Who here plays experimental music?

[Luther Blissett]

I'm not completely sure if this is the right forum, but here goes...

I know, experimental music is sometimes a matter of taste, but eveyone can agree that some music is more 'out there' than others. So I was wondering who here on TB plays music that could be categorized as being 'experimental'? I know some people over at the effects forum venture into noise/drone adventures, and I was wondering what else was around here. So, introduce yourself (and provide clips)!

and for good measure, I'll provide the first introduction.

I play in an improv project called 'Karen Eliot'. My guitar player and me get together from time to time to improvise a set. No guidelines are set, and no agreements are made before we start playing. We just start improvising and work with the sounds the other gives us. At best, the music could be categorised as 'instant soundscapes'

You can hear some clips of our sessions on our myspace:

so, what else is out there?

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by Luther Blissett

so, what else is out there?

Follow the link in my profile and check out the Circuits clips.

[Matt Till]

Digging your stuff. Sounds closer to what I want to move towards. I'd like to be a bit more minimalistic in my experimental stuff. Anyways:

VG Screens: http://www.myspace.com/drrskt
- This is my main area of musical focus as it stands. I'm currently sans-band, so I guess this is my main bands. Probably the most akin to what you're talking about. Recently had a local label take interest in what I was doing, so hopefully they'll be releasing my album soon. Chaotic ambient droney stuff.

Milk Teeth: http://www.myspace.com/milkteethband
- Me with friends. These were pretty open ended jams, but this is probably going to turn into a electronica jam band. Essentially, "Wilford Brimley" is the track that best represents what we're going for.

Shio Ug: http://www.myspace.com/shioug
- My "electronica" project. I try to be pretty non traditional about electronica, where it doesn't lock into a super solid groove. Really just taking advantage of the fact that electronica can be whatever, and it will always be perfectly in time.



Once again, really dig your jams.

[Snarf]

I play with two other guys (piano and drums) regularly with various guests, and it's kind of a cross between new age and improvisational 20th Century music. Wish I had some clips, but it's been some of the most satisfying music I've ever made with people.

[funkalicious101]

I do looping solo bass. Im sure some of my stuff could be considered experimental.

[JHL]

http://www.myspace.com/thevenusobservatory

My main band these days. We play very varied music, everything from freeform jazz to avantgarde funk to post-apocalyptic pop... or something like that

[RobinBetton]

i dig a lot of stuff that you guys have put up. good for you!

www.purevolume.com/robinbetton

[JHL]

I love your stuff Robin... no greater hunger kicks some serious ass

[The Owl]

I have a studio entity called The Owl Watches, more composed stuff, clips HERE

I play everything on these albums except drums (a good man knows his limiatations as Clint Eastwood would say).

I also have an occasional live all-improv thing called Strix Varia, no clips yet though I do have a pretty good live recording of us from May '07 that I may put out on a limited basis.

[four2oh]

Originally Posted by funkalicious101

I do looping solo bass. Im sure some of my stuff could be considered experimental.

same here. yay for loopers!

[D.A.R.K.]

i guess my releases have been called experimental...
live i like to combine video and audio elements, triggered from the same sequences, including effecting instrumentation at the same time, for example.
http://www.302acid.com/
website is being updated, but there's a couple hours worth of free music,
both live shows and released material, as well as video on the downloads page.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by Luther Blissett

I play in an improv project called 'Karen Eliot'. My guitar player and me get together from time to time to improvise a set. No guidelines are set, and no agreements are made before we start playing. We just start improvising and work with the sounds the other gives us. At best, the music could be categorised as 'instant soundscapes'

We do the very same thing. Our "group" has been doing it for a few years now. We get together only a few times a year in my friend's basement studio - and just as you describe, with no pre-existing arrangements, we start making music. The point is to let it organically unfold and reveal itself. As each player picks up on something, they evolve it - sometimes it makes the music continue on in the already defined direction - sometimes it introduces an entirely new direction to follow.

We LOVE it. I can see how it may not be for the typical listener, but for the musicians involved, it's cathartic.

We've also done experimental performances with large groups of people where we supply the room with simple percussion instruments, instruction on chanting and other "layman accessible" methods of participating in a musical performance.

Then a core group of us lay down a bed and through direction (conducting) and suggestion, get the room to participate.

Again - not for everyone. But for those who are into participatory art, these types of events are, again, cathartic. They seem to transcend the typical, "go somewhere, watch a band, go home" sort of event.

Whether it's our basement jam or one of these shared group events, the people involved always talk about how it elevated them in a way they did not expect.

[John Wentzien]

I did a "musical experiment" on the myspace link in my signature.
I had the basic tracks done for a song (drums bass & rythm guitar) and sent it to several musicians all over the world. They came up with their own part, added it and sent it back. There is an MP3 player on our site with the results so far. Nice variety of takes on the same basic pattern.

[worldfamousandy]

I wouldn't say that I do a ton of it, but I am leaving this Thursday to do a tour with these guys:

www.williewaldman.com

We've even got a painter performing with us. It's a cool gig, and you never know what's going to happen

[Hoover]

Composer Michael Nyman once made a very interesting observation about the difference between "experimental" musicians and "avant-garde" musicians: He opined that "experimental" musicians were more concerned with describing (or defining) a situation with certain guiding parameters, but that within that "process field" a lot of non-specified things could occur...iow, a certain amount of chance or aleatory or improvisation would operate within the given situation. In contrast, he claimed that "avant-garde" musicians were more concerned with proscribing a "time-object" (or a collection of "time-objects"), by which I believe he meant the equivalent of a musical phrase or motif, or at least a sound-unit that is as audibly recognizeable as a unique identity as a musical motif or phrase...or at least they were more interested in having a specific something occur at a specific time.

I only bring this up because the band I played in for 10+ years could never figure out whether we should be considered "experimental" or "avant-garde" since we utilized both Situational Process Fields and Proscribed Time Objects in our music

...along with a million other techniques, approaches, and vocabularies.

Most folks just called us "jazz"

I think the webmaster is in the process of uploading soundclips, but you can visit the Recordings page on the link in my sig for more info.

[Amitio]

I experiment a fair bit!

Check out link in sig!

[Barkless Dog]

That's all I do, just using the bass & drum samples on Garage band.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endid=41630687

[heavyfunkmachin]

hi all, im into experimental, and loving it...

this is what i do, with a couple of friends: www.kali-yuga.es
although it´s a bit old... we´re allways moving forward!!

any kind of feedback will be VERY welcomed...

[baalroo]

My new group (a few months old) is a mix between noise, folk, pop, and drone. It's easily the most amazing group I've been in, but we've got no recordings yet.

Sort of Sunn O))) meets The Avett Brothers and Sigur Ros in a dark alley... I'm still in awe of the fact that it works so well.

[Michael Case]

Hello all,

I recently started up a group called Fuß, it's bass, drums, sax (with effects), and guitar. It's a sort of rock/jazz free improv thing.