No Sound is Innocent: AMM and the Practice of Self-Invention / Meta-Musical Narratives

by Edwin Prévost

The improvising group AMM was born some 30 years ago (1965), at a time of extraordinary creative ferment and transformational social possibility. Though its history has not been completely smooth, it continues today to pursue a unique sonic course, unswayed either by academic orthodoxy or the conformist pressures of the market. In this book, Eddie Prevost, drummer and a founder member, explores the reasons it came to be, the influences and refusals that have shaped its history, and the potential and the failings not only of the meta-music AMM is committed to, but all music everywhere: classical, jazz, folk, pop and the experimental avant-garde. In a unique series of acute and often moving dissections and meditations, directly modelled on AMM’s attitudes and practices in performances, Prevost examines the meanings of sound itself, giving them aesthetic, social and political dimension. These, together with an outline of the events of the group’s three decades of existence, of alliances and conflicts within the collective, give voice to a radically contrarian but always thoughtful underground strand in present-day music-making, which adherents all over the world, among players and listeners. It will fascinate and perhaps trouble anyone with an interest in modern music’s deeper currents.

Genres: Music

191 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

Edwin John Prévost, mostly known as Eddie Prévost (22 June 1942) is an English Jazz percussionist and founding member of the free improvisation ensemble AMM.

Reviews

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

AMM's Prevost writes about music, politics, history, and the time he spent in AMM. Some pseudo-socialist shades to his theory, which he spends much of the time explaining in the context of composition vs. improvisation. Some of it is helpful and, I think, compelling, other parts are too absolutist for me to take too seriously... especially his argument against repetition. Definitely a worthwhile read, though, because Prevost clearly sees and hears music a little differently than most people, and I think his perspective is worth examining.

[Ben Zucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed how I view music.