ROEL MEELKOP – 5 (ambiences)

(CD, intransitive)

The word “ambient” has been deformed and mangled until it became somtehting that means “background music” in the worst of cases, when it really should have remained a meaning along the lines of “an emotional state frozen in time by sound”. There is a paradox in there. Sound and music evolves in time, as everyone is quite aware, but something frozen is kept static and out of reach of the power of time. For ambient music and sound art, the latter term clearly preferred by Roel Meelkop I think, the pathway through this frozen state of emotion, mind or feeling is sideways – a fifth dimension, if you will. Like taking a glacial sample and then analysing this cross-section from way up. An axlesweep of the camera through the set scenery. One point of a stratuum being dissected as a line by introducing another dimension. So, ambient in the best case doesn’t mean sounds forming the background and thereby the emotional state of the listener, making it “auditive furniture” or something likewise despisable, but means a deepened analysis of a (or more) focal point.

Of course, doing a cross-sectional analysis doesn’t always provide for a steady flow, but there are dispruptions, harsh and interrupting changes and suprises. There is a history in every sound and every sample and even more importantly a meaning. And as those meanings and histories evolve, so will the sounds. This means demands on the listener, such as openess and activity in listening, receiving, interpreting, even if only on an almost subconscious level. Yes, despite all its superficial ease and flow ambient is hard work to listen to.

There is another paradox in there. The musician, or sound sculpturerer, if you will, is working the fifth dimension into the sound / emotional analysis himself. That is, by doing the analysis he is at the same time building the sample. And vice versa. You could call that another paradox, even though I am sure there is a beautiful word from greek philosophy for it that fits better. More importantly, this is the main point that science will never understand about art and why art is always a few steps ahead from society and science. Every good scientist should always be aware that his work, his experiments and theories shape the reality he is analysing. Therefore scientists try to avoid all factors involving this influence to keep their laboratory-set ups clean. (This cleanness is an aesthetical and ideological judgement.) Artists embrace the influence of the subconscious or even accidental, the uncontrollable and merely tangible. It is what forms the mystery and greatness of life. Sound artists go about their work in a manner completely opposite to scientists, even when they are using the same care and dilligence in producing.

Of course, there is a lot of music which has very theoretical and structural guidelines, that evolves by a theory or idea rather than the organic or subconscious fundament. But this kind of music has to go long ways to lose the air of triteness and akwardness (which is also an ideological statement, I know). Moreover, our society is shaped by science (masked as progress and economic power) so this artistical approach sets an important counterweight to this. Yes, I demand from art not only to mirror society but to also change it.