Carl Stone
Carl Stone (born Carl Joseph Stone, February 10, 1953) is an American composer, primarily working in the field of live electronic music. His works have been performed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the Near East.
Carl Stone

George Quasha · CC BY 3.0
- Birth Name
- Carl Joseph Stone
- Born
- 10 February 1953
- Birthplace
- Los Angeles, California, US
- Full name
- Carl Joseph Stone.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- composer and musician.
- Fields
- tape music, plunderphonics, electronic music, ambient music and electroacoustic music.
- Education
- California Institute of the Arts.
- Teachers
- Morton Subotnick and James Tenney.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Carl Stone studied at California Institute of the Arts. Training under Morton Subotnick and James Tenney is recorded. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are tape music, plunderphonics, electronic music and ambient music. Residence is recorded at Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — Carl Joseph Stone • Born — 10 February 1953 • Birthplace — Los Angeles, California, US • Genre — * Electroacoustic • sound collage • minimalism
Biography
Biography
From 1966 to 1969 he formed a band with Z'EV and James Stewart, performing jazz rock. After auditioning for Frank Zappa's Bizarre Records, the band ceased activities. Stone studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with Morton Subotnick and James Tenney, and has composed electroacoustic music almost exclusively since 1972. Stone utilizes a laptop computer as his primary instrument. His works often feature very slowly developing manipulations of samples of acoustic music, speech, or other sounds. Previously, he created a number of electronic and collage works utilizing various electronic equipment as well as turntables. Prominent works from this period include Dong Il Jang (1982) and Shibucho (1984), both of which subjected a wide variety of appropriated musical materials to fragmentation and looping. In this period, he began naming many of his works after his favorite restaurants. • Illustration — Carl Stone performing at Cité de la Musique, Paris, November 1, 2003 His first residency in Japan, sponsored by the Asian Cultural Council, was from November 1988 to April 1989. While living in Tokyo, he collected more than 50 hours of recordings of the city's urban soundscape, which he later used as the basis for his radio composition Kamiya Bar, sponsored by Tokyo FM radio, and released on a CD of the same name by the Italian label NewTone/Robi Droli. Stone has collaborated frequently with Asian performers, including traditional instrumentalists such as Min Xiao-Fen (pipa), Yumiko Tanaka (shamisen), Kazue Sawai (koto), Michiko Akao (ryuteki), and those working with modern instruments, such as Otomo Yoshihide (turntables, guitar), Kazuhisa Uchihashi (guitar, daxophone), Yuji Takahashi (computer, piano), and vocalists such as Reisu Saki and Haco. He has also collaborated on an album with Hirohito Ihara's Radicalfashion with Alfred Harth and Miki Yui. Beginning in the early years of the 21st century, Stone began to compose more frequently for acoustic instruments and ensembles, completing a new work for the San Francisco Bay Area-based American Baroque. Stone served as president of the American Music Center from 1992 to 1995, and was director of Meet the Composer/California from 1981 to 1997. He also served as music director of KPFK-FM in Los Angeles from 1978 to 1981. For many years, Stone has divided his time between California and Japan. Stone received a 1999 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.
Other released collaborations
Other released collaborations
Realistic Monk, (2015–present) collaboration with sound artist Miki Yui Pict.soul (2000–2001) – Long-distance collaboration with Tetsu Inoue Monogatari: Amino Argot (1994) – Long-distance collaboration with Otomo Yoshihide Over-Ring-Under (1992) – Soundtrack to a videogame CD-ROM, with visual artist Teckon
Other commissioned works
Other commissioned works
• Luong Hai Ky Mi Gia (2001) – DVD-Audio/Video piece for 5.1 surround sound system; commissioned by Starkland • Sa Rit Gol (1997) – Piece for disklavier and pianist; commissioned by Bay Area Pianists and Cal Performances, as part of the Henry Cowell Centennial Celebration at UC Berkeley • The Noh Project (1996) – A collaboration with choreographer June Watanabe and Noh master Anshin Uchida • Yam Vun Sen (1995) – Network duel piece for the internet; commissioned by NTT as part of IC95 Festival, Tokyo • Sudi Mampir (1995) – Contribution to compilation album "em:t 5595" • Banh Mi So (1994) – Piece for ondes martenot and piano; commissioned by Takashi Harada and Aki Takahashi • Mae Ploy (1994) – Piece for String Quartet and computer accompanist; commissioned by the Strings Plus Festival, Kobe, for the Smith Quartet • Lumpinee (1993) – Installation for computer-operated MIDI system; commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles for the exhibition "John Cage: Rolywholyover: A Circus" • Du Pars (1993) – Soundtrack for interactive laserdisk "L.A. Journal", produced by Voyager • Ruen Pair (1993) – Piece for electronic chamber ensemble; commissioned by the Paul Dresher Ensemble • Rezukuja (1991) – Piece for bass marimba and electronics; commissioned by Sumire Yoshihara • She Gol Jib (1991) – Piece for ryuteki (flute) and electronics; commissioned by Michiko Akao • Recurring Cosmos (1991) – Piece for High Definition video and electronics, including Banteay Srey; commissioned by Sony PCL • Made in Hollywood (1990) – Soundtrack music; commissioned by ZDF Television, Germany • Thonburi (1989) – Part of the radio series "Territory of Art" • Spalding Gray's Map of L.A. (1987) – Soundtrack for videotape produced and directed by Bruce and Norman Yonemoto • Vault (1984) – Soundtrack for videotape produced and directed by Bruce and Norman Yonemoto • Mae Yao (1984) – Piece for live electronics, multiple bagpipes and pipe organ; commissioned by The Art of Spectacle Festival • Se Jong (1983) – Piece for tape; commissioned by the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival as part of the radio series "Sounds In Motion"
Reviews
Reviews
• The Wire Top Ten 2020, Stolen Car • Artforum, Best of 2019, Himalaya • Bandcamp, Best Experimental Albums of 2019, Himalaya and Baroo • Pitchfork, Best Experimental Albums of 2019, Baroo • The Wire Best of 2019, Himalaya • The Wire Best of 2019, Baroo • The Wire full review Himalaya
Listening
Listening
• surround sound recording of Luong Hai Ky Mi Gia, commissioned by Starkland • at SASSAS
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Residences
Los Angeles.
Birth place
Solo recordings
Solo recordings
• Wat Dong Moon Lek (May 2022) • Namidabashi (2021) - digital only release, part of the Displacing series, on Touch • Stolen Car (2020) • Himalaya (2017) • Al Noor (2007) – Explorations into the dismantling and re-composition of global song and melody • Nak Won (2002) – Real-time music for laptop computer • Resonator (2002) – Soundtrack for the works of sculptor Seiji Kunishima • Exusiai (1998, released 1999) – Music for contemporary dancer Akira Kasai • em:t 1196 (1996) – The musical part of a three-way collaboration between the composer, dancer Kuniko Kisanuki and sculptor Satoru Shoji • Kamiya Bar (1995) – Excerpts from a sound collage assembled in 1992 from TV commercials and field recordings made in Tokyo in the late 1980s • Mom's (1992) • Four Pieces (1989) – Playful explorations and transformations for Macintosh computer • Wave-Heat (1983) – Piece for digital delay/harmonizer and an LP record; released on audio cassette • Woo Lae Oak (1981, released 1983; re-issued 2008 as a single continuous track) – A concrete symphony for the tremolo of a rubbed string and the tone of a blown bottle
Some unreleased recordings
Some unreleased recordings
• Torung (1983) – Piece for Synclavier • Maneeya (1973) – Piece for tape • Plastics (1972) – Film soundtrack
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Carl Stone (composer), revision 1374506453 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
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