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thinking through music


  • July 6, 2022

    On Musical Yakisugi: Taylor Dupree’s “rem” (2022)

    Within contemporary ambient music’s often texturally generic world, the work of Taylor Dupree carves a distinctive sound. Dupree is a master of assembling tableaus of small, delicate sounds suffused with noise to convey the aura of aged materials. The music conjures Yakisugi, the Japanese method of wood preservation through burning.  The best of Dupree’s music excels… Continue reading

    ambient music
  • July 5, 2022

    Castles

    Continue reading

    Uncategorized
  • July 1, 2022

    Curating The Week: Craft, Ambient Music Streaming, Foley Sound

    • A blog post on craft and imperfection. “As soon as we mechanize, measure and perfect something, it becomes far less interesting.” • An article on ambient music streaming. “Now, in an era of constant uncertainty and overwhelming malaise, the new age imperative to slow down and heal thyself is deeply embedded in mainstream culture.… Continue reading

    Curating The Week
  • June 30, 2022

    The Elegance Of Economy 

    “I really admire economy more than anything else: elegant ways of making big things happen–which is the opposite of what normally happens in a studio, where you have clumsy ways of making small things happen.” – Brian Eno  “Although there is much in this world that is incomprehensible, you can nevertheless discover a meaning as… Continue reading

    Uncategorized
  • June 29, 2022

    Brett’s Sound Picks: tstewart’s “Airstream” (2022)

    (2022 playlist.) Continue reading

    Brett’s Sound Picks
  • June 28, 2022

    Art About Music: Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mechanical Drum” (c. 1490-1495)

    (Original manuscript is here.) Continue reading

    art about music
  • June 27, 2022

    Two Parts

    Continue reading

    sketch
  • June 23, 2022

    Forward Engineering

    If reverse engineering means examining a finished work to try to figure out how it was constructed, then forward engineering means examining a work in progress and projecting forward to imagine what it might need to be completed. In music production, having the ability to see how a track will end up would be a… Continue reading

    Uncategorized, workflow
  • June 22, 2022

    Brett’s Sound Picks: Scanner’s “You And Me” (2022)

    Continue reading

    Brett’s Sound Picks
  • June 21, 2022

    Art About Music: Google Books’ Ngram Viewer: “Musicality” (2022)

    Continue reading

    art about music
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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

  • Resonant Thoughts: John Ashbery’s “A Wave” (1984)
  • Art About Music: Google’s Lyria 3 (2026)
  • Studio Observations: Listening To Improvisation
  • Database: Shane Parish on Revoicing and the Game Of Subtraction
  • Jup-8000, No. 1

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