Why Drone Part 1

This is gong to be a rambling post that will contradict itself and provide no answers. At least not yet. Think of this as a one sided discussion (at least for now) attempting to answer the question “Why Drone” from a myriad of angles. Hence the need for a series of posts.

Note: due to the very nature of drone, these articles do not have to be read in order. You could even read part 1 last.

Drone beginnings

I don't recall when I first became aware of drone music other than a vague memory of being amused someone could release an album that to my untrained ears was a static sound. However, I do remember when I first realized the other wordily effects of the drone. That was while listening to the self titled album by Time Machines in a darkened room.

For those that do not know, Time Machines is an alias for the seminal band, Coil and the drones on this album were composed to represent several different types of psychedelics. The aural equivalent if you will.

While I cannot claim psychedelic effects, I can claim time displacement and existing only within the drone while listening. I remember putting the album on and laying down. Then concentrating on the drones and sounds. Trying to understand them and if they had any sort of linear path. Within this understanding there came new sounds but had I really heard them? Was my mind playing tricks and trying to find patterns? And then came the realization that the drone was gone and there was only silence in the room. How long had I been like this? It felt like only a few minutes and so I expected the next track to be on. Checked the time and realized close to 70 min had gone by (roughly the same length of the album). Where had I gone? I know I was not asleep and I was not on any drugs. I distinctly remember thoughts and swirls of ideas/concepts and beyond.

I know what people will think. You were asleep or something akin to that. And my answer is that I am not the only person who has reported that phenomenon with that album. A phenomenon that I did not know about before I listened to it. So what happened? I believe I tapped into something that is innate in all of us.

The first sounds we hear are the woosh of the womb and the precise drum beat of the heart. The woosh representing drone and the heart beat of course, representing rhythm. Both of which are ever present in the world, naturally or otherwise. So, in some ways we are all drawn to it – we might not know it but we revel in it when we are in its presence. Much like the sea that has a siren call on most of us. For most the call is subliminal but all know joy when they are there.

And so, the drone is worth exploring - not only as a musical form but as a spiritual connector. And what exactly am I seeking? In a word, oblivion*. That word has many meanings but for me it is ceasing to exist as an individual. It is being outside of the man made world (and its pressures) and rising above it. It is telling the universe that the abyss does not matter. As the antithesis is the drone and it has always been there. Offering solace and escape.

*credit where credit is due. I realized I was seeking oblivion after learning of the book, Monolithic Undertow: In Search of Sonic Oblivion. A book that attempts to answer many of the same questions etc that I have.

Photo by David Becker on Unsplash