Brian Eno would be a key figure to look at when thinking of “generative” creation of sound, which is sound that creates itself. Here is a visual example of Eno’s method, using tapes:

Using just 4 loops, Eno is able to create a piece that is ever changing. “Always the same but always different”.

Brian Eno’s impact of sound arts from the British perspective is significant, as he is regarded the creator of the genre of ambient music. Ambient music, often categorised by its use of nature soundscapes, acoustic instrumentation, and the use of synthesisers, existed in earlier forms since the early twentieth century, with movements such as music concrete embodying the intent that ambient music aims to have. The invention and introduction of synthesisers in the 1970s allowed ambient music to be what it is recognised as today. Though Eno may be regarded as the creator of the genre, I (and he himself) would consider him more of a pioneer; giving reason for the need of ambient music, Eno proposed that music “must be as ignorable as it is interesting”.

Eno’s ideas on generative sound, however, is what I’m most interested in. In an essay taken from his published diary, A Year With Swollen Appendices, Eno describes his use of generative music as making music “with materials and processes [he] specified, but in combinations and interactions which [he] did not”. To me, this speaks to the invention of the world, and God’s role in that; he created us and the world, but what we do is up to us, and uncontrollable by God.

Why this analogy to God is relevant here, is because I’m in the process of creating a project titled Heaven Garde. It is a collaboration with my friend who, previous to this project, has had no experience creating music. The concept of the project is to demonstrate the cycles of life, and eventually, what happens at the end of it; the purpose of the project is to prove that art, in this case music, is one of our, as humans, most innate functions, and that no matter how much the “skill” has been nurtured, we can all create. If I take Eno’s ideas on generative sound and apply them to this project, not only would I be further emphasising the concept of “heaven” and life’s relation to The Creator, but it will be a new and fun technique to experiment with, that might help myself and my friend finish this project with a slight ease.

Sound Works: Brian Eno, Discreet Music (1975)
Sound Artists: Erik Satie, Pierre Schaeffer, Laurie Spiegel