''New York in the 1960s: Sun Blindness Music'', better known as ''Sun Blindness Music'', is an album by

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various sty ...

released in 2001. It is the first of a loose anthology of experimental albums recorded during Cale's tenure with the

Theatre of Eternal Music The Theatre of Eternal Music (later sometimes called The Dream Syndicate) was an avant-garde musical group formed by La Monte Young in New York City in 1962. The core of the group consisted of Young (voice, saxophone), Tony Conrad (violin), Mar ...

during the mid-1960s.

Description

The pieces included on the album were recorded between 1964 and 1966. Albums following in the anthology include the collaborative effort ''

Day of Niagara ''Inside the Dream Syndicate, Vol. I: Day of Niagara'' or simply ''Day of Niagara'' is a bootleg recording of a 1965 performance by the minimalist music group the Theatre of Eternal Music, a.k.a. the Dream Syndicate. Contributors include futur ...

'', and the Cale compilations ''

Dream Interpretation Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. Although associated with some forms of psychotherapy, there is no reliable evidence that understanding or interpreting dreams has a positive impact on one's mental health. In ...

'' and ''

Stainless Gamelan ''John Cale: Inside the Dream Syndicate Volume 3, Stainless Gamelan'' or simply ''Stainless Gamelan'' (and sometimes incorrectly ''Stainless "Steel" Gamelan'', after the first track on the album) is an album by John Cale, better known for his w ...

''. Each song in the trilogy is an exemplar of the burgeoning

minimalist music In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

genre, emphasizing atonality,

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

, and noise. Cale and frequent collaborators

La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best kn ...

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

, original

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means " ...

drummer

Angus Maclise Angus William MacLise (March 14, 1938 – June 21, 1979) was an American percussionist, composer, poet, occultist and calligrapher, known as the first drummer for the Velvet Underground who abruptly quit due to disagreements with the band p ...

Tony Conrad Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both d ...

, and

Marian Zazeela Marian Zazeela (born April 15, 1940) is an American light artist, designer, calligrapher, painter and musician based in New York City. She was a member of the 1960s experimental music collective Theatre of Eternal Music, and is known for her colla ...

also contributed to the genres of avant-garde recording art and experimental rock. Cale and these artists themselves owed a debt to early 'anti-music' composer John Cage. These albums were originally in the personal possession of

as part of his tape collection, and were thought lost until discovered and released by the independent record label

Table of the Elements Table of the Elements is an American record label. It concentrates on re-released and specially recorded experimental music, including many avant-garde musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries: such as John Cale, Tony Conrad, La Monte Young, Lo ...

. Australian band the Sun Blindness took their name from this album.

Track listing

#"Sun Blindness Music" - 42:44 #"Summer Heat" - 11:07 #"The Second Fortress" - 10:38

Analysis

Sun Blindness Music, the set's centerpiece, is a nearly three-quarters of an hour of a single chord, which shifts gradually between tones and timbres over the expansive time allotted to it. Cale produced the otherworldly sound with his Vox organ. Reviewer Thom Jurek notes that "Sun Blindness Music is easily the most demanding and perhaps most rewarding piece on the disc... There are times when the full-bodied chord is so complete and forceful in its presence it is nearly unbearable..." Summer Heat is an extended, distorted solo for electric guitar. It is perhaps the rawest track on the album, indicating where the more avant-garde elements of

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacL ...

's future songs (especially on ''

White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cale ...

'') may have originated. The Second Fortress is an enigmatic set for, what the liner notes say are "electronic sounds." It is actually Cale's Vox organ again, looped through tape recorders and layered heavily until distorted beyond recognition.

References

{{Reflist Minimalistic compositions John Cale compilation albums 2001 compilation albums