Compact disc, 2021, FLEA006, available from Flea, www.newmusicindustrialcomplex.com.
The title of this disc is as provocative as the music it contains. Stockhausen Syndrome is a conceptual spoof on the psychological condition known as Stockholm syndrome, wherein victims of abuse bond with their abusers. Derek Caterwaul (on alibi.com) describes the Stockhausen variant this way: “Those suffering from the Stockhausen condition believe they've obtained a deep appreciation for boring or poorly executed avant-garde performance. This syndrome helps suppress the infuriating realization that someone—likely yourself—is wasting your time, money and/or mental energy.” With respect to the disc under review, the implied Stockhausen condition celebrates, makes fun of, and critiques the aforementioned sentiment.
Stockhausen Syndrome has been touted as “a concept album utilizing an IRCAM-developed ‘assisted orchestration’ algorithm.” Reference is made to Peter Ablinger's Piano and Voices album, but one also thinks of the politicized text-to-guitar works of the Canadian composer René Lussier....