ARCArc are playing Wavelength #16. Here are questions and two Arc member's answers:
Noise vs. Music; The Random vs. The Specific; Art Vs. Pop: Please explain and relate to Arc....
Aidan: Okay, I'm going to namedrop right from the start: R. Murray Schafer
(Canadian composer of 'new music') says"Noise is any undesired sound signal
and I like that. Music (all art) is all in the intention; both of the
performer/artist and the audience/consumer; a sort of symbiotic agreement to
consider something that could be construed as noise in some situations as
music because the performer presents it as such and the consumer agrees to
listen to it as such. Pretty arbitrary, sure, but art is arbitrary. Or
random... the random becomes specific. Which is what Arc is all about: taking
random moments, random incidents of noise, and incorporating them into some
sort of whole to create music.
Unspecified Arc Respondent: I think some of the best creative results come
from introducing the element of randomness. Arc never practices, which
allows this to happen during a show. The same with noise, it's
inconsistent, always new and adds that element of surprise.
Name some non-music related things that have affected what you do.
We all do other things besides music. None of us are exclusive to one particular media. Rich and I write and Chris is a visual artist, and of course that affects what we do. In Chris' case, much of his visual work is tribally influenced and the sound he brings to Arc is also very tribal. I don't know if there are any actually, more drumming spawns new rhythms.....
Why "Arc", as opposed to, say, "Car"?
Um, well, "car" is kind of boring.... the word "arc" is more powerful than something like "car" or "rac" and I think it applies to us as a group symbolically, both in terms of the wide range of styles and musical interests we bring to the project and how we as a unit musically support each other. I think Arc is more abstract and open than Car, which has so many associations.
How do you entice people to your shows, or is this necessary? A lot of people are intrigued by the fact that we improvise everything, which doesn't seem so common anymore (apart from the jazz world). This also means every show is unique, so it's not like going out to hear a band play their greatest hits. I think the idea of a spontaneous jam, and the diversity of instruments is what for me would peak interest.
If Arc could travel in time; what year would they choose and why?
Medieval times; good music. Though I have no idea what the other guys would
think...
Hmmm, ahead to the next gig, I'm looking forward to playing
Pick your favourite word or words that contain the letter sequence
"arc". (Foreign languages are permitted but proper nouns are not.)
Arcana. Narcosis. Archetype.
-- Paddy O'Donnell