Bach_The Extra-Digital Axis Mundi: Myth, Magic and Metaphor in Laptop Music.

7/24/2019 Bach_The Extra-Digital Axis Mundi: Myth, Magic and Metaphor in Laptop Music.

1/8

C011tcmpornry

usic R

roiew,

2003,

Vrll

22, o. 4, 3-9

The Extra-Digital Atis

Mundi

Myth Magic and

Metaphor

in

Laptop Music

Glenn Bach

TI1e rny.,hc.ll um..lerpann111gs of digital culture can b1 tr

,KI.'d

an 1.1ptnp mu..,lc br cx.:unming the mct.:J

p h o r ~ of d1,1.'1lmg,

ll.' .:.tl

.md

loom. TI1e

l < ~ p l n p c o m p ( l ~ l ' f /

p

r w r

,tppropri

tho.>

met:aphnm:al

'a l h l ~ e forms :.ugge,>;,t shaman, l c h c m i ~ t and Wl'JI'l'r .1:. i n ~ p a r a t i 1 1 1 1 Jnd :.trJlcgy. The :.h.1man

t r a H I ~ d

,>tp

an to thl.'

macro-.copac

world of

granular

-.uund

b J E ' < ' l ~ .

and

1 'll'''"'

am

a n h a b i

the bordlr-.

b1:twt1:n

tlw laptop-;

h,ud

drt'

e an

d ib sound

ca rd The

o ~ k h , m a - . t U"eware to di-.tlll,

r.Jrtl),

.md nvi\'l' "

the

digital revolution.

A :>

an

alternative, I offer the term ex tra-digital, whid1 describes a music

outside

or be\

ond

the either

/o

r limi ta tions of binary code, a parallel his tor}

that

pr

e-

date

:>

the

ad\

ent

of

the

co

mput

er

an

d

rdraw:.

connccttons

with

my ths

and

cultural beliefs that existed Long before, . : ~ r c h e t y p l '

that

\\ tll continue to

prosper

long

after

"dtgital" becomes a dead \\Ord

Steppmg .ma

y from

the

inward-focused

c'Camination

of

much

laptop

music, we hnd fertile ground in

the

mvs tical under

pinnings of

technology, mythological reterenccs and

magi

c.

Vvith an

incredibly fast processing -.peed, the l

aptop computer's

ability to

&ample, process

and broadcast

so

und see

ms c1lmost magical - a

wealth of

sound

seeming

to

cmt'

rge from a thin wedge of elec

tt

omcs. Something magical

happens

during the focus of laptop composition .1nd the highly streamlined r i t u < ~ l of

laptop

perform c a u ~ e of

the

authority

implied bv

the

imposing notebook cove

r, but

becau

se

of

the

my

s

teriOLt'>

ingredients

the

lo1pt

op

co

ntam

s and the rnag1cal manner m which they arc broadcast. Loaded ""'ith


2/8

mythologtcal i l ' > ~ O C t a t i o m

.

from the tran..,formatin \

. . - e ~ . . oi

the

alchembt

to the

spiritual spmdles and looms of foLklore,

the

laptop not only takes on magical

powers

, it

s

magic.

Enk Oa\'is summarizes

the

technology-magic

connection:

Powerlul nt\\'

l l . C h n t ) k ~ l l . ~

are

mapcal

becau-.t> lht'\ lunchon

,,,

ma):u:. nptnin):

up

novel

and

proti Jn

~ r ; ) u - - . t ) f

po,,ib1htv

\\

ithin "'Ctal

re.llitv

Thev

aiiO\\

human'

tu

i m p r ~ ' thc1r

dft.',lming

wilb upon

the

'>tuft ul the world, R 'hapmg

tt,

at least m

part,

,1.:cordm>:

t1> 1111. d t ~ t g n . t.lf the imagmabon (Davb

1998.

181)

Davt'>

goe.,

on

to

d e ~ c r i b e

the my.,tical

nJture of

hvbridizc1tion,

where [e

]ach

new hybrid

. pushe

us further into

tha t

no

-

man's

land

between

nature

and

culture, J n ambiguous

zone where

scienct>, l

anguage,

and the social imagination

twerlap

and in terpenetrate

(Dad

1998: 12). lhe laptop h. a

hybrid,

a unification

of frieucrich

Kittlt r's

{1999)

record

player

,

typewriter

and film projector, and it

a l l o ~ . ,

for the compo:.ition,

performance

and

distribution

of mW>ic.

By

identifying

with

archetypal

1:>Ymbot.,,

the extr.1-dtgital

composer

performer

invokes premodern

ways of thmkmg,

and t h u ~ e m p l o ~ 1 : . the laptop

as a metaphor (Oa\b 1998: 12). Beyond the initi.1l anthropomorphic image of

the

portable

computer as a

laptop designed

to

. sL

m one's lap, or a notebook

as

a bibl1ographic

tnb11/n rasa the laptop

take., on

subtler

and

more

sophsh

cated association >

The

laptop

can be

setn

as

a

t < ~ l t s m a n holdmg sway over

audience

, po..,iti,

e

ly or negati,el),

with

it. seducttvel) tnscribed

Apple

or Son;

Vaio logo. W uo..,c thi'> touchstone to im

oke

new store.., of c r e a t i v i t ) ~ and to

explore

what

Chris

Chesher (2003)

describe.., a:.

the

re,.ihence

of

non-modern

cultural forms."

Myth

;md

magic

help

draw

associations,

add

new

l

avers of meaning

to l

aptop

composition

and

p12rformance. Re-emphasizing the spiritual

rights

the sh

ip,

brings

balance to th

e body-spirit

split.

The

extri1-digta l compos 'r

performer

rccognins

the con t

rast between

the linear rationality

of digita

l

code

and the intuitive mystery

of tlw creati\ e p roces.,, concocting a

hybnd that

allnw::. for a more

nuanced

and

mtimate relatwn..,hip

between the

composerI

performer

, the work and the audi

cnc;e By under..tanding the

m e t p h o r ~

inherent in

the laptop

, the e>..tra-digital

compoSr

/

pcrtormcr

can build a

bridge

back to lhl'

enchanted,

but very concrete,

world

that most

humans Jj,ed in before the

nltghtenment

reduced

the

muma

mtmd

to a soullc'>s

machine

" (Oa\is

1998:

180)

The aptop as elling

In

Pad1cs o Space Gaston

Bachelard d e ~ c r i b c ~ the

poe iL

ooations

of

the

image

of

the

hou

c, with ib four

waLLs and

roof, a permeable

boundary

defining interior

space

from the o u t ~ i d c world.

For

our house i > our comer

of

the world ,

he

w n l l ~ s , [ i]t

ib

our

first universe, a real C ~ ) S t n o ~ in

every

sense of the

word

(Bachclard

1994: 4).

Laptop musicians

spend so much

time

on

their laptops, establish ing such

intimate relutionships

with

their machines, that they .1ppear to

inhabit

the

p c e ~

tmplted

by

the

words, m g e ~

and

s o u n d ~

scrolling

down and

across

the

scn.'en.


3/8

tL>chnologtes of perception

and

communication

open up ne''

spaces," Davts

".,rites,

and

these p a c e s are alway::. mapped, on one level or another, through the

imaginallon" (Davts 1998: 73). nu.., unagmation allows us to make the perceptu,,l

lenp to em ision the laptop m, a house, an mterior space protected from the outer

world

and

entered through the doonva) of the keyboard or the windowpane of

the mou'>e click

The

1magc

servco.,

a 'uluable metaphor, ..,uggcsting

an

other

worldly power of shelttr

and

protection .

As a structure housing digital sound, the laptop functions as a conduit,

allo\\ ing ::.ound to emerge from the

intenor

of the computlr's arch1val chambers

to be broadcast

out

1nto the world

ilS

un.1log ..,ound

wa\

es.

The laptop

is a house,

fundiuning as a unified polarization of Jtg ital anJ analog, inside and ou tside, on

and off. As sheller, the laptop protects its inhabitants from the

dangers

of the

outside

world

and nurtures the miracle of creativity, in

that

the house shelters

da)

dreaming, the

how:,e

protects the drcamt>r, [and] the

houst>

allows one to

dre.1m m peace" (Bachelard

199-l: 6).

The l.1ptop projects onto

1ts

screen the

inhabttant's

daydreams,

the composer'> mu..,ic mvoked trom the house's interior

chambers.

The

lop top also funclions

as

a mst,

in

that the

laptop

composer

performer

gives birth to

and

hutches crenbve lom1s there, nurlurec;

U1em

to maturity and

sends

them forth a-, broadcast

sound

.

just as

"a tree becomes a nest the moment a

great

dreamer

htdec; m 1t" (Bachelard

149 1 : 97),

the Laptop 1s a dead object until

Uw

artist mhilbits it ;md invests it with vitality. The laptop as a house or nest

scncs

as

a homl' ba'>e, a launching point from

v.

h1ch a

sound

il'>Sumes a life of its

o"' n I he

sound

alway., returns

home

,

howe,

cr, alwa) s

f.1des

back. into silence. A

sound

S

ne\ er

just

il

sotmd.

sound

e'er/ performer deh

es mto

this netherworld uf sow1d-that-was

and

sound-that-will-be by writing code, scripting algonthms, or by

na ,

igating the

graphical u er tnterface of commerclcll software. By burrow mg

deeper

into the

realms of obscured

sound,

the

laptop

~ h m n can actc..,s worlds heretofore

unknown, a process Kim Cascone (lq9lJ)

d c s c n b c ~ > 111

the liner notes to his release

Resitlunlism: "We are able to descend into the 'abyssal t.ont>' of the noi.scfloor and

u-;c

what we find there as material for exploration." Th1s nmse floor, a seemingly

silent bed

of

line n m ~ e

or

tape hiss, coml's alt\'C

when

thrust mto the spotlight, a

reversal

of

figure

and ground

.

The

lnptop

'ham,m

magnifies increasingly micro


4/8

Ren.>nl ttchnological

ad\

ances let u > probl .md C:\plr to 1sit tht"ot.

im isibll

realm.,.

h e ~

function as

tm

ncatiun.-.1

dl'\

h..C..,

th.lt

.11low the

cro:::.smg of

the threshold from U1b world to tlw lltlwr Onll:' upon a time, however, the

Ia) p l r ~ o n ncedld no magical tool" or intermtdt.mes to acce-.s the superna tural.

We

were able to

share

in the act of creation, "J..,ccnJ to

hc

Mtlfc1Cts. From ou t

of

the

laptop

the tllchcmi

tum

eib

cl

Ctm tinuous incantation

of

magiC

o;pcll'>, raiseo.; "ounds

frnm the dlad, retrieH'" them from their c;helters

of

c;torage, and ..,end them forth in

ttl

the

'"orld,

whcrl'L'd.,

in the memory of the listener.

Sound C\t..,h m a constc.1nt >tate of c c o m i n ~ of tr.mstornltltlon from potcnhality

to memorv. Recorded -.ounds tra\ el from ont \esse) (..,torage medta) to ;mo ther

(the

m L m o r ~

nf the listent?r). A

sound

n ~ t in ib cradle

1Ls

crucible, either as a

rL-cordtd

~ o u n d - t h a t - w a - ; , or

as

a

compd

~ o u n d - t h a t - \ \ ill-be. The sound

emerge

mto

the

\\

orld, tr.weling

m

sillnt

w,,,

l'" until it

i

pmnounced

m the

ear

of thL

lio.;tcner,

pi.1..:Ld

in

a

nC\\

'esc,el

in

t1

const.Hltl)

l'\'oh ing neighborhood

{

memon

f h ~ .

laptop

is an

a l c h L m i ~ t . . ,

lihr.1rv, its thousands ot booJ...s containing

word

.. 111

the process

of becommg

aural, a

fL'\

crish whbplring

tlf

potentiality.

TI11c, '>onic laboratol) offers fcrtilt

~ r o u n d

tor I.'Xpcrin1l'ntalion. technologies are

U'>l'd

t

\\ays in

"h1ch

they WL W not intLnded ~ o u n d - d L > i g n software creates

noise rather ll1.1n cleaning it

up

. Imaging ..,oilwan vtelti... sound. Spectrographic

f r e e w t ~ r c f r t ~ t ' / t ' S >OLilld

into image. Bitm.1p pl.l'ver snnifv image.., bad. into sound.

Curtis

Road di'>cuss

c.-..

ome

of the

a k h c n l l c t ~ l ttchnll]Ul

"' employed

by

s o f t w a r ~

of thtc;c t)

peo.;:

"Micrnsonic

techmques

dio;soiVl'

tht rigid bricks of

mu.;ic

architec

ture thL' notes- into a mure tluid and

uppll

rned1um

Sound may

coales..:e,

C\aporalL or

mulatc

into other sounds'' (Ro.lds 2001: di).


5/8

or

expansion,

choru..,, equallZation,

rmg

modui,Hion .md otlwr \'ariatioru,

of

the

alchemiccll process. The laptop alchemist

/Oomr

and >mailer olating,

~ u ~ p e n d i n g

anJ dbtilling. In the afkrword

to

a c q u ~ s

Atalh s l t l l l , Suc.;an lcC ary (1985

Jt)J)

explams "'h.1t happt.>ns next Breakmg

a

piL>ce

of

u ~ 1 c

dm.' n

into

a

series of

1ts smallest atom1c

unib

dec;tro) s

whatever

illusion of mot1on it might

have

had. I t } ields a ~ h , l i n

ot

fret>/t>-frame stilb. This

phonographic

L'\ 1dcnce is then

dic; '>ectl'd

L \ en further, cropped ,md tnmmed

The

res1dual

arhfacb U1at

remain becoml' "l'tJ.., for nt'\\ ..

orl-., nr e\.bt on their own

terms.

1

he

alchemis

t

suspends t h e M ~

ne\\ .,mmds in sustain

ed

loops, and creates

new compos1tions from lhe resulting

suund

..cape.,. Sound.., mto inler

locktng

v.

eft .md ' 'arp,

the

nc


6/8

heReturn of ura

By exammmg lht aforementioned archetypt' - dw,.>lhng, ' l " " ~ l and loom -

we

can

re-m\

c:,t extra-digital

music ldth new mcJnings .tnJ a " ~ o C i a t i o n s

. com

en

ient ...ide eflcct of these

new

layer ..

b the

pntential ot resuung

laptop performance

from the danger.,

of

irrele' ance

and

auditnct indiflh'1.td

of

laptop musk

wtth

intimae)

and

meaning,

we

can \\

ork

magic

with

an

inter

sted

.md cunow; audt

ence, re-Jlign the extra-digital n;ns 1111111di .md

help

rt:-enchant

the

\-\.Orld in wlud1

we

li\ e and dream.

Ref reuces

lhclwl.ird.

. 1 ~ t o n (1994) Tire PPL fu:,

if

S1mn

Bt lnn

M 3\.Jc


7/8

I liad, /\lircJlrtiml Lwnomv

y ' ' ''' b\ j.Kqul..,

AttoJh ,

pp.

144--l'il>. .tmni.'Jpt.l Press.

\kl,.m

, ,\d.Jm (20112)

rh

alchemical

H.,...,._.J

ch

ml:,ol ' ' ' th,

' 'ul Tlr

Bach_The Extra-Digital Axis Mundi: Myth, Magic and Metaphor in Laptop Music.

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Transcript of Bach_The Extra-Digital Axis Mundi: Myth, Magic and Metaphor in Laptop Music.