31 VII 69 10:26–10:49 PM / 23 VIII 64 2:50:45–3:11 AM
Released: 1969

31 VII 69 10:26–10:49 PM / 23 VIII 64 2:50:45–3:11 AM

by La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela

The 2310th greatest album of all time

This release assembles two timestamped live-recording fragments from La Monte Young with Marian Zazeela that exemplify Young's early drone practice: long, sustained tones, close attention to tuning and harmonic interactions, and an austere, immersive sound world. The pieces foreground sustained voice, sustained strings or electronic tones, and microtonal or just intonation relationships, creating a meditative, ritual-like atmosphere that links minimalism with traditions of prolonged vocal drone such as Dhrupad and anticipates dark ambient and ritual ambient approaches. As an archival snapshot of Young and Zazeela's collaborative work, it highlights their focus on duration, slow sonic change, and the psychoacoustic effects of concentrated pitch material.