[9] Monolithic Walls are submission to noise.

[10] The Future of HNW would be the end of HNW.

[11] The Death of HNW would be the democratization, the vulgarization, the poularization of HNW and/or the end of Vomir.

[12] HNW should be related to isolation to understand it better.

[13] Singularity and Originality in HNW are ............................

[14] HNW should be called Static Minimalism, because ..........

[15] HNW should not be called Static Minimalism, because H means Harsh.

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

[17] Volume in HNW is essential.

[18] Distortion in HNW is essential.

[19] My Unconscious is…………………………….. in HNW.

[20] Narratives, Analogies and Metaphors in HNW are superflux.

[21] Time and Space in HNW are nonexistent, outdated, obsolete.

[22] HNW leads to absolute Nothingness.

[23] My HNW amplifies my misanthropy, my individualism.

[24] Minimal Music and Cosmic Drones are sweat and psychedelic versions of HNW.

[25] Conceptualism is the …………………………… of HNW.

[26] The main ingredients of brilliant HNW are when you forget everything, when you abandon.

[27] The purpose and the concept of my HNW are oblivion, fall in nothingness, to cut yourself off from the rest of the world, from the outside.

[28] The distinction between ANW / HNW is simply the distinction between A(mbiant) and H(arsh).

[29] The philosophy of HNW can change nothing.

[30] My first words about HNW were static, violence, minimalism and Vomir.

[31] My final words about HNW would be nothingness, loneliness, forgetting.

(nature of minimalism, minimalism in nature)

Dear Readers,

this is the fifth installment of the HNW-Q. I am really proud and happy, that the british sound-artist James Killick decided to complete it. Especially because his version of the HNW-Q opens an admirably clear, honest and deeply personal and thoughtful perspective on HNW and Static Minimalism ! At first his incredible work as a label-owner should be mentioned. I think, that it is no exaggeration to say that most of "us" discovered HNW/ANW with the generous help of Killick's first and now famous label "Sweet Solitude" with all the now classical releases; for me mainly: Vargrwulf (the first in the "Infinity-series" ), A View from Nihil, Vomir, Angström, Lungwash, Static Mantra, the monumental Anonymous).

Also James Killick's own versatile, important, masterly crafted and admirably multi-facetted main projects appeared here for the first time. His ultra-minimal project Pulse, the multi-farious, multi-thematic and micro-rhythmic project Small Hours or his now legendary approach to HNW/ANW under the Love Katy sign (eg. paradigmatically "You're no good for me"). Most of his works (if I may risk this abstraction here) are dedicated to the musical techniques of sonic over-paintings or over-coats and the four-folded technique of expansion-explosion-implosion-transformation of given or pre-existing sound-worlds and -works and micro-rhythmic reworkings of seemingly unformed and unmanageable minimal sonic matters and atmospheres (also at work in Cory Strand's work) -- having its starting point refreshingly in LIFE and not in DEATH. A good counter-point to all the immature death-and-negativity-driven projects - who have (mostly) not the slightest idea, how terrible death, violence, depression and insanity really "are".

"Vagary Records" in business since March 2012 is James Killick's new space for the precious, the extravagant, the experimental, the thoughtful, the unorthodox, the funny and the affirmative, the dark classical HNW - but also heavy and serious stuff dedicated to the memory of the Unforgivable in history. In short: a living and ever expanding rhizome totally in touch with new lines of flight of the genre - but also deeply rooted and obliged to the short but deep history and heritage of HNW and the minimalism and minimalists of all times, ages and planets (- like me ! [SKG]).

To pick out a few artist's and project's names - for those who aren't already familiar with the wide-spanning aesthetics of this great label -: a lot from Clive Henry, KT , Small Hours (eg the 4-CD-set "A Love Like This Is Hard To Find " (2012) and other stuff related to and by Killick), to Cory Strand and Burial Ground. A lot of time and effort Killick invests for design and artwork (so take a closer look on Kermit, the Clangers Set and/or other really nice and personally crafted designs on the Vagary blog- especially the beautifully designed 4-Tape Small-Hours-Box thematically related to "Kingdom Hearts" - one of the real treasures of my small - but strictly quality-oriented HNW-collection.). Also a clever move to make "noise" more precious - to turn "noise" into sound-art (a term I prefer). I hope, that more multi-tape-sets will appear soon - if a little daydreaming is allowed here: AVFN, Angström, Bast, Lungwash, Zionist, Clive Henry, Vast Glory but also of course another Small-Hours-set ). Click here to visit Vagary Records.

As you can see - James Killick's impressive creativity and importance for the development and the working out of the originary bifurcation of sonic minimalism in "HNW" and Static Minimalism cannot be estimated high enough. I may not agree to all of his concepts and ideas, but Killick's works contain always something to think and argue about - a good starting point for breaking up HNW-complacency, -conventionality and -ignorance - to carve out new possible trajectories or identities for the genre. (Don't forget to visit and support his Vagary-bandcamp-site-here and/or to listen to his latest impressive, multi-textured work "Jerusalem" here.) More of this desire for novelty, innovation and emancipation from given institutions are more than desperately needed today - and here I am totally in line with Killick's general impulses !

My own strong aesthetic convictions and quality criteria go exactly in this direction - describe and formalize the very few interesting HNW-paradigms or idiolects - to open horizons for NOVELTY and block out the REPETITIONS. But to support also necessarily repetitive or serial approaches to HNW like Angström (cf. Grégory Henrion's HNW-Q No. 6, coming: 24. July 2013) or Vomir's. You find traces of this desire in my attempts to re-translate the acronym HNW always in the context the artists gives. But on my blog I can only try to filter the HNW-events through my own lenses, through affects and affections, personal dispositions and convictions, limitations and desires. In this sense it is only one blog about HNW - and not the blog about it. It is far less normative, than it might seem: I am really enjoying myself here - taking a daily bathe in affirmation, eternity, fun and joy ! Doing it for my own and unrepeatable LIFE-DEATH ! That's my life-style - feel invited to discover your own L-D !.

So it would be really great, if other courageous blogs with different aesthetical convictions, vocabularies and arguments would appear - to keep all the other important HNW-idiolects, that are currently not on my map (mostly because of my limited time and working capacities) in constant appreciation and loving and (!) critical support beyond fan-boy-attitudes, in order to keep HNW singular, multifarious and alive !

Critical reviews that are trying to interconnect form and content or to put in a Deleuzean way, to build up "un rapport direct matériau-forces" are needed and highly welcome ! Please stop focussing on - and fetishizing the often dull and repetitive descriptions of the sounds alone ! Change your vocabulary at least once a week - otherwise the conceptual side of HNW would remain forever unnoticed ! This only helps the dilletantism to reach the frontrow ! But why should HNW alone remain the same in an otherwise ever changing and expanding universe ? What are you afraid of ? Decisive is only what YOU and your own fragile and unrepeatable LIFE-DEATH really desire - here and now - and maybe forever ? What else should count ...?

A general remark: Stay compassionate, empathetic, courteous and respectful towards the life-worlds of other persons ! There is enough violence and disrespect in our daily lives! In this sense - and only in this sense - my blog is directed to adults only: spinozistic and life-affirming creatures and creators, with a slight inclination to the Fine Arts, Minimalism, Zen, deconstruction(s), schizo-analysis and seynsgeschichtlichem Denken ! Thanks a lot for your interest - and for the support with solid and inventive sounds and interesting ideas of all ages and sound-worlds and pluriverses ! Keep music and this planet alive - by producing music for "body", "mind" and "soul" - if only one element is missing you have lost your orientation ! Always good vibrations - and please give your own singular LIFE-DEATH a try and a chance ! There is no reason for anything than optimism, like John Cage said ... In this sense all the best for all my readers ! [SKG]

All lines in green ink are written and copyright by James Killick. All lines in normal ink show you the HNW-Questionary written and copyright by me.

P.S. If you are interested in the main ideas of the HNW-Q please consult all earlier versions or the main page - here you find a more general descrition of it. It should be clear how it works - now - so the general text is not reproduced here again! - click here for further informations [SKG]

This is the fifth HNW-Questionary brilliantly
completed by James Killick:

The HNW-Q No. 5:

[1] I discovered ~~and invented~~ HNW for myself, when I purchased (on impulse), Vomir’s ‘Claustration’ boxset. I had read a lot of chatter on the internet about this new type of ‘noise’ that was more ‘extreme’ than all the rest. I will have to admit that my first impression was one of disappointment. I found the tracks to be boring, repetitive and not overly harsh.

Some time went by, and for no particular reason, I returned to the Vomir box. Prior to this I had been listening to a lot the work of the minimalist composers (Feldman, Young etc.), and it struck me how similar they all were e.g. often monolithic and repetitive. I was suddenly hooked, and wanted to find more!

I began to acquire a lot of HNW releases. I often really liked the sounds contained within, but did not like the imagery and thematic content that many artists use. They struck me as unoriginal, at times boring and perhaps worst of all no longer ‘shocking’. We have become so over-saturated with ‘horrific’ imagery that it is no longer shocking. It was in fact, boring.

I decided that I wanted to create some noise of my own. I wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here; I just wanted to create a fair approximation of what I was hearing (which was not as easy as it first sounded!). However, I did wanted to challenge the notion that HNW has to be shocking and/or dark. As a consequence I created ‘Love Katy’. Please see question 3 for more on this.

As well as creating ‘LK’, I produce HNW / ANW under a number of different aliases. My other main project is ‘Small Hours’. This was named after a track by John Martyn. He was a fearless innovator who was not afraid to change his sound, and move forward. I found this ethos to be admirable, and felt that was the guiding light behind this project.

Under this banner, I have experimented with ultra-minimal ANW (Pulse I and II), have released HNW informed by nostalgia for the past, have used historical themes and dedicated numerous release to people who have inspired me or struck me by their beauty. In short, anything goes; the only limit is my imagination. Hopefully I have inspired others to do the same.

[2] The initial radicality of HNW ~~would~~ should not be preserved, if , because imitation ultimately becomes parody, and we need to innovate and not simply rehash old ideas. The initial ‘Militant HNW’ agenda was radical because it was fresh and interesting. This got a lot of attention, and obviously people began to imitate (and sometimes copy) the original HNW practitioners. If this were to continue, the result would be stagnation and parody. Sadly, I think this is why a lot of people have since lost interest in HNW. For many it has simply run out of ideas, and this to me is a real shame, as there are a lot of new HNW artists out there who are trying new things, but are ignored due to the general feeling of apathy surrounding the scene.

[3] HNW is whatever you want it to be. I know that many people will disagree with this idea, but in order for the genre to survive and grow; people need to be a lot more open minded. This applies specifically to the themes and concepts that people use to frame/present their material. For a long time, the general consensus has been that HNW releases must be about one of the following; void worship, giallo, horror films etc. (e.g. the original concerns of the early HNW innovators – ‘The Rita’, ‘Richard Ramirez’ and ‘Vomir’). This is ok, but it became a bit of a ‘strait-jacket’ as if you chose to stray from this formula, you were often derided and ignored for not sticking to the unwritten ‘rules’

When I started my ‘Love Katy’ project, I received a lot of negative attention. I was attacked for mocking the scene and not taking it seriously enough. I will admit that my original intention with ‘LK’ was to parody the seriousness of the scene, but this has since changed to becoming something akin to idol worship (for me anyway). After all if you break it down HNW is just ‘static’noise, and ‘static’ noise can be whatever you want it to be. All I can say is don’t be constrained. If like me, a pretty girl with blue hair, inspires you to make noise, all I can say is, why not!

[4] HNW is not and will never be an ‘elitist’ club. Don’t feel constrained to follow any rules, and ignore the critics. Do what feels right for you!!!

[5] I believe that the acronym H.N.W. is a bit of a misnomer. The ‘H’ in HNW implies that the sounds contained within are overly ‘Harsh’. In my experience (and particularly with the ‘walls’ that I create) this is not the case. One of the defining characteristics of HNW is a lack of ‘movement’ in the sound (hence the ‘wall’). This ‘stasis’ creates a calming mood in the listener, which is far from the mood that the ‘Harsh’ tag will imply. I believe that there are better terms to describe ‘HNW’, but I shall discuss that later.

[6] HNW is ~~pure~~ mindless self-indulgence or the best thing since sliced bread (to some!).

[7] The sounds of machines are an image that many reviews use to describe the sounds of ‘HNW’.

[8] HNW helps you to be revealed, who has good taste in music or not!

[9] Monolithic Walls are one approach that can be taken when composing / crafting HNW. It is not the only way to make HNW though. I prefer dynamic walls. They help maintain interest, and over the course of a longer track provide much needed variety and change.

[10] The Future of HNW ~~would be~~ is unwritten. We should acknowledge our forebears, but at the same time be prepared to move forward.

[11] The Death of HNW would be if people involved lose the desire to reinvent themselves, and the scene were to dissolve because of the petty jealousies and feuds that seem to be rife at present.

[12] HNW should be related to the work of other minimalist artists to understand it better. I think that HNW follows in the grand tradition of artists such as Rothko and Feldman, who despite working with a different medium clearly shared similar ideas to those of many working in the field today.

[13] Singularity and Originality in HNW ~~are~~ should be actively encouraged. As previously mentioned, there has been a ‘Herd’ mentality in HNW for far too long. Individual voices should be heard!

[14] HNW ~~should~~ could be called Static Minimalism, because it is a better descriptor for the sounds that are being created, and would also avoid any confusion created by the use of the word ‘Harsh’.

[15] HNW should ~~not~~ be called Static Minimalism, because – See my answer to question 14.

[16] The permanent repetition of the HNW-Mantra (No ideas, no change, no dynamics, no development etc. ) ~~leads to~~ should be avoided. I believe this term was coined by ‘Vomir’. It words for his approach to HNW, but others should find their own path.

[17] Volume in HNW is absolutely essential in a live setting, but something that can be experimented with when recording.

[18] Distortion in HNW is a useful tool that can be employed to add more depth to your sound.

[19] My Unconscious is mind always feels that my in HNW is not good enough, filling me with a constant desire to improve and better myself.

[20] Narratives, Analogies and Metaphors in HNW are essential tools which can be employed to make your HNW interesting and differentiate it from the rest.

[21] Time and Space in HNW are interesting concepts. I have noticed that I sometimes ‘lose’ time when listening to and creating HNW. I also find the phenomenon of ‘phantom’ sounds in HNW to be quite fascinating. When listening to tracks, you often perceive sounds/changes in the ‘wall’ that aren’t actually there. Vomir is the master of this, and this is something that I have tried to incorporate into my sound as well.

[22] HNW for many (but not me), represents the sound of absolute Nothingness.

[23] My HNW ~~amplifies~~ is a vehicle for sharing my interests and passions with a like-minded audience.

[24] Minimal Music and Cosmic Drones are alternative labels which can be used when describing of HNW.

[25] Conceptualism is one of the key components of HNW. Without a clear concept / rationale behind your sound, you are simply left with static.

[26] The main ingredients of brilliant HNW are very subjective and largely based on the perceptions and personal tastes of the listener. For me, good HNW is multi-layered, with plenty of shifts in tones and frequencies. My advice to people, who want to create HNW, is experiment with your source, and once you are familiar with your equipment / gear start mixing walls together.

[27] The purpose and the concept of my HNW ~~are~~ can be found in my response to question 1.

[28] The distinction between ANW / HNW is controversial and still open to debate. My first exposure to what would later become known as ‘ANW’ was on the ‘Wall Whores’ release from the sadly missed ‘HFFL’ label. When I listened to this release, I thought there was something different about it. The tracks retained ‘wall-like qualities’ e.g. minimal movement, repetition’, but the sounds were more quiet and restrained. I felt that this was something different and should be explored further. That is why I created the ‘Infinity Series’. It gave people the opportunity to experiment with the form. Somewhere along the way it was labeled ‘ANW’ and the label seems to have stuck.

[29] The philosophy of HNW can change because at present there is no real ‘philosophy’ of HNW. It is constantly being shaped / altered by its creators and whatever ‘philosophy’ you choose to apply to it should be based on your ideas rather than those of others.

[30] My first words (after the initial underwhelming reaction and re-discovery) about HNW were ‘this looks fun, I want to try making that!’

[31] My final words about HNW would be ‘long may it continue!’

[32] The phrase I would like to add to this questionary is ‘It is easy to make HNW, but it is difficult to make good HNW’.

Cordial thanks to James Killick -

for his open, insightful and inspiring words and works ! -

I hope that they will set a lot in motion -

And don't forget to support "Vagary Records" !

Contact here and listen here

I am sure there will be an awesome new batch soon !

So watch out !

SKG:

Thursday, July 11, 2013

MY READING TRACES #12

(Martin Heidegger- Gedachtes)

Photo / Traces by S.K.G.

Thanks for reading my blog !

Have a nice day !

Stay tuned and expect the unexpected !