String Drone
Located in 1 route
Drone made from bowed strings, violins, violas, cellos or double bass, sustained and layered into thick, slowly beating chordal fields, sometimes acoustic and chamber-like, sometimes amplified into abrasive, saturated mass. The bow's continuous friction gives an organic, breathing quality distinct from synth or organ, with rich upper harmonics and a warm woody grain. Production favours close-miked strings, generous reverb and long crossfades, typically without percussion. The mood runs from mournful and elegiac to hypnotic and unrelenting, foregrounding the physical act of sustained bowing.
History
The amplified end of the idiom was defined by Tony Conrad's just-intonation violin, above all the 1972 Faust collaboration Outside the Dream Syndicate, while Éliane Radigue turned to solo cello in her later Naldjorlak works. In the 2000s a lush, chamber-oriented strand flourished as Stars of the Lid folded string sections into their drones and the Stars-linked duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen married minimalist piano to slow-bowed ensemble strings on their 2011 debut. Supported by Kranky, Erased Tapes, Room40 and the modern-classical crossover, string drone bridged experimental and neoclassical worlds, shaping cinematic scoring and the wider ambient-classical streaming boom.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- From the Side of Man and Womankind(1972) — Tony ConradSpotifyYouTube
- Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears(2011) — A Winged Victory for the SullenSpotifyYouTube
- Requiem for Dying Mothers, Pt. 1(2001) — Stars of the LidSpotifyYouTube
- Naldjorlak(2005) — Éliane RadigueSpotifyYouTube
- We Played Some Open Chords(2011) — A Winged Victory for the SullenSpotifyYouTube
- Dungtitled (In A Major)(2007) — Stars of the LidSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Erased Tapes and Kranky label notes
- Superior Viaduct reissue notes for Tony Conrad
- Pitchfork review of A Winged Victory for the Sullen