Description
The serene, delicate songs on Another Green World sound practically
meditative, but the album itself was an experiment fueled by
adrenaline, panic, and pure faith. It was the first Brian Eno album to
be composed almost completely in the confines of a recording studio,
over a scant few months in the summer of 1975. The album was a proof
of concept for Eno's budding ideas of "the studio as musical
instrument," and a signpost for a bold new way of thinking about
music.
In this book, Geeta Dayal unravels Another Green World's abundant
mysteries, venturing into its dense thickets of sound. How was an
album this cohesive and refined formed in such a seemingly ad hoc way?
How were electronics and layers of synthetic treatments used to create
an album so redolent of the natural world? How did a deck of cards
figure into all of this? Here, through interviews and archival
research, she unearths the strange story of how Another Green World
formed the link to Eno's future -- foreshadowing his metamorphosis
from unlikely glam rocker to sonic painter and producer.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Preface
“Always first steps”
“Trust in the you of now”
“Turn it upside down”
“Courage!”
“Abandon normal instruments”
“Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them”
“Ask people to work against their better judgment”
“Define an area as 'safe' and use it as an anchor” / “Don't be frightened of clichés”
“Honor thy error as a hidden intention”
“Remember those quiet evenings” / “The tape is now the music” / “Gardening, not architecture”
“Remove specifics and convert to ambiguities”
“Is it finished?”
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Author(s)
Geeta Dayal,
Geeta Dayal's writing on music, visual art, and science has appeared in many major publications, including Bookforum, The Wire, The New York Times, The International Herald-Tribune, and The Village Voice. She is currently at work on a second book on the history of electronic music. She lives in Boston.
Reviews
"Dayal's unique and fresh take, which also delves into Discreet Music, is a must read for Eno fans and makes a great primer for the uninitiated."
-Flagpole Magazine
,
"Dayal's lucid, elegant deconstruction of Brian Eno's most beguiling album is also an inspiring, delightful inquiry into the nature of creativity and constraint. Anyone interested in art making needs to read this."
—Ed Park, author of Personal Days
,
"...the best short introduction to Eno's work and ethos going."
The Wire, February 2010
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