Philip Glass was one of the pioneers of minimalism in classical music, alongside Terry Riley, John Cage and Steve Reich. Taking their cue from Debussy and stripping it back even further, completely so in Cage’s piece 4'33", they embodied the less is more aesthetic of modern art and architecture.
You can see the influence Glass and his peers had on what would follow in music, electronic music in particular. The clean lines of Kraftwerk, the ambience soundscapes of Brian Eno, the gently evolving, enveloping rhythms of Basic Channel, the spacey techno of Lindstrom and aspects of Aphex Twin’s work, principally the non-schizoid tracks on Drukqs.
In the piece I’ve chosen, the simple melodies dance a macabre dance, swarming around the listener, a cloak of exquisite melancholy, allowing time and space for reflection, relaxation and renewal. Or you might think it's boring and miserable.
mp3---> Philip Glass – Metamorphis 5 (via box.net)
