Curious Women in Experimental Sound: Recent Releases
Before I begin, I really want to say that I’m usually someone who dislikes pushing forward the idea that womxn in music exists as its own genre, and my choice in focusing on womxn in the wide genre of experimental music comes from not only the obvious, that equal recognition for womxn seem absent in this field, but also for my younger self, who just couldn’t seem to find much weird music that sonically and spiritually explored my unspoken experience as female.
There’s just something about hearing a womxn making strange, boundary-breaking, eerie sounds that made me want to sob deeply and simultaneously screech in excitement without explanation. And it still does. I can think of artists like Kate Bush, Yoko Ono, Tori Amos, Laurie Anderson and PJ Harvey being the first to really evoke those responses. As a young woman of 16, who was trying to find my voice and my boundaries, I was surrounded by a lot of my male peers who had incredibly expensive music production software (which they really did nothing with) compared to myself, who couldn’t afford it, but had albums worth of music in my head and was desperate to realise it - I wish there had been more written about outsider womxn to inspire me and to remind me to keep curious in sound.
I think it’s important to briefly mention some of the first pioneers of electronic experimental music in the 20th century, which would include Eliane Radigue, Pauline Oliveros, Daphne Oram (who is known for creating the original Doctor Who theme tune!) and Ada Lovelace. What made their work so ground-breaking at the time was their use of electronics to create abstract, otherworldly soundscapes that weren’t necessarily regarded as “musical”, but more sonic art-based. Of course, music technology between the 1950s and 1980s advanced by huge amounts and sound artists and musicians were really able to hone in on the weird and eerie qualities of electronics, using all kinds of interesting pieces of equipment to explore this - an example that comes to mind is Eliane Radigue’s almost exclusive use of the ARP 2500 from the 70s until the early 2000s. Prepare for some slight fan girling from me over this synth, but what was extremely interesting about it was the amount of clear sounds you could create - paired with brilliant circuits and modules that included all the important elements, such as envelope generators, VCOs, samples and filters.
Moving away from conventional and typical musical components, Radigue was inspired by slow classical movements and started using the drones that were coming from the ARP 2500 to create incredible layers and textures, spanning across long time periods. This was not music for the pop charts, but more a sound journey for listeners who wanted it. She said in an interview regarding this, “I could change the sound from the inside. To explain it visually, you could imagine a mountain turning into a cup, but so slowly from one state to another; it takes time by nature.” I am still put in a complete daze when I listen to her work and I really recommend her first self-released album, “Vice Versa, Etc...” and lying down, closing your eyes and maybe burning some incense when you do listen to it!
As much as I’d love to dive into these works and artists further, my intention for this article is to present current artists that are using different kinds of musical mediums to explore their sounds in the same way. There is a vast amount of music technology readily available and accessible to almost every musician and sound artist nowadays, and despite the pros and cons that could be argued about whether this is a “good” transformation, it has definitely allowed many more people interested in sound to dive into that and even release their own work.
I remember when I first began recording my own music, I downloaded a free music software that was basically a digital 4 track with some very lofi effects. I ended up creating my first EP with it, and since then, my interest in music technology has only become stronger and now it’s my absolute favourite part in making pieces of work. This kind of accessibility to people has had a rippled effect in the advancement of DAWs like Logic Pro and Ableton. So, on that note, I’m going to dive into a handful of some exciting artists right now who are absolutely blowing me away with their experimental work across the genres.
FKA Twigs - Home With You
Probably the most well known of my selection here, FKA Twigs is definitely a brilliant example of a current experimental artist who has managed to gain some recognition in the conventional pop world. Leaning heavily on the musical side of sound experimentation, as with all her work, ‘Home With You’ explores a refreshing and compelling play on genres, alternating between beat-heavy, rhythmic poetic verses and deep, richly strung ballad choruses - a direct musical response to the lyrics she sings, a back and forth introverted exploration of feeling anger and guilt around a relationship with someone. Twigs’ play with songwriting and narrative, as well as incredibly bold and daring industrial approaches to production (particularly in those transitions), like use of phasing effects on the vocals and drums, and other subtle sonic choices in this track really emphasise her unique and sophisticated thought around how narrative and sound can work together (in an almost call and response type of delivery) whilst constantly pushing the boundaries of songwriting and structure.
Ami Dang - Simplicity Mind Tool
Taking huge influence from her South Asian heritage, Ami Dang creates incredible fusions of North Indian classical music and noise ambient electronics. Dang actively works in creating vibrant soundscapes that incorporate her upbringing in Baltimore, USA. This track in particular, taken from her “Meditations: Mixtape Vol. 1”, is a fantastic example of her fusions. From the beginning of this track, Dang begins with a very entrancing sitar loop, using the simple beauty of panning and reverbs to play around with particular notes. At certain points in these loops, Dang effortlessly sings short, gorgeous passages over the top, adding to the psychedelic state of the track. The use of production in this piece is what really makes it experimental, the repetitive, ambient loops, the unconventional use of effects (side pan phasing, reverbs, industrial delays) creates an engrossing layered sonic world, as well as pushing forward the evolution of traditional music.
Waterbaby - I don’t want to sing I don’t want to look
South London duo Martha and Jessica Kilpatrick (sisters, too!) began their project Waterbaby back in 2016 - blending influences like Aphex Twin and Laurie Anderson, paired with exciting beat-driven dance production and their enchanting choral inspired vocals. This specific track really feels like the perfect combination of all that they are, even including their love of film soundtrack, and particularly the interesting work of Ryuichi Sakamoto. What I adore about Waterbaby’s release here are the beautifully unexpected shifts from one section to another so smoothly, in such short spaces of time, whilst still able to build wonderful layers and textures across the track as a whole. I must note the production is fantastic, with hauntingly absorbing use of stereo in vocals, effects and rhythm. A gorgeous tune to check out!
Eartheater - Below The Clavicle
Alexandra Drewchin, known as Eartheater has been releasing and performing since 2009. She is a multi instrumentalist and producer, as well as vocalist and songwriter based in Queens, NY - known for work in the genres of art pop, experimental folk and industrial pop. In this particular track released last year, Drewchin’s use of vocals remind me much of Yoko Ono’s explorations in raw textures and dynamics. The main vocals are panned on either side of the stereo field and the slight variations in each is unnerving (in the best way!). There is really fascinating juxtaposition of genre in pairing this classical folk inspired acoustic instrumentation showered in reverbs, against these dissonant, double tracked, heavily phased, dry vocals. Particularly, those chilling wails at the end of each lyrical section, creates a hauntingly unnerving feeling, as if you’re standing right on the edge of the earth.
Written by Yanna Avlianos