The Velvet Forum

good day to you all.

this is, as you may see, my first post. i recently had my velvety passions restoked after a number of years spent in the wilderness, this after being exposed to 'the nothing song' on christmas eve. since the festivities, i have been able only to immerse myself in this...thing...(and then wind down with a bit of 'MMM' at the end of the day, especially with the relatives 'round on boxing day)

suffice to say, i'm falling in love again...and this six long years after trying to whip and bully my old group into playing an hour-long microtonal piano. violin, cello ,etc etc version of the 'all tomorrows parties' riff. we managed 25 minutes before RSI set in. i promise to try again with different players this year.

so, i guess my interests lie in cale-era VU almost exclusively - im in it for the drone, essentially...anyone who's heard tony conrad will know what that sound can do to you..

the less altruistic part of the post would simply ask if anyone could oblige me with copies of this show (columbus ohio 66) in its entirety, or a copy of the 'twisted stars' set. i appreciate that this is available as bit torrent, but relying on the computers of others makes lengthy downloads difficult, and being a mac user keeps me away from the glorious soulseek. i dont have any velvets etc material to swap or trade that would be of any interest, im afraid, but if anyone likes japanese noise (y'know, haino, fushitsusha, shizuka etc) , i have rather a penchant for this sort of thing and i'd be happy to make up some cds for anyone wishing to help. actually i'd do anything to get my hands on these tapes, so...please PM me...

anyhow, this site appears to be a mine of knowledge for the unworthy and unwashed like myself. it's good to read the words of so many healthy folk with unhealthy obsessions like my own. i shall enjoy participating if i there is anything i can find to add

cheers all.

I love MMM and I love putting it on at night. I heart drone.

You guys should check out the German musician Bernhard Gunther if you like minimalist drone stuff, he's currently active and the records are amazing. Also check out Morton Feldman if you want to hear some of the roots of that New York thinking, some beautiful music.

gunter is playing in a group called +minus at the moment with mark wastell and graham halliwell my . it's a beautiful, almost 'silent' improvisation/ composition group: i'm a big fan of gunter's work...(and feldman is god)..there's also folk like annette krebs and taku sugimoto, improvising guitarists working in the near-silent field, trombonist radu malfatti...a lot of the 'off site' material coming out of japan displays a similar ethic/ aesthetic.

on the big drone front, think phil niblocks YPGPN is fairly widely available, i think through blast first. if you ever get the opportunity to go to a niblock show, take it. ebowed guitars and electronics played at massive volume, coupled with films of east asian manual labour: its an awesome experience to sit through or to play, especially. you can kind of only hear (or rather feel) what you're doing once the 'beats' (result of close proximity of tones) kick in. incredible stuff.

Do you "droners" like the "pop" drone stuff, like Jesus & Mary Chain and the Raveonettes?

mg196 wrote:Do you "droners" like the "pop" drone stuff, like Jesus & Mary Chain and the Raveonettes?

The Mary Chain are my favourite band but the Raveonettes are nothing but JAMC copyists.

I'm not totally sure what drone is, could somebody kindly explain the basic idea/principle to me? Thank you :)

Homme Fatale wrote:The Mary Chain are my favourite band but the Raveonettes are nothing but JAMC copyists.

I agree to a certain extent. Raveonettes definitely have more of a 50's rock sensibility, though. And remember, Mo Tucker is going to be on their newest release!

obscure wrote:I'm not totally sure what drone is, could somebody kindly explain the basic idea/principle to me? Thank you

I would say the category "drone rock" sorta is self-defining. Lots of feedback and distortion, but in a melodic sense.

I'd define it as long, drawn out tones, not alot of dynamic changes. And yeah, feedback and distortion for color and texture. 8)