[Column] Post-Rock Instrumental / Cinematic Rock ─ From silence to cinematic explosion
Column en Cinematic Rock Instrumental Post-Rock![[Column] Post-Rock Instrumental / Cinematic Rock ─ From silence to cinematic explosion](/../assets/images/column-post-rock-instrumental-cinematic-rock.webp)
Prologue: A wordless story begins to sound
Text: mmr｜Theme: About the establishment and development of post-rock instrumental music
Post-rock instrumental and cinematic rock are musics that have given listeners an extremely strong sense of narrative, even though they do not have clear meaning devices such as lyrics. It starts with silence, then the slight fluctuations of sound accumulate, and eventually become a large swell that envelops the emotions. This process resonates deeply with the film’s long camera movements and the building of tension through editing.
When this music emerged in the late 1990s, rock seemed to have exhausted its many forms. Alternative rock was becoming mainstream, and grunge impulses were becoming a thing of the past. Under such circumstances, post-rock instrumental music presented a completely different sense of time and structure while using rock formations.
Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are iconic in this context. The former approaches personal experiences through melodies and heightened emotions, while the latter imprints social and collective time in the form of sound. While active at the same time, both artists demonstrated the breadth and depth of the post-rock framework.
Post-rock instrumentals provide a space for the listener to begin speaking, rather than for the music to speak.
Establishment of the concept of post-rock
The term “post-rock” became established in the mid-1990s. It began to be used to describe music that uses rock instrumentation but distances itself from blues-derived riffs, vocal focus, and formulaic song structures. This concept did not refer to a specific sound, but rather to an attitude or methodology.
The background lies in the multiple musical cultures that have accumulated since the 1970s. The repetition and minute changes exhibited by minimal music, the idea of environmental music presented by ambient, the deconstructive attitude brought about by post-punk, and even the sense of spatial processing in dub and electronic music. Post-rock was formed as a result of these intersecting with the rock context.
What is important is that post-rock was not a ““negation of rock.’’ While the guitar, bass, and drum lineup was maintained, their roles were redefined. The guitar became a device for creating sustained sounds and textures rather than carving out riffs, and the drums moved from being a beat-setting device to one that controlled the flow of time and tension.
Post-rock was not an attempt to end rock, but rather an act of repositioning rock in a different timeline.
Changes in the listening experience brought about by instrumentalization
One of the major turning points in post-rock was the elimination of vocals, or their extreme relegation to the background. With lyrics out of the foreground, the music was freed from concrete meanings and narratives, turning it into a more abstract experience.
With instrumental music, the listener doesn’t have to follow the words. Instead, attention is directed to the overlapping sounds, changes in strength and weakness, and the passage of time itself. This is a listening experience that requires active immersion rather than passive consumption.
The length of the song is also an important factor. It’s not uncommon for post-rock instrumental songs to be around 10 minutes long, and sometimes over 20 minutes long. Rather than presenting a conclusion in a short period of time, the emphasis is on building emotions through slow changes.
Instrumentalization has changed music from an ““object to be understood” to a ““space to stay in.”
Natural connection to cinematic rock
The term cinematic rock does not have a strict genre definition. However, it has been used intuitively to refer to music with a sense of visual scale and emotional curves.
It was inevitable that post-rock instrumental music would be associated with this designation. The quiet introduction is similar to the landscape description at the beginning of the movie, and the gradual addition of elements increases the tension of the story. And the climax that comes brings about a visual catharsis.
In fact, many post-rock songs have found their way into movies and television series, but this is not a result of the subordination of music to visuals. Music itself originally contained a visual structure.
Cinematicity was not an acquired reputation, but a quality that emerged from the structure itself.
Explosions in the Sky: Lyrics that embrace personal memories
Explosions in the Sky is an instrumental rock band formed in Austin, Texas in 1999. From a relatively early stage, they established a style with melodiousness and a clear build-up structure.
What is symbolic about their early activities is a coincidental event that occurred immediately after their debut. The release of the work that brought their music so much attention coincided with a period of special significance to American society, unintentionally arousing strong emotional associations. This experience is said to have made them strongly aware that ““music takes on meaning depending on its context.’’
The song structure of Explosions in the Sky is clear. Simple arpeggios and single-note phrases are presented, and as they are repeated, the number of notes and volume gradually increases. The drums visualize the rise of emotion in stages, eventually forming a big climax.
The reason their music has been used in so many video productions is because of the way they open up their emotions. Rather than imposing a specific narrative, the space is maintained to naturally evoke the listener’s own memories and experiences.
Explosions in the Sky presented post-rock as a vessel for introspective yet shareable emotions.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor: A group that carves society and time
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a music collective that started in Montreal in the late 1990s. It has a strong character as a fluid collective rather than a fixed member composition, and is characterized by a large formation that uses multiple guitars, basses, drums, string instruments, and field recordings.
Their work deviates greatly from the framework of a typical rock album. The piece is long and structured like multiple movements, alternating between silence and noise, melody and chaos. There are often no clear hooks or resolutions, requiring patience and concentration from the listener.
What Godspeed You! Black Emperor presented was an attempt to record social and historical time in sound rather than personal feelings. The sounds, announcements, and fragmented narratives of the city evoke a collective sense of anxiety and tension rather than manifesting a specific message.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor made post-rock function as an archive of social memory.
The breadth of post-rock shown by two lineages
Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are often talked about in the same post-rock frame, but their approaches are very different. One emphasizes the sharing of melody and emotion, while the other emphasizes structure and time.
It is this difference that shows the richness of post-rock expression. The simultaneous presence of multiple directions, rather than a single aesthetic, has given this music long-term staying power.
Postrock is not a single road, but exists as a continuous branching terrain.
Evolution of recording technology and acoustic aesthetics
Changes in recording technology are closely related to the establishment and development of post-rock instrumental music. Recording techniques that maintain a wide dynamic range, spatial miking that actively incorporates reverberation, and mixing that takes into account the layer structure have become essential elements of this music.
What is especially important is an attitude of not being afraid of differences in volume. The coexistence of parts that are close to silence and parts with overwhelming sound pressure creates an experience that contrasts with pop music, which is based on compression.
The technical choices were not simply a matter of sound quality, but were elements that determined the expression itself.
Chronology: Development of post-rock instrumental music
This trend is not an abrupt break, but can be understood as a continuum in which multiple cultural elements overlap.
The history of post-rock is like a wave that continues to quietly expand.
Significance and sustainability in modern times
Currently, post-rock instrumental and cinematic rock have become established as expressive methods rather than specific genre names. Its structure continues to be referenced in different contexts such as videos, games, and installations.
Two directions set forth by Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor still serve as creative reference points. Music, which has no words, continues to connect with the listener’s own experiences, transcending eras and cultures.
Post-rock instrumental music will continue to create new stories through silence and time.
