Kim Cascone
Encyclopedia
Kim Cascone is an American
composer
of electronic music
who is best known for his releases in the ambient
, industrial
and electro-acoustic genre
on his own record company, Silent Records
. Cascone studied electronic music at Berklee College of Music
, Boston
, Massachusetts
, audio engineering at Institute of Audio Research
, New York City
, New York
and electronic theory at the RCA Institute New York City
, New York
. Afterwards he started his career working as an electronic technician for audio companies such as Crumar Synthesizers, Eventide
, Hyde Street Studios and Orban Associates throughout the 1980s. In 1983 he moved to San Francisco, California
to pursue a career in music and audio. In the late 1989 Cascone became as assistant music editor for director David Lynch
on Twin Peaks
and Wild At Heart
and worked in various editorial capacities at Saul Zaentz Film Center and at Skywalker Ranch
. He founded Silent Records in 1986, then later Pulsoniq Distribution, Furnace Records, Flask Records, Sulphur Records and went on to release many albums under the moniker PGR (short for Poison Gas Research). He has used various aliases over the years but became best known under the moniker Heavenly Music Corporation, a name taken from a track on the record No Pussyfooting by Brian Eno
and Robert Fripp
. Cascone released four full albums under this name from 1993 to 1996. His third Heavenly Music Corporation album, Lunar Phase (1995), was featured on St.GIGA radio
, the Japanese ambient radio station whose name became the title of the longest song on this album.
In 1996 Cascone sold Silent Records and Pulsoniq Distribution to work as a sound designer/composer for Thomas Dolby
's company Headspace
. After Headpsace Cascone went on to serve as the Director of Content for Staccato Systems, a spin-off company from CCRMA, Stanford University where he helped develop an algorithm for realistic audio atmospheres and backgrounds for video games. He returned to making music in 1998 and has since been releasing records using his own name on various labels as well as his own label, anechoic (named after his last Heavenly Music Corporation release), which he established in 1996. Cascone has released more than 40 albums of electronic music since 1984 and has recorded/performed with Merzbow
, Keith Rowe
, Tony Conrad
, Scanner
, John Tilbury
, Domenico Sciajno and Pauline Oliveros
among others.
Cascone has also written articles and papers for academic journals and media magazines such as Computer Music Journal
, Artbyte, Contemporary Music Review, Soundcultures, Parachute Journal, Junk Jet, Geometer and Zehar. He is best known for the groundbreaking paper titled The Aesthetics of Failure which outlined the use of digital glitches and systemic failure in the creation of post-digital and laptop music and is read by many students in digital media
university courses.
Lately, Cascone has turned his attention to the issue of anthropogenic noise in ocean environments and has developed a sound art festival called Hydrophonia which has taken place in Genoa
, Italy
, San Sebastian
, Spain
and Barcelona
, Spain
. The festival incorporates performances by sound artists working with hydrophones as well as speakers on bioacoustics
and anthropogenic noise, and workshops on construction of hydrophones.
Cascone has been a student of the Schillinger System
of composition since 2009.
Cascone has a wife, Kathleen (b. 1959), and a son, Cage (b. 1993), named after John Cage
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
who is best known for his releases in the ambient
Ambient 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 electro-acoustic genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
on his own record company, Silent Records
Silent Records
Silent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
. Cascone studied electronic music at Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, audio engineering at Institute of Audio Research
Institute of Audio Research
The Institute of Audio Research, also known as IAR, is located in New York City. Students of IAR are offered a wide variety of academic programs in the field of music production and audio engineering...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and electronic theory at the RCA Institute New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Afterwards he started his career working as an electronic technician for audio companies such as Crumar Synthesizers, Eventide
Eventide, Inc
Eventide is an audio & broadcast, communications, and avionics company in the United States whose audio division manufactures digital audio processors and DSP software, and guitar effects...
, Hyde Street Studios and Orban Associates throughout the 1980s. In 1983 he moved to San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to pursue a career in music and audio. In the late 1989 Cascone became as assistant music editor for director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
on Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
and Wild At Heart
Wild at Heart (film)
Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...
and worked in various editorial capacities at Saul Zaentz Film Center and at Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas. It is located in a secluded, but open area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, who was a...
. He founded Silent Records in 1986, then later Pulsoniq Distribution, Furnace Records, Flask Records, Sulphur Records and went on to release many albums under the moniker PGR (short for Poison Gas Research). He has used various aliases over the years but became best known under the moniker Heavenly Music Corporation, a name taken from a track on the record No Pussyfooting by Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
and Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
. Cascone released four full albums under this name from 1993 to 1996. His third Heavenly Music Corporation album, Lunar Phase (1995), was featured on St.GIGA radio
St.GIGA
is the name of a defunct satellite radio company that was formed as a subsidiary of satellite television company WOWOW and later became semi-independent, forming a keiretsu with its parent. Using the BS network to broadcast digital radio via direct broadcast satellite as a test on November 30,...
, the Japanese ambient radio station whose name became the title of the longest song on this album.
In 1996 Cascone sold Silent Records and Pulsoniq Distribution to work as a sound designer/composer for Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
's company Headspace
Headspace
In firearms, headspace is the distance measured from the part of the chamber that stops forward motion of the cartridge to the face of the bolt. Used as a verb, headspace refers to the interference created between this part of the chamber and the feature of the cartridge that achieves the correct...
. After Headpsace Cascone went on to serve as the Director of Content for Staccato Systems, a spin-off company from CCRMA, Stanford University where he helped develop an algorithm for realistic audio atmospheres and backgrounds for video games. He returned to making music in 1998 and has since been releasing records using his own name on various labels as well as his own label, anechoic (named after his last Heavenly Music Corporation release), which he established in 1996. Cascone has released more than 40 albums of electronic music since 1984 and has recorded/performed with Merzbow
Merzbow
is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
, Keith Rowe
Keith Rowe
Keith Rowe is an English free improvisation tabletop guitarist and painter. Rowe is a founding member of both the hugely influential AMM in the mid-1960s and M.I.M.E.O. Having trained as a visual artist, Rowe's paintings have been featured on most of his own albums...
, Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
, Scanner
Scanner
Scanner may refer to:* WikiScanner, a tool that provides a searchable database of anonymous Wikipedia edits* A personality type described by self-help author Barbara Sher-Technology:* Scanner , for searching for and receiving radio broadcasts...
, John Tilbury
John Tilbury
John Tilbury is a British pianist. He is considered one of the foremost interpreters of Morton Feldman's music, and since 1980 has been a member of the free improvisation group AMM.- Early life and education :...
, Domenico Sciajno and Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
among others.
Cascone has also written articles and papers for academic journals and media magazines such as Computer Music Journal
Computer Music Journal
Computer Music Journal is an American academic journal that covers a wide range of topics related to digital audio signal processing and electroacoustic music. It is published on-line and in hard copy by MIT Press. The magazine is accompanied by an annual CD/DVD that collects audio and video work...
, Artbyte, Contemporary Music Review, Soundcultures, Parachute Journal, Junk Jet, Geometer and Zehar. He is best known for the groundbreaking paper titled The Aesthetics of Failure which outlined the use of digital glitches and systemic failure in the creation of post-digital and laptop music and is read by many students in digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
university courses.
Lately, Cascone has turned his attention to the issue of anthropogenic noise in ocean environments and has developed a sound art festival called Hydrophonia which has taken place in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, San Sebastian
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The festival incorporates performances by sound artists working with hydrophones as well as speakers on bioacoustics
Bioacoustics
Bioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science that combines biology and acoustics. Usually it refers to the investigation of sound production, dispersion through elastic media, and reception in animals, including humans. This involves neurophysiological and anatomical basis of sound production and...
and anthropogenic noise, and workshops on construction of hydrophones.
Cascone has been a student of the Schillinger System
Schillinger System
The Schillinger System of Musical Composition, named after Joseph Schillinger, is a method of musical composition based on mathematical processes...
of composition since 2009.
Cascone has a wife, Kathleen (b. 1959), and a son, Cage (b. 1993), named after John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
.
Discography
- Blue Cube [ ] (Raster-NotonRaster-NotonRaster-Noton is a German electronic music record label founded in 1996 by Olaf Bender, Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Raster-Noton merged in 1999 from separate labels Rastermusik and Noton .The collective label's aesthetic focus is rhythmic, minimal electronic...
1998) - Cathode Flower (RitornellMille PlateauxMille Plateaux is an influential electronica record label founded 1993 by Achim Szepanski in Frankfurt, Germany. It is known for mostly releasing minimal techno, glitch music and other experimental electronic music.-History:...
1999) - Residualism (RitornellMille PlateauxMille Plateaux is an influential electronica record label founded 1993 by Achim Szepanski in Frankfurt, Germany. It is known for mostly releasing minimal techno, glitch music and other experimental electronic music.-History:...
2001) - Dust Theories (c74Cycling '74Cycling '74 is a San Francisco-based software development company and music label, specializing in Interactive Media. The company is best known for their work with the digital signal processing software environment Max...
2001) - The Crystalline Address, with ScannerRobin RimbaudRobin Rimbaud is an electronic musician who works under the name Scanner due to his use of cell phone and police scanners in live performance...
(Sub RosaSub Rosa (label)Sub Rosa is a record label based in Brussels. The label was established at the end of the ‘80s, and expanded its catalogue in the mid-‘90s through the release of electronic music. Directed by Guy Marc Hinant and Frédéric Walheer, the label has released over 250 titles...
2002) - Pulsar Studies (anechoic 2004)
- Rondo/7Phases/Blowback, with MerzbowMerzbowis the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
(Sub RosaSub Rosa (label)Sub Rosa is a record label based in Brussels. The label was established at the end of the ‘80s, and expanded its catalogue in the mid-‘90s through the release of electronic music. Directed by Guy Marc Hinant and Frédéric Walheer, the label has released over 250 titles...
2004) - Gravity Handler (CRC 2004)
- Statistically Improbable Phrases (anechoic 2006)
- The Astrum Argentum (anechoic 2008)
- Pharmacie: Green & Red (anechoic 2008)
- Music for Dagger & Guitar (Aural Terrains 2008)
- anti-musical celestial forces (Storung 2009)
- The Knotted Constellation (fourteen rotted coordinates) (Monotype 2011)
As PGR
- Silence (PGRPGRPGR may stand for:* the stock ticker symbol for the Progressive Corporation, an American insurance company.* Patriot Guard Riders, an American organization of motorcyclists whose members attend military funeral services to prevent protestors from interfering and to honor the fallen soldier*...
, 1985) - The Flickering of Sowing Time (RRRecordsRRRecordsRRRecords is a used and new record shop. RRRecords is distinguished as being the first American record label to specifically publish underground noise music in the early 1980s, and published the first American vinyl by Merzbow, Masonna, The Hanatarash, Violent Onsen Geisha, and many more artists...
, 1986) - Cyclone Inhabited by Immobility (Permis de Construire, 1987)
- The Black Field (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1989) - Fetish, with Arcane DeviceArcane DeviceArcane Device was the recording name of musician David Lee Myers from 1987 to 1993. He has collaborated with musicians such as Asmus Tietchens, Tod Dockstader, Marco Oppedisano, and Kim Cascone.-Discography:* Devices 1987-2007 double CD...
(SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1990) - The Chemical Bride (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1992) - The Morning Book of Serpents (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1995) - A Hole of Unknown Depth (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1996)
As Heavenly Music Corporation
- In a Garden of Eden (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1993) - Consciousness III (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1994) - Lunar Phase (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1995) - Anechoic (SilentSilent RecordsSilent Records was a record label established in 1985 by Kim Cascone when he released PGR's debut LP, titled Silence. The label went on to produce primarily electronic experimental and ambient music. From 1993 to 1996, three imprints were started in order to highlight different genres of...
, 1996)
with KGB Trio
- Swiss Pharmaceuticals (Utech, 2005)
- Smoke on Devil's Mountain (Scrapple Records, 2008)
- Noise Forest (Aural Terrains, 2009)