| SYNAPTIC CONFLUENCE | ||
| Since the earliest days of humanity, music has been an activity that people share. Participation in the group experience has many healing properties, and also helps to build a sense of community. Plus it's fun! But in recent years, music seems to have become more of a product, something to be packaged and sold, rather than enjoyed as a social activity. The Synaptic Confluence hopes to recapture some of that primordial pleasure, by providing a communal context for creative expression. | ||
| Some guidelines are given, for those who may wonder what kind of music will be happening. These are not meant to be rules, and the ultimate direction will be determined by the individuals involved. However, it is helpful if the participants have some common musical interests and goals. | ||
| What it is | What it isn't |
| a gathering | a show |
| spontaneous | staged |
| space music | space rock |
| electronic, electro-acoustic | dance music |
| ambient | painfully loud |
| experimental | noise |
| creative | commercial |
| communal | individual |
| What is space music anyway? There is no generally accepted definition, so I'll use the broadest one I can think of, which is that it's any kind of electronic music that is not dance music. That could include ambient, Berlin school, experimental, even acoustic music that is looped or otherwise processed electronically. It probably overlaps with new age, but is usually darker, with less emphasis on conventional melodic structures. Rhythms and sequences are often used, but drums do not dominate as in dance music (e.g. the heavy 4/4 bass drum). Check here for some examples of spontaneous space music from a Pandemonium Symposium jam session. |
| A word about equipment: A PA and recording system will be provided. Please bring your own instrument(s), stands, cables, and headphones. If you use an acoustic instrument, bring a suitable pickup or microphone. If you have more than one instrument, bring a small submixer, so you can connect to the central mixer with a stereo pair. Cables for connecting to the mixer should be at least 20 feet long. Percussion is ok, but no full drum kits please! If your primary instrument is a laptop, you must have some kind of expressive real-time control such as a keyboard, midi controller, or mixer. Remember that in a group context it is vital to blend well with the other musicians, so you need a volume control that can be adjusted while playing. |
updated October 22, 2004