The Clifford Simak Project

interview with Josh Ronsen

“Josh Ronsen, an Austin-based experimental musician, is putting together the Clifford Simak Project, in which an ensemble will perform works based on Simak’s prose descriptions of sounds in his various science fiction and fantasy works.” –Steven Hart

This interview originally appeared on the Opus 45 blog in the Spring of 2008. The blog's aim was to explore the connections between music and science fiction.
 
1. So how long have you been involved in experimental music?
I first became exposed to it (John Cage, Fluxus, Illusion of Safety) in 1992 and after much study and many rehearsals, began performing original work in 1995.
2. Typically, do you use instruments or do you compose using written notation?
I consider myself an improvisor first (guitar & clarinet) and then a creator of electro-acoustic works. The few scores I have made, mostly for performance art, use standard English. My one composed string quartet is written in an unorthodox notation.
3. How did you come up with the concept behind the Project?
On a whim, I picked up a Simak novel to read. His books were favorites in junior high and high school, but I hadn't read him in 20 years. The book was "Destiny Doll" and I was surprised at a description of sound used early in the novel. A few pages later, another fascinating description. By the third description, much more fascinating than the first two, I was flipping back seeking out the previous descriptions to write them down. These descriptions were... I have to quote one of them: “From the hollow between the dunes came a sliding, scraping sound. The sound of sliding and of scraping stopped and then began again. The slithering sound stopped, then started once again and something moaned. All sound came to an end.” [Destiny Doll, pg. 39]. At the fourth description, I rushed to the nearest used book store to grab an armful of his other books, which are quite easy to find. I had no idea what form the Clifford Simak Project would take: musical? literary? mail art? performance art?, but I knew if I could find more descriptions, I could make something interesting. Even a list of these sounds would in itself be worth reading.
4. What was the process for developing the Project's compositions?
After a while, it became clear to me that the Project must bring these sounds to life. I have been a member of the Austin New Music Co-Op since 2002, and I am constantly amazed at the amazing abilities of my fellow musicians, so I of course thought of a score for multiple acoustic instruments (although many in the NMC also work with electronics). But I also thought of asking numerous electronic musicians to realize the score, maybe in a round robin fashion which would link my interests in music with the collaborative nature of mail art. The score is just the written descriptions used in the novels because I want the musicians who bring these sounds to life to use their imaginations. One of the great joys of doing a mail art project is the surprise of getting back wholly unexpected interpretations of the project parameters.
5. Does any one Simak book feature prominently in the Project? If so, why?
No. On average each book has two "interesting" sounds. I didn't include any terrestrial or mundane sounds, only sounds from alien creatures or bizarre technologies. Compiled one after the other, I noticed some similarities in descriptions from different books, as most authors tend to use a certain type of character or situation in different books. What was frustrating were the books that didn't contain any useable descriptions, especially when there would be some horrible alien creature that would obviously make some sort of horrible noise, but Simak would neglect to describe the sound it made. Even more frustrating were the 4 occasions when Simak purposely writes about a profound and deep silence. I included one of these in the score, but I think more than one profound silence from a musician is more than I could ask.
6. What was the last science fiction/fantasy book you read? Would you recommend it?
The last few books I have read have been collections of Simak short stories, which I prefer less than his novels, which is why I saved them for last. They become more interesting in viewing them as springboards for the novels. However I would recommend the novels "Destiny Doll" and "Special Deliverance." Both concern groups of strangers who are forced to figure out impossibly surreal situations. I had remembered "Destiny Doll" all these years for this reason.
 
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