Brian Eno - Visual and conceptual ideas

Brian Eno coined the phrase "ambient music" with his album Discreet music. A synopsis of his life can be found here.

His work is very diverse working first with roxy music and then branchinh out into solo work, and colaborations as well as commissions for sound tracks and even the windows 95 startup chime (which insidently was produced on a mac). His work is heavly experimental and conceptual in nature, so choosing a difiniative piece to work with is going to be a challenge.

Eample of Enos Work from the album Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks



So whay have i chosen Brian Eno? Well what really interests me about his work is a late ninties experiement called 'Generative music', The basic premise of generative music is the blending of several independent musical tracks, of varying sounds, length, and in some cases, silence. When each individual track concludes, it starts again mixing with the other tracks allowing the listener to hear an almost infinite combination. In one instance of generative music, Eno calculated that it would take almost 10,000 years to hear the entire possibilities of one individual piece.

he quotes on this here:

Some very basic forms of generative music have existed for a long time, but as marginal curiosities. Wind chimes are an example, but the only compositional control you have over the music they produce is in the original choice of notes that the chimes will sound. Recently, however, out of the union of synthesisers and computers, some much finer tools have evolved. Koan Software is probably the best of these systems, allowing a composer to control, not one, but one hundred and fifty, musical and sonic parameters, within which the computer then improvises (as wind improvises the wind chimes).
The works I have made with this system symbolise, to me, the beginning of a new era of music. Until a hundred years ago, every musical event was unique: music was ephemeral and unrepeatable, and even classical scoring couldn't guarantee precise duplication. Then came the gramophone record, which captured particular performances, and made it possible to hear them identically, over and over again.

But now, there are three alternatives: live music, recorded music, and generative music. Generative music enjoys some of the benefits of both its ancestors. Like live music, it is always different. Like recorded music, it is free of time-and-place limitations — you can hear it when and where you want.

I really think it is possible that our grandchildren will look at us in wonder and say: "You mean you used to listen to exactly the same thing over and over again?"

This concept parrellels with sound what i have been doing with visuals with after effects expressions. That is to say the visuals are being generated by the music to give an independent experience everytime a new track is plugged in.

Using audio generated visuals in a title sequence about Brian Eno would be relevant conceptually.

On a side Note Eno has collaborated with sound and music in 77 Million Paintings.

77 Million Paintings is a software/DVD combination by British musician Brian Eno, released in 2006.

The release consists of two discs, one containing the software that creates the randomized music and images that emulate a single screen of one of Eno's video installation pieces. The other is a DVD containing interviews with the artist.

The title is derived from the possible number of combinations of video and music which can be generated by the software, effectively ensuring that the same image/soundscape is never played twice.

An accompanying booklet includes a piece by Nick Robertson describing the intention behind the software, and an article by Brian Eno ("My Light Years") describing his experiments with light and music.

A second edition of "77 Million Paintings", featuring improved morphing and a further two layers of sound, was released on 14 January 2008.



So this is all subitbly pretentiuos, and i'm quiet happy with the concept.

Moving on tho visuals

Well at the moment i'm thinking electrical circitboard, windchimes and wave forms, ideas surrounding electronic music and random events. All Going back to seminal pieces by Mr Eno, Music for Airports was his first Album titled Ambient so maybe i should explore visual metaphors and semiotics surrounding aviation?

tj -x-

Oh and this is the pure after effects title sequence.