agressive music
I've been thinking about aggressive music recently. I'm talking to my friend Deric about doing a piece together, a sharp pointed art event about the life and end of Freddy Herko.
Deric specifically requested fierce music, sounds that were anything but the more delicate music I've been making the last few years. I used to say that quiet music was just as aggressive as loud music, turning the volume down is just as much a power act as turning the volume up. And I still think so, but there is a difference of quality in the two acts that would be a mistake to ignore. Ryoji Ikeda is the most successful of the fierce musicians I know of, his energy and extreme strength comes from the sheer density of information in his music.
There are so many flavors of fierce music. Here's a question: what would music that is fiercely referential sound like? Maybe that would be music by Jason Forrest. Or music that is fiercely mundane? Maybe Gas. Aggressiveness comes in many flavors besides loud.
There are so many types of noise as well. The last time I was actively exploring that world was when I would head out to Bar Aoyama around 1999, checking out the harsh noise of Tokyo artists, like Koji Tano (who just died last year).
I guess what I'm saying is, the quiet, subtle, implied, and less than obvious is where my heart really lies. But I'm still fascinated by things that are brash, fast, and explosive. I'm excited about those possibilities.