Philosophy and time, in both a metaphorical and literal sense, are well explored within the auditory world. Electronic music’s fascination with the manipulation of time is rooted in our philosophical exploration of temporality.[i] In the hands of artists and producers, time can surpass linear constraints, becoming something malleable. Artistic movements such as Surrealism and Futurism have also shaped the compositions of electronic music. Despite the surrealist movement being very well defined in the history of painting, the subversion of reality has also strayed into the world of music composition. Surrealism can be defined as exceeding the distinction between reality and dream. It seeks to explore the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated elements and unveil the potential of the unconscious mind. Landscapes, both through visuals and sound, are created in dreamlike ways, defying laws of predictability and logic. [ii] Viewers are offered a chance to interpret their own meanings. Futurism, is based on the celebration of technological advancements, typically rejecting traditional artistic styles and creating a new one that reflects the contemporary world. Since electronic music is fundamentally tied to technology, this has had an influence on conceptual approaches as well as sound design techniques within the creative process. This can be recognised through the art of sampling and audio manipulation. This essay explores the possibilities of manipulation within futuristic modes of production, touching on the various ways in which perception can be challenged through the digital techniques adopted by producers.

The recontextualization of sound within music production is arguably most profound within the world of sampling, which refers to the technique of taking a portion of a sound recording from any source, and using that as the foundation for new compositions. They can range from short, simplistic elements like drum hits or vocal phrases to more complex, extended segments of sound. Its origins This arise from the emergence of Hip-Hop in the South Bronx of New York City within the late 1970’s. As the culture evolved Dj’s and producers experimented with manipulating records using techniques such as scratching and back spinning to create new patterns and textures. Eventually, the accessibility of samplers and drum machines allowed snippets from records to be captured and then triggered in various ways. The layering of sounds allowed musical and cultural genres from different eras to be blended together in a collage-like way, creating a sonic time warp. [iii] Manipulation of time resonates with surrealism’s utilisation of the unexpected to encourage alternate realities. The roots of sample-based production in Hip-Hop has been transferred to the auditory arts in a wider format, reflecting in more modern day genre’s such as dubstep. Parisian producer Argo, builds intricate, sample based productions that are bass heavy. His use of disjointed atmospherics gathered from a wide range of sources such as film scenes, 2000s video games, as well as his own field recordings, is a prime example of how fragments of data can be collected from different pockets of time, and recombined to form a sonic collage. The outcome is one that is mysterious, unconventional and thought provoking.

A third Space

With the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and his pioneering electronic composition ‘Gesang der Jünglinge’ produced in 1956, space became an important parameter in electronic music. Reverb is a powerful spatial auditory effect used by producers. Atmospheres and emotions can easily be manipulated with this tool, as the space that a sound occupies can play with our perception. A word or phrase can be transferred from something airy and light, to something carrying a heavy emotional weight. Juxtapositions can be created between a waveform that is uncomfortably close, to a sound inhabiting an out of reach distance. Surrealism encourages this irrational aspect of creativity. A decay tail can be introduced that makes sounds appear as though they are lingering in space. “Hybrid reverb” is a modern tool, that combines digital and analog processing to create a new and realistic space for waveforms to inhabit. This may be referred to as “A third space”. It enables time and space to be reclaimed, creating possibilities for new realms. In ambient and experimental electronic music, reverb can be used to create an evolving landscape, exhibiting an ethereal otherworldliness with textures shaped to an environment that may not obey traditional notions of time. This adopts a surrealist mindset of boundary-pushing imagination. A producer who uses heavy reverb within their production style is Burial. He combines the origins of dubstep and garage with heavy ambiences to craft a unique sound. Taking snippets of vocals from R&B records, as well as video game samples, he is able to blur the edges of individual sounds to create a cohesive sonic palette. By modulating parameters over time, a dynamic movement is created, creating a shifting nature. The blurred boundaries between foreground and background create a sense of ambiguity. Additionally, his use of off-grid percussion, and syncopation in his beats creates a sense of disordered kinetic energy , redefining traditional quantized notions of rhythm, referring back to principles in the futurist movement.

Who’s words? Pitch-shifting and slicing

Re-pitching vocals can create a sense of anonymity and disguise, hiding the recognition of the speaker. This is also a technique adopted by Burial. By pitching down a vocal, a sense of ambiguity is created. A feminine tone can be transposed to masculine and vice versa. A deeper darker tone can be created with new sinister identities formed. Sampling a word, and then resampling it, for example an octave higher, allows a call and response type interaction to be created, a new convocation can be be formed digitally. Through manipulating pitch, a whole new presence of being can be created, an alternate reality. Additionally, a “chopped and screwed” style where samples are manipulated by altering their pitch and tempo simultaneously, results in a droning, hypnotic effect. A syllable or note within a phrase can be dragged out to an unnatural length, skewing its natural intonation. This is something I myself have utilised in my productions.  By creating a track, sampling vocals only from one interview clip, I was able to find randomised snippets of sound from throughout the interview. Through playing my computer keyboard I could find words and phrases which resonated. By re-jumbling the order of words, natural order is manipulated, disrupting linear thought and completely re-contextualising the tone and meaning of the speakers thoughts.

Lingering words – delay’s

The term “dubbing” has its origins in reggae and dub music genres, where producers create alternate versions of songs by incorporating echoes and delays into sounds. Long delay times create a lingering presence, altering the perceived tempo. Combining different delay rates can create a sonic manta of patterns and loops, inducing an almost trance-like state, where past, present, and future become one. These loops remind us that time follows a continuum, not merely a linear progression, highlighting a quantum essence. Automations can be made across a musical and spatial timeline. For example choosing to automate a delay on the final word of a phrase leaves an emphasis on that word, inviting the listener to contemplate its meaning. Grain delays, work on an almost molecular level, fracturing sounds into minuscule grains. This can create glitch-like effects, creating a kind of sonic chaos – a gradual decline into disorder. Glitches can also be created through the technique of warping by dragging vocals out to unnatural lengths, which changes the size of the grains. This technique has been employed by producer Djrum, in their track, titled “Plead with me”. The track features a distinct atmospheric quality, one that is both soulful and warm. Clean vocal phrases embodying an ethereal nature are contrasted against the confused, glitched out stutters of “don’t you think I’ve had enough”. Here, granular synthesis is explored. The decrease in grain size, that is the amount of grains in a waveform, has led to otherworldly textures that possess an almost ‘scattered’ perception of time. Alternatively, increasing feedback, leads to a cascading effect, as though time is stretching infinitely. Incorporating non-musical sounds such as glitches into compositions, reflects the futurist’s encouragement of disruptive malfunction.

Furthermore, the visual aspect of surrealism has also influenced electronic music in its usage in accompanying installation art. Soundscapes can be created alongside multimedia pieces to create a supernatural, time-warping world. An example being my sister, a sculpture artist, asking me to accompany her works with an auditory piece. Her sculptures, inspired by carvings on ancestral furniture, explore themes of time and memories, how inanimate objects witness time, and have a surrealist ability to hold memories. This is something explored through the ‘Stone Tape Theory’, attributed to T.C. Lethbridge, who suggested that emotional and traumatic events can be projected into physical matter, forming impressions in rocks and other surfaces. This concept was reinforced sonically by incorporating sampled tape recordings of our great-grandmother’s voice, by whom the furniture was handed down. The idea of this immersive “third space” is explored yet again, where the convention of time is challenged. A collage is created of past convocations, ambiences of outside traffic, and twinkles of mystical, futuristic synths, all collected from different pockets of time. Multimedia art pieces such as this suggest that memories can be held in waveforms, as memories can be held in physical matter.

The art of manipulating time within music production, allows us to take a futurist approach in reconsidering time’s boundaries, while also highlighting its vulnerability within technology. It teaches us about the way we view world concepts, and the importance of challenging the conventional. Music should be viewed as a complex dynamic system, one which offers potential for perception to be challenged. These alterations remind us that time is not an object but a construction, affirming that only the perception of the present exists. Ultimately the perception of time is based around our awareness of transformation and movement.

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[i] Rossetti, D., Antunes, M., & Manzolli, J.,  Compositional Procedures in Electronic Music and the Emergence of Time Continuum Organised Sound, 2020

[ii] Griglio, G.  Surrealism and music: 2018

[iii] Christopher Roy, Boogie down predictions: Hip-hop, Time, and Afro-futurism , 2022

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Creativity, Music, Philosophy, Time