Abstract

Electric Cowboy Cacophony is a quartet of musicians from different countries and with distinct musical backgrounds, ranging from rock to avant-garde classical, from bluegrass to computer music. In the second half of 2008 they met to record and publicly perform free improvisations that exploited both their common and diverse musical histories, re-injecting some of the roots elements that many Free Improvisation practitioners consciously avoid. Above all the group’s trans-national/trans-cultural/trans-aesthetic character defines their sound world. The result could be interpreted as either a cohesive and convincing eclecticism, or a jarring mish-mash of unconnected stylistic oddities. Together with a general discussion of the role of improvisation in Western music, Electric Cowboy Cacophony’s working methods and musical results are presented: from the point of view of their techniques, technological innovation and interaction, and aesthetic/stylistic coherence.