Wikipedia

Glitch (music)

Glitchis a genre ofelectronic musicthat emerged in the 1990s which is distinguished by the deliberate use ofglitch-based audio media and othersonic artifacts.[1]

Glitch
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins1990s, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan
Subgenres

The glitching sounds featured in glitch tracks usually come fromaudio recordingdevice ordigital electronicsmalfunctions, such asCDskipping,electric hum,digital or analogdistortion,circuit bending,bit-rate reduction,hardwarenoise,software bugs,computer crashes,vinyl recordhiss or scratches, and system errors. Sometimes devices that were already broken are used, and sometimes devices are broken expressly for this purpose.[2]InComputer Music Journal,composer and writerKim Casconeclassified glitch as a subgenre ofelectronicaand used the termpost-digitalto describe the glitch aesthetic.[1]

History

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The origins of the glitchaestheticcan be traced to the early 20th century withLuigi Russolo'sFuturistmanifestoL'arte dei rumori(The Art of Noises,the basis ofnoise music,published in 1913)[citation needed].He constructed mechanical noise generators, which he namedintonarumori,and wrote multiple compositions to be played by them, includingRisveglio di una città(Awakening of a City) andConvegno di automobili e aeroplani(Meeting of Automobiles and Airplanes). In 1914, a riot broke out at one of his performances inMilan,Italy.[3]

Later musicians and composers who made use of malfunctioning technology include the 1968 song "The Best Way to Travel",byMichael PinderofThe Moody Blues,and works byChristian Marclay,who began in 1979 to use mutilated vinyl records to createsound collages.Yasunao Toneused damaged CDs in hisTechno Edenperformance of 1985, while 1992 albumIt Was a Dark and Stormy NightbyNicolas Collinsincluded a composition featuring astring quartetplaying alongside the stuttering sound of skipping CDs.[4]Yuzo KoshiroandMotohiro Kawashima'selectronic soundtrackfor the 1994video gameStreets of Rage 3used automatically randomized sequences to generate "unexpected and odd"experimentalsounds.[5]

Glitch music properly originated as a distinct movement inGermanyandJapanduring the 1990s,[6]with musical works and labels (especiallyMille Plateaux) of Achim Szepanski in Germany,[7][8]and works ofRyoji Ikedain Japan.[6]

Nuno Canavarro's albumPlux Quba,released in 1988, incorporated pristineelectroacousticsounds that resembled early glitch.Oval's albumWohnton,published in 1993, helped define the genre by addingambientaesthetics.[9]

The earliest uses of the termglitchas related to music include electronic duoAutechre's song"Glitch",released in 1994, and experimental electronic groupELpH's albumWorship the Glitch,published in 1995.

Production techniques

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In the latter half of the 20th century, the experimental music that served as the precursor to glitch contained distortions that were often produced by manual manipulation of audio media. This came in the form ofYasunao Tone's "wounded" CDs; small bits of semi-transparent tape were placed on the CD to interrupt the reading of the audio information.[10]Other examples of this manual tampering include Nicholas Collins' modification of an electric guitar to act as a resonator for electrical signals, and his adaption of a CD player to allow recordings played on it to be altered during live performance.[11]SkippingCDs,scratched vinyl records,circuit bending,and other distortions resemblingelectronic noisefigure prominently into the creation of rhythm and feeling in glitch; it is from the use of these digital artifacts that the genre derives its name. However, glitch today is often produced on computers using digital productionsoftwareto splice together small "cuts" (samples) of music from previously recorded works. These cuts are then integrated with the signature of glitch music:beatsmade up of glitches,clicks,scratches, and otherwise erroneous-sounding noise. The glitches are often very short, and are typically used in place of traditional percussion or instrumentation. Popular software for creating glitch music includestrackerslikeJeskola BuzzandRenoise,as well as modular software likeReaktor,Ableton Live,Reason,AudioMulch,Bidule,SuperCollider,FLStudio,Max/MSP,Pure Data,andChucK.Some artists also use digital synthesizers like theClaviaNord Modular G2 andElektron's Machinedrum andMonomachine.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"The glitch genre arrived on the back of the electronica movement, an umbrella term for alternative, largely dance-based electronic music (including house, techno, electro, drum'n'bass, and ambient) that has come into vogue in the past five years. Most of the work in this area is released on labels peripherally associated with the dance music market and is, therefore, removed from the contexts of academic consideration and acceptability that it might otherwise earn. Still, in spite of this odd pairing of fashion and art music, the composers of glitch often draw their inspiration from the masters of 20th century music who they feel best describe its lineage."THE AESTHETICS OF FAILURE: 'Post-Digital' Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music,Kim Cascone,Computer Music Journal 24:4 Winter 2000 (MIT Press)Archived2017-06-08 at theWayback Machine
  2. ^Cascone, Kim (2004)."The Aesthetics of Failure: 'Post-Digital' Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music".In Cox, Christoph; Warner, Daniel (eds.).Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music.Continuum Books. pp. 392–398.
  3. ^Flora Dennis. "Russolo, Luigi". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web.
  4. ^1995Interview with Nicolas CollinsArchived2023-03-06 at theWayback Machine,by Brian Duguid
  5. ^Horowitz, Ken (February 5, 2008)."Interview: Yuzo Koshiro".Sega-16.Archived fromthe originalon 21 September 2008.Retrieved6 August2011.
  6. ^abChristoph Cox & Daniel Warner (2004),Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music,page 396Archived2023-10-22 at theWayback Machine,A&C Black
  7. ^"First championed by the ideological German techno figure Achim Szepanski and his stable of record labels—Force Inc, Mille Plateaux, Force Tracks, Ritornell—this tight-knit scene of experimental artists creating cerebral hybrids of experimental techno, minimalism, digital collage, and noise glitches soon found themselves being assembled into a community."Allmusic
  8. ^"Random Inc.", "Allmusic"
  9. ^"Although Oval are perhaps more well-known for how they make their music than for the music they actually make, the German experimental electronic trio have provided an intriguing update of some elements of avant-garde composition in combination with techniques of digital sound design.[...]"Allmusic
  10. ^Stuart, Caleb. “Damaged Sound: Glitching and Skipping Compact Discs in the Audio of Yasunao Tone, Nicolas Collins and Oval”. Leonardo Music Journal 13 (2003): 47–52. Web.
  11. ^Kyle Gann. "Collins, Nicolas." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web.

Further reading

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