8 papers in the library · publishing 2018
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract: This chapter explores altered states of consciousness in interactive video games and virtual reality applications. First, a brief overview of advances in the sound and graphics of video games is provided, which has led to ever-more immersive capabilities within the medium. Following this, a variety of games that represent states of intoxication, drug use, and hallucinations are...
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract This chapter explores how music technologies and electronic studio processes relate to altered states of consciousness in popular music. First, an overview of audio technologies such as multi-tracking, echo, and reverb is given, in order to explore their illusory capabilities. In the rock ’n’ roll music of the 1950s, studio production techniques such as distortion provided a means...
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract: This chapter explores how sound systems place electronic sounds in a social context, eliciting powerful affective experiences that are framed by conceptual meaning. The chapter begins by tracing the origins of the sound system culture and dub-reggae of Jamaica. This approach, which prioritizes DJ performances over ‘live’ musicians, would prefigure the electronic dance music culture of...
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract: This chapter discusses shamanism, explaining the ethos and mythology of several indigenous societies, and how these belief systems relate to the design of art and music. First, a general overview of shamanism is provided, which outlines the typical role and function of a shaman. An explanation of the shamanic visionary experience, a type of altered state of consciousness, is then...
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract: This chapter explores how electroacoustic music takes the listener on a journey through unreal, imaginary, or hallucinatory sound-worlds. The chapter commences with a general explanation of electroacoustic music, and how it may allow illusory representations of real and unreal sounds and spaces. Following this, various compositions of electroacoustic music are discussed, which are...
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract The concluding chapter of Inner Sound: Altered States of Consciousness in Electronic Music and Audio-Visual Media consolidates the main arguments of the book. The journey taken is recapitulated, from shamanic rituals to psychedelic rock shows and raves; and from outdoor electroacoustic concerts to synaesthetic films and hallucinatory video games. Across these examples, similar...
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract: This chapter provides an introduction to consciousness, and explores how our subjective experiences change during a variety of altered states of consciousness. An overview of cognition is given, outlining the processes involved in the construction of our experiences within the ‘stream’ or ‘theatre of consciousness’. Next, the main varieties of altered states of consciousness are...
Inner Sound April 12, 2018 Jonathan Weinel
Abstract: This chapter discusses altered states of consciousness in audio-visual media, such as films, psychedelic light shows, and VJ performances. First, some background theory is introduced, explaining the main categories of film sound, and what research tells us regarding the way in which sound influences the perception of visual images and vice versa. Following this background section, a...