UKC

This is a bit of a spinoff from the 'Electronic album masterworks' thread, which had more of a focus on dance electro but which set me off reacquainting myself with some of the older musicians mentioned in the thread. I thought it might be interesting to hear about other people's favourites.

To start with, one of my personal favourites is Annette Peacock. Here's one of her '80s tracks:

youtube.com/watch?v=y_GqybsXoR8&

More about her here:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-unclassifiable-unstreama...

I really like Pulstar from Vangelis' Albedo 0.39 album. It just builds and builds.

youtube.com/watch?v=HaMBmBeNvtM&

Is 80's early?

Anyway, here's Klaus Schulze.

youtube.com/watch?v=HOz2PdjLSeM&

T.

Alan Parsons Project - possibly debatable but whether it’s prog or soft rock, it’s certainly almost entirely electronic.  Some classic stuff although more popular in the US than here strangely.   

I think ‘80s is fine - it is 30-40 years ago. Interesting thing is when electronic music first started. I remember reading about experiments in the 1930s at least - that’s definitely early!

Studie II by Karlheinz Stockhausen is an early and influential contribution to electronic music:
youtube.com/watch?v=WDyjuVwWv0M&

When he visited Denmark in the 90ties I went to one of his classical music concerts. Strange sounds I must say!

As I remember they used a range of instruments, including guitar, bass, drums and sax, and electronic/programmed effects. More of a hybrid than a pure electro outfit I guess, but then there's always a continuum between the purely electronic and the traditional instrumental work. 

I hadn't heard that. Quite crazy by the end. He was definitely a key figure in the development of electronic music, particularly its adoption in the mainstream.

Tonto's Expanding Headband were early 1970's. The era of lava lamps....

youtube.com/watch?v=F2R3XVW0wmw&

This is one of the most influential early sampled pieces by American composer Steve Reich, created in 1966. I heard it at university in the early 80s and was captivated, although it goes back almost to my birth (not quite). Many theses have been written on the work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Out_(Reich)

Also check out Delia Derbyshire.  Famous for the Doctor Who theme, she produced many looped masterpieces with miles and miles of recording tape. A friend produced this book in celebration of her influence. You can get it on the big A:

http://wyrdbritain.blogspot.com/2016/03/an-electric-storm-daphne-delia-and-...

That looks like a good read, and his blog looks interesting too- thanks. Always feel a bit sad about the trajectory of DD’s life but she was a real talent. 

Thanks Stefan. Stockhausen always seems like hard work because he often deliberately avoids any repetition, rhythm or melody, but he was hugely influential. I don’t think I could sit through a whole concert of his music!

Varese was another very influential figure- maybe slightly more listenable because of more use of repeated themes. 
This is the one that people cite as a bit of a milestone in electronic music:

youtube.com/watch?v=R-R3F3ZVbi8&

Still not something I’ll be listening to much!

Regarding the earliest electronic music releases there's some good info here. https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/culture_bunker/1st_ever_electronic_record...

Thanks- I’d forgotten about that thread. I’m keen to hear more about the various early hybrids of electronica that were excluded there so I hope this thread isn’t too much of a repetition. 

On Stockhausen, I just came across this amusing pair of quotes from an article about him:

"He often only recommended his own works for others to find influence in, not those of his contemporaries. Always the teacher, never the taught. “Mr. Richard James. I think it would be very helpful if he listens to my work ‘Song of the Youth’, […], then he would stop with all these post-African repetitions and would look for changing tempi and changing rhythms,” he said after first hearing Aphex Twin. “I thought he should listen to a track of mine: ‘Didgeridoo’, then he’d stop making abstract, random patterns you can’t dance to,” replied Richard D. James."

https://thevinylfactory.com/features/karlheinz-stockhausen-electronic-music...

The article is worth reading generally - gives a sense of his influence on the field of electronic music. 

You have inspired me to browse a little bit further on avantgarde music. Mainly to support my memory.

In 1987 the Danish National Academy of Music in Odense held what they called a Stockhausen week with the composer himself and his orchestra. It was one of these concerts that I attended back then. I recall a small incident during the performance of a piece named Oberlippentanz for solo piccolo trumpet: 

youtube.com/watch?v=SmsQvqoUJtc&

Imagine the whole concert hall listening in concentration and absolute silence when a traditional wind-up alarm clock went off really loud. At first I thought it was part of the composition, Stockhausen being Stockhausen, but it was one of the students among the audience who had it in her bag. She couldn't stop it sounding and had to run out into the foyer not to disturb any further.

Reading about Stockhausen lead me to one of his contemporaries namely György Ligeti. At first I couldn't quite remember where I had heard his name before, but then it struck me: Stanley Kubrick used his music in several of his movies. Most famously, maybe, in the Star Gate sequence of his 2001: A Space Odyssey which is accompanied by Atmosphères: 

youtube.com/watch?v=cW_o-T1CVrY&

That first piece is surprisingly listenable for Stockhausen. I can see why you might have thought an alarm clock should be part of it though!

Ligeti was one of the first electronic composers I ever heard. There was a piece on a Decca sampler of electronic music we had. I think others included Varese and Berio.

A few, off the top of my head:

The Yellow Magic Orchestra - manly their instrumental tracks:

youtube.com/watch?v=DskuDtfOG1c&

youtube.com/watch?v=YastQM59JQE&

Vangelis, eg Direct: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg9RfU98eXE01km95NxVy0F8U-ivC9MWh

Not a very well known work, but The Pentateuch of the Cosmogony (1979) by Dave Greenslade is classic to me! youtube.com/watch?v=TNhtAh3U_sc&

Jean-Michel Jarre, The Essential (1983) - an absolute classic compilation!

youtube.com/watch?v=j55B08bm8mg&

Kraftwerk The Man Machine

youtube.com/watch?v=wl-eVipq5cE&

Tangerine Dream Dream Sequence (compilation)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8a8cutYP7fphvJ7jcQ7GWW0z9nSYWx4B

Hi,

An interesting article on Stockhausen. Here are some related pages ...

Thanks,
R

Stockhausen's Advice to Clever Children:
https://dokumen.tips/documents/k-stockhausen-advice-to-clever-children.html

Richard James' response, on BBC Radio 3’s Mixing It:
youtube.com/watch?v=b68aXP-fOEk& (~12:00)

And the Stockhausen Papa of Techno clip, with a link to the full documentary:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014yjlr

The Dr Who theme tune, Varèse’s Poème électronique & Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge (Song of the Youths) – all mentioned up thread - are discussed in this R3 programme, which no longer includes the pieces in full (only a minute or so), sadly:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p01znvr8

When I was 6 this series came on TV - I could not miss it and it features quite a lot of electronic music and sound effects (courtesy of F.C. Judd a well known electronics author and electronic effect enthusiast)

youtube.com/watch?v=p7us8T0b4kw&

I found bits of it scary - particularly the carnivorous plants of Venus that ate some colonists

there are quite a few episodes on youtube - despite the crude models there is a degree of sophistication in the plots and dialogue - eg explaining interstellar distances and light speed travel for 6 year olds!

youtube.com/watch?v=mSlEP-1r-uc&

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Lucifer

I got this after one of the tracks was included in the Boards of Canada societas x mix last year and it's mint.  

Far out ! The world really needs some Power Love right now.

TWS

TD from '72: youtube.com/watch?v=-WRDQmFJhFQ&

forgot to say that it predates Dr Who in 1963 by at least a year.

I used to listen to Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene - as a youngster. Might look that up later.

The album cover was fascinating too.

I remember loving  this! I can still remember one or two of the tunes and sound effects! 
I wonder if my interest in electronic music was initially sparked by it? 

Going to seek this out - sounds intriguing.