Ocean of Sound: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Worlds [Anglais] [Broché]

A member of a radical editorial collective on the cutting edge of British music criticism in the 1970s, later a critic for more standard papers, including the Times, David Toop'S second book covers a vast expanse of music. His tour-de-force survey describes a dissonant and invigorating clash of music and noise from western classical to Javanese gamelan, from Claude Debussy to Miles Davis to Brian Eno, from disco to techno to ambient. He discusses the changes in our sound world caused by the global reach of radio and recordings, and shows himself a rigorous pluralist, open to all styles and forms, but unafraid to offer robust criticism in any musical sphere. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

. . . amorphously packed with seductive pleasures and immensely informative. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

Ethereal, ambient sound is a passion in certain circles in England and the U.S. Toop traces the twentieth-century history of music that "could be characterised [sic] as drifting or simply existing in stasis rather than developing in any dramatic fashion." For Toop, the lineage of such music includes Javanese pulsation, the recording-studio-as-instrument excursions of Jamaican dub pioneer Lee "Scratch" Perry and Beach Boy Brian Wilson, John Cage's Zen composition theories, and a plethora of jazz players, most notably Sun Ra and Miles Davis. Toop argues that these disparate influences are incorporated in the work of such contemporary "techno" musicians and DJs as Aphex Twin and the Orb. Toop does not use recordings as his only references but, like the wandering music he describes, touches on science fiction, semiotic theory, and his own travels in this expansive treatise. He incorporates all these subjects into a clear and direct book that may appeal even to readers whose listening preferences are more conventional. Aaron Cohen --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

Ocean of Sound begins in 1889 at the Paris Exposition when Debussy first heard Javanese music performed. An ethereal culture absorbed in perfume, light and ambient sound developed in response to the intangibility of 20th century communications. David Toop traces the evolution of this culture, through Erik Satie to the Velvet Undergound; Miles Davis to Jimi Hendrix.

An extraordinary work of sonic history that travels from the rainforests of the Amazon to virtual Las Vegas, from erik Satie to the Velvet Underground, from the new digital technology to the sounds of war, in exploration of a new musical culture. Also includes extensive discography and bibliography. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

David Toop, who lives in London, is a writer, musician and recording artist. His other books are Rap Attack 3 and Exotica.