Experimental Contents

As forms tended to go 'weird' with electronic music, so did the emotional quality, the content. Emotions conveyed by electronic music tended to transcend common emotionality on which we are used to in traditional music.

There is a direct connection between motoric motions of human body and basic emotionality. With concept of universal music, which is principally not bodily driven, music also loses this layer of outward, basic emotionality and raw impulses. As universal music is music seen as spiritual language rather than technical discipline, musical expression becomes more developed than offering only basic emotions.

Experimental approach to the musical content can be expressed in the form of a question: what can be said through music? The idea is to express through music ideas not only not yet expressed, but which one would say can not be expressed through music at all. Experimental music aims to express something “from the other side of common human experience”. This music is inspiring in us emotions we couldn’t imagine exist. It engages distant parts of our consciousness and get us in touch with parts of our being for which we weren’t even aware that they exist. It makes us wonder, is it possible that these emotions exists? One is in awe how people came out with those ideas, because they sound like coming from somewhere else and not from within a man; like made by aliens or at least by people from distant future. All of this is pointing towards contemporary mysticism and self-overcoming, overcoming of ordinary human nature as first written about by Nietzsche. No wonder some people call it “cosmic” music.

For the beginning, world from which sounds are coming in electronic music is unusual – the synthesizer. Synthesizer is able to produce any sound imaginable, including those never heard in nature. And what those electronic sounds evoke in us, can be very unusual and difficult to conjure with anything we are accustomed with.

The sound of the TR-606 was far away from the sound of the real drum, but that’s what makes it interesting. Synthesizer has intrinsic sounds of its own, which don't emulate or even evoke a sound in nature. You can 'invent' sounds, which is why it's one of the most important instruments in the history of music. You can create your own timbres and have access to so many sounds which have never been heard before. Jean Michel Jarre

Non-Emotional Music

Expressing things not outwardly emotional, abstract ideas, is one of the interesting fields. This strive is not unknown in classical music. An example of this surprising, “experimental” expresivity in classical music is what is called characterization of personalities through music.

The first time did boy Ludvig (Beethoven) turned attention on himself with the following miraculous skill of his that he had to constantly repeat: they would say to him of some familiar person, and he would, playing the piano, painted it’s character with such clarity that everything resounded with laugh. From “Der Himmel Voller Geigen” by Rudolf Thiel

Or another example could be a musical phrase that tells to people to sit down since the concert is about to begin, by John Williams. Many JM Jarre pieces may be the best example of all of this: music that does not deal with common sentiments and temperament, while being highly exciting and emotionally and intellectually engaging. For example, Jean Michel Jarre's “Waiting For Cousteau” ambient piece conveys and idea so abstract and devoid-of-sentiment as waiting. Or, JM Jarre knew to capture and emphasize that uncatchable, unnamed but particular feeling that one has while dealing with science, such as chemistry or astronomy, or that follows computer programing; sometimes called “cyber” feel. One would never think it could be so powerfully captured in music. The sounds are like coming from a scientific laboratory so one feels like witnessing a scientific experiment, or the voyage through the micro-world.

Geometry of Senses

A particular aspect of expressing what seemingly can’t be expressed with music, is the life of the senses. Opening of Oxygene, for example, sounds much like meta-sound of the sea, geometrized version of sea sounds, comprising our audio-ideas about the underwater world. Or music can be suggestive of a smell, or something visual. Compositionally, such pieces can be puzzling. This approach is traditionally called impressionistic. Arnold Schoenberg tries to explain how impressionistic composing differs from classicist:

Richard Wagner’s harmony had promoted a change in the logic and constructive power of harmony. One of it’s consequences was the so called impressionistic use of harmonies, especially practiced by Debussy. His harmonies, without constructive meaning, often served the coloristic purpose of expressing moods and pictures. Moods and pictures, though extra-musical, thus became constructive elements, incorporated in the musical functions; they produced a sort of emotional comprehensibility in practice, if not in theory.

If there is a piece I would call a great illustration of this and a true musical painting, it would be Equinoxe 1 from JM Jarre. It is also another great example of deeply polyphonic music, in which none of the themes is dominating over the rest. It evokes a sunrise. It starts with the deep, resonant bass, bringing atmosphere of the early, foggy morning. Then the intonation of bright synthesizer strings suggest the day is about to come. It continues to a fast, echoing arpeggio, stretching through four chords, creating impression of early light, to be soon coupled with the gentle, background sound with a light, ambient melody line describing rays of the early sun appearing from behind the horizon. Mild, deep chords follow, bringing impression of warmth. And then with a magical portamento, intriguingly incorporated into the orchestration, a superb impression of the rising sun is brought; just as the sun is making some sound of it’s own, 'singing' as it rises; and as it is more and more high, the glissando goes even higher. When the piece reaches the top it suddenly (and not very elegantly) drops down and melts back to a introductory dark bass, preparing the cold atmosphere of Equinoxe 2. This piece is an extreme example of “painting in sounds”. The evolution of a piece is more vertical then horizontal; more like making the picture sharper and sharper than changing it.

Impressionism is often called a “sensual” art, which is misguiding since it is actually, even when dealing solely with senses, rather spiritual in approach. We are experiencing not sensual life, but certain “sensual transcendence” through music, “geometry of senses”. Artist is not giving us the sensual thing, but an idea of it.

Synthesizer may be the first impressionist instrument. /…/ You can't paint a flower, but only the idea of a flower... What is quite new about electronic instruments is that you can integrate into your music the idea of the wind, the idea of the rain, the idea of the sea. Jean Michel Jarre

BBC Journalist: “Why do you use synthesizers?”

Jean Michel Jarre: “And if I was playing on a symphonic orchestra, you would ask me why I don’t use them…”

“…synthesizers attracted me because they can express the sound of the sea, of the sun, of the ocean…”

Art is nothing else but the highest triumph of understanding, in which conscious understanding and feelings come together; and in this case, understanding of the natural world. Artists shows us not how something looks like, but its inner geometry. Through this sensual transcendence, music evokes sensations from the outer world, and so closes the circle between real and imaginary and makes us realize and feel the spiritual essence and the inner construction of the world. We feel the reality of the non-material essence of the real world, and the serenity and bliss, and feeling that something is right with the world – that is a characteristic of great art -- settles in. In a way, like culture usually does, this music puts itself on the place of nature, and the artist on the place of God.

Geometry of Sound

This can go as far as to exploring through sound the world of sound itself -- a “scientific” approach, music seen as exploration of pure audio experiences, geometry of sounds, subliming sounds, rather than going for any other meaning. This includes evoking a sound with another sound, better said offering artists own vision of some sound – in true manner of impressionistic painters, who offered theirs versions of visions of the world:

I am more and more involved by evocating sounds rather than copying them or taking the real sounds from nature - the sounds of wind, trains or rain don't interest me, but these sounds as I want to hear them. Jean Michel Jarre

So one can hear a sound that is capturing an idea of another, better known, more common sound. These abstract sounds are found all over JM Jarre's music, such as scream from opening of Ethnicolor I, that abstracts the birth scream of an ancient women. There is no meaning apart from strictly sound-wise meaning, similarly as when Picasso was asked about the meaning, the character of his portraits − he was answering that there is no character, he is interested solely in shapes. In a similar way, composer may be interested in pure sound experience and deal solely with them, musicalizing, deepening our raw sound impressions, turning them into art form that has no other intentions. For example, Beatbox piece of Art of Noise brings unusual exploration of sounds, evocating a semi-chaotical sound environemnt, reminiscent of some laundry-washing service maybe (!?), playing a quirky, machine-like main theme.

Scientific Music

Science was romantic during greatest part of XX century, maybe omitting the last decade. Einsteins discoveries, computer science and much else was creating a sense of promise – of overcoming problems of the past and conquering new territories for the future. World of science and scientific exploration in general was especially prominent as musical inspiration during 1970s and partly 1980s. If art is an expression of some strive, and if classicist music expressed civility, romantic refined emotionality, and ethnic raw instincts, then modern music, music of science, was about strive for knowledge and exploration of possibilities inside the nature. It brought closer to us what was distant and obscured – far away galaxies, our future, micro-world. Even traditional classical composers were into cosmical themes, like Gustav Holst writing 'Planets'.

Certainly there is no greater icon of scientific music then Jean Michel Jarre. A piece like Oxygene 2 captures the spirit of science and discovery; the introductory arpeggio sounds like chemistry striving for discovery, and dissonant electronic effects sound like particles from an accelerator, electrons orbiting the atomic core or rays from a hi-tech gun; and the other arpeggio sounds like came out of a mind of a super computer, giving an impression of inhuman, super-human kind of mind.

On JM Jarre's Magnetic Fields 1 opening, we are treated with the sense of dazzling speed, maybe speed of light, or a short ride on a fast machine.

Especially notable event in JM Jarre’s carrier was his Rendez-Vous 1986 project, a soundtrack for 25^th anniversary of NASA, that was a part of a singular spectacle in downtown Houston, when on one evening the whole city of Houston was transformed into a playground for showing off and celebrating science and space exploration. The overture of the soundtrack, Rendez-Vous 1, is probably the most close to authentic sound of scientific music one can hear, without comic-book, trash aesthetics of rockers or Kraftwerk, and without sect-like murkiness and obscure lack of melody of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. In accordance with occasion for which it was written, it was music that presents science and scientists on a more aristocratic way, full of serenity and new elegance, connected with classical music but transformed into an unmistakable scientific-age sensibility. The big-hearted theme effectively launches a listener into a realm of scientific culture, bringing to mind silhouettes of rocket launching ramps in the evening, like standing in theirs bottoms surrounded with equipment and looking in the stars above; the power of immense space, its emptiness and static, crystal shining, the melancholy of great cosmical distances, emotional blankness in front of it and the longing for the stars, are all captured.

The 1986 Rendez-Vous Houston spectacle was to be held on earth simultaneously with NASA “Challenger” space-shuttle doing its job in the orbit. One of the astronauts, Ron McNair, who was also a jazz sax player, was to play for the first time music in space – a melancholic jazz piece “Last Rendez-Vous” written for him by JM Jarre, that would be broad-casted live down to earth on Houston concert. However, a disaster struck: Challenger exploded while being launched a week before the concert, killing all the astronauts and almost canceling the concert. The concert still went ahead, and track “Last Rendez-Vous” was named “Ron’s Piece”.

Surrealism

Music of modern musicians often had something to do with a dream. For example, it was not the future that was captivating, but the dream of that future. Much of that future is now; but the dream of it was something else.

Surrealist music is music that comes from subconsciousness; it is dealing with deep psychological intricacies and memories, and the world of dreams and psychology. Subconscious shift was visible already with classical music. Schoenberg's Erwartung is a story about a women who seeks her man in a forest, finding him dead near the house of a woman that stole him from her; music only continues to reflect her states of mind. Eric Satie was one of the early surrealists in music, writing pieces such as Pieces en forme de poire (Pieces in the Shape of a Pear) or Embryons desseches (Desiccated Embryos). Surrealism usually creates impression of an imaginary, dream-like world with distorted proportions, like surreal paintings. It could be compared with surrealism of Salvador Dali (Dali himself, it was said, liked Tangerine Dream and JM Jarre; there is even a rumor that Ethnicolor I was composed after Dali said to JM Jarre he would like him to compose music for his funeral). JM Jarre composed Diva in 1984, which is a great example of surreal piece of music. It has a dark psychological edge, sounding like echoes of early childhood reverberating in a chamber; ever-flowing stream of French-like sights sight-singed by Laurie Anderson – maybe French as a baby would hear it – uttered by a close, hushing mother's voice; father giving advice from the distance. These two pieces are on the line with, say, Tangerine Dreams Wahn from 1973 and similar sigh-singed material; but what Jarre achieves in Diva is a true melody of sights, rather than an semi-arbitrary sequence of voices.

Another example is same Jarre’s Equinoxe 2, mystique on its height, a cold dream; comes from between life and death, feels dramatic, introspective, vulnerable. Expecially notable in this piece, apart from an original chord progression, is exquisite and highly structured layering of sounds. Vangelis Beaubourg, one of his masterpieces, a true celebration of synthesizer sound, sounds like halls from a weird, big building; strange, twisted halls, here and there through the openings the blue sky and fluffy white clouds can be seen.

Cosmic Mysticism

“Cosmical” music is for me and modern listeners almost pastoral music of our age. Whoever has enjoyed Arthur Clarke’s books such as “Meeting With Rama” or “Earthlight”, must have felt the attractions of cosmic realm, with its inexhaustible, shimmering charms.

Before electronic musicians will start spreading theirs musical tapestries, French composer Olivie Mesiaen did the same with a traditional symphonic orchestra. His most famous orchestral piece is a grandiose 80 minutes mystical-sounding symphony Thurangalila. Name Thurangalila comes from Sanskrit. “Lila literally means a game, but game in the sense of divine workings in the cosmos, the game of creation, destruction and reconstruction, the game of life and death. Lila is also Love.” Thuranga is “time that flies like a galloping horse, time that runs out like sand from an hour-glass. Thuranga is movement and rhythm. Hence Thurangalila means altogether: song of love, hymn to joy, time, movement, rhythm, life and death”. Symphony opens with a theme “played by trombones with the heavy, terrifying brutality of old Mexican monuments… has always suggested to me some terrible, deadly statue” (Messiaen). This antique spirit is further deepened via Hindu and far-eastern inspired passages, that could sound as Taj Mahal at evening, or exotic gardens of colorful flowers. But they are all embraced in tapestry of cosmical, mythical themes and passages, many of them extended into trance-like sound voyages. The piece has some reminiscence in concept of all-encompassing mystique and overall feel with Alexander Scriabin’s Divine Poem.

However, it is with arrival of electronic instruments when cosmical music will come to its own, through pastel cosmical tapestries of Tangerine Dream, in which stars and quasars are pulsating and colliding; mists slowly swirling and shining in colors, space dust shimmering. Pieces such as “Sunrise in the third System” or “Fly and collision of comas Sola” from Alpha Centauri album are some vintage examples of theirs cosmicism. But even without electronic instruments, using only cellos, TD were able to bring out muted, milky sound of cosmic matter being reorganized through convulsive motions inside of a cosmic womb on “Birth Of Liquid Plejades” from album Zeit.

With TD's German colleague and ex-member Claus Shultze it was more like landing on some of the planets hiding in the weaving of TD pieces. “Floating” from “Moondawn” brings to mind a hazy sunrise, in muted pastel colors, on a forbidding planet. A vintage Schulze track Echoes of Time (bonus track from Timewind album) brings to mind silent workings of a mysterious civilization. Kontinuum from the same composer may be one of the most religious electronic pieces ever written; one almost feels like being in a temple devoted to the Universe.

These murky and atonal records were certainly not everyones piece of cake. On a more melodic cosmic specter there was Vangelis with 1975 “Albedo 0.39”. Inspired with cosmical radio-waves and pulsations, its themes and atmospherics depict cosmos in which planets, stars and atoms like some radio-stations send and receive waves of energy, being explored by human cosmical ships and astronauts. Vangelis will write another cosmical album in 1986, “Direct” with similar inspirations, only being more mellow and romantic, more towards classical music sensibility.

Movie music brought much of cosmical music through SF movies, from more quirky electronic scores like Alien soundtrack, to famous sweeping, fairy-tale like themes of John Williams for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

American composer Jeff Wayne wrote the most famous SF musical “War Of The Worlds” after the same named H.G. Wells SF novel from XIX century, that uses symphonic orchestra, electronics, electric guitar, pop singers and the voice of Richard Barton. Famous main theme, “The Eve Of The War”, describing arrival of Martian army on a summer eve, was used in various SF TV shows, including a movie “War Of The Worlds”, and was on most “synthesizer hits” compilations of the time.

Cyber Mystique

XX culture had much to do with machines, almost making a cult out of them. While some machines are the synonym of enslaving a man, through much of this music, there was a feeling of exactly freedom through machines; like machines will make us into more and not less. This love for machines was coupled with love for the musical machine – the synthesizers.

Alan Parsons Project wrote I, robot, a rockist electro-instrumental that brings a subtle robot-like atmosphere, aschieved with the combination of relentless polyrhythm and forceful robot-like chord progressions.

Kraftwerk wrote a seminal album Man Machine on 1978, starring We Are The Robots classic. Another Kraftwerk album, Computer World, brimms with an atmosphere of computers running inside the commercial buildings, to end with an ominous, agressive track It's more fun to compute.

Unlike Kraftwerk, who described world of machines from outside through robotic machine-like stylization, Equinoxe 4 of JM Jarre made us feel an “electronic” emotion, “cyber” emotion. A listener would wonder how he can have so strange emotions inside. The emotional impact of JM Jarre’s pieces was touching an emotional part of a listener he didn’t know exists; and for some reason, that part of him is a bit robot-like. You are inclined to think there is something in you that you are not fully aware of, and that is android-like; or maybe that this is the music of androids, if they would exist. It is easy to imagine Ethnicolor I as coming from subconsciousness of an android.

Art of Noise wrote a pecciuliary beutiful themes Moments in love and Camilla" which are based on persistent repeating of a main theme, that pulsates in its hushing sound. However, partially because of constant repetition, partly beacuse of the edgy and powerful character of the themes themselves, intriguely contrasted with a gentle sound that plays them, pieces are on the deepest layer sounding cyber-like. The most tender cyber-music ever made, no doubt.

But the most famous cyber theme is the one from the movie Blade Runner written by Vangelis (owning much to Oxygene 2 of JM Jarre).

With techno, cyber-mysticism will be driven hard. It was almost “hyped” and we recommend to anyone who likes this sort of music to search for 1990s techno.

Ancient Mysticism

When first wave of modernism came, still in the circles of late classical music, it brought fascination not with future, but rather with the past. Composers such as Stravinsky, Hindemith and Orff were into revisiting past on theirs own ways - medieval past, antique past or even further to primal times. To offer old things again, but using new freedom and means; to bring out some ancient spirit as it always was, existing among us, with us or within us, maybe for centuries and millenniums, yet not quite explored with music; to use modern musical achievements to unravel and express something ancient – this was theirs aim. For example, popular Korsakov’s Scheherezade piece certainly captures atmosphere of oriental fairytale better than anything written before it. Or we can wonder if we ever musically expressed Greek mythology. Can it be expressed using romantic clichés, or could Mozart express it with his classicist clichés? Even in theirs time, they were not expressed - musical language of epochs was not evolved enough.

Probably the greatest XX century composer Igor Stravinsky, and who was primarily attracted through his whole life with expressing the past on his way, was impressed with theatrical and atmospheric qualities of Verdi’s operas. He decided to make use of that sound of classical drama to tell an ancient story of king Oedipus Rex from Sophocles; on that way one of the best XX century operas will become. He conveniently set this macabre story in Rome, and left the libretto on old Latin, to make it more authentically ancient. The music tries to bring nothing new to this story; only to express its spirit. Stravinsky used all musical methods, old and modern, that appeared appropriate to him; Verdi, Russian folk, Greek metrical rhythms, and even Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis all found theirs place in various sections of the opera score. Memorable parts include the opening, nasal choruses over monumental ostinato creating strong atmosphere of misery of ragged plague sufferers of the ancient city; then the part in which the seer Tiresias, through perfectly stylized passage, reveals the murderer; and the epilogue, which brings archetypal macabre finale of antique tragedy, with all of its horror: “the sight of all sights most horrible”, “monstrous thing most foul”, king who unknowingly killed his father, wedded his mother and then learning about it blinded himself, is recreated with all its dread, black blood flowing from kings eyes.

Stravinsky continued to be attracted with such themes his whole life, that also included ancient ballet “Apollo”, where he tried to evoke idea of enlightened antique plane, Platonic plane of serenity above this world. In later part of his life he was attracted to biblical themes, as in Threni. His approach however remained equally exploratory; there was even something khabalistic about it.

German composer from first half of XX century Paul Hindemith was especially interested in baroque and medieval music in general. His music often goes to renaissance spirit and medieval fairy-tale like melodies. His three-movements symphony “Mathis Der Maler” based on same-named opera, brings to mind Bruckner’s cathedral-like sound worlds, but united with more early-medieval, exotic kind of melodicism.

But it was Carmina Burana by Carl Orff to become the most famous exercise in evocation of old spirit of XX century. This scenic composition, consisting of 5 sections comprising 25 separate pieces, was dealing with medieval Europe of XXII and XXIII century, but transformed into peculiar version, that brings them on a more transcendental level. While having some grandiosity and artifice of classical music, this piece made a special impact in a sense that it was still not quite what we usually call classical music. It had some transcendental sound of its own, that was not reminiscent of romanticism, classicism or baroque. That sound was like rising from the old times of ethnic and spiritual music, but united with more imagination and modern musical refinement.

I am often asked why I nearly always select old material, fairy tales and legends, for my stage works. Because I do not feel them as old. Carl Orff

This is to become one of important approaches in modern times: to make music erected directly from ethnic and ancient-spirit realms while using modern devices. This tendency to make music more authentically close to ethnic roots also meant in many ways simplifying classical mold, but also introducing many new surprising levels of expresivity. Some of such music sounds almost like ethnic music cushioned in classical orchestras. “Les Noces” of Stravinsky is an example. This virtuous work, not easy to interpret and bring to life outside of Russian tradition, brings very earthly and rhythmic music and emotion and feel of primitive folk wedding, although it does occasionally becomes more artificial, such as mystic mournful part that describes parents in second part, or enchantingly orchestrated lyric ending. XX century will produce much interesting ethnic-sounding music, especially among movie composers, such as Serbian composer Vojkan Kostic, who wrote a piece played completely on common flasks, which comically accompanies an atrocious bus seen in a movie.

Some of these ethnic pieces sound even more primal than any actual ethnic music. One of the most notorious XX century classical compositions, Rite of Spirng by Stravinsky, was the first such XX century composition. It was inspired with a mystical dream, as Stravinsky was telling later, that was involving scenes from far past of nomadic tribes. The piece opens with a hazy, dreamy motive; like an ancient Slavic girl awaking in the dawn, talking with birds. Throughout the work consciousness is undifferentiated; consciousness of people who were seeing all theirs world and life in the movements of nature. Ancient steppe, woods, nights and dawns and strange creatures are described through a series of dream-like, ancient-sounding passages, switching between deeply atmospheric and rhythmic music.

The composition was interesting to archaeologist and other scientist, since dealing with scenes from forgotten past. It was used for scientific show about beginnings of the world. The composition was actually being created and inspired through an archaeological exploration project to which Stravinsky participated. It conveniently, on the beginning of the century, made apparent the link between science exploration and modern music, that will continue to grow throughout the century. Musically, this exploration translates into search for primal, meta-ethnic music. It is a kind of experiment, to search for music that is a part of us all, stemming from that core of basic, all-human instincts. Through exploration of ethnic forms throughout the world and through modern compositional devices and instruments, a musician can hope to bring them out.

The artifice, the fairy-tale, dream-like quality of this piece is also present in other Stravinsky ballets, Fire Bird, Fairies Kiss or Petrushka, all of them having debt to Russian XIX century music of Korsakov (FireBird) and Tchaikovsky (Fairies Kiss).

After space music fashion passed with 1970s, almost as to relax from disturbing and somewhat claustrophobic futurism and murky cosmicism of 1970s, and maybe also to avoid many unpleasant and subversive potentials of music like JM Jarre’s, themes of cosmopolitanism and universality were presented more as ethical-fusion story. What rendered Oxygene and other JM Jarre's albums somewhat inhuman and blank, was loss of connection with ancestors and ethnic roots. This was less lacking in work of another synthesizer prophet, Vangelis. What often strikes most in his themes, is the way they escape time and space, theirs timeless sound - like existing since always, like being born with the world. It’s difficult to conjure they were written in some particular time by a particular author; they sound like ethereal music with no source in time and space. The sense of familiarity of something that is yet new to us appears; that maybe comes from these themes having something to do with how music was in ancient times; maybe they are made around memories of those themes.

What this ethnic phase brought generally speaking, after “futuristic”, synthesizer phase that sounded forbidding, even sinister, and stressful, is more humanity, naturalness, relaxation and interpretative spirit. It was more there to cure and relax than to shock or stress, and sounded much less raw than pioneering electronic music. Some even wanted to call it “new classical music” (inappropriately).

Mixing ethical influences with pop music was actually usual in progressive rock since its beginnings during 1960s and 1970s, and can be found at the place of lesser known bands such as Incredible String Band. Later this will become more artificial, so synthesist Vangelis was creating ethnic inspired music on synthesizers, finishing too far from it to be considered for ethnic music. His “China” album from 1978 brought very artificial quasi-ethnic sound.

But special place in this realm holds Mike Oldfield, whose exotic and mystic ethnic vibes bring other-wordly atmospheres, expressing feelings that seem like not coming from a man. Oldfield has developed a peculiar, artificial, private ethnic sound, a product of strong individualism while venturing into ethno and mystique. Ommadawn and Incantations made during mid-1970s, and Amarok made decade and a half later are the best examples. Ommadawn opens with meditative, mystical passage, that brings oriental melancholy on a transcendental level. Later same themes are used for a particularly impressive trance-like passage, a sort of African chant for some sacrificial ritual. Amarok also brings an exhilarating African passage, this time an overflow of energy and natural happiness, in front of the clear sunny skies opening above some jungle. There is a detailed musical analysis of Ommadawn and Amarok online, writen by young composer Ryan Yard, on the adresses: http://tubular.net/analysis/ommadawn/ and http://tubular.net/analysis/amarok/.

If there was music that was a continuation of what 1970s pioneered, it was composed by Swiss Andreas Vollenwedier, where ethnic influences were sometimes brought to the verge of complete disappearance, melting inside of something completely transcendental.

Later, during 1990s even a few techno musicians were dealing with this. Most notable effort was that of FSOL on albums “Dead Cities” and partially “ISDN”, that despite being in claustrophobic techno atmosphere, evoke mystique and primal times of old civilizations with theirs atmospheric depth and intensity. Track “Egypt” from ISDN is an example, or “My Kingdom” from ISDN (based on Vangelis “Rachel Theme” from Blade Runner soundtrack).

On the less synthetic part of the spectre there was late 1980s Australian duo Dead Can Dance, who were playing various tribal and medieval music cushioned in mystical modern arrangements and with a touch of pop music. In the same period there were also lesser known groups such as Delerium, with records such as Faces, Forms and Illusions and Morpheus who did ancient mystique with depth of ambiance, through extended electronic atmospherics reminiscent of Tangerine Dream.

Carl Jenkins will during 1990s bring probably the most interesting ethnic project of that decade, under the name Adiemus. It brought a peculiar “private” ethnic sound that employed symphonic orchestra and vocal soloists and choruses (most of them actually produced by the same singer, Miriam Stockley), vaguely on the line with Carl Orff's works from the beginning of the century. It was sung on an invented language that resembles old Latin, conveying an artificial world that floats between past-historical and imaginary. Adiemus I was bringing to mind a gentle world of shady forests and silver streams, like ethnic music of some imaginary race, almost like willows go Roman or African. Adiemus II was more medieval, bringing to mind battles, sunsets and castles of this period, with a touch of primal tribal atmosphere ala Dead Can Dance. With Imagined Oceans Carl Jenkins was inspired with a set of poems in old Latin, describing what was then believed to be oceans on the moon, convincingly setting them to music, succeeding to capture the atmosphere of those imagined oceans as the Latin poet must have seen them, despite working in a time in which we know very well those are no oceans but just plains of dust.

The result of such meeting of old and new, historical and artificial is something that Carl Orff was referring to as “spiritual realities” (by which he did not mean ritual or religious “realities”). The world that such music brings to mind is in the same time imaginary and close to worlds that existed; better said, it is like idealized version of a historical realm in Platonic sense – quintessence of that realm as given through vision of a composer. That vision, if convincing enough, we will feel as a true expression of some past time, even if we know that it actually never existed quite as such.

Also popular was the non-artificial and still symphonic ethnic music such as that of Goran Bregovic, a Balkan-based ethno musician who offered a rather in-artificial, close-to-ground-and-people sound, yet having grandiosity of symphony orchestra (music from movies “Dom za Vesanje”, “Arizona Dream”, “Queen Margot” and “Underground”). Indian composer A. Rahman was offering a blend of Indian-inspired themes and classical music, in pieces such as Mumbai theme.

This approach will probably continue to hold attraction for musicians to come. The world of past and mythology probably still holds a wealth of unwritten music within itself.

Innovations presented in this chapter are far from maturity. Classical polyphony was invented around year 1000 – in Notre Dame cathedral in France -- and centuries passed until it was perfected. No one can know how these new forms will evolve, or how fast; but it is the road to pursue.

I don’t know where this is leading us, but what I do know is that in recent times I discovered very many branches of music that didn’t exist before. Jean Michel Jarre