!

"#$%&$# ($))
*+ ,-%"./0 *12*

"#$%& '%((#()*& +,%-. /0112%&3

!ames lerraro, an Amerlcan muslclan who has llved ln San ulego, San lranclsco,
orLland, new ?ork, Los Angeles, Chlo, London, 8erlln, and 8elglum, flrsL galned aLLenLlon
durlng Lhe wave of sleepy lo-fl casseLLe releases labeled bypooqoqlc pop by wlte's uavld
keenan ln 2009, laLer, he was slmllarly lumped ln wlLh Lhe cblllwove and boootoloqy subgenres,
and has mosL recenLly been named as a forefaLher of Lhe vopotwove and JlsttolJ movemenLs
(ouLslde of Lhe blogosphere, hls muslc lands on Lhe amblenL-nolse specLrum). Whlle lerraro's
earller recordlngs fall ln llne wlLh Lhe hazy faux-nosLalgla of hls lLchfork-approved chlllwave
counLerparLs, hls 2011 releases-Lhe lot 5lJe vlttool L (orlglnally lnLended Lo be released as a
package of cell phone rlngLones) and lLs prelude L cooJo lets-lnsLead focus on Lhe presenL,
near fuLure, and dlsLanL fuLure. ln parLlcular, recenL crlLlcs have begun Lo dlscuss Lhls muslc as
expresslng acceleraLlonlsm: Lhe noLlon LhaL Lhe dlssoluLlon of clvlllsaLlon wroughL by
caplLallsm should noL and cannoL be reslsLed, buL raLher musL be pushed fasLer and farLher
Lowards Lhe lnsanlLy and anarchlcally fluld vlolence LhaL ls lLs ulLlmaLe concluslon, elLher
because Lhls ls llberaLlng, because lL causes a revoluLlon, or because desLrucLlon ls Lhe only
loglcal answer" (Parper, vaporwave").
lerraro hlmself seems wllllng Lo enLerLaln many polnLs of reference for Lhese
recordlngs, ln an lnLervlew wlLh AlLered Zones, he proposes frozen yogurL, Apple sLores,
domesLlcaLed peLs, SLarbucks glfL cards (used Lo buy a hlsLory of SLarbucks), and Claude
uebussy as posslble sources (lrledlander). l flnd Lhe albums parLlcularly relevanL Lo Lhe
($)) *
!"#$%& () *%+,+-"+./0 1+2-&% 3+% 4/,&2 !&%%/%+52 !"# %&'( )&#*+",)


aesLheLlcs of corporaLe lmage, dlsposable enLerLalnmenL, and consumer elecLronlcs (see
llgure 1). Powever, Lhe muslcal conLenL ls worLh examlnlng on lLs own, parLlcularly ln lLs bland,
oppresslve homogenelLy.
1he 16 Lracks on lot 5lJe vlttool and seven on cooJo lets are effecLlvely
lnLerchangeable-each ls compleLely synLheslzed wlLh Ceneral-Mlul-lnsplred plano, pads,
brass, and percusslon, aL a moderaLe Lempo, ofLen wlLh an lmpresslon of non-quanLlzaLlon, and
(perhaps wlLh Lhe excepLlon of l5v's Condo eLs") ln a ma[or-lsh key. Lach muslcal volce ls
relenLlessly melodlc, blurrlng any sense of dlsLlncL Lune/accompanlmenL relaLlonshlp, ofLen,
Lhese overlapplng volces obscure any sense of harmony beyond conflrmlng Lhe key. 1here are
($)) 3
occaslonal snlppeLs of vaguely fuLurlsLlc synLheslzed speech (Wlll you [oln us? lmaglne a
playground of endless Lerraln.") and pop culLure samples (1oy 5toty's squeeze Loy allens, Lhe
nlnLendo Wll background menu muslc). Cverall, Lhe superflclally happy," lnoffenslve, and
generlc naLure of Lhe composlLlons ls remlnlscenL of Lhe corporaLe-approved lnLersecLlon of
new Age and commerclal muslc-Lralnlng vldeos, Mlul keyboard demos, and early personal
web pages.
cooJo lets' flrsL Lrack, 1exL 8ubbles," serves as an exemplary model of Lhe
composlLlonal Lechnlques used by lerraro LhroughouL Lhese albums. lL conslsLs of 29 Lwo-bar
phrases ln common Llme wlLh a shorL unmeLered coda. 1here are 11 lnsLrumenLal elemenLs
layered LhroughouL Lhe song-four melodlc and slx percusslve, wlLh a meLalllc bell sound
exlsLlng somewhere beLween-LhaL repeaL wlLh very llLLle varlaLlon. llgure 2 shows Lhe
sLrucLure of Lhese layers (grey bars lndlcaLe some varlaLlon ln Lhe oLherwlse conslsLenLly
repeaLlng paLLerns).

'450(% 67 89&.(0$%9.#2 2#:%(& 49 +,%-. /0112%&3

brass
scaL vox 2
plano
plzz sLrlngs
arco sLrlngs
bells
scaL vox 1
LexL bubbles"
beaLbox
chopped" vox
elecLro drums
measure: 1 3 9 13 17 21 23 29 33 37 41 43 49 33 37
($)) 4
ln analyzlng 1exL 8ubbles", l soughL flrsL Lo undersLand lLs gawky rhyLhms.
Superlmposlng Lhe flrsL few phrases made lL clear LhaL Lhe maln elecLro drums" and LexL
bubbles" layers were noL slmply looplng. lnlLlally, l belleved LhaL Lhe masLer Lempo was
flucLuaLlng, however, Lhe presence of one conslsLenL paLLern-Lhe processed vocals LhaL repeaL
ln each measure from mm. 3-36 (! "#$ % & ' "$ )-showed LhaL Lhe masLer Lempo was recurrlng
unlformly aL 101.33 bpm. Slnce Lhe underlylng Lempo was sLeady, Lhls meanL Lhe paLLerns on
Lop were off-beaL." ln Lhe scope of dlglLal muslc, Lhls lmplles humanlzaLlon" or non-
quanLlzaLlon (noLes LhaL have noL been correcLed onLo an underlylng rhyLhmlc grld), lL ls
somewhaL ouL of Lhe ordlnary, as a ma[or advanLage of Mlul sequenclng ls lLs ablllLy Lo correcL
Llmlng errors.
ln some ways, non-quanLlzed muslc has always exlsLed-human lnsLrumenLallsLs are
hopelessly unable Lo play aL a hlgh level of preclslon, and even Lranshuman muslclans (player
planos, Mlul keyboards) are doomed Lo some level of error. 8lchard 8eaudoln has examlned
human mlcroLlmlng lnconslsLency ln hls composlLlons, lncludlng 2009's toJe Joo pteloJe
vll-lottlceJ wloJow, whlch uses specLrographlc analysls Lo measure mllllsecond-accuraLe
Llmlng of MarLha Argerlch's recordlng of Chopln's relude ln L Mlnor (op. 28, no. 4) and
Lransform Lhose rhyLhms Lo a larger Llmescale (8eaudoln and kanla). SomewhaL mlsleadlngly,
however, a humanlzed" elecLronlc rhyLhm lmplles error beyond Lhls mllllsecond-scale
lrregularlLy ln human" performance. Conversely, many muslcal genres explolL rhyLhmlc
unevenness ln a sLyllsLlc manner-8aroque ootes loqoles, [azz swlng, or funk basslsLs playlng
ln Lhe pockeL." Powever, elecLronlc muslc ls ofLen unable Lo achleve Lhese grooves," as lLs
fundamenLally dlglLal naLure seems Lo deny such human" looseness.
($)) +
ueLrolL hlp-hop producer and performer !ames uewlLL ?ancey (also known as !ay uee
and ! ullla) became deflned by Lhls rhyLhmlc space beLween human lmpreclslon and human
groove. ?ancey's characLerlsLlc producLlon for groups llke A 1rlbe Called CuesL, Common, and
Slum vlllage conslsLs of non-quanLlzed beaLs Lrlggered from Lhe Akal MC drum sampler LhaL
are clearly uneven beyond slmple lmpreclslon buL Loo rlgld for swlng (uodson). 1he sloppy"
resulL has been lmlLaLed by many producers followlng ?ancey's deaLh ln 2006, buL used
successfully by very few, lncludlng uanlel uumlle (Ml uCCM) and CLls !ackson, !r. (Madllb).
8eadlng lot 5lJe vlttool as a hlp-hop record seems surprlslng, buL lL has many fundamenLal
slmllarlLles: non-quanLlzed beaLs, a loop-based sLrucLure wlLh layers dropplng ln and ouL, Lhe
use of samples, and even Lhe presence of beaLboxlng on 1exL 8ubbles."
;-#$<2% =7 ,(#9&>(4<.4)9 )? $%2)@4> 2#:%(& 49 +,%-. /0112%&73
($)) 5
1exL 8ubbles" ls harmonlcally sLaLlc, wlLh each melodlc layer (Lxample 1) ouLllnlng u!
ma[or (omlLLlng Lhe sevenLh scale degree). 1he volces' harmonlc gesLures seems unrelaLed-
Lhe plano ouLllnes Lhe Lonlc Lrlad, Lhe plzzlcaLo sLrlngs' A! seem Lo relnforce moLlon Lo Lhe
domlnanL, Lhe repeLlLlon of L! and 8! ln Lhe brass suggesL mlnor harmonles, and dense chords
ln arco sLrlngs suggesL lnverslons of ma[or Lrlads. Powever, Lhe overall effecL ls one of
coheslon, largely because Lhe brass, plano, and arco sLrlngs share a rhyLhm aL Lhe beglnnlng of
each phrase. AddlLlonally, Lhe melodlc conLour of Lhe plano and arco sLrlngs are relaLed by
lnverslon, parLlcularly aL Lhelr shared rhyLhm.
l am lnLrlgued by lerraro's work on cooJo lets and lot 5lJe vlttool for many reasons-
aesLheLlcally, lLs fuLurlsLlc references Lo Lhe 1990s' awkward LranslLlon from analog Lo dlglLal
are decepLlvely nosLalglc-a sorL of modempunk" Lo Lhe vlcLorlan era's sLeampunk." ln
examlnlng lLs composlLlonal Lechnlques, however, l found myself frusLraLed by lLs arLlsLlc
accompllshmenLs. 1hese recordlngs glve an lmpresslon of compleLe lnauLhenLlclLy and ulLlmaLe
lnslgnlflcance, boLh of whlch are absoluLely subverLed by lnsLrumenLal composlLlon: lf l have
Laken Lhe Llme Lo wrlLe lL, lL becomes slgnlflcanL, lf muslclans perform lL on sLage, lL becomes
auLhenLlc.
My Mettooome 5toJy fot 5ttloq Ooottet, wrlLLen as a response Lo lerraro, lncorporaLes
several of Lhe Lechnlcal elemenLs l have ldenLlfled ln Lhese recordlngs. lL uses a slmllar plLch
collecLlon (omlLLed sevenLh scale degree) and quasl-pandlaLonlc accompanlmenL over a
repeLlLlve bass llne (Lhe unfulfllllng l-lv-v-vl-l progresslon). 1he sLudy seeks Lo achleve an
lmpresslon of rhyLhmlc non-quanLlzaLlon somewhaL conLradlcLorlly-a sLralghLforward
($)) 6
rhyLhmlc framework aL 100 bpm ls overlald onLo Lempl of 72, 88, 112, and 126 bpm and
quanLlzed lnLo elghLh and slxLeenLh noLes. ln order Lo synchronlze Lhelr parLs, Lhe four
muslclans musL adhere sLrlcLly Lo personal meLronomes Lhrough headphones, aL Lhe end of Lhe
plece, Lhe audlence ls allowed Lo hear Lhe prevlously obscured overlapplng pulses.
1he Mettooome 5toJy ls noL only lnLended Lo reallze a rhyLhmlc goal, buL also an
aesLheLlc one, by asklng a sLandard ensemble of muslclans Lo play ln a fundamenLally non-
sLandard and non-ensemble manner, l hope Lo remove Lhe sense of leglLlmacy LhaL seems Lo be
sLuck Lo lnsLrumenLal performance. Powever, Lhe players are noL expllclLly belng made
uncomforLable-rehearslng wlLh a meLronome ls a famlllar Lask.
8y uslng headphones Lo glve each performer only a fragmenL of Lhe compleLe
composlLlon, l am remlnded of Cavln 8ryars' 1, 2, 1-2-J-4, whlch explores lncompleLeness by
havlng each muslclan accompany lndlvldual llsLenlngs of popular muslc (lncludlng 1he 8eaLles,
on one recordlng). 8ryars wroLe LhaL he was lnLeresLed ln Lhe dlfference beLween whaL Lhe
performer belleves he plays and whaL he ls beotJ Lo play (quoLed ln nyman). A more recenL
lnvesLlgaLlon of a slmllar concepL ls ln 8lchard u. !ames' kemote Otcbestto, where !ames (also
known as Aphex 1wln) communlcaLes wlLh Lhe orchesLra Lhrough a mlxlng board rlgged Lo
pro[ecL vlsual cues and lndependenL Lempl broadcasL Lhrough muslclans' headphones. 1he end
of Lhe sLudy, whlch brlngs Lhe overlapplng meLronomes lnLo a performaLlve seLLlng, [olns
Cyrgy LlgeLl's loeme 5ympboolpoe as a composlLlon LhaL Lransform[s]. Lhe lnvlslble Lo Lhe
vlslble" by exposlng an oLherwlse prlvaLe Lool (!ackson, 218).

($)) 7
A%?%(%9>%&

8eaudoln, 8lchard, and Andrew kanla. 2012. A muslcal phoLograph?. 1be jootool of oestbetlcs
ooJ ott ctltlclsm 70, lssue 1 (WlnLer): 113-27.
8en[amln. 2008. AcceleraLlonlsm. No oseless leoleocy.
hLLp://lenlency.blogspoL.com/2008/10/acceleraLlonlsm.hLml (accessed 29 CcL 2012).
uodson, uavld (as rlmus LuLa). 2006. Cn donuLs, sandwlches and beaLLapes: llsLenlng for ! ullla
slx years on. 5oooJloq oot!. hLLp://soundsLudlesblog.com/2012/02/06/on-donuLs-
sandwlches-and-beaLLapes-llsLenlng-for-[-dllla/ (accessed 29 CcL 2012).
uoran, !ohn. 2012. Aphex 1wln: kemote Otcbestto llve reporL. 1be Ooletos.
hLLp://LhequleLus.com/arLlcles/10321-aphex-Lwln-remoLe-orchesLra-llve-reporL
(accessed 29 CcL 2012).
lerraro, !ames. 2011. cooJo lets. Plppos ln 1anks C0100026990148 [dlglLal release].
-. 2011. lot 5lJe vlttool. Plppos ln 1anks Pl1013 [L].
lrledlander, Lmllle. 2011. ArLlsL proflle: !ames lerraro. AlteteJ zooes.
hLLp://alLeredzones.com/posLs/2167/arLlsL-proflle-[ames-ferraro/ (accessed 29 CcL
2012).
Parper, Adam. 2012. ulsLrold"-Lhe muscular muslc of hl-def doom. uommy.
hLLp://www.dummymag.com/feaLures/2012/07/13/dlsLrold-gaLekeeper-faLlma-al-
qadlrl-adam-harper/ (accessed 29 CcL 2012).
-. 2012. vaporwave and Lhe pop-arL of Lhe vlrLual plaza. uommy.
hLLp://www.dummymag.com/feaLures/2012/07/12/adam-harper-vaporwave/
(accessed 29 CcL 2012).
!ackson, Myles W. 2012. lrom sclenLlflc lnsLrumenLs Lo muslcal lnsLrumenLs: Lhe Lunlng fork,
meLronome, and slren. ln 1be OxfotJ booJbook of soooJ stoJles, ed. 1revor lnch and
karln 8l[sLerveld, 201-23. new ?ork: Cxford unlverslLy ress.
nyman, Mlchael. 1976. Cavln 8ryars 1971 / Mlchael nyman 1973. 5oooJloqs 9.