The Thing like US: a Topology of ultra-low frequencies

The musical use of low and ultra-low frequencies is closely related to the twentieth-century development of electronic and digital media. In historical respect, this development continues the steady exploration of the lower ranges of musically significant sound which started with the rise of polyphony. This paper focuses on the consequences this sonic expansion has for the aesthetics of music. Starting from a recent composition for voice, harpsichord and live electronics by composer Yannis Kyriakides it is argued that electronically produced and mediated sound cannot be considered apart from its self-reflectivity and theatricality. However, it is also shown that in Kyriakides and elsewhere, the relation between the appearance and the appearing, between content and form is blurred by, on the one hand, a particular use of ultra-low frequencies which engage the body in musical perception and, on the other hand, a more general instability of the musical phenomenon qua object. Obviously, this instability also affects the notion of musical subjectivity. In the final section the blurring of the topological distinction between insides and outsides is briefly analyzed, introducing the notion of “sonic flesh”. Referring to Aristotle, Hegel and Nancy, this notion articulates a reflexivity which underlies both sonic and subjective principles.