"....imagine a rather "negative" progression of a dissolution of the guitar sound, initially from a low scordatura [drop 7 or 8] that further drops until the sound of the strings decays into a disturbingly meaningless cluster of wire sounds, denying us of the a priori pitch and color intended for a guitar, and which are then ever further replaced subsequently by "garbage" sounds of crumpled plastic cups and empty water bottles, the burden of which is subsequently delegated to the listeners...!!!! THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO LOSE ONE'S ANCESTRAL DOMAIN....where meanings are abruptly transformed into disjunctured moments, structure into barriers of coherence, and a barren land for existence....dedicated to the Pinatubo Aetas."
- Jonas Baes
Jonas Baes is a Filipino composer, writer, and ethnomusicologist. He studied with Ramon Santos and Jose Maceda - two of the most innovative contemporary composers of the Philippines. He also studied in Germany with Mathias Spahlinger composition and music politics. Baes has experimented with various methods by which the audience becomes integral in the performance, and also with notions of structure-agency integration and simulacrum. Social theory influences the works of Baes, who has made a mark on contemporary music and cultural politics in the Asian region.
