inner nerd » Early Electronica

Robot Rock du Jour: Leon Theramin

beaker — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:25:15 +0000

Leon Theramin, electronic music pioneer and russian spy. Awesome.

Great article in the BBC yesterday.

End of line…

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Documentary: BBC Radiophonic Workshop – Alchemists of Sound (2003)

beaker — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:37:00 +0000

REQUIRED NERDLING EDUCATION!!!

This is a fantastic documentary on the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which was responsible for such tunes as the Doctor Who theme song. This electronic music primer traces the development of recorded sound from magnetic tape onward. Reel-to-reel beat matching included! Ultimately enlightening and presented in, I think, its entirety (over six roughly 10-minute parts).

SCHEMATIC: The remaining five parts…

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Robot Rock du Jour: Kraftwerk – Ruckzuck (1970)

beaker — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:23:18 +0000

Are you kidding me???!!! This song is ridiculous. It is shocking to me how many people who LOVE Kraftwerk have never even heard this song. Just in case there was ANY doubt in your mind as to the genius of these boys from Düsseldorf, this lead song off their 1970 eponymous debut album should clear it up.

I spent two hours combing youtube for every worthwhile version of this song including two additional live performances. One is from Germany in 1975 and the other is a pre-Kraftwerk (Organisation) performance complete with…congas!!! Each offers a unique glimpse into the inner nerd.

SCHEMATIC: V-I-D-E-O-S…

Pre-Kraftwerk (Organisation) Live, 1970

Live in Germany, 1975

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Robot Rock du Jour: Kraftwerk – Autobahn (1974)

beaker — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:54:01 +0000

An 11-minute face-melting video edit of Kraftwerk’s 23-minute opus. The real cybernetic acid trip is the five-minute breakdown that beings around 3:06. Animation by Roger Mainwood and John Halas in 1979. The video was posted in two parts, so load the rest of the post to view the second half…

SCHEMATIC: Video part two, Mainwood interview and high res vinyl rip…

The title track off Kraftwerk’s 1974 LP Autobahn was a genesis moment in nerd music, marking the completion of Kraftwerk’s robotic transformation. Without this band or track, electronic music would probably not be what it is today. It represents the seemless merging of musical genius with avant-garde technology. The entire album is available on iTunes for only $3.49!!

Mainwood discussing the history of the film:

No, I never made contact with Kraftwerk, and they had no input into the film images themselves. John Halas got the commission from Kraftwerk’s record company, and it was deliberately experimental in nature and designed to be released on one of the first ever laser discs. Unfortunately the laser disc technology never took off. The film was entered into various film festivals around the world and won a few prizes, but it never got a commercial release in cinemas but was shown on the TV a bit in the UK and I presume in Germany too. I have no idea what Kraftwerk think about it or whether they have even ever seen it.

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Party Time: Saturday Robot Party @ The Idle Hour (Baltimore, MD)

beaker — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:52:53 +0000

VIGR is in the house. 4+ hour rare vinyl set. Need I say more? Hope to see you there! I’ll try to keep track of the setlist…

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Robot Rock du Jour: Ron Grainer & Delia Derbyshire – Dr. Who (1963)

beaker — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:23:24 +0000

While working with a group of nutters at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the 1960s, Derbyshire pioneered loop-based composition by manually recording and piecing together magnetic tape loops and rocking multiple reel-to-reel machines (see below). This brief clip of Derbyshire reel-to-reel beat matching is taken from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop documentary Alchemists of Sound, which can be viewed in its entirety on our Equipment + Theory playlist.

To give you an idea of just how progressive this dame was, this audio clip from the BBC archives reveals the makings of a dense, tasty electro track that predates Kraftwerk’s Autobahn by at least four or five years.

Lastly, to demonstrate how all this theory and avant garde technical ability combine to create legendary music, I’ve included the original Dr. Who TV intro which, although composed by Ron Grainer, sounds so amazing because Derbyshire “realised” it.

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Robot Rock du Jour: White Noise (Delia Derbyshire) – Love Without Sound (1969)

beaker — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:19:39 +0000

This song was composed and performed by Delia Derbyshire, THE goddess of electro. Although it might sound like Gorillaz to contemporary listeners, you’ll find a texture in this music that you just don’t hear today. The sexual undertones are distinctly 1960s and add an wickedly psychedelic component to the song. For more info on Derbyshire, check the post related to the Dr. Who theme song.

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