''Electric Counterpoint'' is a
minimalist composition by the American composer
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...
. The piece consists of three movements, "Fast," "Slow", and "Fast". Reich has offered two versions of the piece: one for electric guitar and
tape (the tape part featuring two
electric bass guitars and up to ten electric guitars), the other for an ensemble of guitars. The work shares similarities with Reich's ''
New York Counterpoint
''New York Counterpoint'' for amplified clarinet and tape, or 9 clarinets and 3 bass clarinets (one part doubles B and bass), is a 1985 minimalist composition written by American composer Steve Reich. The piece, intended to capture the throbbin ...
''.
First recording
It was first recorded in 1987 by guitarist
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...
, who made extensive use of
overdubbing
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio Music track, tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto o ...
, and was released along with Reich's ''
Different Trains
''Different Trains'' is a three-Movement (music), movement piece for string quartet and Tape music, tape written by Steve Reich in 1988.
Background
During World War II, Reich made train journeys between New York and Los Angeles to visit his par ...
'', performed by the
Kronos Quartet
The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...
, on
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...
(catalogue number 979 176-2). Guitarists wishing to perform the piece may use Metheny's pre-recorded ensemble part or opt to record their own, adding the 13th guitar part in live performance. In 2007, the guitar ensemble Forestare made the first recording of the lesser known second version, on
ATMA Classique
ATMA Classique is an independent classical record label based in Montreal, and welcomes artists from Quebec, across Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territorie ...
.
The original recording, as included in the ''
Works 1965–1995'' box set, lasts slightly under fifteen minutes.
Influence
As with other pieces by Reich, ''Electric Counterpoint'' has influenced many modern artists, such as
the Orb
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential ...
, who sampled the third movement of the
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...
recording as one of the hooks of "
Little Fluffy Clouds," and
RJD2
Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician and record producer based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as S ...
, who sampled the piece's opening for his song "The Proxy" from his first release, ''Deadringer.'' In 2008 Joby Burgess' Powerplant arranged the work for
Xylosynth, taking influence from Metheny and the Orb.
Röyksopp
Röyksopp () a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of childhood friends Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland who formed Röyksopp during the Bergen Wave. After experimenting with different Electronic Mu ...
released two remixes of the third movement in 2010 for free, one which follows Reich's original closely and another reinterpretation titled "Milde Salve". Since 2012,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
guitarist
Jonny Greenwood
Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numer ...
has performed the piece at several festivals and at concerts featuring the
London Contemporary Orchestra; he recorded the piece for a Nonesuch album of Reich works titled ''
Radio Rewrite'' released that same year, the title piece of which was inspired by two Radiohead songs.
The third movement was included in the ''Edexcel
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
Anthology of Music'', in the second area of study, "Music in the 20th Century". It was included in the video game ''
Civilization V
''Sid Meier's Civilization V'' is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the sequel to Civilization IV, ''Civilization IV'', and was released for Microsoft Windows, Windows in Sep ...
'' as one of the "great works of music" and was performed by during the
Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps 2015 production "Kinetic Noise".
Recordings
*''Electric Counterpoint'', Pat Metheny soloist, 1989. CD. Included on ''
Steve Reich: Works 1965-1995''
*''Electric Counterpoint'',
David Tanenbaum, New Albion Records, 1994. CD
*''Electric Counterpoint'',
Röyksopp
Röyksopp () a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of childhood friends Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland who formed Röyksopp during the Bergen Wave. After experimenting with different Electronic Mu ...
, ''two versions'', 2010.
* ''Electric Counterpoint'',
Jonny Greenwood
Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numer ...
soloist, on the album ''Radio Rewrite'', Nonesuch, 2014. CD/download.
* ''Electric Counterpoint'',
Yaron Deutsch soloist, on the album ''33 RPM'', 2020. LP/download.
* ''Electric Counterpoint'', Pierre Bibault soloist, on the album ''Steve Reich'', Music Square, 2021.
* ''Electric Counterpoint'', Santiago Quintáns soloist, on the album ''Guitar Hero. Santiago Quintans Plays Steve Reich'', Megadiscs Classics, 2021.
* ''Electric Counterpoint'', Giacomo Baldelli soloist, on the album ''New York City Tracks'', Halidon, 2022.
* ''Electric Counterpoint'', Marco Maiole soloist, on the album ''Electric Counterpoint'', PeerSouthern ITALY/Bridging the gap, 2023.
Notes
{{Authority control
Compositions for guitar
Compositions by Steve Reich
1987 compositions