KILLED in CARS

Jason Lescalleet - Electronic Music (RRR, 2003)

New post from docperkins:

There are composers who I consider part of the spine of my fruition template, but whose legacy I enjoy more than their specific compositions, for instance, John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. To a large extent, the avant-classical music that entertains me, instructs me, and catches my attention would not exist if Cage and Stockhausen had not clinched at such a high level of expertise, insight, and inspiration with strategic nodal points constitutive of hegemonic tonal rationalities. The measure of their success is still to be ascertained so immense the effects and side-effects of their musical interventions have been, at the epistemic and executing dimensions, opening up significant space in grids of intelligibility of absolutely crucial atonal music composers.

Hence, even if I am not especially partial to several Cage’s compositions drawing heavily on his principles of indeterminacy, it is impossible to overestimate their impact on Morton Feldman’s aesthetics. The latter, in my view, has never ascribed directly to indeterminacy, but owes significantly to indeterminacy in several respects.

The same goes to Stockhausen’s legacy, and sub-genres such as EAI and electronic, which leads us to the four works hereby gathered. Jason Lescalleet ‘s ‘Electronic Music’ would certainly not exist had it not been preceded by Stockhausen’s own ‘Elektronische Musik (Etude; Studie I; Studie II; Gesang der Jünglinge; Kontakte)’. The latter, which is an unmissable release by the way, I could only start really appreciating beyond its conceptual significance retrospectively, under the light of current electronic music and EAI productions; some of them expanding Stockhausen’s entry-points, others vulgarising his achievements, and third ones carrying out a bit of both, expanding and vulgarising.

I would place Lescalleet’s release on the last group, inasmuch as it sounds like a leaflet explaining at a remarkable level of thoroughness, what Karheinz was setting out to commit when he wrote the pieces compiled in ‘Elektronische Musik’. However Jason, apparently not content in being merely didactic, risks his electro-neck in timid, but highly enjoyable patterns that unfold some of Stockhausen’s less obvious sonic devices, principally regarding treble oriented effects; the ones in charge of providing electronic pieces with a welcome (to me) false depth dimension. It is a ‘bluesy dimension’ as far as Stockhausenesque riffs go, when properly unfolded, as it is the case at stake.

To try and make my verbiage shorter without corrupting my rumblings too much: Stockhausen is to Lescalleet, what Pelé is to Cristiano Ronaldo. The point is that if the album ‘Electronic’ were a soccer match, Lescalleet Ronaldo was having a bloody inspired day.