Consistency Nature: Dakini in the Machine (for Elaine Radigue)
Performed and mastered by Christopher Arnett with a cassette tape deck, field recordings, a Yamaha DGX-660 and a Pro-2 Monophonic synthesizer.
Special thanks to: Rocco Strain
I first discovered Elaine Radigue while reading the memoir by Philip Glass, who shared that a discussion with her was part of the inspiration for his “Music in Twelve parts”. I had been interested in western musicians who had taken inspiration from or practiced buddhism - such as Glass and Meredith Monk - and so a quick search about Radigue showed that buddhism was an integral part of her life. I listened to her Islas Resonantes. It is one of my favorite pieces of music to this day. Within her restrained and minimalist tones I always hear microscopic movements and dynamic ephemera. Within the stillness of her sound is a hidden dynamism. My piece is a tribute to her, and a magnification of the hidden activity within her monolithic, glacially evolving drones. “The Dakini in the Machine” is a constantly moving inundation of sounds and textures. Perhaps hidden in this flurry of activity, you will find buried within it an illusive stillness and silence.
“When peace is active, sweeping its dirt, It is storm.”
- Rabindranath Tagore