Electronic Composer, Artist or Innovation entry

Music History II

By: Thomas A Jenkins III

Brian Eno

Instructor: Christopher Pierce

Electronic Composer, Artist or Innovation entry

In 1965 Brian Eno began to experiment in building sound sculptures. He spent countless hours recording different sounds then playing them backwards and at different speeds. His life was forever changed when he heard Velvet Underground

Eno was with the group Roxy Music and contributed mightily to their first two landmark albums, Roxy Music and For Your Pleasure. They were seen as modern visionaries and had brought the 70’s British rock scene to life. Eno created Frippertronics which was when Eno processed Robert fripps mathematical guitar patterns through several custom delay treatments, then ran the signal through two separate Revox recorders. This new processing technique allowed him to break down the barriers between producer and musician, and the album No Pussyfooting was made. A revolutionary album, with tape looping, sampling, Eno said it gave him the idea to use the studio not to make music but to change it.  He contributed to music made by artist such as Cale, Nico, Robert Wyatt, 801,Phil Manzanera, Quiet Sun, Genesis, and others. He would often in his career refer to a group of tarot cards that would help him decide which direction to take his music. It was a taxi accident that actually led him to change his way of seeing music once again.  He came back to the studio after the accident trying to create music with nothing ready and spent 4 days unsuccessful, then when he went back to the Tarot cards he instantly was back on point. Eno had done work with David Bowie, helping to create Low, which was a huge success for David Bowie. He also did work with Kraftwerk. Brian Eno’s creative techniques has influence many of us for decades. His creativity allowed for the making of many mixing and recording techniques that is still used in today’s music.

Reference:

Sonic Alchemy (book)