Synthesizer Meanings: A Comparison Of Nostalgia And Experimentation
Comparison between Synthesizer use in bands Death Grips and College with relation to aesthetics, advancement and subculture.
The use of synthesizers has allowed musicians from various genres to create complex and sophisticated textures in their work. The popular uses of these instruments have changed overtime, which are linked to the rapid advancement in their design. Different bands utilise contrasting styles and inspiration in relation to their genre. Death Grips is a Hip-Hop band that uses new experimentation in this technology to capture audience attention, while the electronic band College looks to the past to model their sounds on. While neither of the uses is seen as more beneficial to the development of the instrument as there will always be a need for both, the comparison of the motives in why these differences occur is an interesting field. The contrast in the uses of this technology can be explained through the significance to their respective subcultures and the aesthetics of their sound. Analog and digital synthesizers have a completely different design and use.
The difference in design between analog and digital synthesisers help to explain the appeal to different sound styles. The original synthesizers designed by Robert Moog in the early 1960s were built from analog computer technology that created an electronic sound by powering an oscillator that can be varied through different parameters (Jenkins 2007, 9). Modern digital synthesizers work on a system of sampling different software sound banks with midi signals played through a keyboard or pad controller (Hoskens 2012, 39). The limitation with the analog models is though versatile in terms of choosing which type of waveform will be played and modern models such as the Arturia MiniBruteallow for exact mixing between waves, each model has a specific sound that it is known for, meaning multiple instruments will be needed for a diverse sound. While this is not a problem for digital synthesizers, there is seemingly too much range with limitless possibilities of virtual instruments. This explains why some bands such as College that use analog models or digital replicas, have a distinct sound, and other groups including Death Grips have a constantly changing feel to their music. The reason for the different aesthetics in their sounds is due to historical context.
College’s music style is based on a 1980s aesthetic because of the electronic revival now felt from that era. With technology progressing so rapidly throughout the 1980s analog synthesizers were not worth much and considered out of date (Jenkins 2007, 34). Digital technology with sequencing and beat mapping became more widely used. With analog models being mostly found in pawn shops at this time, a whole new generation of players looking for cheaper models took them up. These new artists who preferred a more hands on performative approach used the analog designs and created the sound associated with Synth-Pop from that time. This want for an artifact and performative authenticity associated with analog technology in artists is similar to that seen in consumers’ resurgence in buying vinyl records rather than digital downloads as outlined in Hoppenstand (2011, 1139). An example of this is the track Real Hero (2011) that College wrote as a part of the Drive film soundtrack. The song is perfect for the film, which has the glossy, bright visual grade common to the 1980s revival style, and the song’s repetitive drone hook fits this. This is commonly classified in the Romantic Metaphysics of music as Programme Music: Music that ‘paints a picture’ in the audiences’ mind and by imposing the composers’ intent onto them (Hamilton 2007, 67). The aesthetic of College’smusic is relevant to their use of synthesizers. Death Grips’ music has a different aesthetic and purpose.
Death Grips’ experimentation with synthesizers is for the purpose of complementing the lyrics of their rapper, which fits into their aesthetics. The experimentation of synthesizers started with the use of digital models, which are inexpensive for such a wide range of sounds available as a preset. Due to the class divide of the ethnic minority groups associated with the genre, the artists bought digital models. This lower class mentality has since become integral to the subculture (Lusane 1993, 41). With so many sounds available to anyone cheaply, Hip-Hop musicians started experimenting with synthesizers in order to stand out. MC Ride’s explicit, urban lyrics cover diverse topics from alternative sexual activities, racism and social commentary. An example of this is the lyrics from the track Hacker, “my existence is a momentary lapse of reason, got the DNA of gothic lemons” (2012). The synthesizer sounds complement this abrasive tone. The aesthetic of the sound is described by Greene as “an alien swarm of buzzing and sputtering noises” (2012). The advancement of digital synthesizers has allowed programmer Andy Morin to experiment with the timbres to create noise style melodies. This has allowed the group to stand out compared to other artists as explained by McGovern with their readiness to break the rules of sampling and making a sound like none other (2013). The impact of the parent subculture is felt by both of these bands.
While synthesizers are important to both the Hip-Hop and Electronic genres, the motives for their uses are very different. The differing uses of the instrument in College and Death Grips are seen in accordance to subcultural practices of their genre. These subcultural guidelines help to dictate the audiences’ engagement and expectations to the music as the representations and symbolic meaning of the sounds have different effects (Hall 1997, 18). In Hip-Hop, sampling is mapped to synthesiser controls.
It is common practise for samples of others’ work to be used by artists in the Hip-Hop genre. Sampling with digital synthesizers comes from a subcultural convention of (particularly male) rappers keeping peers within social subgroups and forming a bond with them. This bonding with a ‘brother artist’ is what Oware says makes it acceptable to feature multiple artists’ work on a track or to sample the music that is used (2010, 1). Even with this being the case, the sample must either have contextual reason for its use or be creatively edited for the artist to still have respect from fellow musicians. This is seen in the Death Grips track Lost Boys (2012) that samples a synthesized screech from the song A Murder of Memories (Eyedea & Abilities 2001), and masks this sound as a build up in a riff. Death Grips is using the subcultural practice of sampling another artist, in conjunction with using their experimental style. The advancement of sequencing Digital Audio Workstations that can be used with digital synthesizers has helped this process of experimental sampling. Hann and Alexander (2012) say that through the use of the digital audio workstation, Ableton Live, the Death Grips album The Money Store features synthesizers that are experimented with to such an extent that they are unrecognisable from their presets. Whilst Death Grips samples lyrics from other artists with experimental synthesizers and MC Ride’s rapping, College has more of a focus on instrumental synthesizers based tracks.
In the Electronic subculture it is deemed acceptable for songs to be instrumental. The social and cultural relations between the many subgenres associated with the parent culture is the fact they usually have a repetitive beat and drone usually made with a synthesizer, that prompts the audience to dance (McLeod 2001, 60). The fact that the usual performative space where this type of music is socialised with is in clubs, means that it is acceptable for them to be instrumental. With College’s music, though some of their songs have vocals, it’s mostly an instrumental band. A review of one of the band’s live shows was deemed entertaining considering this aspect of their music, it featured a strong rhythmic bass that follows a synthesizer loop and was described as “a masterpiece of 80's style Electronica” (Werren 2012). This was an advancement of the use of the synthesizer as in the 1960s, instrumental synthesizer use had been associated with experimental art music. Society’s reaction to the development of the instrument being mapped to beats and a drone had changed the future use of the instrument.
Through advancement in the synthesizer development over the years, different bands from varying genres, have different uses for the instrument. The Electronic band College uses nostalgia as their inspiration for their synthesizer parts, whilst the Hip-Hop group Death Grips experiments to create new sounds. These uses are linked to subcultural influences, which define the aesthetics to their overall sounds. The different uses will always have a place in the instruments design as both styles will always have an audience.
REFERENCES
College (feat Electric Youth). 2011. “Real Hero.” On Drive Soundtrack, produced by David Grellier, track 3. FVTVR. Compact Disc.
Death Grips. 2012. “Hacker.” On The Money Store, produced by Zach Hill, track 3. Epic. Compact Disc.
Death Grips. 2012. “Lost Boys.” On The Money Store, produced by Zach Hill, track 3. Epic. Compact Disc.
Eyedea & Abilities. 2001. “A Murder Of Memories.” On First Born, produced by DJ Abilities, track 8. Rhymesayers Entertainment. Compact Disc.
Greene, Jayson. “Album Review: Death Grips – The Money Store.” On Pitchfork. Accessed May 22, 2013. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16512-death-grips-the-money-store/
Hall, Stuart. 1997. Representation: Cultural Representations And Signifying Practices. London: Sage, in association with the Open University.
Hamilton, Andy. 2007. Aesthetics And Music. 1st ed. London: Continuum Publishing Group International.
Hann, K and C Alexander. 2012. “Death Grips The Money Store (Review).” Accessed May 13, 2013. http://cokemachineglow.com/records/deathgrips-themoneystore-2012/
Hoppenstand, Gary. 2011. “Technology’s Tipping Point.” In Journal Of Popular Culture 44 (6): 1139-1140. Accessed May 29, 2013. Doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00892.x
Hoskens, Dan. 2012. Music Technology and the Project Studio: Synthesis and Sampling. 1st ed. California: Routledge.
Jenkins, Mark. 2007. Analog Synthesizers- Understanding, Performing, Buying: From The Legacy of Moog To Software Synthesis. 1st ed: Elsevier Ltd.
Lusane, Clarence. 1993. “Rap, Race And Politics.” In Race Class 35 (41): 41-56. Accessed May 30, 2013. Doi: 10.1177/030639689303500105
McGovern, John. 2013. “Paying Homage To Punk And Hip-Hop, Death Grips Rebels Against The Mainstream.” Accessed May 30, 2013. http://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2316-paying-homage-punk-and-hip-hop- death-grips-rebels-against-mainstream
Mcleod, Kembrew. 2001. “Genres, Subgenres, Sub-Subgenres And More: Musical And Social Differentiation within Electronic/Dance Music Communities.” In Journal Of Popular Music Studies (13): 59-75. Accessed May 29, 2013. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1533-1598.2001.tb00013.x/references
Oware, Matthew. 2010. “Brotherly Love: Homosociality and Black Masculinity in Gangsta Rap Music.” Journal of African American Studies 15: 22-39. Accessed May 10, 2013. Doi: 10.1007/s12111-010-9123-4
Werren, Nick. 2012. “Live Review: College And ‘Drive’.” Accessed May 20, 2013. http://www.urfonline.com/music/reviews/303
