Tones, Drones and Arpeggios - The Story of Minimalism

Ahh, minimalism! You know I love minimalism! 

If you want a very in-depth, academic look at the four composers, check out "Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass," by Keith Potter. The book covers both music history and music theory of the time period.

In music school I loved Phillip Glass' work because he use acoustic instruments for everything. Now that I'm composing electronic music, the work of Le Monte Young and Terry Riley have become center stage for me because because they pioneered so much in terms of electronics. Also both Young and Riley were heavily influenced by jazz, particularly Coltrane and modal jazz.

When listening to minimalism, I almost always default to Steve Reich as it comes the closest to the kinds of music I most often performed in music school.

I figured modular synths were the perfect machines to perform this kind of music. Here's my favorite Steve Reich piece:

I've had fun like this with Digitakt, where you can let each of the 8 tracks have a different length. Just putting in super simple sequences of different lengths (8 steps, 3 steps, 15 steps, 7 steps,....) and hearing them phase in and out of rhythm. I bet its also possible to do this with the MPC!

Ever since my music teacher showed me 'Music for pieces of wood' by Steve Reich when I was 12y, I've been drawn to these kinds of polymetric tricks evolving a piece/song and playing with our human sense of 'beat'. Although I mainly listen to mainstream and not classical music, there are quite some bands/acts/musicians out there integrating it in their music. (I've been listening a ton to King Gizzard's latest 'PetroDragonic Apocalyps', which uses tons and tons of polymeters)

Ah love some Donna Summer, and of course I Feel Love, so so so good.. Every house/techno song is at least partially influenced by that cut. 

Just finished the second part of the documentary, very very interesting. I didn't realise they actually went from electronic/tape music back to 'classical', it all makes so much more sense now. I mean, music for 18 musicians almost sounds like it should be played by a computer, how the saxophones almost fake a tight 'delay' and such.


Had to think about this piece a lot as well, polymetric acid! Aphex in his highest form imho, with the acid lines that flip between 7/8, 6/8, 4/4,.. while the drums are so groovy but also get polymetric when you pay attention in the second half. And then you get these gorgeous washed out Aphex chords on top of all of it of course. This has been a top 5 cut of his for some years now for me (and he played it live few months ago when i saw him!!!), and i only now realised that its HEAVILY influenced, quite on the nose even, by minimalism.