Eliane Radigue

Eliane Radigue (Paris, 1923), who had married painter Armand Fernandez aka Arman in 1953, studied electroacoustic music with Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry (she was the assistant of the latter from 1967 to 1968). She had lived in the USA with her husband and her three children between 1963 and 1967, and returned several times in the 1970s. After an experience with the synthesizer Buchla, CHRY-PTUS (1971), she devoted herself to the Arp synthesizer, admiring its pure tonalities. Her first important recording was Biogenesis(Metamkine, 1996), dating from 1973.

In 1975 she converted to Buddhism and began the colossal endeavour of composing a trilogy of electronic symphonies dedicated to Milarepa, a Tibetan medieval ascetic.  Songs Of Milarepa (Lovely Music, 1998, originally a 1983 LP with only half of the material), which combines Radigue’s synth improvisations with poems by the 11th-century guru Milarepa recited by Robert Ashley in English and by the lama Kunga Rinpoche in Tibetan (structured in four 20-minute pieces titled Mila's Song in the Rain, Song of the Path Guides, Elimination of Desire and Symbols for Yogic Experience); Jetsun Mila(Lovely Music, 1987)  and Mila's Journey Inspired By A Dream (Lovely Music, 1987).

Radigue conceives of music as a form of religious expression. Every one of her tracks is intended to be “read” as a prayer. She employes the modality of La Monte Young´s long static radiations, which imperceptibly shift in frequency,  acting on consciousness on a subliminal level.

Kyema/ Intermediate States (XI, 1990), composed in 1988, is dedicated to the six intermediate states which constitute the existential continuum of every living being according to the Tibetan Book of the Dead (whose original title is Bardo Thodol, or “liberation through listening during the intermediate states”). Kyema consists of an hour-long composition of uninterrupted drones immersed in a spectral spatiality.

Kyene constitues some kind of tuning for this colossal “om” which is finally set in motion with Milam. Milam's extremely slow evolution still bears traces of melody, even if dilated throughout its twelve minutes, while by blending into Samten, it becomes just a very intense hum. Because of the shift of frequency, the sound seems to vanish into a faint, blurred vibration; it actually just gets lower (and therefore darker) and then slowly rises in the vortex of Chikai, where it haphazardly blends with little sounds of ghosts; soon the vortex intensifies, almost reaching symphonic dimensions (Chikai conveys the sounds of decomposition that man supposedly hears just before death; it really is one of the most terrifying tracks of electronic music of all time). In Chonye the mechanical dripping of a note over a subsonic rustle induces a hypnotic state, then slows down until it vanishes, replaced by the cosmic radiation in the background of Sippai. Every movement blends into the successive one, as though sliding from a higher level to a lower one.

Kyema is actually just the first part in the monumental Trilogie De La Mort(XI, 1998), which is dedicated to the artist´s son, who died in a car accident. The other two parts are Kailasha (1991), an imaginary pilgrimage to the holy mountain of Tibet, and Koume(1993), which celebrates the transcendence of death, the ultimate theme of the whole work. Both of these parts where recorded as two long fluxes of sounds, lasting about one hour each.

Kailasha opens with a storm of low, brutal drones, progressively filling up the acoustic space, creating an exasperating tension. The vibrations are continuosly moving, but as they don´t follow any logic of harmony or melody, they amount to a disturbing cosmic radiation.

Koume, in contrast, is based on a terrifying percussive rythm, fluctuating between states of opposite intensities, but mantaining the paroxysm of a jackhammer. Towards the middle of the track, the percussions turn into a deafening hum. Then emerges an imposing “om”, which seems to wander the whole universe in quest of Nirvana, increasing in violence and voices, overlaying infinte copies of itself. An apocalyptic symphony falls over the world of men. But that violence slowly diminishes, until what is left is just  the lowest vibration, as though entropy reached its peak and no sign of life were left.

Her favorite instrument since the 1970s was the ARP 2500 synthesizer. Her performances became famous for endurance pieces.

Geelriandre - Arthesis (Fringes, 2003 - Important, 2018) collects two droning pieces composed before Radigue began to focus on feedback: Geelriandre (1972), for prepared piano and synthesizer, that weaves together low-volume cricket-like noise and ticking piano notes in a highly otherworldly manner, the synth noise slowly evolving to become a galactic radio signal; and Arthesis (1973), a subminimal synthesizer rumble in motion that slowly mutates into other moving sounds until it becomes a wall clock striking the hour.

Adnos I-III (Table of the Elements, 2002), a new triloy composed between 1974 and 1982, is a monumental work of meticulously assembled electronic music that implements slowly evolving drones. As variation only occurs over a long period of time, this makes for hyper-deep listening. The first part was composed independently of the second and third. She performed in San Francisco in 1974 and was then introduced to Tibetan Buddhism, which first inspired Triptych (1978) then the second (1980) and third (1981) parts of Adnos, and then Songs Of Milarepa (1983), Jetsun Mila (1986) and the "Trilogy of Death": Kyema (1988), Kailasha (1991) and Koume (1993).

L'Ile Re-Sonante (Shiiin, 2005) is a 55-minute composition dating from 2000.

The double-CD Chry-ptus (Schoolmap, 2007) collects four versions of Chry-ptus. The original version was revisited in 2001 and 2006.

Lappetites' Before The Libretto (Quecksilber, 2005) was a collaboration among Elaine Radigue (France), Kaffe Matthews (Britain), Ryoko Kuwajima (Japan), and Antye Greie-Fuchs (Germany), basically a multinational laptop quartet ranging in age from the 70-year old Radigue to the Japanese youth.

Vice Versa, etc.... (Important, 2009) is a double-disc album curated by Manu Holterbach that includes one of Radigue's earliest compositions and several "remixes" of sorts. Radigue's piece for magnetic tape Viceversa (1970) came with the instructions to be played back at any speed and at any duration and either backwards or forwards. The album contains the original Radigue-made tape and a number of variations played backwards and at different speeds.

Jouet Electronique/Elemental I (Alga Marghen, 2011) collects two early compositions for feedback, composed and recorded between 1967 and 1968: the 12-minute Jouet Electronique (1967), that toys with purely electronic sounds and produces elegant and calm variations, and the four-movement Elemental I (1968), that employs natural sounds as sources and produces much more varied and violent effects (one of the few compositions that is indeed musique concrete). Elemental II (2005 - Recordings Of Sleaze Art, 2012) documents a 2004 live performance with Kasper Toeplitz.

She stopped writing for synthesized sound in 2001 and started collaborating with cellist Charles Curtis, bassoonist Dafne Vicente-Sandoval, harpist Rhodri Davies and tubist Robin Hayward.

Transamorem - Transmortem (Important, 2011) documents a 67-minute sound installation for synthesizer from 1974. The ear-splitting hiss and the monotonous vibration destabilize each other along the way, but the difference really requires extremely "deep" listening to be appreciated.

Occam I (2011) for solo harp (designed for cellist Charles Curtis, who had been collaborating with La Monte Young and Marina Zazeela since 1987) began a new series, the "Occam Ocean" series, continued with Occam II (2012) for violin, Occam III (2012) for birnbyne, Occam IV for viola, Occam VI for synthesizer, Occam River I for birnbyne and viola, Occam Delta I for birnbyne violin, viola and harp, Occam Delta II for bass clarinet, viola and harp, Occam V for cello, Occam VII for voice, Occam VIII for cello, Occam IX (2013), Occam X for trumpet, Occam XI for tuba, Occam River II for violin and cello. Solo pieces are titled "Occam", duo pieces "River" and larger ensemble pieces "Delta".

Feedback Works (2012) collects three sound installations: Usral (1969), Omnht (1970), and Stress Osaka (1970). They are representative of her "musique sans fin" ("endless music") intended for ad libitum broadcast in a gallery or museum, ideal as an eternal soundtrack to an art exhibition. Another example is Labyrinthe Sonore (1970).

Opus 17 (2013) contains a five-movement piece performed at a happening in 1970, her last composition for feedback, and also the composition that interrupted her "Musique sans Fin" series.

Psi 847 (2013), originally composed in 1972, is one of her major works, a hypnotic stream of ringing tolls that is dwarfed by a violent, shrill drone over the course of more than 70 minutes of organic unfolding.

After abandoning electronic music, Naldjorlak (2008), an hour-long piece for solo cello, composed in 2004, premiered in 2005 and recorded at a Paris chapel in 2006, was her first entirely acoustic composition. The piece was born out of discussions with the performer, cellist Charles Curtis. It was then expanded into a work for a chamber trio (basset-horn players Carol Robinson and Bruno Martinez next to Curtis on cello), first premiered in 2009, as documented on the triple-disc Naldjorlak I II III (2013).

Octopus (Bocian, 2019) documents a collaboration with Helene Breschand and Kasper Toeplitz.

The "Occam" series consists of chamber works for which the score is replace by a discussion between composer and performer, the method experimented in Naldjorlak. The double-disc Occam Ocean 1 (2017) contains Occam River I (14:19), Occam I (29:14), Occam III (16:31), Occam IV (21:11) and Occam Delta II (25:03). Occam Ocean 2 (2019) contains the 52-minute Occam Ocean (2015) for orchestra (five clarinets, three contrabasses, two euphoniums, three guitars, three percussionists, accordion, six saxophones, trombone, trumpet, tuba, two violas, violin and two cellos). Occam Ocean 3 (2021) contains Occam River II (23:42), Occam VIII (20:34) and Occam Delta III (23:23). Occam Ocean 4 (2021) contains: Occam Delta XIX (24:15) for alto saxophone, viola da gamba and birbyne; Occam XXII (17:34) for baritones; and Occam River XXII (26:00) for alto saxophone and bass clarinet. Occam XXV (2018) was performed at a pipe organ of a London church in 2018 by organist Frederic Blondy, her first composition for the pipe organ. By 2021 there were 50 solo and ensemble pieces written for the "Occam Ocean" series.