“Abstracted Environments” employs everyday city-situated noises as an instrument. It feels as though the piece tells a story of someone walking in a bustling city, passing cars, buskers, and passersby, accompanied by wind. It reaches a point where there a sinister darker noises and unsettling chirps, suggesting night and a seedier cityscape. It then transitions to a more natural setting with sounds of rain and natural life. This also decays to a darker ambiance. The final environment is a beach with sounds of waves crashing along a coast. A low pad accompanies the environmental sounds as the scene transitions to underwater.
Bernard Parmegiani’s piece involves a moderately high-pitched pedal point that periodically changes oscillation frequency and timbre. There are miscellaneous noises that interrupt the tone and create a sense of aimlessness. There is very noticeable modulation on the pedal point. The changing panning of the instruments keeps the listener’s attention. The contrast of the percussive tonal elements makes the piece feel very disjoint at times.
“Windowlicker” begins with a harsh dialogue between two men. The repetitive nature of their conversation creates an almost rhythmic feel to the sound of their voices. When the percussion, scratches, and bass enter, the rhythm of the first man’s voice is made apparent. The rhythmic dialogue continues until the beginning of the piece proper. The pattern of the percussion resembles the pace of the first man’s speech. The piece uses vocals as instruments. They do not form words but only oscillating vocalizations. The halting and repeating used in the piece make an instrument out of the finished piece itself. The later bit destruction applied to the mix helps substantiate this idea.
The Selected Ambient Works Volume II album uses delay in conjunction with traditional electronic noises such as smooth pads and tonal hits with short decay times. Many of the works have a warm timbre to them, with swelling synths and wind-like signals. Some can be darker depending on melodic and harmonic intention.
Music 26 Blog: Ryan Hyun 