Music with Roots in the Aether

German edition

This book is a polyphonic approach to the experimental music scene in the USA surrounding Robert Ashley - one of the most influential, but at the same time least tangible composers of the 20th century. In conversations, portraits and analytical miniatures, a widely ramified sound panorama emerges: it is about Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, David Behrman, Gordon Mumma, Terry Riley, Philip Glass and other companions.

The contributions shed light on individual attitudes, aesthetic strategies and technical innovations - and show the extent to which Ashley's thinking has changed time-based art, performativity and electronic composition. A rare inside view of an artistic movement that never allowed itself to be appropriated - with personal memories, theoretical depth of focus and plenty of room for sonic imagination.