Die Mauer, Theoretical notes:
Die Mauer is essentially about
determinism.
…time, space, the human, and
their relations, etc.
For those who are satisfied, you can stop reading here… The Songs Follow.
For those who want to read a little more, see additional notes below.
Disc 1 Tracks:
01 The Outline of the Hypothesis
02 The Expansion of the Particulars (Part 1)
03 The Expansion of the Particulars (Part 2)
08 The Unitary Cause is Infinite in Its Constituent Parts
16 Causality Leads to Determinism
Disc 2 Tracks:
07 The Relation Between Cause & Effect
10 The Deafening Sound of Evolution
And, you can stream it on youtube:
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
From the conclusion to the original theoretical
notes:
(composed in Berlin, Oct, 2002)
The Experiment:
An infinite number of events, stretching back into
infinite time have combined to cause myself to
exist, to cause dumbass to be formed, to cause
this concept to form in my mind. This is one of an
infinite number of examples of infinite causality.
All of this infinite causality stretches back into
infinity (infinity/infinity [= 1]). The completion of
this album will be another event with an infinite
number of causes; another case of infinite
causality. As we approach this point the number
of causes shrinks (perceptibly so and in actuality
though the actual shrinking of the known AND
unknown causes is beyond our vision).
Nonetheless, the closer we get to the point of
completion, not only does the number of causes
shrink, but the rate at which the number of causes
shrinks increases. For our purposes we will end
observation at one single perceptible cause (the
pressing of the album), but the shrinkage of causes
(just as the total amount of perceptible and
imperceptible causes is always infinite in a single
moment of spacetime, through the agency of
history) indeed goes on into infinity (th pushing of
a button, the moving of a muscle, the nerve
signal…).
From the early notes:
-History of Berlin up to this point
-the new building, IE the city as it is now, with its
new growth
-not the result of the consciousness of the people
that compose it, nor of its history, rather of
something else
-the race forward, towards?
-catching up?
-the melancholia + disassociation
-the wall itself
-its unique place in Berlin’s consciousness
-island-city, nation in itself
-feelings of confusion, detachment
All of the historical causes for this one, single,
very specific situation/mindset/problem/thing
(the Berlin mind, the mind and body of the city
itself…) stretching back into infinity, involving the
whole world and its entire history and each and
every event and cause triggering others… An
infinite expansion back into time, into infinity… Or
to look at it another way, Time, Space,
Circumstance, (probability), all contracting and
condensing into one single unit of humanity (or if
you will, a single spatio-temporal event).
As time increases towards any arbitrarily set
spatio-temporal event, probability decreases
exponentially from infinity and coalesces into a
unit (one single point to spacetime-circumstance).
Human existence therefore, moves from a state of
infinite causality (where any outcome is uncertain
due simply to the impossibility of calculation)
towards a state of infinite definition and
restriction. What we are dealing with then is a
reversed theory of infinite probability. A theory of
infinite causality, and infinite restriction
(determinism). Infinite causality is constantly
collapsing into single spatio-temporal events. A
constantly shrinking universe and existence
moving toward some possible point of maximum
collapse (big crunch?).
The ultra-specific nature of the Berlin experience
can be seen as a metaphor then for the
description of not only an aspect of the human
condition but a universal theory of existence and
reality.
This is all highly summary and patchy at the same
time, but it gives one an idea.
The original theoretical notes are available,
scanned in their entirety on the multimedia disc
(included in version 3 of Die Mauer)
for more detailed information (though no less
clear or organized [these were only ever meant to
be working notes to myself and were composed in
a mad rush in the middle of the night in early
October in Berlin, under a dim desk-lamp, by the
window, overlooking a courtyard, in a former
telephone factory]) please consult these.
Thank you,
Zeke Mason
Practical Notes:
The actual recording of the songs began
with trips all over the province with a
battery powered recorder to obtain
sounds.
We recorded everything from simple,
sample material to complete, live rhythm
tracks to entire songs on these trips.
The instruments were (in no particular
order): The Alexandria bridge (built in
1924 it has been out of use since the
1950’s when the highway was diverted),
The Fraser river itself (and tributaries),
rock cliffs, shale, dirt, rocks and gravel,
large boulders, drainage pipes, culverts,
a car-wreck (pre 1950’s), Trees (both
living and dead logs (including a rotten
stump)), Air-conditioning parts from a
demolished service-station, PVC pipe and
various other found objects…
Rocks, logs, a drainage pipe and other beach debris, A disused ferry dock, metal viewing platforms, snow, Power towers (several
varieties), Fire, Air, water, earth…, Red-hot metal and water, red-hot metal and hammers, pitch and fire, splitting wedge and wood,
high-tension guy wires, Metal poles, A metal fire-pit ring high in the mountains, ash, rocks…, A highway bridge (again high up in a
mountain pass), its metal beams, concrete deck…, A raging river, and so on and so forth…
Once we had completed these recordings (several hours of them) we brought them into the studio. Here they were either left as is, or
they were use as a base track upon which to build songs (percussion…) or they were cut and pasted into new creatures, or individual
sounds were lifted from them which were used as samples. To this we added guitars, bass, violin, drums, vocals, piano… and finally, we
were left with many hours of songs. From these we compiled the three versions of Die Mauer.
And, you can stream the Singles & B-Sides on youtube:
