I just read L'arte dei Rumori (The Art of Noises) by Luigi Russolo.
The book was supposed to be a "futurist manifesto" - i know that in Italy, futurists were all over the political spectrum, from anarchism to fascism. L'arte dei Rumori (1913) is considered one of the first theoretical works on electronic music and experimental music.
Luigi Russolo with Ugo Piatti and their intonarumori "noise machines."
Russolo wrote that "noise-sound" didn't exist before the widespread use of machines and city life. Before that, only the sounds of nature and "pure sound" (the restricted sounds of traditional acoustic instruments) existed. I don't really agree with this concept of linear progression/evolution of sound in history, but i do think that noises of modern machinery are somewhat foreign to our ears and thereby create a sort of variation, interest, complex emotions and bewilderment. These notes are based on my interepretations and thoughts, by the way.
In the book, Russolo consistently argued that the pure sounds of music are restrictive and monotonous: pure sounds of traditional music were born in an atmosphere of hierarchical religious traditions and then they were later conquered by established music theory and mathematics. Acoustic music sounds like religious preaching...doctrine of traditional enslavement.
Solo instruments combined with other instruments with various pitches and tones - the art of musical purity created chords full of "random and complicated dissonances." Even so, conventional music-art strives for "the soft and limpid purity of sound" that continually becomes more meaningless "with its littleness and monotony." Pure sound of acoustic instruments don't have enough variety in their quality, pitch, tone, frequency, etc:
"Let's go inside one of these hospitals for anemic sounds. See, the first bar is dripping with boredom stemming from familiarity, and gives you a foretaste of the boredom that will drip from the next bar. In this fashion we sip from bar to bar two or three sorts of boredom and keep waiting for the extraordinary sensation that will never materialize. Meanwhile we witness the brewing of a heart-trending mixture composed of the monotony of the sensation and the stupid and religious swooning of the audience, drunk on experiencing for the thousandth time...POUAH! Let's get out of it quickly, for I can't repress much longer the intense desire to create a true musical reality finally by distributing big loud slaps left and right, stepping and pushing over violins and pianos, bassoons and moaning organs! Let's get out!"
Then came noise-sound, introducing an infinite variety of every sound characteristic. Now the city-dwelling human ear has adapted to a much more diverse and chaotic environment of sound. Russolo seemed to argue against the idea of music and noise being divided into two cateogories. Music beautiful, noise unwanted mess....like vegetables and weeds. Russolo argued for music-noise and noise-music: "we must break from this restrictive circle of pure sounds and conquer the infinite variety of noise-sounds."
The noises of modern city life are massive:
"...the gurglings of water, air and gas inside metal pipes, the rumblings and rattlings of engines breathing with obvious animal spirits, the rising and falling of pistons, the stridency of mechanical saws, the loud jumping of trolleys on their rails, the snapping of whips, the whipping of flags...And we must not forget the very new noises of modern warfare."
Russolo suggested that we take these noises and organize them into rhythms and harmonies...not to destroy the irregular vibrations and movements of such noises and also not to limit the action to imitative reproduction, but to organize these noise-sounds in new ways that give rise to emotions and new realities: "we will have fun imagining our orchestration of department stores' sliding doors, the hubbub of crowds, the different roars of railway stations, iron foundries, textile mills, printing houses, power plants and subways."
New associations of everyday sounds...like a recreation of everyday life? Probably not. I don't think anyone would agree that manipulation of the noise of everyday oppression, work schedules and monotonous machine-like living would give any glimpse of temporary autonomy. If everyday noises became a kind of play, would i started taking order, schedules and concrete streets less seriously? The noises of a babylon system...even noises of entertainment and recreation like a melodic suicide...could we make it a playtime of exploiting our own exploitation?
"Noise, gushing confusedly and irregularly out of life, is never totally revealed to us and it keeps in store innumerable suprises for our benefit."
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