Iāll second @dailybells Sukora tip - Iāve hunted down all the little bits of Sukoraās catalog I can over the years, and I was super excited to see the project return. I do hope heāll continue some new output. Oeo probably remains one of the most polarizing releases I can think of even within the noise scene.
In this general area for me John Hudak has been a huge inspiration and Iām a very big fan of his work for a long time now. I think his work is a lot stronger than other artists who seemed to get a lot more attention. Though some of my favorites of his Iām not sure even fit into a more rigid definition of whatever one wants to call the genre- Wind,Rain and Clouds To Human Beings, Pond, The Wood Bells, and Garten with Miguel Angel Tolosa are some favorites of mine.
Anyone looking for a more currently active scene of artists working in areas of extreme reduction should def take a look at the Winds Measure catalog, the label run by Ben Owen.
While things kind of inevitably turn into gear questions while certain artists had clear strategies Iād say what the biggest thing anyone can take away from this general genre/style/school is that its really about interaction and finding ways or maximizing and minimizing at the same time and exploring things potential in that way or through mis-use even. For equipment you need absolutely NOTHING - though IMO what you do need is to cultivate a focused an intentional way of working. In some ways reductive genres like this offer the most democratic potential in that regard which can be creatively very empowering- the barrier for entry is only the ability to record at any level of fidelity, or potentially even not if that isnāt important to you. A lot of Sukoraās output Iām convinced is just him hitting record and possibly even leaving the room or just mussing with something on his coffee table, Jeph Jerman has produced a massive catalog with some really captivating work that essentially is him playing natural debris and trash with assistance from other trash and some contact mics, a lot of Small Cruel Partyās āfocused manipulation of objectsā falls into the same are for me. I work almost exclusively with the MS-20 these days because Iāve found a very personal way of working with it, but it might as well be any other thing electronic or not.
While I love this type of work and it is the area of my own focus, I also see problems in it and I think its worth taking some critical views too. As someone whose personal and financial situation means I live usually in busy urban environments over the years even just listening to some work in this area can be frustrating or daunting with the constant unavoidable noise of city life easily masking out quiet work. One could say I should appreciate the Cagean aspect of that, but if something is completely unlistenable due to daily life I quickly loose the pleasurable side of listening. For better or worse I find certain types of work are almost seasonably listenable- in fall and winter when the windows can stay closed and the streets become less noisy certain work becomes more available. Iāll also say despite in general being a big fan of the genre as much as Iāve tried to find reasoning or articulation behind what clicks for me and what doesnāt I still really struggle. Some incredibly quiet or reductive work gets to me in a fantastic way that nothing else can, while other work gives me the very distinct sensation I am just being messed with or listening to a very quiet but very big ego. I think it is a tough trap to avoid for any highly reductive art form that we can fall into a pit where austerity becomes a goal in and of itself and involved some sort of assumed value. There is a class element to this too that I also am still working through in my own head, but it again involves the financial accessibility of certain types of silence, the potential over-fetishization of austerity, the sonic equivalent of the immaculate Judd like structure. Things also can also become very prescriptive very quickly I think. For me while some affiliated artists have done some very nice work, Houben as @doomglue mentioned I think is really great, a lot of the Wandelweiser catalog falls flat for me and feels stale and rote, and almost as if a lot of people are just doubling or tripling down on what was an idea or small set of ideas that has already been sufficiently explored, or maybe just wasnāt of much interest to me to being with. The work becomes so inwardly focused its inaccessible without assuming too much for me- not every location or field recording or bit of air is fascinating to listen to, and if I strip away all the conceptual underpinnings it doesnāt stand on its own for me.
