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brettworks

thinking through music


  • June 20, 2013

    Notes On Music Distillations

    Hieronymus Brunschwig’s The Book of the Art of Distillation, circa 1500. (Source: Wikipedia) The music speaks for itself, yet I still feel a need to respond to it. One way to respond is to copy it–internalizing the parts of the music that resonate with me and use them in my own work somehow. Another more… Continue reading

    criticism, music distillation
  • June 19, 2013

    Sonic Distillation: On Nosaj Thing’s “Eclipse/Blue”

    Four chords on the floor sequenced guitar, synth arrows held voice, resolves late. Continue reading

    sonic distillation
  • June 14, 2013

    On Another Kind Of Wonder (part III)

    My recent recording Another Kind Of Wonder is now available on Spotify. Go here to listen. Continue reading

    Uncategorized
  • June 13, 2013

    On Lessons From A Recent Musical Project

    The trick is to work swiftly and then stop just before you completely figure out what it is that you’re doing. Continue reading

    creative strategies, heuristics, self-help
  • June 7, 2013

    On Influence And Voice

    This is a post about influence and voice. It’s about how each of us is influenced by one another–by other writers, musicians, teachers. By voice I don’t mean our actual speaking voices (though those can have their influence too). I mean that something in the character and essence and presence of each of us that… Continue reading

    ecstasy of influence, ventrilo-dialogue, voice
  • June 6, 2013

    Insect Thrumming As Deep Music: On David Rothenberg’s “Bug Music”

    “One sound can be enough if it repeats enough enough enough times so the meaning becomes subservient to the sound”–David Rothenberg, Bug Music (114) There is a powerful idea behind David Rothenberg’s spirited recent book, Bug Music: How Insects Gave Us Rhythm And Noise, which is this: listening to the rhythmic and buzzing sounds of… Continue reading

    book reviews, ecology, ethnography, insect sound, soundscapes
    bug music, david rothenberg
  • May 29, 2013

    On Musical Systems And Four Tet’s Good Musical Sense

    “I don’t want to sound like anybody else.” – Kieran Hebden I have written previously on this blog about the music of Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet). Hebden not only has good musical taste but also a thoughtful and unique approach to using technology to create his work. In this video from Red Bull Music… Continue reading

    creative strategies, Electronic music, performance
    creative path, electronic gear, four tet, midi controllers, red bull music academy
  • May 23, 2013

    From Faucet-Playing To Prepared Drumsets: On The Musicking Of Glenn Kotche

    I recently watched an entertaining commercial for, of all things, Delta Faucet, that features percussionist Glenn Kotche playing faucets in a musical way. As he turns on the taps one by one, water streams out of them and strikes inverted pots, pans, and colanders to produce sustained pitches. With the help of a few overdubs,… Continue reading

    cover songs, drumming, world music influences
    delta faucet, monkey chant
  • May 17, 2013

    On Music As Overlay

    Here we are, me among them, sitting on the subway, sharing a physical space but each of us somewhere else. We each listen to a different music, and each of our musics acts as a cultural overlay that separates and distinguishes us from one another. Headphones on, we ensconce ourselves in protective bubbles of sound.… Continue reading

    listening, musings
    music, social technology
  • May 16, 2013

    On Another Kind Of Wonder (part II)

    Here is an excerpt from “Beama”, Track 2 from my recent recording Another Kind Of Wonder: You can purchase the full 2-hour recording here. Continue reading

    Electronic music
    excerpt from
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Thomas Brett is a musician and writer who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from New York University. He is the author of Principles of Electronic Music Production and The Creative Electronic Music Producer, a book described by Sound On Sound magazine as “a deep philosophical analysis of the various creative inspirations, ideas and processes involved in producing electronic music.” His essays have appeared in the journals Popular Music and Popular Music and Society, as well as edited collections by Routledge, Oxford, and Cambridge University presses. Thomas has played percussion on Broadway since 1997 and writes about music at brettworks.com.

Recent Posts

  • Same Walk, Different Music: Actress, Suzanne Ciani, “Concrète Waves London B2” (2026).
  • Brett’s Sound Picks: Actress and Suzanne Ciani’s “Concrète Waves Barcelona B4” (2026)
  • The Real, The Virtual, and Thinking Compositionally
  • No. 6
  • Art About Music: “When Is That Young Man Going Home?” (1931)

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