Sun Blindness Music
Encyclopedia
New York in the 1960s: Sun Blindness Music, better known as Sun Blindness Music, is an album by John Cale
released in 2001. It is the first of a loose anthology of experimental albums recorded during Cale's tenure with the Theatre of Eternal Music
during the mid 1960s. The pieces included on the album were recorded between 1965 and 1968. Albums following in the anthology include the collaborative effort Day Of Niagara
, and the Cale compilations Dream Interpretation
and Stainless Gamelan
. Each song in the trilogy is an exemplar of the burgeoning minimalist music
genre, emphasizing atonality, drone
, and noise.
With some of the earliest recordings of this music being recorded ten years before Lou Reed
's avant garde Metal Machine Music
(which itself was credited as a huge influence on noise music and punk), Cale was ahead of his time in many respects. He was not alone in this though - frequent collaborators La Monte Young
, Terry Riley
, original Velvet Underground drummer Angus Maclise
, Tony Conrad
, and Marian Zazeela
also contributed to the genre. Cale and these artists themselves owed a debt to early 'anti' music composer John Cage
.
These albums were originally in the personal possession of Tony Conrad
as part of his tape collection, and were thought lost. Not until very recently were these minimalist artifacts discovered and released by the independent record label Table of the Elements
.
Australian band The Sun Blindness took their name from this album.
Summer Heat is an extended, distorted solo for electric guitar. It is perhaps the rawest track on the album, indicating where the more avant garde elements of The Velvet Underground
's future songs (especially on White Light/White Heat
) may have originated.
The Second Fortress is an enigmatic set for, what the linear notes say are, "electronic sounds." It is actually Cale's Vox organ again, looped through tape recorders and layered heavily until distorted beyond recognition.
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
released in 2001. It is the first of a loose anthology of experimental albums recorded during Cale's tenure with the Theatre of Eternal Music
Theatre of Eternal Music
The Theatre of Eternal Music, sometimes later known as The Dream Syndicate, was a mid 1960s musical group formed by La Monte Young, that focused on experimental drone music. It featured the performances of La Monte Young, John Cale, Angus MacLise, Terry Jennings, Marian Zazeela, Tony Conrad, Billy...
during the mid 1960s. The pieces included on the album were recorded between 1965 and 1968. Albums following in the anthology include the collaborative effort Day Of Niagara
Day of Niagara
Inside the Dream Syndicate, Vol. I: Day of Niagara or simply Day of Niagara is a 1965 album by the minimalist music group the Theatre of Eternal Music, aka The Dream Syndicate...
, and the Cale compilations Dream Interpretation
Dream Interpretation (album)
John Cale: Inside the Dream Syndicate Volume 2, Dream Interpretation, aka simply Dream Interpretation, is an album by John Cale during his tenure with the Theatre of Eternal Music. It is the second in a loose anthology of minimalist pieces, once thought lost, compiled from the tape collection of...
and Stainless Gamelan
Stainless Gamelan
John Cale: Inside the Dream Syndicate Volume 3, Stainless Gamelan or simply Stainless Gamelan is an album by John Cale, better known for his work as the violist and founding member of The Velvet Underground...
. Each song in the trilogy is an exemplar of the burgeoning minimalist music
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
genre, emphasizing atonality, drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
, and noise.
With some of the earliest recordings of this music being recorded ten years before Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's avant garde Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine β Ring, is the fifth solo album by Lou Reed. It was originally released as a double album by RCA Records in 1975...
(which itself was credited as a huge influence on noise music and punk), Cale was ahead of his time in many respects. He was not alone in this though - frequent collaborators La Monte Young
La Monte Young
La Monte Thornton Young is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalist composer. His works have been included among the most important and radical post-World War II avant-garde, experimental, and contemporary music. Young is...
, Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
, original Velvet Underground drummer Angus Maclise
Angus MacLise
Angus MacLise was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher probably best known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground.-Biography:...
, Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
, and Marian Zazeela
Marian Zazeela
Marian Zazeela is a light-artist, designer, painter and musician based in New York City.-Life and work:Born to Russian-Jewish parents and raised in the Bronx, Marian Zazeela was educated at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and at Bennington College where she...
also contributed to the genre. Cale and these artists themselves owed a debt to early 'anti' music composer John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
.
These albums were originally in the personal possession of Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
as part of his tape collection, and were thought lost. Not until very recently were these minimalist artifacts discovered and released by the independent record label Table of the Elements
Table of the Elements
Table of the Elements is an American record label. It concentrates on re-released and specially recorded experimental music, including many of the great avant garde musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries — John Cale, Tony Conrad and La Monte Young, for instance — as well as...
.
Australian band The Sun Blindness took their name from this album.
Track listing
- "Sun Blindness Music" - 42:44
- "Summer Heat" - 11:07
- "The Second Fortress" - 10:38
Analysis
Sun Blindness Music, the set's centerpiece, is a nearly three-quarters of an hour of a single chord, which shifts gradually between tones and timbres over the expansive time allotted to it. Cale produced the otherworldly sound with his Vox organ. Reviewer Thom Jurek notes that "Sun Blindness Music is easily the most demanding and perhaps most rewarding piece on the disc... There are times when the full-bodied chord is so complete and forceful in its presence it is nearly unbearable..."Summer Heat is an extended, distorted solo for electric guitar. It is perhaps the rawest track on the album, indicating where the more avant garde elements of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's future songs (especially on White Light/White Heat
White Light/White Heat
The album briefly appeared on the Billboard 200, although only peaking at number 199. Despite its poor sales, the distorted, feedback-driven, and roughly recorded sound on White Light/White Heat became a notable influence on punk and experimental rock...
) may have originated.
The Second Fortress is an enigmatic set for, what the linear notes say are, "electronic sounds." It is actually Cale's Vox organ again, looped through tape recorders and layered heavily until distorted beyond recognition.