Thursday, December 11, 2014

Michel Redolfi - Immersion/Pacific Tubular Waves

Michel Redolfi - Immersion/Pacific Tubular Waves

One of my all time favourite pieces of digital music.

All the electronic sounds on this record were generated with the Synclavier, a digital synthesizer conceived by composer Jon Appleton and "New England Digital Incorporated" founders Sydney Alonso and Cameron Jones.

Michel Redolfi composed "Pacific Tubular Waves" in 1979 using only the Synclavier to generate each of its timbres and sounds. He then set out to re-record this piece underwater, using the results of these recordings as building blocks for "Immersion", a composition combining these "concrète" sounds with new material generated with the Synclavier.

PS: sorry for some of the skips and "pops", but this LP's getting pretty old now and I've played it many many times.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Jean Schwarz - Suite N

Jean Schwarz - Suite N

Really gorgeous slice of early computer music/live electronic music by french composer Jean Schwarz.

"Gamma Plus" is an update of an earlier tape piece called "Gamma". This version features the TM+ trio, an electroacoustic instrumental trio (as seen below) founded in 1977 with the intention of giving concert performances of electroacoustic music. The members of the TM+ trio were Laurent Cuniot, Denis Dufour & Yann Geslin. "Gamma Plus" features the trio accompanying the tape piece and performing live on synthesizers.

"Suite N" is the second piece featured on this LP and the highlight for me. It was composed in 1981-82 and made entirely using the GRM's PDP 11 computer running the MUSIC V program - which was part of the MUSIC N family of computer music programs developed at Bell Labs.