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creative improvised music

e.c.f.a.
carl smith tenor saxophone
james alexander viola
matt armistead drums
http://www.europeanechoes.homestead.com

The meta-musicican is like a naked man standing on
a street corner in a snow storm. His blue skin and shivering
body calling attention to his obvious, if neglected,
humanity. But the passers-by would rather see more
comforting images, with 'universally approved' stamped
upon carefully marketted posteriors. Success in the market
place confers the ultimate accolade upon the
producer/consumer. the rewards are an extra turn in the
reinforcement of the commmodity ethos. Those who set
out stalls in the market place with nothing on them are
treated with contempt or as amusing eccentricts. Some
such vendors are then forced to sell themselves - their
antics become a spectacular commodity.

The choice for the artist is either to freeze to death
or to jump through burning hoops. Human beings are
resourceful, even musicians. Some may run a line on the
edge of both situations, trying to maintain their integrity
as artists while giving as little as possible of themselves
to the market madness. But why do such individuals resist
the comforts of conformity and consumerism? They need
food and warmth like any other human being. Such
discontents have drunk deeply of market capitalism -
even if only in their abstractions - and found the
nourishment wanting. they look for different recipes,
different cooks and a different diet.

A meta-musician must work beyond the cultural cipher
of 'musician'. The traditional, educational and general
cultural perception of a musician are all obstructions to
the meta-musician's work. Unwittingly many artists
become trapped by expectations of their work. Th -
naturally reinforces the belief that their music is of value
- of a value, that is, as a commodity (a large part of
the general popular conception of the musician i- as
purveyor of the musical commodity). If, on the other hand,
the musician is really seeking the expression of ideas and
emotions which transcend the momentary desires of the
current music economy, then the only recourse is to
renounce music for meta-music. This is no real dilemma
for the artist because art as commodity is no art at all.
The real problem comes in comprehending the situation,
although even overt rejection of marketable forms does
not automatically free the musician from its subjugation.
For even the most difficult of musics may be subject to
a more exclusive sector of the market.

A musician trying to free himself from the market
mentality must also free himself from all negative elements
of competitiveness. This is not som crude levelling process
which diminishes all creative effort, but rather a freeing
from the need to destroy or denigrate similar, potentially
competitive forms. In itself this artistic hegemony is as
monopolistic as the mass music commodities. The
dilemma for an improvising musician who is perceived
as relatively successful in this nether world is the conflict
between a natural desire for a fulfilled musical life and
the development of a wider musical and ideological base.
In order to obtain a modicum of material comfort and
a larger share of the available musical life, being a large
fish in a small pond may seem preferable to the unknown
resources that might be available in a much larger pond.

Edwin Prevose, No Sound Is Innocent: AMM and the Prctice of Self-Invention. Copula: 1995

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