Post by cas5cs on Nov 30, 2011 19:50:35 GMT -5
Brian Eno is a pioneer in the world of electronic music, and Small Craft on a Milk Sea does not disappoint. Eno has had a very successful career as a musician, composer, and producer, and all of his skills show through on his 2010 release.
Eno’s ambient musical style is influenced by the works of artists and musical theorists that go as far back as the late 19th century. In the 1890’s, Mexican composer Julian Carillo coined a phrase known as “the 13th sound”. This phrase refers to a composition style that rejected the idea of 12-note scales and focused on the pitches and frequencies between the 12 traditional tones. In the early 20th century, musicians associated with the futurist movement began to compose “noise music”. The idea that music could be centered on noise rather than melody and harmony gave composers free reign to creatively use sound to create a wide range of sonic textures. In 1917, composer Erik Satie coined the phrase “furniture music” to describe some of his looping piano pieces. With the idea of “furniture music”, Satie effectively opened the door for musicians like Brian Eno to write and perform ambient background music. All of these historical composers and movements have paved the way for Eno’s strange and experimental brand of ambient electronic music.
Small Craft on a Milk Sea is a collection of songs reminiscent of movie soundtracks. These songs are generally constructed around simple motives, chords, or melodic phrases. However, the complex layering of sounds and extremely high production quality makes for a very interesting listen. The mood and energy on Small Craft varies greatly from song to song. Songs like “Emerald and Lime”, “Complex Heaven”, and “Emerald and Stone” are soft, relaxed textures that couple acoustic instruments (piano and guitar) with electronic synthesizers and computer-generated effects. Meanwhile, “Flint March” and “Horse” feature intense, driving polyrhythms accented by loud synthesized noises. “Slow Ice”, “Lesser Heaven” and “Calcium Needles” present yet another type of composition present on the album. These songs, rather than focusing on rhythm or melody, are complex layered textures constructed around harmonious chord sequences. While the album features several variations of the ambient genre, the songs blend together very nicely. In an interview with Pitchfork, Eno described this deliberate album style as “macro-composition”, meaning that the entire album can be viewed as a composition instead of viewing each song as a “micro-composition”.
Eno’s songs often rely on heavily processed modular synthesizers. The application of intense, canyon-sized reverb and a variety of noise filters is often far more interesting than the melodies and harmonies themselves. The use of computers to both generate and process sounds on Small Craft is evident as well. Eno uses his talents as a producer to toy with recorded sounds using computational software. Additionally, he uses software to generate many of the original sounds on the album. Many of the sounds that are prevalent on Small Craft sound like John Chowning-esque FM synthesis. Eno’s computer music techniques are evidence of just how far computer recording technology has come since the experiments of Max Matthews and John Chowning.
One of the things that I love most about the sound of Small Craft is the pairing of piano and guitar with computer-generated sounds. The duality makes for an intriguing listening experience. At times, the recorded and sampled sounds on the album are so heavily processed that it is difficult to tell the difference between which sounds are real and which sounds are computer-generated. I also love the imagery that Eno portrays through his music. He uses the technology at his disposal to create vast landscapes of sound. Although his songs have no lyrics, he is able to paint vivid mental pictures with his music. I would highly recommend Small Craft on a Milk Sea and any of Brian Eno’s earlier work to all fans of electronic music. Whether you like thought-provoking electronic music or you just want to relax your mind, Brian Eno’s music is definitely worth a listen.
Eno’s ambient musical style is influenced by the works of artists and musical theorists that go as far back as the late 19th century. In the 1890’s, Mexican composer Julian Carillo coined a phrase known as “the 13th sound”. This phrase refers to a composition style that rejected the idea of 12-note scales and focused on the pitches and frequencies between the 12 traditional tones. In the early 20th century, musicians associated with the futurist movement began to compose “noise music”. The idea that music could be centered on noise rather than melody and harmony gave composers free reign to creatively use sound to create a wide range of sonic textures. In 1917, composer Erik Satie coined the phrase “furniture music” to describe some of his looping piano pieces. With the idea of “furniture music”, Satie effectively opened the door for musicians like Brian Eno to write and perform ambient background music. All of these historical composers and movements have paved the way for Eno’s strange and experimental brand of ambient electronic music.
Small Craft on a Milk Sea is a collection of songs reminiscent of movie soundtracks. These songs are generally constructed around simple motives, chords, or melodic phrases. However, the complex layering of sounds and extremely high production quality makes for a very interesting listen. The mood and energy on Small Craft varies greatly from song to song. Songs like “Emerald and Lime”, “Complex Heaven”, and “Emerald and Stone” are soft, relaxed textures that couple acoustic instruments (piano and guitar) with electronic synthesizers and computer-generated effects. Meanwhile, “Flint March” and “Horse” feature intense, driving polyrhythms accented by loud synthesized noises. “Slow Ice”, “Lesser Heaven” and “Calcium Needles” present yet another type of composition present on the album. These songs, rather than focusing on rhythm or melody, are complex layered textures constructed around harmonious chord sequences. While the album features several variations of the ambient genre, the songs blend together very nicely. In an interview with Pitchfork, Eno described this deliberate album style as “macro-composition”, meaning that the entire album can be viewed as a composition instead of viewing each song as a “micro-composition”.
Eno’s songs often rely on heavily processed modular synthesizers. The application of intense, canyon-sized reverb and a variety of noise filters is often far more interesting than the melodies and harmonies themselves. The use of computers to both generate and process sounds on Small Craft is evident as well. Eno uses his talents as a producer to toy with recorded sounds using computational software. Additionally, he uses software to generate many of the original sounds on the album. Many of the sounds that are prevalent on Small Craft sound like John Chowning-esque FM synthesis. Eno’s computer music techniques are evidence of just how far computer recording technology has come since the experiments of Max Matthews and John Chowning.
One of the things that I love most about the sound of Small Craft is the pairing of piano and guitar with computer-generated sounds. The duality makes for an intriguing listening experience. At times, the recorded and sampled sounds on the album are so heavily processed that it is difficult to tell the difference between which sounds are real and which sounds are computer-generated. I also love the imagery that Eno portrays through his music. He uses the technology at his disposal to create vast landscapes of sound. Although his songs have no lyrics, he is able to paint vivid mental pictures with his music. I would highly recommend Small Craft on a Milk Sea and any of Brian Eno’s earlier work to all fans of electronic music. Whether you like thought-provoking electronic music or you just want to relax your mind, Brian Eno’s music is definitely worth a listen.