Minimalism as a musical phenomenon has been marked by the interaction of
the drone with permutational rhythm. This essay follows the drone-form from the inception of
Minimalist musical practice in the work of La Monte Young, to contemporary developments in
works incorporating the drone by major artists operating in the experimental wings of popular
music. To clarify the relationship or non-relation between the Minimalist feature of the drone
and musical meaning, three drone-related works by Joan La Barbara, Eleh and Keiji Haino are
discussed with respect to their relative proximity to, or distance from, language and/or speech.
Each piece of music is also considered in terms of the subject who listens, leading to some
speculative thoughts on the uses made of the drone and its remarkable persistence and diversity.
This zine is designed by gil de ray.
Includes a free music download, 69 minutes of ‘blasphemous vandalasim’, Subject of the Drone soundtracked by Zapo.
