Agreed. Between this and the "Early Modulations: Vintage and Volts" comp,
I'm really getting into early electronic music. It sort of has me
questioning the novelty of IDM in that it seems "clicks + cuts" and "bleeps
+ bloops" have been around for almost 50 years (and isn't it convention to
date the inception of IDM with the release of the "Artificial Intelligence"
series?). A lot of the earlier stuff is better sounding to these ears than
some of the drivel being released currently. Also for those who complain
that there's not enough melody in this genre of music, many of the earlier
"gurus" seemed to have a keen sense of melody.
I believe Raymond Scott's "Soothing Sounds for Babies" CD set (highly
recommended) has been mentioned here once or twice. To those who enjoyed
it, check out the newer (released about a month ago) "Manhattan Research
Inc." double CD that compiles several of his pieces that were never
released. "Cindy Electronium" on the OHM comp is also featured on the
"Manhattan Research Inc." CD. Quite fun. It's very hard to believe this
music was produced in the 50s and 60s. You can even go to
www.raymondscott.com and see the 30' wall of equipment he used to produce
and record it. Sort of makes me feel guilty when I crank out a tune in
minutes with Audiomulch, Reaktor, etc. when some of these artists claimed
that it took months to compose a single tune. Another ancient release that
maybe isn't as IDM-like (more ambient) but thoroughly enjoyable is Terry
Riley's "A Rainbow in Curved Air/Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band..."
release. It sort of has that minimal, melodic feel of a good Oval release.
I'm assuming Morton Subotnik's "Silver Apples..." is a given.
If you are interested in this type of music and in the NYC area, the Lincoln
Center is putting on a festival called Electronic Evolution from July 12 to
July 19. Some features are a live performance of Terry Riley's "In C,"
multimedia installations produced by Columbia U. faculty and students, "The
Turntable as an Ensemble Instrument" presentation, and a performance of
theremin music. For more information, head over to
http://www.lincolncenter.org/festival/main.htm.
quoted 28 lines Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 01:09:47 -0500
> Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 01:09:47 -0500
> To: "idm-list" <idm@hyperreal.org>,
> "Lee Azzarello" <roswell@alumni.antioch-college.edu>
> From: "Adam Piontek" <damek@earthling.net>
> Subject: Re: [idm] Review: Electronic music compilation on OHM records
> Message-Id: <06101475622025@mirage.tcinternet.net>
>
> I have this compilation, too -- I've been meaning to write up
> something about it for the list. It's incredible to see what was
> being done half a century ago (less in some cases, but still!) that
> new artists now are doing and being seen as innovators. I'm not
> naming names and I'm not saying anything negative.
>
> My point is just that I second the opinion that this compilation
> should be checked out by everyone interested in 'electronic' music.
> It's a great historical excerpt (the liner notes point out that there
> is much more material available than could ever be released
> together), and gives great perspective on the music we all listen to
> today.
>
> I'd like to clarify, however, the following points: The title of the
> compilation is actually "OHM: the early gurus of electronic music"
> ... in other words, OHM isn't the label, it's the first part of the
> title. Second, the label is actually Ellipsis Arts...
> http://www.ellipsisarts.com/
>
> check it out, people, it's well worth the money.
> -adam
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