The Adverts - One Chord Wonders / Charlemagne Palestine - Strumming Music
The Adverts liked to pretend that they had taken the DIY punk ethos too far. While most bands had heeded the advice that three chords were needed, they would make do with just the one. One Chord Wonders would have been more effective if they'd stuck to that idea, as by my reckoning it has at least six different chords in it.

If you really want that level of simplicity you've got to look elsewhere. A good start would be Charlemagne Palestine's seminal expression of minimalism, Strumming Music, played on just two notes. The full performance of this piece lasts around 50 minutes and is all about the overtones generated as the piano gradually detunes from those two repeated struck keys. Here's a shorter version, lasting a far more manageable 11 minutes from his 1998 album Godbear, a collection of solo piano pieces. There's still plenty of opportunities to hear the colour changes that this process generates. Terrific.

The Adverts - One Chord Wonders
(alternate download)
Charlemagne Palestine - Strumming Music
(alternate download)