Originally released in 2001 as ‘transelectronic_theory.devolution&&intimation.3′ this release had different covert art, different liner notes and a different track order. Original art above, and original liner notes and track order below.

process, product, evaluation & realization.

process :
developing a process in and of itself is a formidable task but it’s not the process alone that creates a substantial or noteworthy piece of art. execution and evaluation of said process and product with further development is often necessary. sometimes the idea itself sounds better than the actual product. if this is the case, than the product is inconsequential and the process that yielded said results can be cataloged and referred to for either abandonment or further refinement to yield noteworthy results. when the process does produce noteworthy results then the product is evaluated and further refinement of the process, if necessary, is commenced and the whole process begins again.

product:
when a product is attained (through utilization of the process) that is deemed ‘final’ (in the sense that further processing will only diminish the quality of the individual product) the product is then moved to the ‘product pool’ - the storage area for completed products - where it remains until there is enough product to do an evaluation. while product and process are closely related, they are none the less two distinct entities. one is an idea and a doing (process) while the other is the byproduct of action and thought (product).

evaluation:
the evaluative process is perhaps the most objective step in this first method of creating the object. evaluation is where the creator removes him/her self from the process and takes a close hard long look at the product and determines whether of not it (the individual product) has quality. quality, being completely subjective in the most objective part of the operation, should not be determined by novelty, but rather by longevity. this requires time hence the reason for this step to be completed only after many iterations of he first two steps.

realization:
the last step in this first method of the object is realization. this is where all the ideas, thoughts, data and product are looked at as a whole and individually and it is determined what avenues to follow further and which to abandon. this is perhaps the second hardest method due to the fact that quality has an inverse role to it’s status. processes that have yielded quality results must be scrutinized and used sparingly so that they don’t become habit. at the same time though, steps in the process that yielded the quantitative quality should be remembered so that individual events (processes in the process) may again be applied in another process to increase it’s chance to yield quality. on the other hand, process that yielded less then par results should be iterated over again with variations to see if there are any worth while conclusions to be found in the process’ process. this being the final stage in the first step of creating the object, upon completion, the quality products are then utilized and assembled using these same 4 steps to create a construct. this construct is also scrutinized by the same 4 steps to determine if it should be included in a collection. again, the collection after the constructs (assembled products onto a whole) are created is scrutinized to determine whether or not it (as a whole) has quality.

after almost a year of following this 4 step process, the final iteration of devolution&&intimation has taken shape. 9 constructs created and composed from august 2000 through jan 2001.

they appear in the following order:

construct_27
construct_14
construct_15
construct_25
construct_30
construct_13
construct_22.b
construct_12
construct_17

all constructs created by rj valeo.
copyright 2001 io records

Here is a preview version of a track from an upcoming ‘Richard J Valeo’ album to be released later this year. probably some time after the summer. This will only be available to listen to for a limited time, so check it out while you can.

A few weeks ago I had the most amazing experience. I was on the J/M/Z train headed towards Brooklyn, just leaving Canal Street train station, about to cross the Williamsburg Bridge and I selected Terry Riley’s Dorian Reeds to play on my 3rd gen iPod. The first few notes struck as the train exited the tunnel and I was entranced. As the train began it’s journey over the Williamsburg bridge the composition’s timing and complexity picked up - the playing got faster, and the space between the notes got a bit longer so you could really hear the tape delay in the composition.

I looked out the window at the concrete and steel landscape, ravaged by the elements and time and thought to myself, “What a perfect soundtrack to this ride.” The repeating patterns made by the steel girders as they passed the window I was looking out were in sync with the music I was listening to. The color and texture of cement, and eventually water, matched the sounds of decay on the tape used to repeat the short musical phrases on the recording. It was as if this recording was made specifically for this exact event that was transpiring. What happened next was something that I have been working on for a while but have been less than succesful, and of course it happened when I wasn’t trying.  All at once I stopped thinking and simply was. My mind stopped running in overdrive and I was able to simply be. I was able to stay in this space for the rest of the journey over the bridge. It was one of the most inspired listening experiences that has happened to me in the past 5 years.

This is the magic that Terry Riley makes happen.

It isn’t just him that does this for me — there are other composers that are able to create this space where the no-mind is able to arise. Cage, Reich, Glen Velez… They are all amazing composers that inhabit a space where spirituality and sonorous world collide. It isn’t just about creating this no-mind space though, it is about dedicating you life to bringing this natural state of being to the world through your work with sound, and sound alone. There is no need to add anything else to the equation. You can simply be there with out any aid.

Riley, in the 70’s (I believe), traveled to India to learn traditional Indian Raga vocal techniques. That wasn’t a journey just about singing, it was a pilgrimage to the center of the spiritual universe, one where he was able to get past all his western ideas and become something more. I really feel that Riley and these other composers who bring these universes to us are the modern equivalents of profits and wise men, they just use tools other than scripture to get their work done. In this day and age preaching the ‘good word’ will get you (mostly) ignored by people. If you simply ‘take someone there’ how can they deny their own true nature? I don’t think they can, at least I can’t.

I recently had the honor attending a performance by Terry Riley, and it was one of the most amazing and spiritual experiences I have ever had. I felt so much love emanating from him at his show, and there was so much positive energy in the room. It was palpable and it really had an impact on me emotionally. Safe to say that I had a reaction. This was my experience with my Dali Lama. I can’t stress how much him and his work has had a positive effect on me, and it has really changed the way I view the world. I hope you can get a little something out of his works.

I found a clip of and about Terry Riley for your viewing pleasure. I think this one is in French, but you’ll get the idea. Be sure to follow the links to Wikipeda and read a bit more about this shaper of the modern musical universe.

Here is his Wikipedia entry.It is truly amazing.

Terry Riley official (very old and outdated) website.

Here are some program notes from one of his performances:

Program Notes Steinway Hall April 25 and 26, 1967.

The music heard on these two evenings will consist of sections from the following two compositions.

SOLO TIME LAG MUSIC FOR SOPRANO SAXOPHONE (1963-present)

This composition utilizes the time lag accumulation technique I first explored in the music for “The Gift” in 1963. All the material that I am playing subsequently recycles and combines in an accumulative manner. In this way many generations of the material can be quickly built up without having to add each track one at a time, therefore adapting itself naturally to use in live performance. This is the freest of all my recent work as the automatic ordering of the material in the timelag accumulation process allows me to play quite complicated material which then is arranged into loops and recycled. I have found this such an effective way of producing music that it has occupied the larger part of my time since 1963. I have written no scores for this music as so far it has all been governed by an intuitive relationship developed between me and the machines. I do have a catalog of material which I use as a basis for these improvisations and am constantly adding new patterns. However, I want to keep the music in the tradition of unwritten improvised music.

– T.R.

KEYBOARD STUDIES (1965-present)

The keyboard studies are a part of a work begun in 1964 and are also improvisatory in nature. The two hands combine repeated patterns of varying lengths. Cycles that combine 2-9 beats and any combinations thereof are matched in spontaneous selection, either hand capable of shifting independently to another cycle. The product is polymetric cycling and combined patterns can range to any length — a result of being the common denominator of the 2 component patterns. All patterns are built on a preselected mode or scale. Occasionally melodic passages may be introduced which are composed of a number of patterns linked together.

– T.R.

There are a lot of us that feel that something doesn’t need to be ‘musical’ to be considered music. I know, I am preaching to the converted. And, for the most part, those of us that think this way feel that we are on to something, or perhaps even innovative for believing in this idea. It may still be on the ‘outside’  of what is considered ‘music’ but it is by no means new. Truth be told, all of this is really old, old hat. The late great John Cage wrote the following text in 1937.

If you didn’t know about this piece, and came to a similar conclusion on your own, and think you are quite smart because you did, think again. John Cage is the reason you think any of these things, even if you never knew it — that is just how the universe works. Once it is out in the ether people can key into it and the thoughts spread like the wind. Not even kidding.

THE FUTURE OF MUSIC: CREDO

I BELIEVE THAT THE USE OF NOISE

Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating. The sound of a truck at 50 m.p.h. Static between the stations. Rain. We want to capture and control these sounds, to use them, not as sound effects, but as musical instruments. Every film studio has a library of “sound effects” recorded on film. With a film phonograph it is now possible to control the amplitude and frequency of any one of these sounds and to give to it rhythms within or beyond the reach of anyone’s imagination. Given four film phonographs, we can compose and perform a quartet for explosive motor, wind, heartbeat, and landslide.

TO MAKE MUSIC

If this word, music, is sacred and reserved for eighteenth- and nineteenth-century instruments, we can substitute a more meaningful term: organization of sound.

WILL CONTINUE AND INCREASE UNTIL WE REACH A MUSIC PRODUCED THROUGH THE AID OF ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENTS

Most inventors of electrical musical instruments have attempted to imitate eighteenth- and nineteenth-century instruments, just as early automobile designers copied the carriage. The Novachord and the Solovox are examples of this desire to imitate the past rather than construct the future. When Theremin provided an instrument with genuinely new possibilities, Thereministes did their utmost to make the instrument sound like some old instrument, giving it a sickeningly sweet vibrato, and performing upon it, with difficulty, masterpieces from the past. Although the instrument is capable of a wide variety of sound qualities, obtained by the mere turning of a dial, Thereministes act as censors, giving the public those sounds they think the public will like. We are shielded from new sound experiences.

The special property of electrical instruments will be to provide complete control of the overtone structure of tones (as opposed to noises) and to make these tones available in any frequency, amplitude, and duration.

WHICH WILL MAKE AVAILABLE FOR MUSICAL PURPOSES ANY AND ALL SOUNDS THAT CAN BE HEARD. PHOTOELECTRIC, FILM, AND MECHANICAL MEDIUMS FOR THE SYNTHETIC PRODUCTION OF MUSIC

It is now possible for composers to make music directly, without the assistance of intermediary performers. Any design repeated often enough on a sound track is audible. 280 circles per second on a sound track will produce one sound, whereas a portrait of Beethoven repeated 50 times per second on a sound track will have not only a different pitch but a different sound quality.

WILL BE EXPLORED. WHEREAS, IN THE PAST, THE POINT OF DISAGREEMENT HAS BEEN BETWEEN DISSONANCE AND CONSONANCE, IT WILL BE, IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, BETWEEN NOISE AND SO-CALLED MUSICAL SOUNDS.

THE PRESENT METHODS OF WRITING MUSIC, PRINCIPALLY THOSE WHICH EMPLOY HARMONY AND ITS REFERENCE TO PARTICULAR STEPS IN THE FIELD OF SOUND, WILL BE INADEQUATE FOR THE COMPOSER WHO WILL BE FACED WITH THE ENTIRE FIELD OF SOUND.

The composer (organizer of sound) will not only be faced with the entire field of sound but also with the entire field of time. The “frame” or fraction of a second, following established film technique, will probably be the basic unit in the measurement of time. No rhythm will be beyond the composer’s reach.

NEW METHODS WILL BE DISCOVERED, BEARING A DEFINITE RELATION TO SCHOENBERG’S TWELVE-TONE SYSTEM

Schoenberg’s method assigns to each material, in a group of equal materials, its function with respect to the group. (Harmony assigned to each material, in a group of unequal materials, its function with respect to the fundamental or most important material in the group.) Schoenberg’s method is analagous to modern society, in which the emphasis is on the group and the integration of the individual in the group.

AND PRESENT METHODS OF WRITING PERCUSSION MUSIC

Percussion music is a contemporary transition from keyboardinfluenced music to the all-sound music of the future. Any sound is acceptable to the composer of percussion music; he explores the academically forbidden “nonmusical” field of sound insofar as is manually possible.

Methods of writing percussion music have as their goal the rhythmic structure of a composition. As soon as these methods are crystallized into one or several widely accepted methods, the means will exist for group improvisations of unwritten but culturally important music. This has already taken place in Oriental cultures and in hot jazz.

AND ANY OTHER METHODS WHICH ARE FREE FROM THE CONCEPT OF A FUNDAMENTAL TONE.

THE PRINCIPLE OF FORM WILL BE OUR ONLY CONSTANT CONNECTION WITH THE PAST. ALTHOUGH THE GREAT FORM OF THE FUTURE WILL NOT BE AS IT WAS IN THE PAST, AT ONE TIME THE FUGUE AND AT ANOTHER THE SONATA, IT WILL BE RELATED TO THESE AS THEY ARE TO EACH OTHER

Before this happens, centers of experimental music must be established. In these centers, the new materials, oscillators, generators, means for amplifying small sounds, film phonographs, etc., available for use. Composers at work using twentieth-century means for making music. Performances of results. Organization of sound for musical and extramusical purposes (theater, dance, film).

THROUGH THE PRINCIPLE OF ORGANIZATION OR MAN’S COMMON ABILITY TO THINK.