God's iPod - Craig Armstrong

I was torn here between Craig Armstrong, Ennio Morricone and Jocelyn Pook. Partly because I'm fascinated with the relationship between music and other art forms (like film, for instance) and partly because, while I'm no Luddite when it comes to technology, I like technology to be used for its own sake, not as a convenient way of replacing something we had before. That is to say, why try to produce a violin sound on a synthesiser? Play a violin, dammit. But computers/synthesisers can create sound that acoustic instruments can't, and when the two mediums are mixed together, some really interesting stuff emerges. Brian Eno, of course, must be added to the list of innovators here. Other names too. But in the end I picked Craig Armstrong from the list of luminaries, partly because I find I turn to him more than most, and partly because of a really fab worship service we did last year in my College Chapel, not only using Armstrong's  music, which is already a masterpiece in its own right, but using some of his music as an introit to Gesualdo's Tenebrae responses. The track I chose from Armstrong ended in the same key that the Gesualdo began, and the slide from 21st recorded music to 16th century live choral music was practically seamless. It's a kind of appropriation of the idea of "mixing" that still engages with "real" or live music, something I think we should pursue much more than we do.

Anything by Craig Armstrong would do me on God' s iPod, but Ruthless Gravity, the first track from As If to Nothing is one of my favourites.

Comments

[Mike Farley]

Yes, isn't 'As If to Nothing' just a glorious album? As you say, 'Ruthless Gravity' is perhaps the finest track, but 'Hymn 2' and 'Miracle' must be right up there with it... Superb stuff!

[James]

On the computer/composed tip, i can highly recommend Max Richter - he's worked with Bjork and FSOL and has just done nthe soundtrack for the new film by the guy who wrote the 'three colours' trilolgy for Kieslowski - one of those people that classicla purists don't realise uses robots to make music ;~)