Brian Eno - Complexity from Simplicity
The other week I spent an enjoyable Friday evening in the presence of one Brian Eno. That has to be one of the strangest names, doesn't it? Anyway Brian was in Liverpool as part of the Free Thinking Festival organized by BBC Radio 3.
It was actually the second time I've seen the guy talk in Liverpool, both times he opened by citing 'It's Gonna Rain' by Steve Reich as a major influence on his work. 'It's Gonna Rain' is a musical composition built from two short tape loops, and played at the same time on separate reel-to-reel tape machines. As time progresses the loops fall out of sync, producing an audio equivalent of the moiré effect.
Brian stated how it changed his whole out-look on how music could be made and from what materials. How something complex could be made from simple parts.
He went on to reference websites that have developed in a similar manner, forming something greater from a simple idea or from small amounts of input by many. There were the expected MySpace and Wikipedia references (Brain reckoned 'Wikipedia is more up-to-date on Eno than Eno is'), while he also mentioned MoveOn.org set up after the 9/11 tragedies, aimed at 'bringing real Americans back into the political process'.
Brian, famous for his 'long-and-slow' ambient music, went on to explain his involvement with the Long Now Foundation, (I wanna be in a foundation), formed to get people thinking long-term. Like 10,000 years long-term, as the project he mentioned was for a clock which would keep time for ten millennia.
He also talked about the re-release of his collaboration with David Byrne, 'My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'. Their influential album from 1981, built from preacher rants and hip-hop beats, before there were really hip hop beats at all. And the new website where the public get to re-mix tracks. One interesting bloke, and no mention of Bongo and the rest of the U2 boys!