Experimental musicians push the boundaries of music with agony and silence

KUOW | By Abay Estifanos

Published August 8, 2017 at 2:35 PM AKDT

Piano teacher and composer Yiling Huang was classically-trained in Vienna, Austria. She said that music composers must connect deeply with their subject matter.

What do you consider music? How about pieces using only one note, agonizing electronic sounds, or no music at all? Today, we challenge the constructs we have about what music should be by exploring the extremes of experimental music.

This podcast contains excerpts from the following songs:
- “Toad’s Theme” by Toadally Krossed Out
- “Somewhere in Time” by Yiling Huang
- Improvisations from Café Racer’s “Racer Sessions”
- “Agony” by İlhan Mimaroğlu, inspired by Arshile Gorky’s painting with the same name.
- “The Four Pillars Appearing from The Equal D under Resonating Apparitions of The Eternal Process in The Midwinter Starfield” by Randy Gibson, performed by R. Andrew Lee
- “4’33”” by John Cage, performed by Armin Fuchs

This podcast was produced in RadioActive's Intro to Journalism Workshop for 16-18-year-olds. Listen to RadioActive stories, subscribe to the RadioActive podcast and stay in touch on Facebook and Twitter.