{"id":604241,"date":"2024-01-10T21:33:14","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T18:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/listening-to-niblock-the-wrong-way\/"},"modified":"2024-01-10T21:33:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T18:33:14","slug":"listening-to-niblock-the-wrong-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/listening-to-niblock-the-wrong-way\/","title":{"rendered":"#Listening to Niblock the wrong way"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e3821ae5eb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e3821ae5eb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/listening-to-niblock-the-wrong-way\/#A_personal_guide_to_grappling_with_the_work_of_drone_luminary_Phill_Niblock_who_died_at_90_this_week\" >A personal guide to grappling with the work of drone luminary Phill Niblock, who died at 90 this week.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_personal_guide_to_grappling_with_the_work_of_drone_luminary_Phill_Niblock_who_died_at_90_this_week\"><\/span>A personal guide to grappling with the work of drone luminary Phill Niblock, who died at 90 this week.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258803\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-1076896940_yzutmg\/phill-niblock-in-1991-photo-by-jack-vartoogian-getty-images.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Listening to Niblock the wrong way\"><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      Phill Niblock in 1991. Photo by Jack Vartoogian\/Getty Images.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258804\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            <span class=\"lead-text\">Phill Niblock<\/span> was notoriously resistant to analyses of his art. The composer and filmmaker, who passed away this week at 90, made the purest form of minimalism. His musical compositions consist of ultra-extended notes with no rhythmic components other than dynamic swells and recessions, existing outside of tonality and time; and his films mainly focus on non-narrative depictions of manual labor as a study in movement, nothing more or less. Therefore, whatever socio-emotional response his work elicits in listeners and viewers are theirs to bear alone \u2014 or, as he once put it in an interview (found at the end of the video below), \u201cWhat you perceive is, in some sense, your problem, and what I intend has little to do with that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258805\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Roulette TV: Phill Niblock\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M8S7SiDqiZA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('258805');\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258806\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            It\u2019s because of this apathy to interpretation, not in spite of it, that Niblock\u2019s inter<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> art has the power to inspire personal revelations. This is not to say his works are blank sheets, ripe for projection; his compositions are oceanic, layering tracks upon tracks of held tones that resonate at marginally different frequencies until their overtones converge like crashing waves.<\/p>\n<p>            Deep listening to Niblock\u2019s recordings (in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.deeplistening.rpi.edu\/deep-listening\/\">Pauline Oliveiros\u2019 sense of the term<\/a>) should not be entered into lightly; it can be an annihilating experience, similar to staring at the dense masses of color in a Rothko painting. For the vast majority of us without the intense discipline needed for this process, though, much can be gained from listening to Niblock the wrong way, too: The bottom of the ocean is an impossibly dark place, but its surface is still reflective of what\u2019s above it. Even at its frothiest moments, it refracts visible light into its core components, creating rainbows.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258808\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1040093344\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/transparent=true\/\" seamless><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/phillniblock.bandcamp.com\/album\/touch-works-for-hurdy-gurdy-and-voice\">Touch Works, for Hurdy Gurdy and Voice by Phill Niblock<\/a><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258810\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            Those of us who lack <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/tom-cruise-mission-impossible-8-underwater-breath-record-kate-winslet\/#:~:text=Following%20Mission%3A%20Impossible%20-%20Ghost%20Protocol,a%20record-breaking%20six%20minutes.\">Tom Cruise and Kate Winslet\u2019s ability<\/a> to hold their breath for inhuman periods of time will need to breach the surface of Niblock\u2019s music at points when listening, and it\u2019s then that our focus will start to drift. While not the most mindful method, a permissive <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach to this drifting can take us to fascinating and scary places.<\/p>\n<p>            When played at the correct volume \u2014 Niblock always asked that his music be broadcast at noise-complaint levels, and it is our duty to honor the requests of the dead \u2014 Niblock\u2019s drones are not \u201cambient\u201d in the way Eno\u2019s are, for instance. Face to face with the horror of 32 flutes or didgeridoos or hurdy-gurdies blasting simultaneously into your ears at frequencies fractions of hertz apart, it\u2019s difficult to think about groceries or dinner reservations or celebrity gossip. Succumbing to the thought spirals brought on by such intense stimulation can have the clarifying force of a near-death experience, providing us with fleeting opportunities to see ourselves as we truly are.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258809\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Didjeridoos and Don&#039;ts\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vOHedmfzfhQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('258809');\n<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258812\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            Of course, none of this was Niblock\u2019s \u201cproblem.\u201d Across seven decades, he approached his work simultaneously with a childlike spontaneity and the workmanlike efficiency of the motions he showed in his films. It would be silly to contend that Niblock\u2019s profession has much to do with plowing a field or gutting a fish; but these habituated, almost unconscious actions informed his later work, at least, as much as La Monte Young and Morton Feldman\u2019s foundational minimalist compositions did.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258813\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=2701969926\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/track=1313008043\/transparent=true\/\" seamless><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/phillniblock.bandcamp.com\/album\/touch-food\">Touch Food by Phill Niblock<\/a><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-258814\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>            Those who knew Niblock have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thequietus.com\/articles\/33718-phill-niblock-obituary\">described him<\/a> in the days since his passing as a wryly hilarious character with a deep compassion for his fellow man \u2014 as evidenced by his prolific <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Tx2GOF_SL3o&amp;ab_channel=ArthurRussellVEVO\">mentorship and collaboration<\/a>, and the love of community that led him to open the doors of the SoHo loft he moved into in 1968 as a testing and cross-politionation ground for like-minded artists. This warmth suffused his practice, so that even in his unwavering commitment to the principles of his work, his art remained a welcoming space.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>            The only effect Niblock acknowledged hoping his music and films would have on audiences was that they be detached from time while they listened and watched. These rare, unstuck moments are the kind that let us lose and find ourselves.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Raphael Helfand<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2024\/01\/10\/listening-to-niblock-the-wrong-way\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A personal guide to grappling with the work of drone luminary Phill Niblock, who died at 90 this week. Phill Niblock in 1991. Photo by Jack Vartoogian\/Getty Images. \u00a0 Phill Niblock was notoriously resistant to analyses of his art. The composer and filmmaker, who passed away this week at 90, made the purest form of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":604242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_533,w_1024,x_0,y_40,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/GettyImages-1076896940_1_zh9rhp\/GettyImages-1076896940_1_zh9rhp.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[87515,148178],"class_list":["post-604241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-experimental","tag-phill-niblock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}