Phill Niblock, influential experimental artist, dead at 90
Phill Niblock, a legendary figure in the New York experimental art scene, has died at 90. Best known for his sparse arrangements and microtonal drones, he remains an influence on minimalist compositions and the avant-garde art scene.
Early on in his career, Niblock didn’t envision himself pursuing art. After studying economics at Indiana University and a brief stint in the US Army, he wound up in New York and fell in love with the city’s burgeoning art scenes, often capturing dancers on film.
Despite working as a photographer for Duke Ellington and producing documentary films for the likes of Sun Ra, he was not interested in becoming a musician until riding his motorcycle through the Carolina mountains behind a diesel truck.
“Both of our throttles were very open,” he recalled in Second Inversion. “Soon, the revolutions of our respective engines came to a nearly harmonic coincidence. But not quite. The strong physical presence of the beats resulting from the two engines running at slightly different frequencies put me in such a trance that I nearly rode off the side of the mountain.”
He made his first musical piece in 1968 and began experimenting with Pro Tools, Macintosh computers and microtones thereafter.
He toyed with the structure of time, telling Tone Glow: “I’m interested in sound – a particular order in it. It all came from a very short moment of about five minutes of thinking about music and how I could make it and what I could make, and what I couldn’t make.”
Niblock went on to direct Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music, also curating its record label, XI, and his multi-media work has been shown worldwide.
