la monte young

it's awesome.

It sounds fine on LP! Even at 30 minutes per side you get a nice full/rich tone.

And, you know, I got a good deal on the LP box. If anyone was gonna sell me the CD version at a great price I wouldn't turn 'em down.

Unfortunately, the performance and recording on the DVD version don't quite live up to the Grammavision version.

best review (from rate your music):
La Monte Young uses this piano like a lesbian might her fantasy.

An extreme foreplay of alternate tuning has rendered this elegant instrument into a Partchian construct of singular purpose and Young spends eternity poking and rubbing the exotic beast until it groans and moans beneath his experienced fingers. Whenever it croons, he quickens and bares every nerve to his touch before the vibrations wash away the new, warm plateau splayed before him.
Roiled and sprung, it is a constant forging, a rough method and ginger delight. Young desires to become one with his love, to unify in gestalt, frantically and patiently. A lover has never been so sincere nor so alone.

Music of a More Exalted Sphere: The Sonic Cosmology of La Monte Young Jeremy Grimshaw

The second piece of circumstantial evidence relates even more closely to Young’s music: David Doty, James Tenney, and Ervin Wilson, three of the most prominent contributors to the modern body of just-intonational music and theory, all happen to be former or lapsed Mormons. Given the relatively small number of Mormon composers who have exercised substantial influence outside the Mormon community and the small number of composers who choose to write in alternate tuning systems, this coincidence comprises an unusually large overlap of seemingly unrelated Venn-diagram circles. Doty’s family converted to Mormonism during his childhood, and he practiced the religion for several years before becoming in active at age sev enteen. He eventually cofounded the Just Intonation Network and has
edited that organization’s publication, 1/1, since its inception in 1984; he is also the author of The Just Intonation Primer and an active com poser of just-intonational music. Tenney, a former Bell Laboratories researcher who now teaches composition at the California Institute of the Arts, is widely known for his groundbreaking work in acoustics, sound perception, and computer applications in music. He was born into a Mormon family in New Mexico. Ervin Wilson is a central figure among current microtonalist composers and theorists, known both for his innovative tun ing systems and the instruments he designs to realize them.

the fraternity of lapsed mormon microtonalists hiding in plain sight

I love this kind of lore. And I didn't know Tenney had New Mexican Mormon roots. (Where are all the New Mexican Mormons hiding anyway?) That adds a whole other layer to Joseph Franklin talking about Tenney and playing his music on University of New Mexico's radio station.

Just clicked on the link: we used to get this journal at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Not sure how they ended up subscribing to it given the extremely scant Mormon presence in that area.

Where did you find the text you quote there? Did you (gasp!) buy it?

free download once you register with the site as an 'individual'

whole article worth reading. author includes his picture of the log cabin Young was born in.

Thanks.

Someone sells Der zweck dieser series ist nicht unterhaltung vol.2? :)

Yes!!! I finally found vol.2 too! :)

I love La monte young's music ;-)

lol volcanic tongue

LaMonte Young
Drift Study/Poem For Tables, Chairs And Benches, Etc (1960)
The Amazing Horny Bone Recording Company H-12
Hand Cut Acetate LP
£229.99

Major score: original copies of this ultra-mysterious and hideously rare hand-cut acetate LP issued in an edition of only 25 (!!??) copies by The Amazing Horny Bone Recording Company. Two sides of higher-minded bliss w/incredible sound beamed direct from the source on some of the most historically potent minimalist/drone moves of the 20th century. The first sides is an excerpt from “Drift Study”, “31 1 69c. 12:17:33-12:24:33 pm NYC”, while the flip presents a portion of “Poem For Tables, Chairs And Benches, Etc (1960)”, “89 VI 8c. 1:45-1:52 am Paris Encore”. Unlikely to see these ever offered again.

How does Keenan sleep at night?

My favorite La Monte Young story, from when I lived in NYC some years ago: I was at the Dream House (I used to go there about once a week when I was really stressed out), and I was washing my hands in the sink there. While I was washing my hands, the entire sink fell out of the wall. Water flying everywhere at high velocity. Then an old guy with a long beard (La Monte, obviously) came dashing up the stairs, and he and I worked on trying to stem the endless flow of water. It was hilarious and terrifying.

My less traumatic La Monte-related story: In 2004, I think, I wrote an 'Epiphanies' essay for the Wire which talked about the Dream House and drones and Indian music and stuff, and after it was published I got one of the coolest letters I've ever gotten--a letter from a 15-year-old kid in Australia who wrote to me saying that he was really into the Theatre of Eternal Music and the other kids in his high school didn't understand him, but he felt like I understood him, or something like that. I've forgotten now. I remember I taped it to my desk to look at when I was writing, and it stayed there for years.

My La Monte Young story: I went to a gig he did at the Barbican in London some time in the '90s. I have no idea what was performed, but after the gig there was a Q&A session. I stuck my hand up and asked him why he persisted in refusing to allow the tapes of the Theatre of Eternal Music project he did with Cale and Conrad not only to be released, but even for the other two to get copies of them. He sniffily replied something along the lines of "why should I give away copies of my music?" I thought he was an asshole then and I think he is an asshole now.

How does Keenan sleep at night?

popsike says this has only ever come up for auction on ebay twice and both times it went for silly money. he's only asking the market rate.

Geeta: NZ not Australia but there's these kids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vZfP0ou6tQ

ha ha, that is great, david! just watched it.

I just read Kyle Gann's journal article (Perspectives of New Music, 1993) in which he decodes the tunings in 'The Well Tuned Piano'. It is awesome, and awesomely nerdy, if you haven't read it. Recommended.

Basically, I'm trying to avoid what I should be doing right now--carrying crates of vinyl down four flights of stairs!

pretty sure that gann stuff is up on his website

his whole website is an excellent introduction into tuning and harmonic theory

It's not on there (I got the full text through JSTOR), but there's this summary: http://www.kylegann.com/wtp.html

and this guide to just intonation: http://www.kylegann.com/tuning.html

That video of the young folks in NZ doing Compositions 1960 No. 7 is wonderful - very funny but also insightful.

the effect...'there is a big word for it but i don't know it' :-D

best review (from rate your music):
La Monte Young uses this piano like a lesbian might her fantasy.

An extreme foreplay of alternate tuning has rendered this elegant instrument into a Partchian construct of singular purpose and Young spends eternity poking and rubbing the exotic beast until it groans and moans beneath his experienced fingers. Whenever it croons, he quickens and bares every nerve to his touch before the vibrations wash away the new, warm plateau splayed before him.
Roiled and sprung, it is a constant forging, a rough method and ginger delight. Young desires to become one with his love, to unify in gestalt, frantically and patiently. A lover has never been so sincere nor so alone.

― 69, Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:40 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha i totally forgot this

need to bring the well tuned piano to work someday.

need to bring mail the well tuned piano to work pete someday.

― one dis leads to another (ian), Friday, September 23, 2011 5:51 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark

The Well-Tuned Piano in The Magenta Lights (87 V 10 6:43:00 PM ­87 V 11 01:07:45 AM NYC)

i.e. the DVD version, 6 hours 41 minutes, now up on ubuweb.

very, very different engineering on the 1987 version. more hiss and ambient room noise during the quiet parts (exacerbated on this version by DVD compression) -- you don't want to listen to this one on headphones probably -- but when it really gets going on the cloud formations, I much prefer this version to the 5 disc box of the 1981 version.

used a converter to rip the AVI to mp3.

Knew nothing about that site--amazing what's on there.

Its the best! I've watched a shedload of short films for the last 3 months on there.

Feel like we could easily have a Ubuweb thread for recommendations. Following their twitter is useful too btw.

I will so watch this LMY film, thanks for the head's up!

Oh it's audio, soz

VT touting some new price-gouging vinyl boot (would love to hear the ocean stuff, esp):

LaMonte Young, Marian Zazeela & The Dream Syndicate
s/t
No Label No Cat
LP
£31.99

Amazing vinyl archival edition of previously unreleased works from LaMonte Young, Marian Zazeela & the original Dream Syndicate: this is a revelatory unearthing, the A side presents “Day Of The Holy Mountain Part Two” aka “The Overday, 28 xi 63”,a live zoned drone ascension from 1963 featuring the original Dream Syndicate with a rare outing from LaMonte Young on sopranino. The slow, dark string drones, courtesy of John Cale and Tony Conrad, perfectly encapsulate Cale’s description of how the Dream Syndicate used ‘hypnotism mingled with malevolence’ and coupled with Angus MacLise’s (whose Year poem/art piece provides the piece’s title) fast, rainfall percussion the effect is absolutely mesmerising, black, magisterial urban/devotional drone with a unique ability to confuse time and space. LaMonte’s playing is phenomenal, generating endless circular tones that predate Evan Parker’s experiments in circular blowing while joining the dots between early free jazz reveries, dervish music and the sound of ‘holy minimalism’. The recording quality is great, affording a rare insight into one of the most legendary new music ensembles of the 20th Century at a delirious peak. But there’s more: the flip consists of an amazing never before issued recording titled “Oceans” from an aborted 1969 album session for CBS and it is one of the most elementally profound vocal/sound works to come out of the heroic early phase of minimalism, with LaMonte Young and Marian Zazeela generating sustained/peaking vocal drones over the sound of waves crashing against the shore. It’s profoundly affecting, up there with Poetry Out Loud’s staggering “Ocean” in terms of an ascension ceremony for the sounds of nature, channelling the background roar of the cosmos through nothing but a field recording, complete with off microphone chatter that really serves to situate it in the moment, with LaMonte describing the microphones they’re using (the piece was reputedly recorded by David Tudor) as they work this ritual live on the beach, facing the ocean, literally singing in the waves. A stunning set, beautifully presented with full-colour paste-on sleeves, a super-enigmatic insert and nada in terms of information. A salutary reminder of the reality-warping potential of LaMonte Young’s minimalist project and a rare opportunity to hear these much whispered-about recordings. One of the all-time best selections of this historic music. Very limited pressing, strictly one per customer, highest possible recommendation!

Yeah, I was hunched over the 'add to cart' button on this one myself, but, man, that's like $50 USD. :(

i just popped into VT to check this out but they weren't open. i recently swapped a record for another lamonte young no label album but it wasn't this one (i wish they'd at least put some info on these things!). i really need to hear the ocean stuff too.

The Tamburas Of Pandit Pran Nath has been reissued!

http://www.melafoundation.org/LYrecscat.html

You just made a payment of
$27.98 USD

Oh, hell yeah! Great album! Thanks a million for bringing this to my attention!

ALL INTERNATIONAL ORDERS:
$46.00 registered delivery airmail with full insurance.

:-(

sweet thank u for the heads up

The British composer Cornelius Cardew wrote in ONE SOUND: LA MONTE YOUNG, MUSICAL TIMES, London, November 1966: “One further composition reached England in 1964 when the Merce Cunningham Dance Company were at Sadler’s Wells and the Phoenix Theatre for a season. Cunningham had choreographed a composition called 2 Sounds. The composer had provided two sounds on separate tapes, to be started at different points during the ballet. When the first sound starts you cannot imagine that any more horrible sound exists in the whole world. Then the second sound comes in and you have to admit you were wrong.”

funny

I love 'Two Sounds'. Early noise music landmark.

Geez, this album... pure brain massage.

Ward, do you want me to buy you a copy and send it from the US instead? Wouldn't be a big deal for me and I don't know how much it'd cost but it'd be significantly less than that I think!

So want to read the Cardew biog.

Liam, that's very kind of you but austerity measures currently preclude any disc expenditure (full confession: I do have a dece copy of Tamburas, but would like to own an original at some point - I just wanted the chance to moan abt the Mela Foundation's typically ludicrous pricing, really)

Oh, okay! Agreed, ha. 42$ is pretty ridiculous, really.

why is the tamburas packaged in a 1994-style double cd case

Yeah, I was wondering that myself ha. Maybe so they can justify 42$ international orders! The 40+ page booklet might be just a little too large. It talks in great detail about the instruments but no real pictures of them (though lots of live pics) which is also kind of strange!!!

I guess the album speaks for itself, but I love to turn it up really loud and just listen. You hear all these mirage kind of sounds inside the endlessly shifting hologram drone. I find my self singing it after listening, too, which is funny and bizarre: kee-ya-wow-err-umm. The phasing of the strings is so dramatic that after a while you start hearing all these backwards sounds! And one of the harmonics that sounds off continuously sounds exactly like the cha-ching of my phone which is funny. So about once a minute they line up and I think someone is sending me a text message. And it also sounds exactly like Tibetan monk throat singing in the lower registers. What an amazingly controlled performance.

yeah I think the size of the booklet is what necessitated the double case

this thing is def one of the highlights of an amazing body of work

http://www.vulture.com/2015/06/la-monte-young-dream-house.html?mid=fb-share-vulture

“We will leave our souls to her. She will inherit our kingdom,” Young says, which means, among other things, Choi will decide what music to release from his invaluable private archive of recordings. “We’ll die, and she’ll carry on. I can’t see putting it any other way.”

sure would be nice if some of those tapes could come out. people approach young, but his terms financial and otherwise are utterly disconnected. it's not only his works he's sitting on; alternate sources seem to have turned up for some of richard maxfield's pieces (still need to hear this: http://www.discogs.com/Richard-Maxfield-Richard-Maxfield/release/6987058) but we are still waiting on an accurate depiction of terry jennings

Hahn Rowe!!!! man jealous

xp I am not seeing that on the MELA website, can you share your source for this?

MELA sent out an email this afternoon. Tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-monte-young-youngs-dorian-blues-by-the-theatre-of-eternal-music-tickets-617988388907

thank you!

No Zazeela thread, so will post here for now... but maybe we should have one for her?

https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/aia-reviews/marian-zazeela-artists-space-review-1234699983/

RIP Marian Zazeela.

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/marian-zazeela-artist-dead-1234701465/

discussion here: RIP Marian Zazeela

maybe we should have one for her

maybe we could rename this thread "la monte young and marian zazeela" ?