The musical thought and influence of Brian Eno - Essay Example

The musical thought and influence of Brian Eno Section I: A bibliography which lists 15 sources Eno, B. 1966, A year with swollen Appendices. Great Britain: Faber and Faber Ltd. Dayal, G. 2010, Another green world. New York, London: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. Dunhar- Hester, C. 2010, ‘Listening to Cybernetics: Music, Machines, and Nervous Systems, 1950- 1980’, Science, Technology & Human Values, 35(1), pp. 113-139. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://sth.sagepub.com/content/35/1/113.full.pdf+html Klein, J. November 2, 2009, Interviews: Brian Eno. The Pitchfork. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7723-brian-eno/ Marantz, A. December3 1, 2012. "Finding Eno". Culture. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/11/brian-eno-lux-profile-interview-generative-art Marantz, A. November 12, 2012. " The 77 Million Faces of Brian Eno”. Culture. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/11/brian-eno-lux-interview Mike, R.M. 2013, Brian Eno. BBC Music News. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/ff95eb47-41c4-4f7f-a104-cdc30f02e872 Prendergast, M. 2001, The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Trance: The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. p118. Reynolds, s. April 25, 2013. Brian Eno: Taking Manhattan (By Strategy). Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/brian-eno-in-nyc-feature Scoates, C. (2013). Brian Eno: Visual music. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. Sheppard, D. 2009, On some faraway beach: The life and times of Brian Eno. Chicago, Ill: Chicago Review Press. Tamm, E. 1989, Brian Eno: His music and the vertical color of sound. Boston: First Da Capo Press. pp. 1-216. Tamm, E. 1995, Brian Eno: His music and the vertical color of sound. New York: Da Capo Press. The Polymath Perspective. 2009, Brian Eno: The Philosophy of Surrender. Sound & Recording Magazin. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.polymathperspective.com/?p=9 Trigg, D. 2006 ‘Furniture Music, Hotel Lobbies, and Banality: Can We Speak of a Disinterested Space?’, Space and Culture, 9(4), pp. 418-428. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://sac.sagepub.com/content/9/4/418.full.pdf+html Watson, M. 2013, A Guide To Essential Ambient & Down Tempo Albums: Artist; Brian Eno. Ambient Music Guide. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.ambientmusicguide.com/pages/E/enoBrian.php Section II: Short critical commentaries on 4 of the sources listed Marantz, A. 31 December 2012. "Finding Eno". Culture. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/11/brian-eno-lux-profile-interview-generative-art Brian Eno’s musical thought has influenced generations, no wonder tens of phrases have been used to describe him. "Generative music pioneer", "David Byrne collaborator"; “Grammy-winning Brian"; and "Ambient music pioneer" are a few of the phrases that have been used to describe Brian Eno. He is one of the musicians who do not work with many people, and therefore, if he wants to work with you, then you have no choice but to work with him. Despite making his own music too, Brian Eno is an abstract painter, a software programmer, an inventor of ipad applications and a subject of many band songs, since he is an icon in music, who thinks less about melody, but more about the music texture. His experimental pop albums released in the mid-1970s have influenced a whole generation of indie rockers, considering that he has been able to make music, without any due regard to vocals. This resource is very relevant for the topic of study, considering that it traces the history of Brian Eno and what he has been able to do in music, which earns him a name. Through this source, we get to understand that; while music has been introduced with different aims, Brian Eno’s contemporary music, which he has referred as the "ambient" music, has been customized to, and intended for a particular place, or meant to elicit a particular mood. He has sought to influence the people in different contexts, with music that is particularly tailor-made for that purpose. Consequently, he introduced “ambient music for airports”, after wondering how the architects of an airport in Germany would have managed to be very careful with the floor plan, but neglect the essence of having a soundtrack in the airport terminal. The source has also introduced as to Brian Eno’s musical philosophy. His musical philosophy is intriguing, requiring that composers of different forms of music should be viewed as gardeners, as opposed to architects, since, while the architects design and plan the structure, it is he gardeners who give the devised plan its real ambience. The Polymath Pesrspective. 2009, Brian Eno: The Philosophy of Surrender. Sound & Recording Magazin. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.polymathperspective.com/?p=9 Brian Eno is held in high esteem as a visionary record producer, ambient composer and leading sound experimentalist. His influence is actually felt based on the choice and the diversity of the musical genres and subjects he handles, such that despite being a confirmed atheist, Brian Eno has gone ahead and done an album inspired by Christian gospel music. Thus, he has been able to traverse different what he refers to as ‘community music’, music that is all-encompassing and all-inclusive, by establishing music that is able to transcend the individuality and sense of self, and making an individual to completely surrender to the tone, mood and texture elicited by the music. The source has delved more on understanding Brian Eno’s style of music, and thus gives us an insight on Brain Eno’s musical thought as inclusive, rather than exclusive, seeking to encompass even the aspects of life and religion that he does not believe in, such as Christianity, just to ensure that his music remains community music; music for all. The source further ventures into assessing Brian Eno’s influence in music, with a conclusion that he has is charted new paths that have rarely been followed by other musicians, through engaging in an experimental music journey by starting and following up things without an idea of how the things will end-up. The source further introduces us to Brian Eno’s experimental and innovative mind, which is discovered as entirely focused on influencing the emotional world, not through vocal music, but through assessing the moods of the people in different contexts, and tailoring his music to suit and serve the interest of such moods. Thus, through the source, we understand that Brian Eno has been involved in shaping the musical genres, through collaborating and helping his collaborators develops alternative versions. Reynolds, s. April 25, 2013. Brian Eno: Taking Manhattan (By Strategy). Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/brian-eno-in-nyc-feature Brian Eno lived and worked in New York between 1978 and 1984, and the music he helped develop while living here has served to influence many generations that have come after him. Brian Eno has been discovered as one of the most consistently constructive figure in the rock music history, and his creativity has clearly exceeded even the expectations of his collaborators. He has been very much innovative and transformative, such that he has been able to change from working in different musical genres, ranging from rock music, to ambient music, generative music, and now what in Brian Eno’s words, is the community music. The source has enabled us to understand the intent of community music established by Brian Eno, as to create music that is all-inclusive. The source further draws on the views of the highly profiled collaborators that Eno has worked with, such as David Byrne and David Bowie, whose music Eno has helped to shape, by changing some of the aspects of the espoused versions of the music verses or choruses, to help us understand Eno better. In addition, this source is relevant for the area of study, since it has advanced a unique view of Brian Eno, as a catalyst for shaping the music production of many other individuals’ producers whom he has collaborated with, such as U2, Talking Heads, and Devo. Through his influence both in music formulation and music production, Brian Eno has been able to act as a catalyst in shaping the musical focus of the future generations. Therefore, this source traces Brian Eno’s Musical influence on the new generations notablly during his period of stay in New York, where he inspired the conceptualization, collaboration and musical making in a way only he has been able to do. Watson, M. 2013, A Guide To Essential Ambient & Down Tempo Albums: Artist; Brian Eno. Ambient Music Guide. Retrieved: December 7, 2013 from http://www.ambientmusicguide.com/pages/E/enoBrian.php Brian Eno still remains one of the most influential recording artists in the history of both customary and contemporary music, where he has been able to touch on various musical genres and still made a huge impact, such as the rock, world music, techno music and the ambient musical genres. However, despite the fact that he has been largely responsible for the success registered by various major producers such as U2, Brian Eno’s name is not as yet so popular as to become a household name, considering that his style has been that of favoring texture of the music, as opposed to specializing on chords and notes, which would definitely offers him accessibility in the world of fame. This source becomes relevant for the study considering that it offers a broad view of Brian Eno’s works in addition to his music and why he has remained influential for a long time. Brian Eno has largely been using technology to record, treat and manipulate sounds, and he has effectively been able to influence generations of musicians in the last three decades, both in the popular and the classical genres. Having been able to apply apparently simple melodies that are laced with off-beat electronic tones and a collection of instrumentals that just fit into the music seamlessly, Brian Eno has been able to protect his music from sinking into the bottom of the pool in as far as the new generation of musicians and fans are concerned, enabling his music to remain relevant, and yet inspirational for decades on end. The source is also important since it formulates the legacy of Brian Eno, where the greatest of all legacies that Brian Eno has been able to leave is that of a new crop of ‘ambient music’, which is particularly meant to serve all, and meet the emotional needs of many, and is a sure continuity far into the future of music influence, that the current and new generation will be formulating. Section III: A longer critical commentary of on 1 of the sources listed Tamm, E. 1989, Brian Eno: His music and the vertical color of sound. Boston: First Da Capo Press. pp. 1-216. Brian Eno is a contemporary artist, who has managed to curve his own niche in the music industry, through creativity, which has enabled him to build on progressive rock music for his ever growing number of audience, and then proceed to diversify into different other genres, such as ambient and now the community music. He is a unique composer, who has managed to draw from variety of sources, to ensure that he develops many ideas about music, and that he is able to compose and even produce many types of music. Brian Eno’s play list, which includes the music he has composed and those he has helped produce through collaboration with different artists and producers include the genres of ‘Rock n roll’, new wave music, punk, progressive music, middle Eastern tunes, African and oriental styles, all of which he has managed to do a remarkable job, despite the fact that all of those genres are varied, and thus hardly possible for an artist or even a producer to engage in all, and still perform incredibly well. He has further influence on minimalism, experimental new music and electronic music, while he has also been highly effective in combining his music with visuals such as sculptural installations, to produce videos that are accompanying in eliciting his intended influence of moods amongst his audience. This source is important for the inquiry in this study, since it focuses on Brian Eno’s life holistically, right from his schooling through to his musical life, to give a balanced stamen on why he is unique. The source has established that; Brian Eno’s music is not only influencing the world of music through tones and texture, but he has also been extensively involved in lecturing on varied music subjects, while authoring and co-authoring various books, which acts as hallmarks for music development and unique composing strategies, making his influence in music felt far and wide. The source also traces Brian Eno’s musical activity, and has found it to have been progressive and impressive, involving changes from genre to genre, as well as the establishment of his own style of music commonly referred to the ambient music, which is primary a mood targeting form of music. This music apply low dynamics, blurred edges and washes of sounds, to produce gentle music that is soothing and comforting to people in different contexts. Further, the source has established that, his musical personality and thoughts are well read through his solo album that he managed to release, while his influence is better felt through other collaborators that he has worked with over time. Most fundamentally, this source has sought to define the difference between Brian Eno and any other artist in that; While many composers had neglected the timbre (texture color) stylistic aspect of music, Brian Eno has ventured widely into the neglected musical aspect, and has managed to revive it in a way that is not easily possible for any other artist, due to his creativity and progressiveness, which have combined to give the neglected music aspect a new lease of life. He has also been able to venture into new genres of music, such as the ‘space music’ and the ‘new age’, making his influence even far more influential, especially to the new generation of musicians. Lastly, this source becomes useful for this study, since it has put an inquiry into the factors that have influenced Brian Eno’s musical life, and found that the major influence on his music is the concept of music an art, and not music in its purest form. This has enabled him to draw more aspects of art and incorporate them into his music. Brian Eno’s music is purely defined by his intent to arouse the mood of the audience, as well as generating varieties, and organizing them in music. Section IV: A critical evaluation of bibliography and how it complies with expectations of advanced scholarly practice The bibliographic list has been drawn from a variety of resources, encompassing both primary and secondary sources, which have purely focused on Brian Eno’s musical thought, and how such thoughts have influenced the music industry, in relation to both the works of early artists and musicians, as well as on the crop of the new music generation. The bibliography has been able to combine both the personal view of Brian Eno in regard to his musical thought and style, as well as on the views and opinions of a diverse category of music oriented individuals, who has had keen interest of tracing and recording the milestones he has had in the music journey, and how his music life has impacted on the music industry. The bibliographic list creates more insights into the musical thoughts and influence of Brian Eno, through drawing on primary source records sources, such as A year with swollen Appendices by Brian Eno written in 1996, as well as the recorded interview done by Andrew Marantz in 2012, titled The 77 Million Faces of Brian Eno, which did not only focus on his musical life, but on various other aspects that has influenced his musical path, as well as his interests in life, such as his political philosophy. This way, the sources have been able to completely demystify any underlying doubts and confusion regarding who Brian Eno is, and why he does what he does. Further, the application of such primary sources has made it possible to understand Brian Eno from his own perspective and point of view, which is further backed by the recorded diary of 1995 from A year with swollen Appendices by Brian, which comprised of preconceived plans for the year in attending the galleries, cinema and theatres, most of which did not succeed, and the reasons for such failures. This way, the bibliography has made it possible to fully understand the most influential factors in Brian Eno’s life, and what shapes what he does every day, which is evidently not well planned and scheduled items on a diary, since we now understand that he is more spontaneous and highly flexible, thus keeps changing his plans every too often. On the other hand, the application of secondary sources, which are drawn from various sources, and which are developed by different authors to specifically focus on Brian Eno, is an instrumental step towards fully understanding his musical thoughts from diverse views. The secondary sources have been able to establish the changing patterns of Brian Eno from one genre to the other, and the influence he has been able to make in every genre he has indulged in. further, the secondary sources have drawn directly from some of the partners and collaborators that Bran Eno has worked with, to fully integrate his personal views; drawn from the primary sources, with the views of his collaborators and partners, which in effect gives a balanced conclusion regarding Brian Eno’s musical thought, and how it has influenced the world. This way, the bibliography created meets the expectations of advanced scholarly practice, through drawing on a variety of sources and viewpoints, which combines to give a balanced conclusion. Read More