Jack Centro

As an aspiring DJ and firm believer in the power of communal dance the following audio paper will explore two forms of shamanist ritual with particular focus on how each have been harnessed as a form of protest. The basis of my paper discusses Haitian Voodoo and the Acid House Movement of the late 1980s, one being sacred the other secular however I believe each share similar qualities and both have been hugely misinterpreted negatively as occult and satanic. Examining these misinterpretations, I will emphasise the use and affect of percussion in both practices and how the true desired outcomes of healing, transcendence and unity are shared by both.

INTRODUCTION: Aim 1min 

Sample: Indiana Jones ‘Temple of Doom’ Sacrifice Ritual Scene  

I find it interesting that even now as I write my audio paper and after extensive research, when I think of the word Ritual I cannot help but bring to mind the hauntingly sadistic scene within 1984’s box office hit Indian Jones ‘The temple of Doom.’ Yes, I acknowledge this is a strange place to start however I believe this particular scene tells us a lot about the general perception of rituals and why they are almost always depicted as bloodcurdling displays of sacrifice quote on quote ‘to the gods’. 

Interview: Say three words that come to mind associated with the word ritual? (My guess people will say, sacrifice, witches, animals, drums, blood, magic, rape)  

1)_______________

2)_______________

In the following audio paper I wish to argue in support of the ritual with specific emphasis on how and why percussion is used. Traversing a range of shaman cultures, it is my intention to shed light on the hugely misinterpreted aims of the ‘ritual’, those being of healing and transcendence. I will explore how these aims are achieved through standard and non standard forms of percussion from the drum to firework in places such as the UK, Haiti and Zinacantan. While traditional ritual will form the basis of my paper, I will also like to discuss how modern ritual has evolved into rave culture and forms of protest, with focus on the United Kingdom post 1980. 

Sample:20/30 seconds Jingle like mashup/collage of voodoo drums, techno beats, chanting and drum n bass sample. Protest shouting. This collage of sound should get progressively more quiet. 

SEGEMNT 1:

MAYA DEREN: Divine Horsemen sound clip with narration about the gods. 

Firstly I would like to acknowledge the fact that I’m not oblivious as to why the term ritual receives a particular bad rep in terms of sacrifice. One only needs to watch a short segment of Maya Deren’s Divine Horsemen to understand this. Lots of chickens are killed and so is a rather unfortunate bull. However wether you are a vegan or carnivore it’s how we interpret such act that is crucial, we must consider that other cultures view death parallel to our traditional western beliefs. If anything, death is seen as another chapter, the body is merely a vessel and a Haitians life spent is in preparation for the next big chapter, the afterlife. Another example more commonly known is in Tibetan Buddhism, life and death is seen as very much active process, a  never-ending cycle of re-evaluation as a spirit and your eventual rebirth. Whereas Christian belief is more finite other cultures revel in the ambiguity and mysticism of what the afterlife could be. 

I’m keen to begin with the subject of death and the afterlife because of the importance this ‘realm’ plays within many rituals. 

Upon reviewing my initial script plan, it occurred to me that the subject I was discussing was way too broad for a 8-10min Audio Paper. However, from such a broad beginning I have been able to take the parts I find interesting and incorporate them into a more streamlined paper, and hopefully more effective at getting my point across. To begin with I didn’t exactly have an argument, instead a wealth of information and potential routes to take. The route I have decided to take is focus on Haitian Vodou and Acid House from the late 1980s, with emphasis on protest and how percussion is the backbone of these rituals.

I would also like to continue with the interview section for a juxtaposition of voice and tone will add another layer to my paper. Interviews are also a good way of backing up the points I make about ‘raves’ and the late acid craze, using them as evidence to my claims.

The Indiana Jones sample would also go with my second draft, as I can use this to underline my points about the negative promotion of Vodou from the 40s-80s.

Things to take out but to discuss in my blog; the Zinacantan rituals, fireworks in rituals such as Japanese wedding ceremonies, modern rave protest—I’m strictly focusing on the late 80s for it enables me to bring in points about Afro-futurist music from Detroit and Chicago, that was crucial in being the soundtrack for these raves.

BOOKS:

1. Noise-The Political Economy of Music by Jaques Attali
2. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff

MIXING KEY POINTS:

• MACRO and MICRO—-what is the most important part of the track? What is most important part at a particular time? Think vocal, melody, chorus, sample etc
• REFERENCE TRACK—-Use another track to compare with current project—-genre norms. I have never considered this technique before but I can see the benefit, it enables you to adjust metres accordingly and match up the wavelength depending on the genre—empasis of genre norms. MUST REFERENCE WITH A WAV!
• FREQUENCY MASKING—–Removing any unwanted High or Low frequency’s using a High or Low Pass filter. For speech remove most of the low as it is not needed and can mask the low end of sources. DO THIS FOR ALL TRACKS, assessing the high and low end step by step. DO NOT LISTEN TO AN ISOLATED TRACK FOR TOO LONG, as you will lose perspective and whole context of the song.
• USE EQ TO REMOVE RATHER THAN ADD—-Subtraction for balance, Addition for tonal enhancement. Use multiple EQs on one track, one for Low, Mid and High if necessary.
• GROUP RELEVANT TRACKS TOGETHER—-So you can adjust the grouped tracks metres after mixing them individually. Also enables BUS sends to be applied to the grouped tracks creating a smooth work flow.
• FREQUENCY POSITION—-LOW are better positioned in the centre of the field or in mono/double mono, HIGHS are better panned L and R.
• LIMITERS: Essentially a frequency brick wall, good for leaving headroom on tracks giving yourself more space for mixing and clarity.

Very summarised but will discuss outcomes upon mixing specific songs in future post.

I think it would be interesting for the purpose of my research and to potentially site within my audio paper, specific comments from Youtube made by users who attended the parties in the 1980s. Although this may not be seen as a conventional source I feel these comments hep create a more personalised and broader view of the time period.

Putting focus on the individual

Everybody in the Place- An Incomplete History of Britain 1984-1992 by Jeremy Deller

‘This was absolutely brilliant. I grew up in the eighties with parents divorcing and Thatchers government…After one party I was hooked. We escaped all the corporate bullshit, hate, misogyny and racism to get very nicely high and enjoy the most creative, driving, funky, interesting soulful music ever and dance our nuts off. I embraced the whole scene going to Spiral tribe parties, Ibiza clubs , warehouse raves, raves in barns and fields and the jungles in Goa. They are among my most precious memories. I met my soul mate at a party and are together after 26 years. I am agreement that it was political act at the time and I knew it. We where part of a rejection of a life of selfishness and the politics of fear so prevalent now with the likes of Trump, Farage and the cynical power hungry tories.’–honeychurchgipsy6

‘I also think the episode of Hitman and Her from the Hacienda in 89 would have been a better example of Pete Waterman being overthrown. I remember him being totally bamboozled by the music that was being played in that episode. He didn’t know anything about what he was hearing and said so. It’s difficult to express just how massively club culture changed in that time. From having to dress smartly to gain entry, to the permanent threat of drunken violence, there was a revolution over the course of a couple of summers. I’m really glad I got to witness it.’–grizcuz

This is the third take of my improvised session, a rather annoying but happy accident for only the H3 was recording. Yet the natural way in which we progressed to a sequence like this was rather interesting, it felt like our very own ritual and for a brief time we had complete understanding. Although it is my intention to re-record this another day I feel I may be caught for time for getting everyone in the same room will be difficult. If this does not happen, I will edit the recording in post. The major problem is halfway through in which the signal peaks due to me blowing accidentally on the mic. To alter this I will have to chop up the recording and re-assemble it in a way that doest disrupt the natural flow of the piece. I’m also not a huge fan of the triangle throughout and feel this should be left as beginning and ending signifier. If I cannot re-record, the only way I can see diminishing the triangle intensity is through a high pass filter and using a limiter.

For now I’m happy for the piece to be quadraphonic but I will review this upon hearing it in the performance lab.

UPDATE:

Having heard the composition in the performance lab I am deciding to use a 5.1 system instead. After discussing my work with Sam and Elliot we all agreed that mine could do with something else, either talking or ambience. I have began to experiment with the woodland ambience and feel this works very well together. The crowing of birds and ripples of water are good metaphors for the feeling of my piece, sinister and serene.

For the specialisation assignment I am deciding to streamline my research for a number of reasons;

1. Due to my Sound Piece and Audio Paper being similar in the sense of topic, that being of Rituals I’m conscious of my research overlapping and becoming a huge mess. For the sound piece I intend to focus on the voice and healing whereas the audio paper will focus on Percussion and Protest (in the form of raves). Both are within the same family but can be discussed separately.
2. Initially I wanted to focus my attention to the Folklore and English Magic, but due to the almost overwhelming amount of avenues I could take this subject I began to lose track of the elements relating back to Sound Arts practice. Although, now I have a wealth of ideas for a project on these themes, I would prefer to explore this path in the near future.
3. Thirdly, simply by chance one particular recording that occurred rather naturally has now given me a clear direction. This recording being the H3 Improvised session with my friends. Before this I knew where I wanted to take my sound piece but I couldn’t visualise how I wanted it to sound.

Following on from my Forest recordings made a few weeks ago, I was inspired to use the H3N at night. Although sonically this experiment was rather un-successful, the experience of sitting peacefully in what can be quite a sinister setting made me think on the subject of sonification, a word Asa Stjerna introduced me to.

I sat eyes closed listening deep to my surroundings, the flutter of moths around my torch, a distant owl hooting so faint it might be imagined, the rustle of leaves-silence.

What I find interesting is how forest’ and woodland can evoke such powerful yet contrasting emotions. Be it during the day, walks through the woods can be inspiring and joyous, a celebration of natural architecture and the ancient untold stories of the past, bound together by roots. However at night, the trees become sinister and the air damp and musty. Childhood horrors awaken in the darkness. Most of my family kept asking ‘Won’t you be scared going alone?”.

Although forests at night can look particularly creepy, rotting tree mounds mistaken for trolls and crooked branches, the hands of some phantom. I believe it to be the absence of sound and life, that scares us. Of course we cannot deny how films have effected our psyche in terms of ‘place’-ie graveyards, abandoned churches, hospitals all evoke feelings of unease. But having sat in the forest alone, I found the silence to be the most unsettling. For in the day woodlands team with life and create the sonic base for our walking pleasure, however at night, the intermittent sounds of the odd branch falling or muntjac scream pierced the silent landscape. I was jumped many times by this. I felt it to be similar to when the electricity cuts off at home, followed by the eerie silence not accustomed to. Radiators, ovens, lights etc all emit a sound or drone, adding to the sonic makeup of our homes, the same way birds and life do for woodlands.

I was hoping to unearth and hear secrets of the woods not commonly heard, maybe the fluttering of bats or something completely absurd. Yet, I was met with silence. The loudest thing was me, clunking around with my H3 bag and crappy torch trying to captures sounds, unknowingly disturbing the environment around me. This also lead me to consider the ‘natural ethics’ of what I was doing and the idea of field recording–

Are we recording or instead cherry picking from a particular environment? Are we enabling or denying listeners the true awe of the natural world? Do we disturb the same way a documentary maker might?

I like this question and will discuss it further some other time.

My audio paper will discuss and explore the use of percussion in traditional and modern shaman practice. Traversing a range of shaman cultures, it is my intention to shed light on the hugely misinterpreted aims of the ‘ritual’, those being of healing and transcendence. I will explore how these aims are achieved through standard and non standard forms of percussion from the drum to firework. While traditional ritual will form the basis of my paper, I will also like to discuss how modern ritual has evolved into raves and protest, with a specific emphasis on the United Kingdom post 1980.  

Above is my map/mic setup for the improvised demo’s. As I intend for my sound piece to be heard on a quadraphonic system, I have decided to use the H3N Ambisonic Mic and two standard cardioid mics. In the centre the H3N sits onto of a speaker for elevation. For future I will need three cardioid mics instead of two. In the practice’s I experimented with using my turntables as accompaniment, amidst the guitar and vocals.