Sound and Space

The idea of a room creating up to 45 seconds in sustained or delayed sound was a very strange concept for me to get my head around. The way that just a few trombone players could create a wash of noises that sounded so far removed from their original type of sounds produced got me truly thinking about how one could utilize a space like that to create music and sounds that seem very alien and distorted without the need to tinker with effects or post-production. This also got me thinking about the space or environment in general that musicians use to create music and how it might greatly affect the end product in ways that not only would influence how the music sounds but how it would hold sway on the way a musician might feel in the space they record in and how that plays a role. It's somewhat of an embarassing example, but I remember once reading how the Iowa band Slipknot had recorded their 3rd album (called "Iowa"!) in a very tiny enclosed space that was extremely hot. The fact that there is nine people in the band would only make it more cramped and heated, and their reason for doing this had such a purpose. It was to somehow inspire them to channel anger and discomfort into the music. In some ways this would make the emotions more fake or forced while in other ways it would make it more real. Another similar example of this type of thing comes back to the band Animal Collective, who try to have a different type of sound and recording style or method from album to album. For their last one they specifically chose to record in the desert setting of Arizona. This is a great instance of showing how a change in environment or setting can actually change or influence the creative ideas and therefore sounds of the music being made.