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David Toop is a musician, composer, writer, musicologist
and sound curator. He has published three books:
Rap Attack, Ocean Of Sound and Exotica.
His first album, New and Rediscovered
Musical Instruments, was
released on Brian Eno’s Obscure label in 1975; since 1995, he has released
six solo albums: Screen Ceremonies, Pink Noir, Spirit World, Museum of Fruit,
Hot Pants Idol and 37th Floor At Sunset: Music For Mondophrenetic - and he
has curated five acclaimed CD compilations for Virgin Records: Ocean of Sound,
Crooning on Venus, Sugar & Poison, Booming On Pluto and Guitars on Mars..
He has worked with musicians including Brian Eno, John Zorn, Talvin Singh,
and collaborated with artists from
many other disciplines. As a critic he has written for many publications including
the Wire, The Face, The
Times, The Guardian, The New York Times and The Village Voice. He also has
curated Sonic Boom, the UK’s
largest exhibition of sound art displayed at the Hayward Gallery, London, From
April to June 2000.
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Darkness Moves - Vibrö 1
(track 11)
Recorded, performed and produced by David Toop at The Bathosphere, London November/December
2003.
Published & copyright by Quartz Publications © 2003.
Tools: two computers, stones, prepared and unprepared pedal steel guitar, flute,
voice, analogue synthesis,
audio software.
“
The name of this piece is drawn from the title of an anthology of writings by
the Belgian poet Henri Michaux.
A number of my titles have been taken from Michaux; he wrote about silence, murmurs,
a small music that
can be incomplete, insubstantial, ‘a music of murmurs’. |
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He also wrote
about the “space” of the self, and the
self (“There is not one self”) as a position, in equilibrium, or
struggling for equilibrium, in a room. A piece begins, in a room, maybe with
the sound of two stones dragging together.
A virtual space develops within the computer and then the piece must establish
this space as a convincing environment with its own integrity and atmosphere.
Perhaps musical elements grow from the small murmurs of stones, then the question
is how far to develop them. To strip them away might be a denial of this fluidity
of ‘self’.
This tension, between “sound
art” and “song” seems highly charged, full of potential, a
crack between certainties.” -David Toop |
In this short extract
of an interview Liz jordan made for the BBC in 2000, David Toop give us some
clue to understand and approach the field of sound art and its growing popularity.
LJ - You were the curator of Sonic Boom (an exhibition
of sound art at
the Hayward Gallery in London, 2000). What feedback did you get from that as
an exhibition?
David Toop - A huge amount of feedback. More
than 36,000 people went to it, and it's interesting that such a large number
of people went to an exhibition that explored the ideas of sound art. The feedback
was very, very positive. Which leads me to think that there is a strong interest
in sound work that goes beyond
conventional ideas of performance or recording.
LJ - Why do you think that sound art so fashionable
now?
David Toop - Sound art has been developing for
at least the last 100 years. All that
experimentation has accumulated to the point where it's recognised and seems
very relevant. Conventional performance is getting less relevant.
As more music is created in virtual space - using computers or technology - the
notion of musicians collaborating in real time is being challenged. And sound
art takes exploration into different settings away from the normal performance
space of the concert tour.
As more music is created in virtual space - using computers or technology - the
notion of musicians collaborating in real time is being challenged. And sound
art takes exploration into different settings away from the normal performance
space of the concert tour.
Club culture has contributed to that hugely because
people are dancing, they're not just sitting in rows watching the performer.
That's not to say that people
aren't interested in performance anymore, because clearly they are. But it's
less clear-cut than it used to be. |
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LJ - What inspires
you to start making a sound piece?
David Toop - I am always quite inspired by film.
I'm a writer so I tend to jot down ideas - they can be visual, cinematic, or
descriptions of environments. Different pieces start from different methods.
Other pieces can start from nothing. They can start from a sound and they are
very physical, they don't necessarily involve any intellectual ideas at all.
LJ - So have you any tips for our audience on
how to go about their first sound piece?
David Toop - Just be open and don't be distracted
by what other people are doing or by what the equipment can do. Focus on something
that really expresses your feelings about sound and what it means to you. Don't
get lost in all the possibilities out there. Don't be afraid to be simple and
clear about what you're doing and then if you want to diversify or make it
more complex, then you have a strong sense of your own identity
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Solo Albums
"New & Rediscovered Musical Instruments",
(Obscure 4,
1975. Reissued 1997)
"Screen ceremonies" (Thez Wire editions, 9001, 1995).
"Pink Noir" (Virgin Records, AMBT 18, 1996).
"Spirit World" (Virgin Records, AMBT 22, 1997). |
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"Museum Of fruit" (Caipirinha Music,
cai2022, 1999).
"Hot pants Idol" (Barooni bar 020, 1999).
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Ocean of Sound
Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Words -
Serpent 's Tail 1995
Published: 22/2/2001
isbn: 1 85242 743 4
More Info here
Exotica
Published: 22/2/2001
isbn: 1 85242 743 4
Fabricated Soundscapes in a Real World
More Info here
Rap Attack 3
Published: 16/12/1999
isbn: 1 85242 627 6
A
frican Rap to Global Hip Hop
More Info here |
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Haunted Weather
Music, Silence, and Memory
Published: 12/5/2004
isbn: 1 85242 812 0
More Info here
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