Music Concrete
Music Concrete is a kind of electronic music based on the combination of natural noises and sounds recorded beforehand and in some cases processed through filters or distortion. The impetus for the development of the style was based on rapidly growing sound recording technologies, the emergence of available microphones and recorders, as a consequence recording became available for experimenters.
Birth: 1948 Bloom: 1967
The first recording experiments by French acoustics engineer Pierre Schaeffer was made in 1948, and he is considered to be a pioneer of this style. Music concrete was combined with other electronic music forms in the Edgard Varèse`s composition « Poème électronique». It was presented at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, the composition is characterized by the usage of 425 loudspeakers that were thoroughly placed in the special pavilion designed by Iannis Xenakis.
Nowadays, music concrete is usually punctuated with other styles. This music influenced musical vanguard of the second half of XX century and industrial.
After the 1950s music concrete was superseded by other electronic music forms, although its influence can be noticed in popular music, for example in the «Revolution 9» by The Beatles and in the end of the «Bike» by Pink Floyd. In the 1967-1968s Frank Zappa created several compositions in the music concrete style using bizarre buzzing, horns, and whistles.
Traditional and nontraditional music concrete was relived in the 1980s and 1990s. Artists like Ray Buttigieg and John Oswald used specially created sounds processing them. However, instead of a reel they used a computer.
In the 1990s the growing popularity of electronic music led to the e second revival of music concrete. The style was presented by artists such as Christian Fennesz, Francisco López, Ernesto Rodriguez, Matmos, Hafler Trio, Arcane Device, and Illusion of Safety.
Umbrellate style: Experimental
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