I Have No Mouth (pts.1–6): Introducing Postdigital Spectralism

Abstract

The author discusses the development of the work I Have No Mouth (pts.1–6), an electronic piece composed within the schools of spectral music and postdigital “glitch” music, to show how composers can harness technological advancements to their own compositional and aesthetic ends. The author posits the compelling nature of a fundamental tension evident in combining these two approaches, which, he argues, results in satisfying and interesting compositions.

Spectral Music and Postdigital Aesthetics

In France, in 1968, young composers were recoiling against what they believed to be a dead end in the evolution of contemporary music [1]. Unhappy with the prevailing serial approach to composition, they sought a new direction: one that treated music as sound “evolving over time” [2]. They yearned for a music that incorporated new technology and was different from serialism’s rigid systems—a type of music in which numbers could be viewed as taking precedence over sounds. The development of new methods of examining and manipulating sound itself, in particular the use of sonogram technology and the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), led to the French school of spectral music. Although not exclusive to France, spectralism’s most prominent exponents were either born or based in France. The Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) has proven itself as the most distinguished institution with regard to research in this area, developing software and idealogical approaches that allow composers to better understand the nature of spectralism and sound itself.

Since spectral music is reliant on technological advancement for its formation, it seems appropriate to examine its connections with an aesthetic approach that is entirely reliant on the failure of the technology that creates it. Kim Cascone famously coined the term “postdigital” to describe what can happen when “digital audio failure” occurs [3]. Just as spectralism can be viewed as a reaction to the serial approach, we can view postdigitalism as a reaction to the search for flawless representation through digital means. It is an attempt to incorporate “glitches, bugs, application errors, system crashes” [4] into the compositional process. While there is a fascinating tension inherent in combining these two aesthetics, there are clearly areas where each approach converges or where one reinforces the other. My hope in introducing this hybrid aesthetic is to advance technical compositional research in this topic.

Spectral Thinking—Spectralism Reimagined

Noted French composer Tristan Murail refers to the possibility of creating “harmonies (or timbres) that are completely invented, through analogies to the spectra found in nature” [5]. Through the use of sonogram technology (e.g. software such as Audiosculpt or Spear, which employ the FFT), we can observe a sound’s spectra in tangible form. Therefore, one could argue that spectral music’s realization is reliant on technology. By utilizing this technology, and following Murail’s example, we can move beyond the confines suggested by the term spectralism to a point where any sound (natural or otherwise) that can be analyzed can provide us with a functional, interesting timbre. The compositional applications can be perceived as endless. Looking beyond the typical tropes associated with the spectral approach, we can see a wide variety of ways of using analysis data and frequency spectra. The term best suited to the precise compositional goals of I Have No Mouth (pts.1–6) is “spectral thinking,” which I define as an exploration of the sonorous nature of music for its representative qualities and descriptive values. By looking beyond the standard trademarks of spectralism—such as exploration of dilated and contracted time through extreme slowness [6] and regarding tone color as principal narrative thread [7]—while maintaining the core aspect of music as an evolving sonority (and employing frequency analysis techniques), we can harness the more interesting aspects of this approach. Gerard Grisey, one of spectralism’s founders, described spectralism as more of an attitude than a strict set of rules or techniques [8]. By employing spectral thinking, spectralism can be tied to a postdigital aesthetic to powerful effect.

The Glitch and Spectral Thinking

The glitch can be viewed...