Slow Music
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Why do I love abstract and weird? Well… to be honest, why not? Sometimes it’s so important for the music we listen to or the things that we read to challenge us. If all we listen to is the sweet and obvious sounds then we miss a whole sound palette. Being open to adventures in sound can bring us new ideas, new thoughts and concepts.
I’ve been working on writing projects today and whilst in the zone I was listening to the Slow Music project. This was a really fascinating project developed by Bill Rieflin with the help of Robert Fripp, Peter Buck and others. The concert I was listening to also included the late great (please excuse the cliché) Hector Zazou. At times it was ambient, at times it was abstract, improvisational and always spacious.
I hadn’t heard it for a long time. It’s even more beautiful than I remember. The concert took place 11 years ago in Los Angeles.
Sometimes we can find beauty in the gentle and slowly evolving. It’s a fast paced world. We need time in the 7 minute morning mediation, or in the moments of pause whilst sitting on the train, or the hour spent listening to music like this. We are brought back to the present and reminded that there is no other time but now.
Also published on Medium.
2 thoughts on “Slow Music”
Thanks for the comment. I love Varese and John Luther Adams. Not heard of Snarky Puppy – will check that. With a name like that what’s not to like!!!
What a lovely thought, Stuart. Thank you for sharing. I sometimes listen to John Luther Adams and Edgard Varese and find them very refreshing. Sometimes they are too much for my brain to take, but in the moments when I need them, they really provide restful thoughts.
Not slow or restful, but have you heard of Snarky Puppy? They are a really great jazz group that does more abstract stuff. You might like them.