Veteran percussionist Jon Mueller meticulously examines the tonal qualities of the drum head on 'Duality', stretching out his rhythm over almost an hour to bring out every hidden resonance.
There's a monastic quality to 'Duality' that can only come from rigorous practice. Mueller's influence for this one was his childhood experience with the guitar, when he plugged into an amp and found himself captivated by the vibrating strings and the tones they were making - "it was pure magic," he remembers. Later on in his life, when he was experimenting with the extreme repetition that's become his artistic calling card, he was brought back to this feeling, where the sounds he was creating using drums "seemed to take on their own life." He takes the concept to another level on 'Duality', drawing from his studies with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, where he was prompted to challenge his Western preconceptions of tonality.
Viewing the drum head as a tone generator, Mueller plays rhythms that sing into the room tones. You barely notice it at first, when the rhythm itself is most spartan, but as the piece develops, Mueller's warping resonance becomes more and more present, wailing and moaning as he plays. It requires deep, meditative listening, but it's worth the effort.
View more
Veteran percussionist Jon Mueller meticulously examines the tonal qualities of the drum head on 'Duality', stretching out his rhythm over almost an hour to bring out every hidden resonance.
There's a monastic quality to 'Duality' that can only come from rigorous practice. Mueller's influence for this one was his childhood experience with the guitar, when he plugged into an amp and found himself captivated by the vibrating strings and the tones they were making - "it was pure magic," he remembers. Later on in his life, when he was experimenting with the extreme repetition that's become his artistic calling card, he was brought back to this feeling, where the sounds he was creating using drums "seemed to take on their own life." He takes the concept to another level on 'Duality', drawing from his studies with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, where he was prompted to challenge his Western preconceptions of tonality.
Viewing the drum head as a tone generator, Mueller plays rhythms that sing into the room tones. You barely notice it at first, when the rhythm itself is most spartan, but as the piece develops, Mueller's warping resonance becomes more and more present, wailing and moaning as he plays. It requires deep, meditative listening, but it's worth the effort.
Veteran percussionist Jon Mueller meticulously examines the tonal qualities of the drum head on 'Duality', stretching out his rhythm over almost an hour to bring out every hidden resonance.
There's a monastic quality to 'Duality' that can only come from rigorous practice. Mueller's influence for this one was his childhood experience with the guitar, when he plugged into an amp and found himself captivated by the vibrating strings and the tones they were making - "it was pure magic," he remembers. Later on in his life, when he was experimenting with the extreme repetition that's become his artistic calling card, he was brought back to this feeling, where the sounds he was creating using drums "seemed to take on their own life." He takes the concept to another level on 'Duality', drawing from his studies with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, where he was prompted to challenge his Western preconceptions of tonality.
Viewing the drum head as a tone generator, Mueller plays rhythms that sing into the room tones. You barely notice it at first, when the rhythm itself is most spartan, but as the piece develops, Mueller's warping resonance becomes more and more present, wailing and moaning as he plays. It requires deep, meditative listening, but it's worth the effort.
Veteran percussionist Jon Mueller meticulously examines the tonal qualities of the drum head on 'Duality', stretching out his rhythm over almost an hour to bring out every hidden resonance.
There's a monastic quality to 'Duality' that can only come from rigorous practice. Mueller's influence for this one was his childhood experience with the guitar, when he plugged into an amp and found himself captivated by the vibrating strings and the tones they were making - "it was pure magic," he remembers. Later on in his life, when he was experimenting with the extreme repetition that's become his artistic calling card, he was brought back to this feeling, where the sounds he was creating using drums "seemed to take on their own life." He takes the concept to another level on 'Duality', drawing from his studies with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, where he was prompted to challenge his Western preconceptions of tonality.
Viewing the drum head as a tone generator, Mueller plays rhythms that sing into the room tones. You barely notice it at first, when the rhythm itself is most spartan, but as the piece develops, Mueller's warping resonance becomes more and more present, wailing and moaning as he plays. It requires deep, meditative listening, but it's worth the effort.