Robert Ashley

This uniquely original work for voice and electronics is dated 1972. The voice part is read with as few inflections and breaths as possible and the voice activates electronic sounds that respond with inflected sounds. The musical effect is that of an internal voice stimulating involuntary ideas and feelings offering a profound musical exploration of the relation between the physical nature of the voice and social/language behaviors.
The LP features one long composition with Robert Ashley reading a text by poet John Barton Wolgamot. The poem has 128 stanzas; each stanza is made up of the same phrase, into which are introduced four variables, three are names or groups of names or constructions of names, and the fourth variable is formed by the adverb of the active verb. The result is considered one of the most unusual and difficult linguistic textures in the English language. The underlying music is supplied by Paul DeMarinis on Moog synthesizer. Paul DeMarinis has elaborated seven different modular combinations, each of which can be controlled by programmed impulses. These derive from the sound of the reading of the poem passed through the regeneration high frequency filter and successively translated into a series of command impulses.
What’s more left to add… Uncompromising Masterpiece.