Ding Dong...

FACT, Liverpool. The Future of music. Music reflects our individual tastes and allows us to 'fit in' with certain, tribes/genre of people. It is a thing that people often use to define their self. A branding that when worn will attract some and repel others. It is almost an instinct. The future is a because of it's uncertainty. Because of the possibility of going backwards instead of forwards, to once again have to rely on instinct instead of electricity. The ding dong exhibition, to me, reflected this uncertainty. The futuristic instruments (crude and uncertain of what they were supposed to be) ignore traditional aspects of music composition such as melody, tempo, bars, key, pitch, instead opting for interaction and layers which throw out an array of noise, distortion and confusion with particular emphasis on spontaneity. A perfect metaphor for the future, but not necessarily the future of music. The instruments were too crude, to unreliable and too spontaneous. At least to me. Music has to be a reassurance, something to lean on and sink into, to become lost, relate to and engage with. It can be challenging. I am trying to define music here. I am trying to say what it absolutely is and what it absolutely isn't, only every time I come to write down what it isn't, I stop myself. This is because music is challenging. I cannot say it is not spontaneous, I cannot say it shouldn't disturb the soul because that is the kind of stuff I agree with. I bought a kraftwerk album because the noices absolutely terrify me (used to, not anymore). I used to blast out the noise in such classics as "Sister Ray" and just listen incase something should a rise. I listen to Sonic Youth, even though a lot of it is just noise and confusion (hey but not all of it, they are pretty much awesome!) Because there is a reason. There is a sense. There are not boundaries. So I take it all back. Music can be whatever. But one thing I will say is that it must be evoking and memorable, it must be something that can be recreated. That is something that these instruments were not.

Peter Saville had made a film for this exhibition. Electro soundtrack against a familiar setting, Fiddlers Ferry. It was showing the process and the landscape of the music quite literally, electricity being made to produce elecrtronically made sounds. Did that last sentance make sense? It was kind of hypnotic anyway. There was also a collabrotive piece set up. A room full of speakers, the source of the output, recording studios across the country. All the noices feeding to each other then back here as an epicentre. The idea was something quite huge, and appealing although, nothing was really happening when I was there. A couple of speaks let out a couple of groans, but nothing much behind that.

(I couldn't find any images.)