Hi, y'all. In case some of you are wondering what in the world we're
doing with Exodus, I found some information on its musical style. It is
called minimalism. If you already know this, disregard. But some of you
might be wondering.

Have a good read: bonne lecture.

May
Minimalist music has been around for a long time in other cultures, but
its spread into Western music and art began in the mid-1900's. The main
concept behind minimalist composition is the use of a small (or
"minimal") amount of musical material. Composers take these musical
patterns and repeat them over and over and over and over... you get the
idea. They vary these patterns over long stretches of time, often so
that the listener cannot readily perceive the changes. For that reason,
minimalist music is often said to have a trance-like or hypnotic effect.
Like many other kinds of modern music, some people find minimalist music
difficult to listen to. This is because minimalism is not based on
inidividual notes but rather on musical patterns. For example, classical
composers like Beethoven used notes to create a melody, whereas
minimalist composers like Philip Glass use patterns of notes to create a
mood. Therefore, minimalist pieces may sound like a broken record, with
no change really happening. The key is to listen for the overall effect,
not the actual notes.
Many of the pioneering minimalists (such as Glass, Riley, and Reich) are
still writing today. The minimalist style has also spread into pop
music, most notably into "techno" music, where there is a need for dance
music that lasts for hours at a time.
Further resources:
* "Minimalism" - by John Fraser
* "Minimalism Paper" - by Jeffrey
Radcliffehttp://library.thinkquest.org/27110/noframes/periods/minimalism.html

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The old joke about Minimalist Music goes: "Knock knock. Who's there?
Knock knock. Who's there? Knock knock. Who's there? Philip Glass." As an
innovator and promoter of minimalism, Philip Glass brought that uneasy
listening experience of repetition and static melody to a concert-going
audience. Now minimal music is leaving academic concert halls for dance
clubs and raves where ambient electronica and looped beats rule.
The essential elements are the same: minimalism is meant to be simple,
repetitious, melody-averse and pattern heavy. It leans on physics and
mathematics as much as rhythm and harmony. It studiously avoids
self-reference to the canon of Western composition, and demands a high
level of concentration from its listeners. From Terry Riley to
Stereolab, Arnold Dreyblat to Tortoise, the less-is-more music of
minimalism is more or less getting maximum exposure.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2001/01/20010130_b_main.asp

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MINIMALISM
1. A school of abstract painting and sculpture that emphasizes extreme
simplification of form, as by the use of basic shapes and monochromatic
palettes of primary colors, objectivity, and anonymity of style. Also
called ABC art, minimal art; Also called reductivism, rejective art.
2. Use of the fewest and barest essentials or elements, as in the
arts, literature, or design.
3. Music. A school or mode of contemporary music marked by extreme
simplification of rhythms, patterns, and harmonies, prolonged chordal or
melodic repetitions, and often a trancelike effect.
http://www.answers.com/topic/minimalism