Theatre of Eternal Music

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For the 80s group, see Dream Syndicate.

The Theatre of Eternal Music, sometimes later known as The Dream Syndicate, was a mid-sixties musical group focusing on experimental and drone music, featuring La Monte Young, John Cale, and Angus MacLise. In 1964 the ensemble contained Young and Marian Zazeela, voices; Tony Conrad and John Cale, strings; and sometimes Terry Riley, voice. Since 1966 Young has realized the "Dream Theater" despite interruptions due to a lack of funding for such an exceptional, extensive, and expensive project.

Most of these pieces have long titles, such as The Tortoise Recalling the Drone of the Holy Numbers as they were Revealed in the Dreams of the Whirlwind and the Obsidian Gong, Illuminated by the Sawmill, the Green Sawtooth Ocelot and the High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer. Likewise, his works are often of extreme length, many pieces having no beginning and no end, existing before and after a particular performance. Young and Zazeela are also on an extended sleep schedule, their "days" being longer than twenty-four hours.

Their 1973 album features Jon Hassell on trumpet, Garrett List on trombone as well as Young on Sine waves and vocals, and Zazeela on vocals.