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Post-rock

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Post-rock
Stylistic originsExperimental, Minimalism, Ambient, Krautrock, Progressive rock, Indie rock, Space rock, Shoegazing, Art rock, Jazz, and Electronica
Cultural originsMid-1980s, United Kingdom and United States
Typical instrumentsGuitar – Bass – Drums – Synthesizer – Other less common instruments, such as Saxophone, Oboe, Glockenspiels, Piano, Cello or Violins.
Regional scenes
Montreal, Iceland and Chicago

Post-rock is a music genre characterized by the use of musical instruments commonly associated with rock music (typically a line-up of two electric guitars, an electric bass guitar and a drum set), but utilizing rhythms, harmonies, melodies and chord progressions that are unorthodox in rock and roll. Post rock is often instrumental, and when singing and lyrics are featured, they are often less prominent than in other rock and roll styles.

As with many musical genres, the term is arguably inadequate as a concise descriptor: for example, Tortoise and Mogwai were among the most prominent bands of 1990s described as post rock, but the two bands' music has very little in common besides the fact that it is largely instrumental. As such, the term has been the subject of backlash from listeners and artists alike.[1]

Although firmly rooted in the indie scene of the 1980s and '90s, post-rock's style bears little resemblance musically to that of indie rock. However, as post-rock music is often recorded on independent labels, indie and post-rock often share the same level of obscurity.

Origin of the term

The term 'Post-rock' was coined by critic Simon Reynolds in his review of Bark Psychosis' album Hex, published in the March 1994 issue of Mojo magazine. Reynolds expanded upon the idea later in the May 1994 issue of The Wire.[2][3]

He used the term to describe music "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords." He further expounded on the term,

Perhaps the really provocative area for future development lies... in cyborg rock; not the wholehearted embrace of Techno's methodology, but some kind of interface between real time, hands-on playing and the use of digital effects and enhancement.

In a July 2005 entry in his blog, Reynolds claimed he had used the term "post-rock" before using it in Mojo, previously using it in music newspaper Melody Maker.[4] He also said he later found the term to not be of his own creation, saying in his blog, "although I genuinely believed I was coining the term, I discovered many years later it had been floating around for over a decade." The term was also used by James Wolcott in a 1975 article about Todd Rundgren.

History of the scene

Originally used to describe the music of such bands like Cul de Sac[5], Stereolab[6], Laika[7], Disco Inferno[8], Moonshake[9], Seefeel[10], Bark Psychosis and Pram[2], it spread out to be frequently used for a variety of jazz and krautrock influenced, largely instrumental, and electronica-tinged music made after 1994[10]. Bands from the early 1990s such as Slint, or earlier, such as Talk Talk were influential on this genre[10].

Slint's Spiderland[10] and Talk Talk's Laughing Stock[11] are often credited as birthing the genre that is now "post-rock". The band Tortoise are also widely considered as being among the founders of the movement.[12] After the second Tortoise LP Millions Now Living Will Never Die, the band became a post-rock icon.[10][13] Many bands (e.g., Do Make Say Think) began to record music inspired by the "Tortoise-sound."[14]

In the late nineties Chicago became the home base for many different post-rock associated performers. Both John McEntire (of Tortoise) and Jim O'Rourke (of Brise-Glace, Gastr del Sol, and more) were important producers for many of them.[15] Godspeed You Black Emperor! (from Montreal, Canada - later renamed Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and Mogwai (from Glasgow, Scotland) were among some of the influential post rock groups to arise during this time. [16]

By the early 2000s, the term had started to fall out of favour.[12] It became increasingly controversial as more critics outwardly condemned its use. Even the bands for whom the term was most frequently assigned, such as Cul de Sac,[17][18] Tortoise,[12] and Mogwai[1], rejected the label that it placed on them. The wide range of styles covered by the term, they and others have claimed, rob it of its usefulness.[19]

Part of any backlash to the term may lie in the fact that as progressive rock has become relatively more popular in the last few years among indie and post-rock fans, it has become apparent that progressive rock and post rock share many of the same interesting features such as experimenting with generating unique textures and harmonies from a range of instruments, incorporating elements of rock, electronic, jazz, classical, and other musics, and not focusing on a straight-ahead "traditional rock" sound. "Post-rock bands like Sigur Rós and Godspeed You! Black Emperor" as well as many others arguably use many similar themes and elements as progressive rock.[20]

Today, despite criticism of the term, the post-rock genre lives on. Post-rock outfits Explosions in the Sky and Mono [citation needed] have risen in popularity.[21]

Perhaps the most eminent post-rock "scene" today is that of Montreal, where Godspeed You! Black Emperor and similar orchestral post-rock bands, including A Silver Mt. Zion, Do Make Say Think, and Fly Pan Am record on the Constellation label.[22] These groups are generally characterized by a leftist political ethic[citation needed] and an aesthetic rooted in, among other genres, musique concrète, chamber music, and free jazz.

Musical characteristics

As mentioned above, the post-rock sound incorporates a wide variety of musical genres, such as ambient, jazz, electronica, and experimental music (the latter itself a rather vaguely defined term). Many of the early post rock groups featured a strong influence from the "Krautrock" of the '70s, particularly borrowing elements of "motorik", the characteristic Kraurock rhythm. Post rock compositions often make use of repetition of musical motifs and subtle changes, with an extremely wide range of dynamics; in some respects this is similar to the music of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the pioneers of minimalism. Most often, post-rock songs are lengthy and instrumental, containing repetitive build-ups of timbre, dynamics and texture. Guitar timbres are usually "smooth" or undistorted.

Vocals are often omitted from post-rock; however, this does not necessarily mean they are absent entirely. When vocals are included, the use is often non-traditional; some post-rock bands employ vocals as an instrument, incidental to the overall sound, rather than the more traditional use where "clean", interpretable vocals are important for poetic and lyrical meaning. When present, post-rock vocals are often soft and droning, and are typically infrequent or present in irregular intervals. Jessica Bailiff is a good example of this style of droning vocals. Sigur Rós, a band known for their distinctive vocals, have even fabricated a language they call 'Hopelandic', which has been described by the band as "a form of gibberish vocals that fits to the music and acts as another instrument".[23] None of Tortoise's members have ever sung with the group, but their recordings have occasionally featured vocals -- samples of laughing children, tape recorded voices at the edge of comprehensability, or a Vocoder-like sound.

The post-rock approach to music, such as the emphasis on instrumental work and sonic texture, is somewhat similar to the earlier New Age music movement of the '70s and '80s. Post-rock is characterized by guitars like the Fender Jaguar and the Jazzmaster in combination with delay and reverb. These guitars have an uncommon arrangement of strings that allows the musicians to make use of the instruments' " third bridge" to create chiming, harp-like sounds. Harmonically, there is an emphasis on consonance, though this is by no means a definitive trait. Compare this description of post-rock and the sound of post-rock bands to descriptions of progressive-rock and the sound of progressive rock bands -- they can seem very similar much of the time, due to their experimentation, non-traditional use of rock instruments, and borrowing of elements from electronic music, jazz, and rock, which is part of the criticism of the term "post-rock."[24]

Some bands such as Rachel's and Clogs combine post-rock with classical music, while others such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor are so far removed from popular music in their sparseness of arrangement and use of repetition, that they are frequently compared to minimalism.

Wider experimentation and blending of other genres have recently taken hold in the post-rock scene. Many bands, including Isis and Pelican have been fusing heavy metal with post-rock, the resulting sound recently being termed post-metal. The Appleseed Cast's Low Level Owl 2001 project saw the previously emo band expand their sound with an ambitious double-album suite of atmospheric songs and ambient instrumental pieces. Some post-rock bands have been using vocals similar to those found in death metal, including Bossk.

Electronica and sampling elements are being incorporated in post-rock by groups like Pivot and From Monument to Masses.[citation needed] Beyond this, the lines between post-rock and post-hardcore are also slowly being blurred by bands like Oceansize, Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies and Fighterplanes, and post-rave bands such as Victorian Dog Auction.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Redfern, Mark. "Under the Radar interview with Dominic Aitchison". Under the Radar. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  2. ^ a b Reynolds, Simon. "Simon Reynolds' article on post-rock". The Wire. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  3. ^ "The Wire 20". The Wire. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Simon. "Simon Reynolds' blog entry on 2005-07-14". Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  5. ^ Hacker, Scot (July 1996). "The Post-Rock Phenomenon". The Utne reader. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  6. ^ Ashlock, Jesse (2001-08-27). "Stereolab biography". Epitonic. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  7. ^ Levy, Doug (2000-09-24). "Laika Kick Off U.S. Tour In Seattle". Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  8. ^ Acceturo, Jeanne (2001-08-10). "Disco Inferno biography". Epitonic. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  9. ^ Wilmoth, Charlie (2004-01-26). "Dusted Reviews review of Minamo — Beautiful". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  10. ^ a b c d e Abebe, Nitsuh (2005-07-11). "The Lost Generation". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  11. ^ Jackson, Chris (2006-05-15). "Talk Talk — It's My Life review". Sputnik Music. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  12. ^ a b c Hutlock, Todd (2006-09-01). "Review of Tortoise's A Lazarus Taxon". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  13. ^ Buchan, Phillip (2004-04-13). "Tortoise — It's All Around You". Splendid Magazine. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  14. ^ "Do Make Say Think — And Yet review". Textura. Feb. 2003. Retrieved 2007-03-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Scaruffi, Piero (2005). "The History of Rock: The Nineties". Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  16. ^ "Constellation Interview". Deep Fry Bonanza. 2005-05-05.
  17. ^ "Cul de Sac Interview". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  18. ^ Lang, Dave (1998-03). "Interview with Cul de Sac's Glenn Jones". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved 2006-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ Richardson, Derk (2005-05-12). "Hear & Now". San Francisco Gate. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  20. ^ "Progressive Rock".
  21. ^ Babbili, Laura (2007-03-15). "Bang On: Explosions in the Sky". Gigwise. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  22. ^ Weinberger, Ian (2002-11-19). "Post-rock: a movement of the 90s still kickin'". Retrieved 2007-03-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |publlisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "Sigur Ros frequently asked questions". Eighteen Seconds Before Sunrise. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  24. ^ "Progressive Rock".

Further reading

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