According to front man and producer Jimmy Page, the band Led Zeppelin drew on inspiration such as the music of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki in the creation of the band’s iconic sound, which, by the time they recorded “Physical Graffiti” 40 years ago, included a full orchestra. In February 2015, Page talked about the album’s genesis with Kory Grow of Rolling Stone Magazine—below is an excerpt, regarding the unusual use of drone-like textures:
I wanted to get the density, if you like, of an acoustic guitar tuned into a chord and just sort of bowing and just building it up like you’d have over an orchestral thing almost or [modern classical composer] Krzysztof Penderecki. He would have liked that [laughs]. The idea of using the drone even preceded that album, but it really comes into effect there, that’s for sure. It was the early days of ambient music, if you like.
Read more at www.rollingstone.com.
This was not the first time that Page has referred to Penderecki’s musical inspiration. In a 2014 interview about his photo-autobiography, Jimmy Page, the guitarist mentioned the composer amongst the many influences that have “moved” him during his self-taught career. Read this interview with Luke Turner on www.wonderingsound.com.
[Sources: beethoven.org.pl, rp.pl, wonderingsound.com; Photo (Jimmy Page): Kevin Winter/Getty via rollingstone.com]