Trends in Contemporary Noise (with Examples!)

[SS1535]

I don't think this has been a topic here before, so why not...

I find that I spend most of my serious listening time exploring earlier noise/industrial/power electronics releases at the detriment of listening widely to projects that are active now, so while I am aware of historical tendencies/regional sounds I do not know what is going on now from a "big picture" perspective.

Since it seems to me that many users here are well-versed in what is going on in the contemporary noise scene, I thought I would ask about the general trends that you see now.

I AM NOT looking to turn this thread into another list of "who are the best active noise artists," rather, as I said, I am hoping that this will be a discussion focusing on the bigger picture (illustrated with examples of course!).

Thoughts?

[drift]

reissues / bandcamp noise / facebook noise / archive noise / etc.. seems, to me, like we are intimately tied to what platform we are using. can't tell you about trends in gear, anything of that sort, nor new styles.

I remember being surprised about what looked like econoise a few years back. it seemed pretty lazy and lacking seriousness, imho.

all else I have to offer is delusion hahah.

[apneicvoid]

For myself (and also for how I approach my own work) I often feel like modern noise can be broken down into a few distinct categories:

- Personal -- relating to the self/consciousness/trauma (ex. Jason Crumer's final trilogy)
- Socio-political -- often overlaps with 'personal' but with greater scope (ex. socpophilia's "violent for being sexually desired," Koufar's "Minority Report")
- Cultural -- frequently related to other forms of media; films, popular music, literature, etc. (ex. Slit Throats's Joshi work, Cory Strand's film soundtrack reinterpretations)
- Fetish -- self-explanatory (prime example would be The Rita's "Nylons Of Laura Antonelli")
- Process -- more about the specificities of how the sounds are crafted, often tangental to musique concrète (ex. Raoul van Herpen's "Composition For Two Oscillators and Two Tape-Recorders")

Not sure if this exactly answers the question being posited here, but this is how my brain organizes/thinks about themes related to noise.

[SS1535]

For myself (and also for how I approach my own work) I often feel like modern noise can be broken down into a few distinct categories:

- Personal -- relating to the self/consciousness/trauma (ex. Jason Crumer's final trilogy)
- Socio-political -- often overlaps with 'personal' but with greater scope (ex. socpophilia's "violent for being sexually desired," Koufar's "Minority Report")
- Cultural -- frequently related to other forms of media; films, popular music, literature, etc. (ex. Slit Throats's Joshi work, Cory Strand's film soundtrack reinterpretations)
- Fetish -- self-explanatory (prime example would be The Rita's "Nylons Of Laura Antonelli")
- Process -- more about the specificities of how the sounds are crafted, often tangental to musique concrète (ex. Raoul van Herpen's "Composition For Two Oscillators and Two Tape-Recorders")

Not sure if this exactly answers the question being posited here, but this is how my brain organizes/thinks about themes related to noise.

No, this is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for!

[apneicvoid]

No, this is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for!

Oh, excellent. I'm really intrigued by this idea now; curious about fleshing it out w/r/t my personal approach and appreciation of noise.

I would add to what I wrote above that more often than not multiple themes arise in individual projects and releases, perhaps with one as the guiding tenant of the project and others supporting that commanding idea through releases as appropriate. (At the very least, that's how I've approached having multiple projects with specific intentions and processes for each.)

[SS1535]

Again, it is something that I have largely missed out on apart from the occasional sample, but it seems to me that there is a strong set of new projects coming out of Finland right now as well. Aprapat, Mogao, The New Boyfriends, Moozzhead making his return, even Maskhead. From what I have heard of these projects, there seems to be a heightened concern for sound texture (ranging from junk metal or synths to samples and field recordings).

[D345]

For myself (and also for how I approach my own work) I often feel like modern noise can be broken down into a few distinct categories:

- Personal -- relating to the self/consciousness/trauma (ex. Jason Crumer's final trilogy)
- Socio-political -- often overlaps with 'personal' but with greater scope (ex. socpophilia's "violent for being sexually desired," Koufar's "Minority Report")
- Cultural -- frequently related to other forms of media; films, popular music, literature, etc. (ex. Slit Throats's Joshi work, Cory Strand's film soundtrack reinterpretations)
- Fetish -- self-explanatory (prime example would be The Rita's "Nylons Of Laura Antonelli")
- Process -- more about the specificities of how the sounds are crafted, often tangental to musique concrète (ex. Raoul van Herpen's "Composition For Two Oscillators and Two Tape-Recorders")

Not sure if this exactly answers the question being posited here, but this is how my brain organizes/thinks about themes related to noise.

Good categories! I started to think if there's noise projects that don't really fit in any of these mentioned categories?

[Ineffable Slime]

I feel like I've seen more C60-C90s lately. Also field recording is "having a moment" for sure, though I think ambient bros are co-opting that one moreso.

[Zalhietzli]

ambient bros

Funnily, that very expression popped in my head yesterday. Made me giggle dumbly for a couple minutes.

Don't have much else to add to the subject, I'm afraid.

[holy ghost]

I never hear people talk about Kevin Drumm anymore. He used to be very popular. I know he has that bandcamp subscription thing. So maybe I’m way off base and he’s still very popular.

I quite like his releases. Especially Sheer Hellish Miasma and a few others.

[drift]

anyone new so good you assume they think they've been going since the 90s and it stands up? next big thing yo haha

[WCN]

Interesting topic. I could definitely make a pretty specific list, but given the word "trend" is pretty negatively charged, it might come off as cynical criticism, and I personally don't really want to go there in this space, as it would probably alienate people that I don't wish to alienate.

- Personal -- relating to the self/consciousness/trauma (ex. Jason Crumer's final trilogy)
- Socio-political -- often overlaps with 'personal' but with greater scope (ex. socpophilia's "violent for being sexually desired," Koufar's "Minority Report")
- Cultural -- frequently related to other forms of media; films, popular music, literature, etc. (ex. Slit Throats's Joshi work, Cory Strand's film soundtrack reinterpretations)
- Fetish -- self-explanatory (prime example would be The Rita's "Nylons Of Laura Antonelli")
- Process -- more about the specificities of how the sounds are crafted, often tangental to musique concrète (ex. Raoul van Herpen's "Composition For Two Oscillators and Two Tape-Recorders")

Not bad, but I feel like the above list is more of a general break down of categories of focus and approach that are common to most art through time (at least in a modern context), not really trends.

One super clear trend I don't mind naming: artists who rip-off THE RITA.

[SS1535]

Interesting topic. I could definitely make a pretty specific list, but given the word "trend" is pretty negatively charged, it might come off as cynical criticism, and I personally don't really want to go there in this space, as it would probably alienate people that I don't wish to alienate.

I see what you mean with "trend," but no connotations were intended with the thread title! I meant "trend" in the sense of "tendency."

[drift]

Interesting topic. I could definitely make a pretty specific list, but given the word "trend" is pretty negatively charged, it might come off as cynical criticism, and I personally don't really want to go there in this space, as it would probably alienate people that I don't wish to alienate.

I see what you mean with "trend," but no connotations were intended with the thread title! I meant "trend" in the sense of "tendency."

some tendencies in noise are "trends". for me you draw the line when it's not fun, interesting or reasonable to the artist. not to sound like a party pooper, as it's cynicism really.

[SS1535]

Interesting topic. I could definitely make a pretty specific list, but given the word "trend" is pretty negatively charged, it might come off as cynical criticism, and I personally don't really want to go there in this space, as it would probably alienate people that I don't wish to alienate.

I see what you mean with "trend," but no connotations were intended with the thread title! I meant "trend" in the sense of "tendency."

some tendencies in noise are "trends". for me you draw the line when it's not fun, interesting or reasonable to the artist. not to sound like a party pooper, as it's cynicism really.

That's true. I just didn't want the thread to deteriorate into only pointing out irritating trends in noise. Those certainly have a place here, but I was hoping for more general observations about genre evolution as well.

[drift]

I see what you mean with "trend," but no connotations were intended with the thread title! I meant "trend" in the sense of "tendency."

some tendencies in noise are "trends". for me you draw the line when it's not fun, interesting or reasonable to the artist. not to sound like a party pooper, as it's cynicism really.

That's true. I just didn't want the thread to deteriorate into only pointing out irritating trends in noise. Those certainly have a place here, but I was hoping for more general observations about genre evolution as well.

right. I wasn't meaning to correct you or define what the thread is about, just agreeing that it could cause confusion and adding a note. in reality, it's probably a continuum.

[holy ghost]

One I think is really interesting is when HNW made this really interesting shift from “dark and scary” to artists being obsessed with stuff like Katy Perry and a really “bright” and “pink” aesthetic - I want to say this was really “2013” if you had to date it. I know there was the Love Katy project that I bought a tape from (“Cinematic & Dramatic”), the artist Opaque and a whole bunch of projects with a similar focus, and stuff like “A Wall of Text” zine that I really enjoyed which came out a couple years ago.

Clearly the influence of The Rita plus mixing pop culture into HWN shifted to the “obsession” themes you see so frequently today.

I don’t dislike this, I thought it was a really unique twist on things. It was the kind of thing where it would be an affront if there were more than 14 copies made of something. I don’t know if I’d go out of my to buy this sort of stuff or seek out limited editions but you hit on stuff like the Vomir/Concrete Threat tape (the “Smell the Glove” of HNW) and as a reaction you had this really arty, colourful shift….

[New Forces]

One I think is really interesting is when HNW made this really interesting shift from “dark and scary” to artists being obsessed with stuff like Katy Perry and a really “bright” and “pink” aesthetic - I want to say this was really “2013” if you had to date it. I know there was the Love Katy project that I bought a tape from (“Cinematic & Dramatic”), the artist Opaque and a whole bunch of projects with a similar focus, and stuff like “A Wall of Text” zine that I really enjoyed which came out a couple years ago.

Clearly the influence of The Rita plus mixing pop culture into HWN shifted to the “obsession” themes you see so frequently today.

I don’t dislike this, I thought it was a really unique twist on things. It was the kind of thing where it would be an affront if there were more than 14 copies made of something. I don’t know if I’d go out of my to buy this sort of stuff or seek out limited editions but you hit on stuff like the Vomir/Concrete Threat tape (the “Smell the Glove” of HNW) and as a reaction you had this really arty, colourful shift….

Was happening even a few years before that, 2009 or so, especially on the old HNW board. People figured out that the HNW tape cover can just be "anything I'm into" and didn't have to be Richard-influenced "Horror movie that I'm into."

Lots of this on HarshFuckedForLife for example (certainly not the only example), like the Skonhet tape that is just the cover for the movie My Fair Lady, incredibly hilarious: https://www.discogs.com/release/1815175 ... -Fair-Lady

[holy ghost]

the Skonhet tape that is just the cover for the movie My Fair Lady, incredibly hilarious:

That is incredible - I have “The Princess and The Newsreporter” tape but I’ve never seen that one.

[Joie de la Blumpy]

the Skonhet tape that is just the cover for the movie My Fair Lady, incredibly hilarious: https://www.discogs.com/release/1815175 ... -Fair-Lady

At first glance, woulda taken that for Violent Onsen Geisha

[drift]

For myself (and also for how I approach my own work) I often feel like modern noise can be broken down into a few distinct categories:

- Personal -- relating to the self/consciousness/trauma (ex. Jason Crumer's final trilogy)
- Socio-political -- often overlaps with 'personal' but with greater scope (ex. socpophilia's "violent for being sexually desired," Koufar's "Minority Report")
- Cultural -- frequently related to other forms of media; films, popular music, literature, etc. (ex. Slit Throats's Joshi work, Cory Strand's film soundtrack reinterpretations)
- Fetish -- self-explanatory (prime example would be The Rita's "Nylons Of Laura Antonelli")
- Process -- more about the specificities of how the sounds are crafted, often tangental to musique concrète (ex. Raoul van Herpen's "Composition For Two Oscillators and Two Tape-Recorders")

Not sure if this exactly answers the question being posited here, but this is how my brain organizes/thinks about themes related to noise.

I like this ha. diderot

the term "Art" comprises above all the five major arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, music and poetry

the modern system of the arts

your system is as good as it gets... is it all "process" though?

[oZiris]

- Personal -- relating to the self/consciousness/trauma (ex. Jason Crumer's final trilogy)
- Socio-political -- often overlaps with 'personal' but with greater scope (ex. socpophilia's "violent for being sexually desired," Koufar's "Minority Report")
- Cultural -- frequently related to other forms of media; films, popular music, literature, etc. (ex. Slit Throats's Joshi work, Cory Strand's film soundtrack reinterpretations)
- Fetish -- self-explanatory (prime example would be The Rita's "Nylons Of Laura Antonelli")
- Process -- more about the specificities of how the sounds are crafted, often tangental to musique concrète (ex. Raoul van Herpen's "Composition For Two Oscillators and Two Tape-Recorders")

I think this is a killer list & would like to add one more.

- Abstract Concept Exploration -- creating a unique & original concept aesthetic and then creating mood/tone/textures to associate with the theme (ex. Black Dice “Creature Comforts” & “Smiles for Miles”)

[RUBBISH]

Breaking and smashing things.

Saw a lot of that at the last show I was part of last month.

I will say that if you are going this direction keep the destruction and smashing constsnt through your whole set or end your set when you do smash things...do NOT continue after smashing.

I personally am at the point that I don't wanna smash and destroy things unless its total and over the top too much (a car...the whole venue...but these have been done and done like 40 years ago so whatever.) or unless its creative and part of the sound creation process. A more small scale controlled destruction.

[RUBBISH]

One I think is really interesting is when HNW made this really interesting shift from “dark and scary” to artists being obsessed with stuff like Katy Perry and a really “bright” and “pink” aesthetic - I want to say this was really “2013” if you had to date it. I know there was the Love Katy project that I bought a tape from (“Cinematic & Dramatic”), the artist Opaque and a whole bunch of projects with a similar focus, and stuff like “A Wall of Text” zine that I really enjoyed which came out a couple years ago.

Funny...when I was still on Facebook some years ago (2016) I posted my ULF(unicorn liberation front) Happy Noise Walls release on the big HNW group there and they hated it.

https://roilrubbish.bandcamp.com/album/ ... oise-walls

[holy ghost]

I’m sorry that happened to you RUBBISH. That’s yet another example of why Facebook is bad. I will check out with an open mind!