The Theory Of Everything composer Jóhann Jóhannsson picks 10 drone records

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Trilogie de la Mort

Eliane Radigue
Trilogie de la Mort
(Experimental Intermedia Foundation, 1998)

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“An amazing set of 3 very long pieces influenced by the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Eliane is now mostly writing for acoustic instruments but her earlier work from the 70’s is all written on an ARP 2500 modular synthesizer. The music is drone-based, relentlessly ascetic and uncompromisingly minimal, but also incredibly beautiful.”


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Hafler Trio
Mastery of Money
(Touch, 1992)

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“I was lucky enough to spend a few years working in a studio next to Andrew McKenzie of the Hafler Trio’s studio. We became friends and he had a big influence on how I work and how I approach writing. He is a fountain of knowledge about experimental music and all manner of weird and wonderful things and I learned a lot from him. This is one of my favourite records of his.”


Black One

Sunn O)))
Black One
(Southern Lord, 2005)

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“One of their best albums. Seeing them live was a real experience for me. I saw them in a very cold venue in Copenhagen in December – it was freezing in there and the combination of the cold and the earth-shaking bass frequencies and the overall volume and physical presence of the sound, which was never uncomfortable, even though it was extremely loud, was an experience to remember.”


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Charlemagne Palestine
Four Manifestations On Six Elements
(Sonnabend Gallery, 1974)

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“An absolutely beautiful album, written in 1974 and issued privately by an art gallery in a small edition. It was re-issued years later on CD and it feels like it was written yesterday. It includes works for synthesizer and piano which combine to produce uniquely shimmering textures which sound like nothing else.”


Stiummung

Karlheinz Stockhausen
Stimmung
(Deutsche Grammophon, 1970)

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“I love this piece. I saw it performed live by Theatre of Voices and I urge you to go see this piece live if you have the chance. It’s a score that’s very open to interpretation, so no two interpretations are alike. It’s Stockhausen’s most minimal work and also his most accessible in many ways. It’s said that it was influenced by La Monte Young’s music, which Stockhausen heard in New York in the mid-60’s. He composed the piece while staying in a small hut by a frozen lake in Connecticut with his wife and young son. Because of them he could only work at night and only silently, so he composed by humming quietly to himself and listening to the overtone melodies produced by the quiet internal singing.”


Crippled Symmetry

Morton Feldman
Crippled Symmetry
(Col Legno, 1994)

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“An amazing piece for piano/celeste, flute and percussion. It´s hard to pick one Feldman piece, but I seem to gravitate towards this one quite often, when I feel like listening to some Feldman.”


Alvin Lucier

Alvin Lucier
I Am Sitting In A Room
(Lovely Music, 1981)

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“This piece is so conceptually strong and has had so much influence. I was absolutely hypnotized by it when I heard it first. Lucier records a short spoken passage explaining the process behind the piece and then plays the recording back into the room, while recording this on another tape recorder. Then this new recording is played into the room and recorded by the other recorder. This process is repeated until the resonant frequencies of the room are magnified and reinforced until they create a kind of abstract melody.”


Phil Niblock

Phill Niblock
Touch Works, For Hurdy Gurdy and Voice
(Touch, 2000)

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“I love Phills work. I’ve seen him live a couple of times and I love how he combines his film work with his music, in concert. He often films daily life on his travels in Asia – markets, people working, eating, existing. Combined with his layered and complex drones, this produces and incredible effect on the listener and viewer, like time slowing down – you can almost feel your heartbeat slow down to near zero.”


Holger Czukay
Holger Czukay
Canaxis 5
(Music Factory GmbH , 1969)

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“There are only two tracks on this album, one of which, ‘The Boat Woman Song’, is a very beautiful piece of music indeed. Czukay loops a cadence from a Baroque vocal piece and layers all kinds of sounds on top, including recordings of a Vietnamese singer. This tape collage/loop method predicts and predates sampling techniques by at least 15 years. The results are stunning, hypnotic and gorgeous.”


La Monte Young

La Monte Young
The Second Dream of the High Tension Line Step-Down Transformer
(Gramavision, 1991)

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“I first heard this CD many years ago and just became lost in the sound of a trumpet ensemble playing the note C for an hour with only minimal variation. The effect is mesmerizing and had a huge influence on me, particularly for my piece ‘Virthulegu forsetar’.”