Amid the Noise
Jason Treuting’s twelve-part continuous suite deftly blends the minimalist bent of Steve Reich with the sparer ambient landscapes of Brian Eno. It’s a hypnotic blend that revolves around pulses ranging from direct to barely perceptible. Melodic ideas unfold so gradually—often based on repetition, but building on that repetition just as imperceptibly—so that their full impact can only be fully appreciated when taken as a whole. It’s a remarkably beautiful and atmospheric work for an ensemble based around instruments that are, almost by definition, more visceral than ethereal.
Four Tet and Tortoise meet Aphex Twin and Brian Eno in Sō Percussion‘s breakout project of original music, Amid the Noise.
The accompanying DVD contains films by Jenise Treuting that feature beautiful NYC & Japanese street scenes set to music.
amid the noise is a patient study of musical spaces, using a few meaningful quotes for material and structure.
Performing most of the music in amid the noise does not require great physical virtuosity. In fact, the process of preparing these pieces is as important as the end result: in the best case, it affects the performer’s aesthetic attitude. The performer must believe in the process, or at least be open to it.
The pieces in amid the noise are each made up of a few layers of the following: melody, harmony, drone, noise, and rhythm. In each of them, some elements are prescribed, but many are left open for the performer to explore.
Performers can purchase the score to amid the noise HERE.
