Set
up in 1958 by the BBC to provide incidental music of
a new kind for its radio and television programs across
the UK, the then futuristic sounding Radiophonic Workshop
provided an unlikely forum for musicians to develop
new ways of creating musical pieces. The rudimentary
equipment put at the disposition of the musicians pushed
them to use a wide range of sonic sources more related
to garden shed as Richard D James put it recently, than
to hi-tech studios. The first of two reissues, Radiophonic
Music, originally released to celebrate
ten years of Workshop music, is entirely dedicated to
the work of David Cain, John Baker and Delia Derbyshire,
who was responsible, with Ron Grainer, for the Dr
Who theme tune. This album, which doesn’t
include any Dr Who related material, demonstrates
the vivid creativity of the Radiophonic Workshop, from
the metallic percussions of the Radio Sheffield
jingle which opens the album, to the doorbells and knocks
of Factors and the cash register of Christmas
Commercial. The second CD, simply called Radiophonic
Workshop, was originally released in 1975, and
reflects the technological improvements of the department,
which had by then acquired a range of synthesizers and
sequencers. Most of the tracks were especially composed
for this project. Despite the more modern equipment,
one can’t help but notice how very little the
compositions had evolved. Ranging from cheesy muzak
(Roger Limb’s Geraldine, echoed recently
by Plone’s
brilliant For
Beginner Piano, or Dick Mills’ Crazy
Dazy) to the sublime (John Baker’s Brio,
Malcolm Clarke’s Bath Time) are still
very ingenious, and demonstrates why so many contemporary
artists, from Orbital to Aphex Twin, refers to the now
defunct Radiophonic Workshop as pivotal to today’s
music.
Australian label Vibragun’s Communication
Problems presents a selection of tracks
by 20 of today’s best electronic musicians. Split
over 2 CDs, with the first being almost entirely beat-less
while the second offers a range of extraordinarily diverse
compositions, Communication Problems document
some of the most advanced sections of the genre. With
a line up to make the most high profile label go weak
at the knees, Vibragun collects work from artists as diverse
as Atom Heart, Cray, John Waterman, Thomas Koner, Kim
Cascone and Steve Law to name but a few. If the tracks
on the ‘contemplative’ part seem to all merge
into one another and disappear all together after a while,
the second part provides a far more entertaining and varied
selection, which sees hip-hop, drum’n’bass,
DSP and other bleeps and glitches collide in an effervescent
sonic frenzy, contributing to making this album a really
exiting project.
Tokyo-based label Progressive Form follows a series of
beautiful albums and a European Tour, including a highly
acclaimed showcase at this year’s Sonar Festival
with Forma. 1.02, their first
compilation. New signing Yoshihiro Hanno, 30506, who also
feature here as Sounguarehouse, and #de.niro join Aoki
Takamasa, Tsuchiya Yasuyuki and Eutro to prevent a collection
of dense and complex electronica. The majority of the
tracks included here are of excellent standard, with notable
exception of Hanno’s old sounding and pointlessly
repetitive S.E.Q. which sees the man leaving
the studio with his sequencer stuck on the same pattern
for the next six minutes. The beautiful Live For
by Tsuchiya Yasuyuki opens the album in style with its
progressive static beats and muffled piano line. Sounguarehouse
follows with an intricate piece of broken hip-hop, which
sounds surprisingly like the Siamese sister of Boards
Of Canada’s Telephasic Workshop. The two
contributions by Aoki Takamasa are, as usual, extremely
pertinent, with the second one, Nohope, stilling
the show with its seemingly simple structure layered over
a cloud of static noises. Other stand outs include the
playful Pine from Clickety & Clack and the
gorgeous and melodic Flower Of Life by Eater.
Setting up a record label just to release a 12”
by one of your idols is certainly a proof of entrepreneurial
madness. Former 4AD press officer Tony Morley did just
that when he put together The Leaf Label at the end of
1994. After Bark Pshychosis split up, Graham Sutton went
solo under the Boymerang tag, and got his first EP released
on the newly formed label. Eight years on, Lost
For Words compiles excerpts from some of
Leaf’s releases including Asa Chang & Junray
(will Hana ever loose any of its appeal?), Murcof,
A Small Good Thing, Susumu
Yokota and Manitoba, whose next album, due out sometime
next year, promises to be a radical departure from both
his seminal Start Breaking My Heart and his recent
live performances. To add to this already magnificent
line up, exclusive tracks by 310 (the beautiful Installation
Linoleum is one of the many highlights here), Goroditch
and Eardrum to complete one of the best compilations around
at the moment.
V/A: BBC Radiophonic Music 5/5
V/A: The Radiophonic Workshop 3.5/5
V/A: Communication Problems 3.5/5
V/A: Forma. 1.02 4/5
V/A: Lost For Words 5/5 |
