Most of us would like to think we're pretty open minded when it comes to music. That said, in the privacy of our own iPod headphones, we still tend to confine ourselves to particular genres (though perhaps not so much as this guy). Whatever our comfort levels with other genres, there's usually a more-than-healthy dose of contempt reserved for anything that could be labelled experimental. As much as the late John Cage was lauded for his vision and musical innovation, 4'33" is a real buzz-kill on any party playlist. I'll admit I sniggered at a Sydney University bandcomp performance some years back, where a doublebass was being dragged along the floor by one 'band' member while the other was reading a book at a desk... crucially, the page turns were mic'ed up.

The stigma arises presumably because it looks easy. It doesn't seem to take much musical ability to create heinous noise from a tuba. But with the advent of technology, the level of expertise required to make weird and wonderful noises is no longer something to be scoffed at. I had the pleasure of inviting the experimental duo Domeyko/Gonzalez onto the Guest Programming Bridge last Monday, and they came brimming with toys and technical wizardry. Saxophones, guitars, glockenspiels, keyboards, amps and a million footpedals all jammed into the FBi studio. It was a pretty amazing soundscape the two generated (see below for an mp3 of their on-air creations).

I was also fortunate enough to have caught the duo at their very first gig only a few weeks before their radio appearance, and was immediately taken by the way they work off each other. Sitting and facing inwards, they really give off the impression that the sounds they are creating are being inspired by the moment. They confessed on-air that they generally have a 'plan' for what is going to happen, but it doesn't take too much to completely deviate from it. Looping obviously plays a huge part in their sound, but they've got some more chops than just your average indie-looper.

What is truly pleasurable about the D/G experience, is the fact that the noises they make aren't completely anarchic. They may not know exactly where each performance will take them, but there's quite a deal of thought that has clearly gone into the composition of sounds. It's here that the nay-sayers of all things experimental will find themselves annoyingly fascinated by the duo. The familiar musical elements of melodic building, harmony and repetition are all there. They're not making pop songs, but at least there's something recognisably musical about their art. I've come to the conclusion that experimenting is about breaking rules. But you can't break them all, otherwise it'll just look like you're just reading a book while Charles Mingus drops some acid. --- JZ

mp3: Domeyko/Gonzalez - Improvisation 1