Mantra.mp3
Repetition of Sound and Voice
I used to live in a rural town on the Eastern edge of the sandhills region of North Carolina. My commute to work was early, in darkness, and roughly 30 minutes.
Sometimes I would be comfortable with silence as comapny. If I was feeling resilient, NPR. But I would usually listen to different Sunn O))) albums, or Sleep’s Jerusalem (Dopesmoker).
This kind of music gave me important consistency that early in the morning.
For the most part, Sunn O)))’s whole catalog is built on repetition of phrases. Usually repeating phrases that emphasize the sonic content of the equipment they use, being named for the amplifier company after all.I have the Southern Lord Records reissue of Dopesmoker that conforms the multi-track original Jerusalem into one 63:34 pilgrimage. This along with Sunn O)))’s Black One and Monoliths and Dimensions would rotate to support my dawn-lit commute.
The repetition of this type of music kept my mood steady as I approached my high-stress job that was often inconsistent and uncertain. The music functioned as a mantra to keep me regulated, if only for those 30 or so minutes there and back.
I recently picked up the new album Brian Eno Performed by Dedalus Ensemble that features the Eno compositions “Thursday Afternoon” and “Discreet Music” along with the whole of Music for Airports. Popping this in my CD player and listening to it got me chewing on the idea of repetition in music and lyrics as a mechanism to reinforce meaning.
Most music repeats itself in some way. The pop convention of verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus is a kind of repetition. But I was thinking more about one specific musical or lyrical phrase repeating again and again in a song.
The persistent and menacing tremolo riff on Sunn O)))’s “It Took the Night to Believe”.
Or Patrick Kindlon’s constant vocal refrain “…not my concern. Burnt out. It leaked out. I learned…” on Self Defense Family’s “In My Defens Self Me Defend.”
Or John Coltrane’s dual musical and vocal recitation of “a love supreme, a love supreme” in that album’s “Part 1: Acknowledgement.”
All of these act as mantras of a kind, steadying the listener while also holding them at rigid attention.
If you want to continue the discussion, send me an email or put it through the snail mail
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