Stockhausen: "Kontakte" Part 1

[Grime1996]

This song reminds me of the truth of reality, is reality just from our perspectives or is it from everyone else that we see around us on a regular basis.

[dalecampbl9]

this is from Transformers movie

[dalecampbl5]

and I thought Alban Berg was bad...boy was I wrong...

[OvuloDeAvestruz]

Precioso!!!

[Brotherbaylon]

Recommended to me by Julian Cope.

[classicalAnime]

Stockhausen you crazy man

[d0rv]

Now that I'm following the score along with the music, I can make some sense of it.

[d0rv]

I am currently holding a HUGE book with an explanation of the whole piece along with the graphic score. I am lost hahahaha.

[Grime1996]

I find this rather haunting and surreal, it is the kind of thing i would like put in a david lynch movie

[pappaprime518]

Transformers sounds effects haha!

[earx23]

thumbs up for the pioneering. couldn't listen to it all day, though.

[SuperMegaPeanut]

number 9 number 9 number 9

[cmartmozzy]

@SuperMegaPeanut No no this is much scarier

[JohnNormic]

Scary

[zmaaaaaj]

I will never forget the day I found this vinyl in my grandma's attic. I was so amazed thinking how it should have sounded 50 years ago. The weirdest thing is that she didn't even remember having bought it, which makes it quite possible she got it as a gift. Which is most likely, because there was an inscription "Thanx for everything. Yours sincerely Karlheinz S." Of course you know this is not true but you surely understand that I wish it were.

[MrDJCrazyDiamond]

so are these excerpts from "teil 2" released on the original Kontakte album?

[adeebkasem]

play all 4 parts at the same time. it's even more disorienting that way.

[DJHeyWire]

Reminds me of "Do You Know Squarepusher" stuff... Stockhausen influenced.

[TallFastLoud]

Okay, I've done enough "intelligent, rational" rebuttals to people saying "oh this sucks." If you don't like it, fuck off and watch something else. That's all there is to it. No one thinks you're clever because you can be counterintuitive or anti-intellectual etc.

[EmyLoad]

it's so different... i like it!

[IsraelSilvaOficial]

Amazing. The actual electronic music cannot get even close to this.

[IwanttoliveinParis]

I just played part 1 and 3 at the same time...then 2 and 4, works out great.

[makhwushi]

first dubstep producer: Stockhausen.

[borowczyk76]

Does anyone out here know where I can get my hands on some of the Stockhausen-Verlag CDs WITHOUT having to actually go through the verlag. They seem bent on making their ordering system as cumbersome as possible to avoid sales!

[SiegmundHildebrand]

Karlheinz Stockhausen is a great visionary.My favoriete bands like Redshift,Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk were influenced by Stockhausen.However,i do not like his compositions,but i guess this is the begining of true Avant garde styles of music !

[innerdeth]

@SiegmundHildebrand i recommend Stockahusen's Licht opera (Specially the lucifer acschied part )its awesome

[IwanttoliveinParis]

At about 1:32 you can hear a short sound that's very similar to the eventual Pac Man sound one hears when you get touched by a ghost and die.

[emmetwebster]

Electronic music used to be so much cooler.

[rolltide1beat1auburn]

amazing, enlightening sublime, one cannot imagine the mental impact this has on a person with the use of LSD

[HermannRubartV]

I just come from a live performance of this piece. Impressing. 

[TheRiteOfWinter]

mmmm, some of the timbres are really weird, I cant find them as a pitch, sometimes i feel its all in the same pitch, or pitchless, or a modulating pitch, or some sort of white noise. Im talking about the 'droning' sounds. They sound like a massive reverberation of many pitches.

[PrivateBuckwheat]

@TheRiteOfWinter I read that the sound in this piece was created by impulse generators (and I'm pretty sure that an impulse observed in the frequency domain contains sound in all frequencies). The impulses were run through various filters, feedback loops, and reverberations, so it definitely makes sense that what you are hearing is often more noisy than pitched.

[mcherven123]

wõw_sûcht_mÁl_ñÀch:_geldeasy_á­Üf_gØÕglÈ

[EARdraum]

You're all insane.

[jasoninertia]

i for one do not think this is random experimentation with sound effects this is music because it gives me a feeling and it is made with sound , it does not have a melody nor a beat , but it is still variations of pitch and different sounds that trigger emotion and make me feel a certain way, that to me is music ,I hear music in the calling of birds in a forest and the ocean , when its raining and the sounds of a busy city, music can not be limited by convention

[EduardoBrasil10000]

You can listen 'Lucifer is Lord' if you put it backwards.

[wgaule]

@EduardoBrasil10000 Bullshit!

[rubisco1981]

Wonderful...it's emotionless, yet intriguing and inspiring. I prefer this version above the partially acoustic version.

[JimmyDFFDBorneo]

@rubisco1981 Emotionless? This is drenched in depression and neurosis. This is anything but emotionless.

[rubisco1981]

@JimmyDFFDBorneo I feel it differently, as if there's no specific emotion implied, no programmatic intention in this music. This is what appeals to me. It was meant in a positive way :-)

[kaustin6969]

An article introducing Kontakte is found in "eContact!" Volume 12 #4, published by the cec. Start at cec.concordia.ca and look for eContact!

The introduction is based on playing the 4-channel version.

[Thrash0Jazz0Assassin]

Where the hell have you managed to find this version? Can't find it anywhere....

[NewMusicXX]

@Thrash0Jazz0Assassin - you can buy this CD from the Stockhausen Verlag. It's CD 3, entitled "Elektronische Musik 1952-1960". It comes with an excellent booklet full of diagrams, photos, and explanations by Stockhausen.

[Thrash0Jazz0Assassin]

@NewMusicXX thank you very much.

[kaustin6969]

To discuss Kontakte in relation to other composers is, IME, of little lasting value. I have presented this piece in concert probably a dozen times (4 channel version and twice with the piano and percussion), and after more than 40 years of listening, I hear new relationships every time. I have a 45 minute descriptive introduction on the web if you care to look and listen. Google: cec.concordia.ca/econtact/12_4­/kontakte

[kenjones49]

@kaustin6969 Hi, can you give me a hyperlink to this intro, or tell me how to access it via google? BTW, does each version of Kontakte have 2 parts - I notice the so-called electro-acoustic version on Wergo has 2 tracks - I'm considering buying this CD.

[aut0cerem0ny]

and without them, we wouldn't here. visit wskfete dot com

[LBLB53]

amazing

[TheLagunaSunrise]

I reckon if aliens exist, they have music, and have charts... this made the top 10, no doubt.

[OscarRocabert]

Stockhausen va tenir una gran influència en gran part de la música d'en Zappa. Això es veu sobretot a "We're Only in it for the Money" i "Lumpy Gravy".

[derreth]

Someone once said "I wouldn't know Stockhausen if I trod in it ! Having listened to this it does sound like something I might have trodden in

[juan300590]

You got to hear this in shrooms!!!

[greece1992bill]

yesterday i went to the beach and i was listening to kontakte,all the parts.and i realized something amazing.this music is like it's made to fit with nature.it was amazing,the sea,the sun,the sky fitted perfectly with this music.

[cnmaster01]

@greece1992bill thus bridging the gap between artificial and natural. or rather disproving that there is a gap. an ant colony beehive or termite mound is considered natural but our apartment buildings artificial. just doesn't make sense to me

[iwannabeyourdog90]

not probably possibly I meant

[iwannabeyourdog90]

what a waste to do that shit all your life... I just think music hasn't to be anything, but somewhen you should probably make more enjoyable music,too, instead of giving advises to other musicians, how to make their music more interesting, because I think stucking to these random patternsall over your life, is quite close minded, though its interesting stuff. It's not even that genius, stockhausen's music, its more an escape from his war-minted youth, I think

[BlacknWhitesAlright]

@iwannabeyourdog90 Stockhausen's work is many things, but "random" is not one of them.

[Aiatanamolamil]

me encanta esta cancion, es mi favorita de el mundo

[mafrunepi]

Me encanta el estribillo. Es muy pegadizo y resultón. Digno de los 40 principales o de Mtv.

[KillingLies1]

and lots of peope say "beatles invented all"

[velcor]

I for one, love Stockhausen's music.

[ryanquist1]

i realy dont know what to think about stockhausen...

his music is horible, but his sounds are wonderful!

[zerghio80]

a este tio se le ha ido la olla o que? con razon prohibieron las drogas no me extraña con la musica esta

[gabvicious]

This music is subject to so many arguings... It is our society's debate, to accept or not what stockhausen has done. It is to question the fundamental conception of music! However, I would say to those who don't agree with these works that you can't deny the influence this music has had all over the world, as much in pop as jazz and classical... Every face of music has been deeply modified by this composer. So, I think that to like music today resumes in liking, in a certain way, Stockhausen...

[sicodelicodelperu]

fantastico!

[Turkamel]

GREAT STUFF! ¡Qué buen material!

[MeTerryBailey]

huhutag und nacht träume ich davon dass sich jemnd findet der mich vor meiner langweile erlöst^^

[tannenhasi]

@MeTerryBailey und jetz hast ihn gefunden oder?^^

[fldsthedrummer]

Miles Davis was very inspired by this man..Just listen to the late 60s electric stuff..

[PeterTheChriss]

I think that this is more like art than something you would listen to at your mp3.....

[mahler151]

@PeterTheChriss I have it on my MP3 and listen to it daily.

[Chicklo11]

Wow, this is good, I've been talking to a friend studying music & he was telling me about his compositions and it sounded ok, but now i'm like wow

[hawklords68]

Fabulous !!

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

i have the full composition

i can also get the sheet music

i am thinking of making a channel called "YokoOnoDefense" and showing this plus the sheet music bar by bar...

[drdjdesa]

He was living in the future, amazing work.

It might sound like a collection of Traktor effects but this gave birth (or gave a huge contribution anyway) to many bits of modern electronic music (if I m not wrong Kraftwerk for influenced and so on). Still funny and ridiculous how Americans still claim "they " invented Techno in Detroit.

[dmich12]

With regards to all the people commenting on here saying 'urgh sounds horrible' or 'wow beautiful sonic art that only we intelligentsia understand'.... I think this is actually just an interesting piece of experimentation with sounds which, while not particularly enjoyable, contains elements that might make me or others think differently about how music should be made, and it should be respected for that at least. Without it, we might not have had The Velvet Underground, Can, or Aphex Twin.

[dragmio]

@dmich12 A wonderful comment! I'd put 100 tumbs up if I could.

[dmich12]

@dragmio aw shucks

[twb176]

@dmich12 Add the Beatles to the list too. This isn't something I care to listen to on a regular basis, but his massive influence on modern music can't be denied.

[TheTimeTraveler100]

@dmich12 Nicely said, mate.

[TheBigMclargehuge]

@dmich12 Nonsense. The Emperor has no clothes, sir.

[dmich12]

@TheBigMclargehuge Maybe not, but he looks pretty good naked.

[mygrandma9000]

@dmich12 u know alot of songs have these sound effects for background sounds

[tedthemusician]

@dmich12 It turns out Aphex Twin indirectly corresponded with Stockhausen.  Stockhausen received a copy of one of Aphex Twin's songs and commented negatively on it. Aphex Twin then called Stockhausen's music "random, abstract patterns people can't dance to."

[dmich12]

@tedthemusician actually in the full interview, aphex twin talks about how he was really inspired by stockhausen, that quote about random patterns is taken kind of out of context. search 'advice to clever children', it's a pretty interesting article.

[badazzpresidents23]

@dmich12 More importantly, we might not have had Throbbing Gristle.  That would be even more tragic ;)

[AnotherRandomGeek]

@dmich12 Funny you mention Aphex due to their own dispute in the early 90s.

[CaptainBluebear08]

Just awesome. Thank you. This music is to me what chocolate mousse is for others. (Or Mozart Kugeln ... :)

[MarcheseCadmio88]

Pay attention everyone: in 1912 Schoenberg was considered by everyone a mad, cacophonic anarchist.. today he is called "the father of modern music" by European schools.

A real artist MUST be unconventional.

By the way, this piece was written in 1958, it's nearly history!

[laurion69]

@MarcheseCadmio88

It's not too early, but too late to say that this stuff failed the goal to achieve a new music.

This piece is 50 years old and average people dont' like and don't understand it..

In history of music every good composer, apart from his value, has been considered over passed by contemporary composers even after 25 years (the next generation). And here, after 50 years, we should still wait for a massive appreciation of it.

[cnmaster01]

@laurion69

i believe it was Babbitt who said "Composers are not ahead of their time, the audience is 50 years behind" it seems like we're going even further back as time goes on. the most popular classical works i play at work have been those of Bach Vivaldi and Pachabell, where just 5 months ago they belonged to Chopin Beethoven and Mozart. i've even heard the same complaints of cacophony and noise that you see hear made about the Beethoven's 7th and 9th Symphonies. has it really come to this?

[laurion69]

@cnmaster01

Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin etc. composed music for all.

Stockahusen made sounds and sound effects (not music because it is different) for few pseudo-intellectuals.

Dedecafony has been created 100 years ago and it is not appreciated and understood by pepole yet.

It has not became the music of the future as Webern said.

I think there is something wrong that many of you are not able to admit honestly

[cnmaster01]

@laurion69 Mozart Beethoven and Chopin wrote music for themselves and it happened to be popular, but not immediately. Mozart was buried in an unmarked grave, and Chopin's Mazurka's and Beethoven's 9th symphony received similar criticism to that of Schoenberg and Stravinsky. are you American? because dodecaphony had a run of popularity in Europe. and finally what gives you the right to define music? I don't listen to this to feel superior or intelligent, I listen to it because i like it

[laurion69]

@cnmaster01

Sorry, but you are wrong: Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, as well as all great composers, never wrote for themselves and their music was totally appreciated and understood by common people, as show the dedications, the letters, the articles, the comments of the time.

It could happen certainly that some work were more complex and required more qualified listeners, but pubblic has been always (immediatly or quite immediatly) able to recognize the value of a composition.

.

[laurion69]

@cnmaster01

The idea of a composer who composes just for himself or for few hyper-sophisticated listeners (who should even be instructed about the work before listening it) is a new idea that has been totally unsuccessful and that tries to justify what it never happened in history of music.

It never happened, infact, that greats works should wait a long time to be appreciated. Even Bach's St. Matthew Passion was welcomed as masterwork in the small church where it was first performed.

[cnmaster01]

@laurion69 this is not a debate worth having, we're both too stubborn. yes few people likely have this on their ipods, but how many more people have Bach's Brandenburg Concertos? just some final food for thought

[DrRoryMagowan]

This is a piece of shit! It's not music it's just noise

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

the sheet music is at the san jose state university

now go criticize yoko ono...

[DrRoryMagowan]

wait how does that make a difference

[Capitankenji]

It sounds like Radiohead... @_@

[95DANGER]

Creepy music

[hlapendorf6]

this music freaks me out!

it's just silence then all the sudden...wuf!....complete horror... :s

[fizolf]

0:00 to 0:30 dabest

[drgabrielsoileau]

This music would go well with a horror movie!! It Kindo f sounds like Shoenberg except electronified!(?) Could this actually be perfomed??

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

yes it can accually be performed there is sheet music maybe at a local university

because mine in downtown has one

the sheet music

[mahler151]

Where can I hear the version for Piano and percussion?

[NewMusicXX]

@mahler151 Thanks for asking - I'll post it soon.

[mahler151]

Okay, awsome. thanks a bunch.

[7867088]

@NewMusicXX where now?

[jkandell2]

@NewMusicXX  Did you ever post the Kontakte with piano and percussion? I can't seem to find it in your listings.

[NewMusicXX]

@jkandell2 There are several live versions on youtube. If you want me to post it, I'll do it. I could put it all up as a single video now that youtube has changed their time limits.

[dudestube]

What I love about this is that the sounds appear out of nowhere and then disappear just as quickly.

[darkspectre]

It's interesting, but it's giving me the chills. LOL I'm a little creeped out.

[52ofem]

This sounds very scary and foreboding to me.

[howdydoodytoyouall]

Love it, love it, love it. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Stockhausen are my favorites!

[mahler151]

The thing I love about Stockhausen is that he's really the first composer to be favorited by Classical lovers as well as Electronic and Avante-Gard. finally, a musical genius of this era is regarded among the Classical greats!

[MrvlZmb]

Finally? You mean Cage, Crumb, Ligeti, Varese, Boulez, Carter, Zorn, Pousseau,and Babbitt don't count?

[mahler151]

I mean you can take anyone of those composers listed and people would still regard them negatively, but take Stockhausen and the same people who don't like those composers would actually admit an admiration for him.

[mightyafrowhitey]

@mahler151 you don't have to like "serious art" though to be a musical snob. some people are the same way about nirvana. me, I like whatever, whether it's john cage, or the beastie boys!!! if I like it I like it. the distinction between high and low art is purely artificial.

[BlacknWhitesAlright]

@mightyafrowhitey There are all kinds of distinctions to be made - between art that was inspired by intellectual theories and art which was not, between art which was made with the expectation of monetary renumeration and that which was not, between art that was made for a large expected audience and that which was made for a small expected audience. The thing is that "high" and "low" as concepts are too simple and binary to accurately describe creative endeavor.

[mightyafrowhitey]

@BlacknWhitesAlright I think what matters most is the final product, whatever the genesis of that product is. to make the distinction between high art and low art just seems like snobbery to me. there is plenty of "low art" that I would consider superior to what some would consider "high art." who exactly gets to pick which category the piece falls into? and what do you do with the artists that blur the lines (King Crimson, Duke Ellington, Frank Zappa, ect...)? and what do you do cont...

[mightyafrowhitey]

@BlacknWhitesAlright with someone such as Philip Glass? is he high art or low art? and if he is to be considered high art, is there anyone in his right mind who would actually consider him to be a better composer than the above mentioned?

[tabernavudu]

@mightyafrowhitey Right on, man! Right on!

[badazzpresidents23]

@mightyafrowhitey Thank you. Look up what John Zorn has said about the relations between all types of music, you'll find it interesting :) take care

[figaromagniffico]

I thought I was very open minded with music.. I like everything from Classical to Country to Death Metal.... but I'm sorry, this I cannot tolerate!

[omargk]

bach is sound art too.

[voxhunden]

Perhaps, one day, I'll see the "connection" between the two;). I have to admit that when I listen to this in the right mood, it can provoke strong visual associations, which for me is a good reason to like any particular type of music.

Does anyone else out there go completely berserk at the sound of a high-bypass turbofan jet engine? That can almost drive me into a state of trance, incredible dissonants and harmonies, like angels on amphetamines.

[voxhunden]

(a) I wouldn't know, until recently I was more interested in Bolt Thrower. Used to dream of a big theater piece based on their For Victory album, that would have knocked a few of your "snobs" off their socks! It still might.

(b) Not in this imperfect world.

[voxhunden]

"music often alienates the listener and then blames him for his distancing. The only listeners who may not "be blamed" thus are the ones who fetishize and objectify music to the realm of intellectual achievement". Which is a rather aristocratic way to put what benjaros2 tried to say in his original posting, if I'm correct;).

[DerangedRanger1]

@voxhunden Does the music alienate the listener or does the listener alienate the music? Music has no choice to alienate, but people make that decision. I feel sorry for you.

[voxhunden]

Those weren't my words, I was quoting benjaros2. I don't think it's the music which does the alienation (it just exists), but the "connoisseurs" or "incrowd" who treat anyone who dares criticize it as ignorant and backward. So while this piece may have been groundbreaking in it's own context, I don't experience it as music.

Which still doesn't mean I live in a cave, or belong in one.

[voxhunden]

I know exactly what you mean. It would be fairer to label this Sound Art, not music. Because it simply isn't, it's a level of abstraction beyond that. If however this sounds like music in the ears of some, congratulations. Enjoy it!

[voxhunden]

I think it's fair to compare these souns experiments with fundamental science, which serves no purpose other than itself. The spinoff will eventually reach the public through its applicants, in this case the musicians. It can be argued that societies which don't leave room for these kind of experiments will ultimately lose their dynamics and perish.

[DerangedRanger1]

@voxhunden - Sound Art? What do you mean by that? Is that some sort of downgrade? It is music and if you understand it (which I don't think you do), you would understand the statement it is making. Try learning about Momentform and things will become clearer to you. Until then, I would reserve judgment if I were you.

[voxhunden]

Art which I need to "understand" in order to appreciate is is in my eyes academic. And it's in the academic realms where I would place Sound Art. So it's actually an upgrade, which I tried to illustrate by making the link with fundamental science. Think "a musician's musician". I'm merely audience, not musician, I don't need to "understand" anything, and I can't appreciate this. But if others can, based on understanding or otherwise, I repect that. No downgrade intended, OTC.

[fiandrhi]

You can't just call conclusions axioms and expect to get a pass b/c you called them axioms. And if they're axioms, why present your circle of friends as substantiation?

"Moral judgment". Are you saying this music is immoral?

Yes, I do think this music was created to be "liked". Do you have evidence it was created to be hated, perhaps? But why is the issue relevant?

I can't verify all these hundreds of people you've met who substantiate your stereotype of the pretentious Stockh. fan.

[fiandrhi]

Where do you see self-absorption and delusion? I like this music. That makes me deluded? Self absorbed? How?

And why do you imagine that this is the definition of a "snob"? I thought a snob was someone who looked down on others. So, if I like this music, it means I look down on others...how?

You seem to be accusing "proponents" of this music of being deluded and self-absorbed. Doesn't that make you the snob (looking down on others)?

[delphiz99]

it's an interesting technical achievement, but it ain't no music...

[k0nstruktiv]

If your meaning of "music" is so indoctrinated, let's call this - "sound art".

[delphiz99]

wow; big words; "indoctrinated"... I presume you would know...

Never heard the term "sound art". Perhaps it would fit here. I can't imagine listening to it for pleasure or relaxation, etc; although some might. Just a curiosity...

[k0nstruktiv]

sorry for "big words", i'm not a native speaker :)

Anyway, for me, "music" is an expression of one's feelings/thoughts in a sound form.

But, as both prose and poetry are textual arts, they have different names for a reason. May be, what you call "music" is a poetry of sound, and this "music" is a prose. And the confusion is caused by lack of a proper term.

[delphiz99]

no problem.

perhaps you are right about lacking of a proper term.

[efraalr]

EEsta bien cabron este guei

[RahmSifr]

Is there any possibilty to give an interpretation to this song or is it just part of the Avantgarde idea that music has to become more and more abstract?

[obeest]

I've just started studying electroacoustic music like this at college, apparently you can use Simon Emmersons system but apparently has its advantages and disadvantages

[6083748]

i have not contact

[biotonk]

I am hearing the percussion in my head ... help !!

[mariuscipolla]

I took my father to a performance of this piece when he was already an old man -- afterwards, he said, "My head is still exploding with the percussion."

[biotonk]

hahaha ... wonderful !

[akinderreality]

it is really amazing that this was created in the late 50's - very ahead of it's time in many ways

[alexhuddleston]

where did you get this recording? I've been looking for a while and haven't found anything yet

[pantherius]

You could try the Avant-Garde Project. And there is an official Stockhausen website. And Amazon might have this recording.