Ocean of Sound - Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Worlds [history of ambient music

319 Pages·2001·8.72 MB·English

by  David Toop

TO ENJOY THE
PNEUMATIC DRILLS, POLICE
TREE F"ROGS. HE TELLS US TO APPRECIA TEo
SILENCE BETWEEN THE SOUNDS ... OCE
PUTS TOOP UP THERE WITH ENO AS A THEORIST OF"
AMBIENT MUSIC' WIRED
'OAVID TOOP HAS WRITTEN A MUSIC BOOK WHICH
F"INOS COMMON SPACE F"OR ALBERT AYLER,
STOCKHAUSEN, THE ORB, CHARLIE PARKER,
WILLIAM BURROUGHS, THE F"UTURE SOUND OF"
LONDON, F"RANK SINATRA, THE VENEZUELAN
~ANA INDIANS AND U2. YOU COULD CALL IT
STIMULA TlNG AND BRILLIANT - AND YOU'D BE RIGHT'
HOT PRESS
*****
OCEAN
'gYERALL, THIS IS A HUGEL Y OPTIMISTIC BOOK.
--WHEN MUSIC WRITERS FISH IN ESOTERIC POOLS OF"
ANTHROPOLOGY AND LITERATURE, AS TOOP DOES C
EXTENSIVELY HERE, IT IS OFTEN A SIGN THAT THEIR
l>
ORIGINAL F"EEDING GROUND IS WANING. BUT F"OR ALL
ALK OF" SCENTS AND SHADES, PERF"UMES AND -< AETHER TALK, AMB
TINTS, IT IS THE CAPACITY OF" SOUND TO THRILL AND IMAGINARY WORLDS
THE SENSES THAT COME.S ACROSS MOST CLEARLY C
I HESE PAGES. DIVE INTO OCEAN OF" SOUND TOO
R CKLESSL Y AND THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF" --I
OWNING, BUT LET IT LIE AROUND THE HOUSE A o
W AND IT WILL SEEP INTO YOUR BRAIN BY o
OSMO 'I EPENDENT ON SUNDA Y
"
AN OF" SOUND BRILLIANTLY ELABORATES BOTH
THESE PROCESSES, LIKE SONIC F" ACT F"OR OUR
SCI-F"I PRESENT, A MARTIAN CHRONICLE F"ROM
'A RARE INSTANCE OF A MUSIC BOOK
THIS PLANET EARTH' THE FACE
WHICH IS ABOUT MUSIC, BUT WORKS'
SUNDA Y TIMES
Ocean
Praise for ofS ound
'. '• • a masterfully innovative andradiaiIWork ... a definite route
, ,forWlUd for ~e pop book.' Melody Maker '
pace;
' •.. as styles of music multiply and diVide at an accelerating
(Ocetm qfStnltul) challenges the way We hear, and more importantly,
how We interpret what we~ aroml(t-us.' The'Daily Telegraph
'Ocetm qfSourul sbattas consensual reaUty With a cumulative force
that's both frighteiling and cOmpelling. Buy it, read it ...d let it
remix }'OW" bead.' l-D
' ..• an encydopaedic work, uncommonly knowledgeable 'a nd wide
, ,in its scope ... a rare ~ subVer$iveread.' DJ M. ...4 !
, ' ... a scintillating and Uluminatiilg read.' Mojo
'Its parallds aren't muSic books at all, but rather Italo Calvino's
'Invisible CINes, Michel Leiris's Afrique Phant(Jme, WllIiam
Gibson's Neuromancer ... ' DSaov"id'" 'T oop' is oW" Calvino and .our
Leiris, our Gibson. 0cet.In qf is as alien as the 20th century,
asutter1y Now as the 21st. An essential mix.' The Wire
Ocean rews
'An extraordinary and reveIatoryJ)()()k, qfSornuI like
, an aI.ternadve history of 20th Century music; tracking the passage of
'ol'gaDised sound into strange and new environments of vaPOW" and '
abstraction.' Tony Herrington
,'At the end of the millennium, we can see two ttends in music, one
proactive, the other reactivi: ... Toop's 0cet.In qfS ound brilliantly,
elaborates both these Processes, like sonic fact for oursd-fi present,
a Martian Chronicle from this Planet Earth.' The FaCe
'This Eoc:yclopaedia of Heavenly Music is an heroic endeavour
brou8ht off with elegance and ~. The play of ideas is downright
, musical and, vitally, the author writes like a mad enthusiast rather than
a snob.' NME
~AIways the rigorous pluralist, [ToopJ sees no reason not to expect
wisdoms &om rival cultures, tribal or club, nor em.ptinessor stuPidity ,
either. His sense of ~e absurd, of potential darkness and Madness,
is Ii bullshit detector never turned off.' ,NeW StafeSman &: Sodety
'..J
Also by Dmd Toop and pubHshed by Serp;mt's Tail
Exottc(,l: Fabricated Soundscapes tn· a Real World
Rap Attack #3
,
.
David'Toop is a musician, author and music curator. His
first book, Rap Attack, is now in its third edition. Since the
. publication of Ocean of Sound in 1995 he has recorded five
and
solo. albums, including Screen Ceremonies, Pink Noi,.
. Spirit World and published Exotica: Fabricated Sound
scapes in a Real. World. He lives in London with his
daughter, Juliette.
. ocean of
sou-nd
I
. laetJuno talI4 ambient sound and Imaginary worlds
. david toop
Library of Congress Catalog Card NUinber: 00-108741
.A catalogue record for this book is aVailable from the
British Library on request
The~t of David Toop to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted by him in accordafice
with the Copyright,DesignS and Patents Act 1988
Copyright © David Toop 1995
First publishe~ itl1995 by Serpent's Tail,
4 Blackstock Mews, London N4 2BT
www.serpentstail.com
First published in this >star edition in 2001
Set in 10pt Garamond by Avon Dataset, Warwickshire
Printed in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham, pic
a
109 7 6 5 4 3 2
contents.
acknowledgements Ix
prologue: fragments and mantras Xi
1 memory 1
2 if you find earth boring 23
3 scanning: aether talk 33
4 burial rites 66
5 content in a void 87
6 altered states i: landscape 130
7 altered state$ ii: fourth world 161
8 altered states iii: crystal world 172
9 altered states Iv: machine 195
10 altered states v: lucid dreaming 208
11 altered states vi: nature 217
12 theatre of sound 252
.13 ocean of soimd 268
bibliography 281
discography 287
index 295
for LeslieJohn Toop (1913-95)
andfor
Kimberley (1959-95)
... in a green ...
sun",y~pkice
acknowledgements
The raw material for this book has been gathcied over twenty
five. years .o f study and music making. Picking out key
individuals who have contributed to my knowledge andexpe
rience over such a lengthy period· seems arbitrary, yet $Ome
names stand out in terms of the subjects I discuss: Madeau
-Stewart, now retired from BBC Radio Three, who responded
to some eccentric ideas with encouragement rather than dis
missal; Brian Eno, who did the same and continues to do so;
Paul-Burwell and Max Eastley, who continue to inspire me
after all these years of musical collaboration and friendship;
Paul Schutze, John Wall and Tony Herrin8ton; who kept tabs
on my general condition throughout the writing of the book
and then read the manuscript; Jon Hassell, Sheila Hayman,
Tom Recchion and Paul Sanders for the aether talk; musicians
and artists such. as John Zorn, John Oswald, Steve Beresford,
Marie Yates, John Latham, Hugh Da,vies, Evan Parker, Annabel
Nicolson and Derek Bailey, with whom I feel privileged .. to
have shared conversation and collaboration; Mike Barnett,
.. David Thompson, Jon Tye, Kevin Martin; Tony Thorpe and all
the other recording conduits; all the interviewees; all my
friends, neighbours and family for support during difficult
times, including Musa KalamuIah, Pamela Marte, liz Stringer,
Veena and Nick Ellsworth, Justine Picardie, Neill McColl"
Scott and Nick Hall, Sue Steward, Cathy and Andrew Brenner,
Nancy Brenner, Sheryl Garrett, Kate Flett, Nick and Julie
Logan and so many others.
Sections of the book have appeared in different form in-a
number of pubHcations, particularly The Face, The Wire and
Mlxmag. Some of the editors have already been thanked above
for support which has extended far beyond the professional.
I would also like to thank Mark Sinker, formerly at The Wire,
and Richard Morriso.n at The Times, both of whom said "yes"
to projects which have found their way into this text: In Ja
pan, Nobuhisa Shimodadeserves an especially warm greeting
for his assistance and enthusiasm. The earthquake which _de
stroyed large sections of Kobt! happened after I had written
about musical activities in the city; this section should be read
with the knowledge that life changed dramatically in those
few moments. Gratitude goes to my editor, Laurence O'Toole,
who negotiated the territotybetween bluntness and sensitiv
ity with elegance and so helped to make a better book. A
number of people who-were vital to different aspects of the _
book died during the time I was writing it. With great sadness:
Stuart Marshall, John Stevens, Kimberley Leston andiily
-father. The deepesttbanksgo to my daughter Juliette who,
._ in innocence, earths me and helps me to look far ahead ..