La Monte Young

USA, 1958–now

American composer (b. 1935) whose work is built on sustained tones and long durations. His Theatre of Eternal Music was an early source of minimalism, and John Cale carried the approach into the Velvet Underground.

MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced La Monte Young and 6 artists La Monte Young influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced La Monte Young?

• John Cage — Young's early Fluxus-period work grew directly from Cage's ideas — his word pieces answer Cage's chance operations.
• Pandit Pran Nath — Young became Pran Nath's first Western disciple in 1970, studying Kirana vocal technique for 26 years — the documented source of his tuning practice.

Which artists did La Monte Young influence?

• The Velvet Underground — La Monte Young taught John Cale drone aesthetics and minimalism, which Cale brought directly into the VU sound.
• Terry Riley — La Monte Young's drone aesthetics and idea of endlessly sustained sound directly shaped Riley's minimalist language.
• Brian Eno — Eno has named La Monte Young — 'the daddy of us all' — a major influence; Young's sustained-tone minimalism underlies his ambient concept.
• Glenn Branca — Branca's massed-guitar overtone symphonies extend the drone minimalism founded by La Monte Young into rock instrumentation.
• Spacemen 3 — Sonic Boom has cited La Monte Young's eternal drones as the minimalist theory behind the band's sustained-tone practice.
• The United States of America — La Monte Young organised the first concert of Byrd's music in Yoko Ono's loft in 1961; Byrd was part of the proto-Fluxus drone scene around Young.