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Sounds that might help
As we've said elsepage: Your "own style" of musique concrète may
not be anything like anyone else's. This is OK. But there are
times when the best of us can need just a little inspiration, and
listening to work by other artists can help here.
The list below is by no means definitive or exhaustive; there will
always be more examples to explore. What you will find here are some
good examples in a variety of styles to listen to, to study, to draw
inspiration from, and, perhaps most importantly, to enjoy!
Early Concrète:
Forbidden Planets - Music from the Pioneers of Electronic
Sound [Chrome Dreams, B002X5QZS8, 2010] - A good selection of
early works, including Pierre Schaeffer's Etude aux Chemins de
Fer and works by Stockhausen and Cage.
Adventures in
Sound [El, B001NE81BW, 2009] - Includes all five of Schaeffer's
Studies of Noises; classic eamples by Varese, Xenakis and
Stockhausen; Pierre Henry's Veil of Orpheus - another excellent
selection of early classics.
OHM+ : The Early Gurus of
Electronic Music 1948-1980 [Ellipsis Arts, B000BDGVX6, 2005] -
A triple CD including early works from the GRMC in Paris [Schaeffer,
Henry] and NWDR in Cologne [Stockhausen] through
to about 1980 - includes quite a chunky booklet of
descriptions, background information, interviews with composers and
artists ...
An Anthology of Noise and Electronic
Music [Sub Rosa, 2010] - a collection of five double CDs
[originally named An Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music #1 - An
Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music #5] - Volume 1 includes works by
Schaeffer, Cage, Xanakis and others; Volume 5 is much more
recent.
Much of the material on these CDs is also available as single-track
MP3 downloads [although you don't get either CD sound quality or the
sleeve notes that way!]
Check back soon for more entries in this section - we're currently
checking what you can still get hold of!
From the BBC Radiophonic Workshop:
BBC Radiophonic Music [Phonic1CD, 2008] - Classic
1960s material from John Baker, David Cain, Delia
Derbyshire.
BBC Radiophonic Workshop: A
Retrospective [Phonic3CD, 2008] - a comprehensive collection
from 1958-1997.
Doctor Who Volume 1: The Early Years
1963-1969 [BBC drwrw1, 2008] - Johm Baker, David Cain, Delia
Derbyshire, Ron Grainer, Brian Hodgson, Dick Mills, Dudley Simpson all
making concrète - or partially concrète - sounds for a famous TV
series.
Doctor Who at the BBC: The Plays [BBC Audio
Books, ISBN 1846 070440, 2006] - includes a fascinating account of Delia
Derbyshire's time at the RWS.
John Baker: The John Baker
Tapes: Volume 1 [Trunk Records JBH028CD, 2008] - John Baker was
the third part of the "Holy Trinity" of Radiophonic music in the 1960s,
alongside Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson. Coming from a jazz
music background, John's work is very different from that of Delia or
Brian, yet uses the same techniques and technologies.
BBC RWS Related:
A collection of recordings by BBC Radiophonic Workshop [RWS]
artists "moonlighting" at other studios...
Electrosonic [Glo-Spot 1104-CD, 2006] - a CD
re-release of a classic 1972 LP of production music by Li de la Russe
[Delia Derbyshire] and Nikki St George [Brian Hodgson] - the original LP
is something of a collectors' piece.
The Tomorrow
People [Trunk Records JBH017CD, 2006] - Li de la Russ,
Nikki St George and Dudley Simpson team up with David Vorhaus in
the early 1970s to make music for an ITV series.
The White
Noise: An Electric Storm [Island 3D CD 1001, 1969] -
Ironically, the CD carries the same release date as the original vinyl
LP! This is Delia, Brian, David Vorhaus ad friends creating an
eccentric hybrid of concrète, electronic and conventional music, along
with treated and untreated "found" sounds. One of those CDs you
should get to listen to at least once in your life!
John
Baker: The John Baker Tapes: Volume 2 [Trunk Records
JBH029CD, 2008] - John Baker outside the BBC - material here ranges from
his first record [a 1950s 78 rpm gramophone record], through a range of
commercial recordings and other work outside of the BBC, through to an
obituary telling you a little more about John Baker
himself.
Partial Concrète:
These recordings represent a hybrid
mix; a kind of fusion between conventional instrument and vocal work with
concrète elements...
Silver Apples [MCA Records MCD11680, 1997] - a
re-issue of material from 1968-69 - another classic.
SIM_01:
A Radiophonic Oddity [Cyclotron records CYCL-0001-2, 2001] - a
21st Century Californian take on Radiophonic
Music.
John Young: La Limite du Bruit
[empreintes DIGITALes IMED0261, 2002] - The edge of Noise -
Acousmatic music where the sounds gradually change from things you can
recognise to sounds which resemble nothing in the real world.
Subtle, intriguing, inspiring.
"Mainstream":
Artists whose music you will probably already be
familiar with, working in a hybrid of concrète, conventional and pure
electronic formats.
The Beatles: Various albums from 1966-59,
especially Sergeant Pepper's, the "White"
Album, Magical Mystery Tour - all influenced
by visits to the BBC RWS and especially Delia Derbyshire.
Pink Floyd: almost their entire work, but especially
the albums, from Saucerful of Secrets right up to their
seminal Dark Side of the Moon and its successor,
Wish You Were Here. Later albums [The Wall
and after] tend to be rather more instrumental. Their
albums after about 1966/67 show very clearly the influence of their visits
to The RWS and, again, Delia Derbyshire.
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds - you may have thought the
Beach Boys were just the classic band of brothers and cousins singing
memorable, danceable pop with a heavy emphasis on vocal harmony - but listen
again. Pet Sounds shows how their music in 1966 was influenced by a
visit to the Radiophonic Workshop, and, yet again, Miss Derbyshire.
Kraftwerk: Many works,
especially the albums Autobahn and
Radioactivity.
Jimi Hendrix: The Star
Spangled Banner.
Concrète-related Electronic:
The recordings listed here are a looser
assortment but show where musique concrète has influenced
other genres and experiments:
King of Woolworths : L'Illustration Musicale
[Mantra Recordings, MNTCD 1032 (CD); MNTLP1032 (LP), 2003] - an ecelectic mix
of "Downtempo, Experimental" electronica. One of the tracks is simply
named Delia Derbyshire, which gives us a clue about the
inspiration behind the whole project. Well worth checking out.
Check back soon; we will have more information for
you to take away, and work on ... and a few more examples of
what can be done ...
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