Experimental Music
I. Reflection
Looking back on the last 120 years of experimental music from the idea of noise as a form of viable musical expression to… well, the idea of noise as a form of viable music expression, it is truly fascinating to see how much has changed about our attitudes and approaches to music and yet, in some ways, how little has changed.
From Luigi Russolo‘s manifesto validating human-made noise as art to the most recent efforts of modern-day hyperpop visionaries, the kinds of art we recognize and celebrate has evolved quite spectacularly. I mean, even in the 1960s, some of the noisy production styles and avant garde topics tackled were largely frowned upon and that same music is regarded as some of the most influential music ever not even 20 years later. Sometimes experimentation failed at first, like for the Velvet Underground, and sometimes it spread like wildfire like hyperpop seems to have in recent years. Sometimes, despite extremely talented artists’ local success, they failed to garner recognition in western music and pop culture like the dub deejays of Jamaica or the desert blues pioneers of desert blues in Mali. From these trends, it’s clear that globalization and the online state of the world in recent years affects artists’ success and ability to reach wider audiences as the internet effectively opens up the global market for artists to be more prolific than ever. Still, there is also the factor of western monocultural ideals that, to this day, largely prevent other cultures’ music from making waves and receiving the recognition they deserve in western media. Sure, many of the artists spoken of today have wikipedia articles but really, how many Malian or Jamaican artists can you name (besides Bob Marley)? I couldn’t name many before I did this project.
This inquiry has been the first baby step into really exploring the vast world of music this planet has to offer beyond our narrow western horizon. I admit that I easily could have put more time into discovering experimental music from other cultures, but I also wanted to dig deeper into diverse artists from genres I was already somewhat familiar with. I think this balanced out for a really unique exploratory experience which allowed me to reunite with some artists I hadn’t heard in a long time or discover some that I might never have listened to otherwise.
II. Speculation
With increasing globalization and technology being ever-present in our every day lives, it’s hard to even begin to predict where experimental music could possibly go from here. I mean, realistically we’ll have to wait and see, but I want to speculate nonetheless.
I think hyperpop and industrial hip-hop share some similarities which could project the next decade or so of underground and experimental music, at least in the west. There seems to be a clear trend towards harsh noise and glitchy production with large amounts of compression and extreme distortion. In fact, I would say that music is getting extreme. Sure, you can point to similar extremes of the past (just look at Merzbow from Japan’s japanoise scene – active in the harsh noise scene since the late 70s) but this extremity is reaching the relative mainstream. I suspect pop music will always be there to lean on as a crutch of familiarity, but experimental music is becoming more accessible and popular and with that, I can sense that artists are taking more risks because they have a wider audience who can directly support them in their weirdness. Sonically, it’s impossible to saw what the next big innovation of the late 2020s or 2030s will bring, but I am excited for whatever extreme pop or hip-hop or rock behemoth rears its head.
But I want to be more conscious about listening to music from other countries going forward. I’m not in the minority for largely listening to music from the United States and Europe with a little Canada and Australia in the mix. Even the music I do listen to from non-western countries tend to sound similar or be clearly influenced by western genres. Since I am ultimately out of touch when it comes to the majority of non-western music, it’s impossible for me to speculate on where it might go from here. This inquiry has been a good reminder for me to seek out all kinds of music to broaden my own musical horizon and I hope it’s inspired someone else to seek out some new music too!
III. In Closing
Along the way, I’ve highlighted 24 different artists with a song by each of them. For the sake of convenience and documentation, I’ve compiled a Spotify playlist with each of the songs so they can be accessed and listened to more easily: