Xenochrony
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Xenochrony is a studio-based musical technique developed at an unknown date, but possibly as early as the early 1960s, by
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
, who used it on several albums. Xenochrony is executed by extracting a guitar solo or other musical part from its original context and placing it into a completely different song, to create an unexpected but pleasing effect. He said that this was the only way to achieve some rhythms.


Etymology

The word derives from the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
words ξένος (''xenos''), strange or alien, and χρόνος (''chronos''), time.


Examples

One of the most prominent examples of xenochrony can be found on Zappa's rock opera ''
Joe's Garage ''Joe's Garage'' is a three-part rock opera released by American musician Frank Zappa in September and November 1979. Originally released as two separate albums on Zappa Records, the project was later remastered and reissued as a triple album ...
'' (1979), on which the guitar solos are all xenochronous (with the exceptions of "Watermelon in Easter Hay" and "Crew Slut"). In the words of Zappa himself:
A classic "Xenochrony" piece would be "Rubber Shirt", which is a song on the ''
Sheik Yerbouti ''Sheik Yerbouti'' is a double album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in March 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records, distributed by Phonogram Inc. in the United States and Canada. The album was released in other countries by CB ...
'' album. It takes a drum set part that was added to a song at one tempo. The drummer was instructed to play along with this one particular thing in a certain time signature, eleven-four, and that drum set part was extracted like a little piece of DNA from that master tape and put over here into this little cubicle. And then the bass part, which was designed to play along with another song at another speed, another rate in another time signature, four-four, that was removed from that master tape and put over here, and then the two were sandwiched together. And so the musical result is the result of two musicians, who were never in the same room at the same time, playing at two different rates in two different moods for two different purposes, when blended together, yielding a third result which is musical and synchronizes in a strange way. That's Xenochrony. And I've done that on a number of tracks.
Xenochrony can be heard as early in Zappa's career as 1968: on
The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...
's ''
We're Only in It for the Money ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third album by American rock music, rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left-wing po ...
'', the rhythm track from the chorus line of "How Could I Be Such A Fool" on ''
Freak Out! ''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of guitarist/bandle ...
'' (which consists of the drums, bass, vibraphone and orchestra) is used on the ending of "Lonely Little Girl." This is noticeable when listening to the backing tracks without vocals, which appear on the posthumous box set releases ''
The MOFO Project/Object ''The MOFO Project/Object'' is an album by Frank Zappa. The album was announced by the Zappa Family Trust in mid-2006. It commemorates the 40th anniversary of Zappa's first album, ''Freak Out!''. It documents the making of ''Freak Out!'' featuri ...
'' and ''
Lumpy Money ''The Lumpy Money Project/Object'' is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. Released posthumously on January 23, 2009 as Official Release #85, it compiles the releases ''Lumpy Gravy'' and ''We're Only in It for the Money'' with previously unreleas ...
''. On ''
Uncle Meat ''Uncle Meat'' is the sixth album by the Mothers of Invention, and seventh overall by Frank Zappa, released as a double album in 1969. ''Uncle Meat'' was originally developed as a part of ''No Commercial Potential'', a project which spawned thre ...
'', a phrase from the guitar solo of "Nine Types of Industrial Pollution" appears later on at the end of "Sleeping in a Jar". Several earlier possible examples of xenochrony can be heard on ''
Lumpy Gravy ''Lumpy Gravy'' is a 1968 solo album by Frank Zappa (credited as Francis Vincent Zappa), written by Zappa and performed by a group of session players he dubbed the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Zappa conducted the o ...
'', Zappa's first solo album. A passage from "Harry, You're a Beast" may or may not be incorporated in "Almost Chinese": a harpsichord/xylophone sounding instruments plus several "snorks" can be heard directly after Larry's dialogue with
Motorhead Sherwood Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood (May 8, 1942 – December 25, 2011) was an American rock musician notable for being a member of the original version of Frank Zappa's band the Mothers of Invention, providing soprano, tenor and baritone saxoph ...
. Also, the sound effect that begins "Flower Punk" from ''
We're Only in It for the Money ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third album by American rock music, rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left-wing po ...
'', released months earlier, is played at approximately 0:19 of Part 2, 15:19 or 15:20 of the record. Excerpts from " The World's Greatest Sinner" soundtrack, composed by Zappa, are audible on both "I Don't Know If I can Go Through This Again" (from ''Lumpy Gravy'') and "Mother People" (from ''We're Only in It for the Money'').
Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...
also used this technique on their 1968 ''
Bookends A bookend is an object tall, sturdy, and heavy enough that is placed at either end of a row of upright books to support or buttress them. Heavy bookends—made of wood, bronze, marble, and even large geodes—have been used in libraries, sto ...
'' album. The second track on the album, "Save the Life of My Child." uses the first few seconds of "
The Sound Of Silence "The Sound of Silence" (originally "The Sounds of Silence") is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. The duo's studio audition of the song led to a record deal with Columbia Records, and the original ac ...
" (released on their 1966 ''
Sounds of Silence ''Sounds of Silence'' is the second studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, " The Sound of Silence", which ...
'' album) around the 1:20 mark in a slowed-down fashion. Another example is the
King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...
song "The Devil's Triangle", on their 1970 album ''
In the Wake of Poseidon ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' is the second studio album by English progressive rock group King Crimson, released in May 1970 by Island Records in Europe, Atlantic Records in the United States, Philips Records in Australia, and Vertigo Records in ...
'', which uses elements of "
The Court of the Crimson King "The Court of the Crimson King", sometimes billed "In the Court of the Crimson King", is the titular fifth and final track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. Released as a sing ...
" near the end. Other examples are the albums from avant-garde guitarist
Buckethead Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969), known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist. He has received critical acclaim for his innovative and virtuosic electric guitar playing. Buckethead's extensive solo discography currentl ...
, ''Forensic Follies'' and ''Needle in a Slunk Stack'', released in 2009: both featured songs from several Buckethead albums to make new songs. The technique was used by
Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...
at the beginning of the song "The Dance of Eternity", where samples from their earlier song "Metropolis Pt. 1" briefly fade in and out against a slower drum and bass beat.
Car Seat Headrest Car Seat Headrest is an American indie rock band formed in Leesburg, Virginia, and currently located in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Will Toledo (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizers), Ethan Ives (guitar, bass, backing voca ...
used the technique on the 2010 album ''3'', albeit in a unique way; the song "Beach Drugs" (Track 10) prominently features a reversed version of "Sun Hot" (Track 6) in its outro. This reversed version of "Sun Hot" was later released on the compilation "Little Pieces of Paper With 'No' Written on Them" as "Hot Sun."


See also

*
Polyrhythm Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...
*
Mashup (music) A mashup (also mesh, mash up, mash-up, blend, bastard pop or bootleg) is a creative work, usually a song, created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, typically by superimposing the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumenta ...
*
Sampling (music) In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample might comprise only a fragment of sound, or a l ...


References


External links


Discussion of Zappa studio techniques including Xenochrony
{{Music production Frank Zappa Music production Sampling (music)