Various - OHM: The Early Gurus Of Electronic Music

IoaPetraka, Oct 05, 2002

Highly recommended for anyone who has an interest in how all of this got started, and has a taste for experimental electronic. You won't find much in the way of beats and structure often, because in many cases what you are hearing on the track is the first time such methods were even used. These are the pioneers. The ones who invented the synths and the algorithms in them, with names like Chowning, Theramin, and Moog in the credits; the ones who strung thousands of feet of wire around a studio to see how it would distort a sound wave; built elaborate "sonic rooms" where the audience would walk around triggering effects, creating their own personal roar.

The book that accompanies the 3 disc set is gorgeous. Full color, glossy, and around 100 pages long. It includes not only detailed information on each song and artist on the three discs, but a wealth of tangental information as well, such as history, engineering, artist's thoughts, and so on. It is by no means a substitute for a thorough essay on the history of electronic music, but far, far more than you usually get in even a box set.

As for the music itself, it is great stuff, though a bit "out there" in some cases, and not really something you would just put on as background music. For instance, track eight on disc three features nothing but the murmering of Robert Ashley's personal thoughts surrounding his work. Other songs are practically sonic blasts that are almost akin to the Noise genre. Alas, a lot of the music has been edited and shortened, as noted above. It is understandable though, especially considering the fact that some of the tracks are excerpts from hours long shows. The good news is that you would have a hell of time procuring all of this music on your own, especially since some of these tracks have never been released before.

Some highlights: John Cage's Williams Mix, here is a song with a score that is over five-hundred pages long! From a technical standpoint, very interesting. No doubt it could be accomplished in no time with today's technology, for 1952 it was a huge achievement. Terry Riley's long, completely improv organ sets with an eastern influence. Amacher's petri dish approach to dynamic, three dimensional sound sculptures (woefully handicapped in their stereo form.) It's all good though.

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