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Drone Music
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins
Typical instruments
Electronic musical instruments, Guitars, Electronic postproduction equipment
Mainstream popularity Low, mainly in Experimental, Metal and Electronic music fanbases. Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955 An electronic musical instrument is a Musical instrument that produces its sounds using Electronics. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955 Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production
Subgenres
None
Fusion genres
Drone doom

Drone music, also known as drone-based music, drone ambient or ambient drone, dronescape or dronology, and sometimes simply as drone, is a musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained sounds, notes, or tones-clusters – called drones. Nothing is a concept that describes the lack or absence of anything at all In music a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or Accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics.

Pioneering explorers of drone music in the past 30 years have included Theater of Eternal Music (aka The Dream Syndicate), Charlemagne Palestine, Eliane Radigue, Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Robert Fripp & Brian Eno, Stars of the Lid, Earth, Coil, Disinformation, Sonic Boom, Phill Niblock and Sunn0))). The Theatre of Eternal Music, sometimes later known as The Dream Syndicate, was a mid-sixties musical group formed by LaMonte Young that focused on experimental Charlemagne Palestine (born Charles Martin or Chaim Moshe Tzadik Palestine August 15, 1945, or 1947 in Brooklyn, New York Eliane Radigue (born January 24 1932 is a French electronic music composer whose work since the early 1970s has been almost exclusively created on a single synthesizer the Kraftwerk (ˈkʁaftvɛɐk German for " power plant " or " Power station " is an influential Electronic music band from Klaus Schulze (born August 4, 1947) is a German Electronic music Composer and musician. Tangerine Dream is a German Electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England) is a Guitarist, Composer and a Record Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948 commonly known as Brian Eno (ˈiːnoʊ is an English Musician, producer Stars of the Lid is a duo specializing in drone-based Ambient music. Earth is an American drone band based in Seattle, Washington. Disinformation is an experimental Electronic music and Sound art project run by artist Joe Banks, which (since 1995 pioneered the use of electromagnetic Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965) is a British Musician more usually known as Sonic Boom. Phill Niblock (born 2 October 1933, in Anderson Indiana) is a Composer, Filmmaker, Videographer Sunn O (pronounced simply sun) is an American Drone metal band in its broadest sense however it incorporates elements of the Dark ambient, Black

Contents

Overview

Music which contains drones and is rhythmically still or very slow can be found in many parts of the world, including the Japanese gagaku classical tradition; Scottish pibroch piping; didgeridoo music in Australia, Hindustani classical music (which is accompanied almost invariably by the tambura, a four-string instrument which is only capable of playing a drone); and pre-polyphonic organum vocal music of late medieval Europe. In music a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or Accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much Gagaku (ja [[wiktionary雅 雅]][[wiktionary楽 楽]] literally "elegant music" is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court A pibroch (IPA) is a classical music form native to the Scottish Highlands and performed on the Great Highland Bagpipe. The didgeridoo (also known as a didjeridu or didge) is a wind instrument of the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia. Hindustani Classical Music ( Hindi: हिन्दुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत Urdu: ہندوستانی شاستریے سنگیت The tambura ( Hindi: तानपूरा is a type of Stringed instrument found in different versions in different places around the world most are plucked Organum (ˈɔrgənəm though the stress is now sometimes incorrectly put on the second syllable from Ancient Greek ὄργανον - organon "organ instrument Repetition of tones, as in Appalachian banjo music, supposed to be in imitation of bagpipes, is found in a wide variety of genres and musical forms. However, the lineage of stillness and long tones occurring in classical compositions during adagio movements, including, for instance, the third movement of Anton Webern's Five Small Pieces for Orchestra, as well as in Northern European folk musics in the form of "slow airs" has directly descended into modern popular and electronic music in a way which is directly derived from the milieu of La Monte Young, Tony Conrad, John Cale, Charlemagne Palestine and others in 1960s New York. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Anton Webern (December 3 1883 &ndash September 15 1945 was an Austrian Composer La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14 1935) is an American Composer and musician Tony Conrad (born Anthony S Conrad in 1940 in Concord New Hampshire is an American Avant-garde Video artist Experimental filmmaker, musician/composer John Davies Cale (born March 9, 1942) better known as John Cale, is a Welsh Musician, Composer, Singer-songwriter Charlemagne Palestine (born Charles Martin or Chaim Moshe Tzadik Palestine August 15, 1945, or 1947 in Brooklyn, New York

The modern genre of drone music (differentiated by some as "dronology") is most often applied to artists who have allied themselves closely with underground music and the post-rock or experimental music genres. Underground music refers to a variety of post-1960s rock pop or dance subgenres that developed a Cult following despite their lack of Mainstream appeal visibility Post-rock is a genre of Alternative rock characterized by the use of Musical instruments commonly associated with Rock music, but using Rhythms Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955 Drone music also fit into the genres of found sound, minimal music, dark ambient, drone doom/drone metal, and noise music. The term found art &mdashmore commonly found object (objet trouvé or readymade &mdashdescribes Art created from the undisguised but often modified Minimalist music is an originally American genre of experimental or Downtown music named in the 1960s based mostly in consonant harmony, steady Dark ambient is a subgenre of Ambient music that features foreboding ominous or discordant overtones Doom metal is a form of Heavy metal music that typically employs very slow Tempos low-tuned guitars and a much 'thicker' or 'heavier' sound than other metal Most often utilizing electronic instruments or electronic processing of acoustic instruments, they typically create dense and unmoving harmonies and a stilled or "hovering" sense of time. While the hallmarks of drone music are easy to recognize, the backgrounds and goals of the artists vary greatly.

The Influence of the Theater of Eternal Music

The Theater of Eternal Music is a multi-media performance group who, in its 60s-70s heyday included at various times La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela, Tony Conrad, Angus MacLise, Terry Jennings, John Cale, Billy Name, Jon Hassell, Alex Dea and others, each from various backgrounds (classical composition and performance, painting, mathematics, poetry, jazz, etc. La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14 1935) is an American Composer and musician Marian Zazeela (born 1940 is a light-artist designer painter and musician based in New York City Tony Conrad (born Anthony S Conrad in 1940 in Concord New Hampshire is an American Avant-garde Video artist Experimental filmmaker, musician/composer Angus MacLise ( March 4, 1938 - June 21, 1979) was a percussionist Composer, Poet, Occultist and John Davies Cale (born March 9, 1942) better known as John Cale, is a Welsh Musician, Composer, Singer-songwriter Billy Linich, known as Billy Name and Billy Goat, (born 22 February 1940 in Poughkeepsie New York) is an American Jon Hassell (born March 22, 1937) is an American Trumpet player and Composer. ) and brought with them concepts of the meaning of the music they were involved with as well as audiences who might not have otherwise attended. Operating from the world of lofts and galleries in New York in the mid-60s to the mid-70s in particular, and tied to the aesthetics of Fluxus and the post-John Cage-continuum, the group gave performances on the East Coast of the United States as well as in Western Europe comprised long periods of sensory-innundation with combinations of harmonic relationships, which moved slowly from one to the next by means of "laws" laid out by Young regarding "allowable" sequencies and simultinaeities, perhaps in imitation of Hindustani classical music which he, Zazeela and the others either studied or at least admired. Fluxus —a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> John Milton Cage Jr Hindustani Classical Music ( Hindi: हिन्दुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत Urdu: ہندوستانی شاستریے سنگیت The group released nothing during their lifetime (although Young and Zazeela issued a collaborative LP in the early 70s and contributed to a flexi-disc accompanying Aspen magazine). Aspen was a multimedia magazine published on an irregular schedule by Phyllis Johnson from 1965 to 1971 The concerts themselves were influential on their own upon the art world including Karlheinz Stockhausen (whose Stimmung bears their influence most strikingly) and dozens of other composers many of whom made parallel innovations including Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue, Charlemagne Palestine, Yoshi Wada, Phill Niblock and many others. Pauline Oliveros (born May 30, 1932 in Houston Texas) is an Accordionist and Composer who currently resides in Kingston New Eliane Radigue (born January 24 1932 is a French electronic music composer whose work since the early 1970s has been almost exclusively created on a single synthesizer the Charlemagne Palestine (born Charles Martin or Chaim Moshe Tzadik Palestine August 15, 1945, or 1947 in Brooklyn, New York Yoshi Wada (surname Wada; born Yoshimasa Wada, Japan) is a sound installation artist and musician living in the United States. Phill Niblock (born 2 October 1933, in Anderson Indiana) is a Composer, Filmmaker, Videographer However, the parallel work by several members of the group, particularly John Cale in the Velvet Underground along with songwriter Lou Reed, became one of the most influential projects of 1960s rock music. This article is about the band For their self-titled album see The Velvet Underground (album; for the book see The Velvet Underground (book Lewis Allan Reed (born March 2 1942 is an American rock Singer-songwriter and Guitarist.

The Influence of the Velvet Underground

It is, above all, the combination of Cale's grinding viola drone with Reed's two-chord guitar figure of the Velvet Underground's song "Heroin" on their first album, "The Velvet Underground and Nico"(1967) which laid the foundation for drone music as a Rock music genre in close proximity to the art-world project of the Theatre of Eternal Music. In a time when garage bands bubbled up and receded with incredible long-term results, the Velvet Underground and few other peers shone brightly for a moment for their literacy and intelligence. And the lyrical brilliance of "Heroin" threw down a gauntlet which many others wish to touch over the next thirty years or more. Cale's departure from the group in 1968 blurred matters considerably, as Reed continued to play primitive figures (sometimes in reference to r&b), while Cale went quickly on to produce the Stooges' debut (1969), generally considered one of the prime antecedents to punk and including his viola drone on the track "We Will Fall" and Nico's The Marble Index (1969) which also included Cale's viola drone on "Frozen Warnings. The Stooges are an American rock band that was active from 1967 to 1974 then reformed in 2003 Christa Päffgen ( October 16, 1938 ? &ndash July 18, 1988) was a German Singer - Songwriter, fashion model " Reed, meanwhile, issued a double LP of multi-tracked electric guitar feedback titled Metal Machine Music which credited Young as an antecedent in its notes. Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine ß Ring, is an Album by Lou Reed. La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14 1935) is an American Composer and musician

The Influence of the Beatles

The Beatles have many songs in which the drone is used as a basis. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 On 1966s Revolver the first examples appear in the shape of "Love You To" and most definitely in "Tomorrow Never Knows". Revolver is the seventh album by English rock band The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966. Further drone-based Beatles-songs are "Within You Without You"(1967), "Blue Jay Way"(1967), "It's all too much"(1969), and "The Inner Light"(1967). Quite often the tambura is used for creating the drone, sometimes used in combination with an electric organ. The tambura ( Hindi: तानपूरा is a type of Stringed instrument found in different versions in different places around the world most are plucked

Krautrock

In the late 60s and early 70s German rock musicians including Can, Neu and Faust drew from the heritage of experimental 60s rock like the Beatles at their most collagic and jamming as well as from composers like Stockhausen and La Monte Young. Can was a musical group formed in West Germany in 1968 One of the most important Krautrock groups Can had a style grounded in the Experimental rock of Faust is a German Krautrock band originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14 1935) is an American Composer and musician These groups became influential on art-rock contemporaries in their own day and punk-rock and post-punk players subsequetly. Tony Conrad, of the Theater of Eternal Music, notably made a collaborative LP with Faust which included nothing but two sides of complex violin drones accompanied only by a single note on bass guitar and a bloody-minded percussion accompaniment. Single-note bass-lines were also featured on Can's "Mother Sky" (Soundtracks, 1970) and the entirety of Die Krupp's first album (1979).

New Age, Cosmic and Ambient Music

Parallel to Krautrock's rockist impulses, across North America and Europe, some musicians sought to reconcile Asian classicalism, austere minimalism and folk music's consonant aspects in the service of spiritualism. Among them was Theater of Eternal Music alumnus Terry Riley whose 1964 In C had refuted Western classical music's insistence against atonalism and who had become a disciple, along with Young and Zazeela, of the Hindustani classical singer Pandit Pran Nath. Atonality in its broadest sense describes Music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Pandit Pran Nath ( Devanagari:पंडित प्राणनाथ) ( 3 November 1918 &ndash 13 June 1996) was a Hindustani In parallel, Klaus Schulze, for example, formerly of the Krautrock groups Ash Ra Tempel and Tangerine Dream moved toward a more contemplative and consonant harmonic music. Klaus Schulze (born August 4, 1947) is a German Electronic music Composer and musician. Ash Ra Tempel are one of the most notable German Krautrock groups of the 1970s and are a notable example of cosmic or Space rock. Tangerine Dream is a German Electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. Meanwhile, as increasingly elaborate studio technology was born during the 70s, Brian Eno, an alumn of the glam/art-rock band Roxy Music postulated ambient music (drawing, in part from John Cage and his antecedent Erik Satie's 1910s concept of furniture music) as "able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting". Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948 commonly known as Brian Eno (ˈiːnoʊ is an English Musician, producer Roxy Music is an English Art rock group founded in the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry ( vocals and keyboards) Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes Alfred Éric Leslie Satie ( Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925) was a French Composer and Furniture music, or in French musique d’ameublement (sometimes more literally translated as furnishing music is Background While his late 70s ambient tape-music recordings are not drone music, his acrediation of Young ("the daddy of us all") and his influence on later drone music made him an undeniable link in the chain.

Shoegaze and Indie-Drone

In the UK a crop of 80s rock bands appeared who owed greater or lesser debts to the Velvet Underground, Krautrock and subsequent droning trends (although many would be as likely to credit Phil Spector's music as La Monte Young's as an influence). Harvey Philip Spector (born December 26 1940) is an American Record producer and Songwriter. The Cocteau Twins, Coil, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Loop (who covered Can's "Mother Sky") and Spacemen 3, (who used a text by Young as text for the liner notes to one of their records), for instance reasserted the influence of the Velvet Underground and its antecedents in their use of overwhelming volume and hovering sounds, even as they asserted rockist and propulsive rhythms. Cocteau Twins were a Scottish Alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997 My Bloody Valentine are an Alternative rock band formed in Dublin Ireland in 1984 and predominantly based in London. Slowdive were a Shoegazing band formed in 1989 lasting until 1995 The Jesus and Mary Chain are an Alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Scotland in 1984 Ride were a British Shoegazing band The band formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, and officially broke up in 1996 Loop was a South London band founded in 1986 by Robert Hampson and his wife Bex and active until 1991 Spacemen 3 were an English rock band who formed in 1982 and whose career spanned from the Post-punk to Acid house eras Sonic Youth uses a large amount of guitars with alternate tunings to emphasise the drone in almost all of their songs. Sonic Youth is an American Alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981 Guitar tunings are differing pitch arrangements of open (unfretted strings used for the Guitar. They also quite often prolong notes in their song structures to add more droning in their song. In New Zealand the Dead C. expanded the pure-drone passages between songs further, while in the US Pelt and Charalambides expanded them further still while referring to 80s and 90s noise music, Metal Machine Music-derived performers like Merzbow, C.C.C.C. and KK Null. Charalambides is a musical group originally from Houston, Texas, USA and lately of Austin, Texas. Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine ß Ring, is an Album by Lou Reed. is a Noise music project created in Tokyo, Japan in 1979 under the direction of musician. CCCC is a noise band from Japan, alongside such bands as Merzbow and Incapacitants. KK Null (born Kazuyuki Kishino in Tokyo) is a Japanese

Electronics and Metal

In the late 90s and early 00s, drone music would be intermixed with rock, ambient, dark ambient, electronic and new age music. Many drone music originators, including Phill Niblock, Eliane Radigue and La Monte Young are still active and continute to work exclusively in long, sustained tones. Phill Niblock (born 2 October 1933, in Anderson Indiana) is a Composer, Filmmaker, Videographer Eliane Radigue (born January 24 1932 is a French electronic music composer whose work since the early 1970s has been almost exclusively created on a single synthesizer the La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14 1935) is an American Composer and musician Meanwhile, however, younger musicians tied to electronic composition like Jliat and Ian Nagoski remain dedicated almost exclusively to drone music, while improvisors like Hototogisu and Sunroof! play nothing but sustained fields which are close to drones. Matthew Bower is a British musician active since the early 1980s with a vast collection of collaborative and solo work behind him Sunn O))), a drone metal band, almost exclusively plays sustained tone pieces, and their peers Merzbow and Boris released a collaborative 62-minute drone piece called Sun Baked Snow Cave in 2005. Sunn O (pronounced simply sun) is an American Drone metal band in its broadest sense however it incorporates elements of the Dark ambient, Black is a Noise music project created in Tokyo, Japan in 1979 under the direction of musician. Boris are a Japanese experimental trio known for their genre -hopping in between and on records Sun Baked Snow Cave is a collaborative album between Merzbow ( Japanese noise musician Masami Akita and Japanese experimental

Examples

Some notable examples include, chronologically:

See also

External links

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