If, Bwana
Encyclopedia
History
Al Margolis has been working under the musical pseudonym If, Bwana since New Year's Day 1984. He has since earned an international reputation for his experimental noise musicNoise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
.
Recording history
If, Bwana music is a fusion of ambientAmbient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, and musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
sounds, often featuring strange soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s that are both balmy and unnerving at the same time.
Margolis has also been very active as the owner of two prolific labels, the cassette label Sound of Pig
Sound of Pig
A significant cassette culture label started in the early 1980s by Al Margolis in New York City. Featuring his projects If, Bwana and Sombrero Galaxy plus a wealth of international artists Sound of Pig released hundreds of original cassettes throughout the 1980s. Also the sound one hears....
and, since the 1990s, Pogus Productions, a CD label with a focus on experimental contemporary classical music.