Saturday, 31 May 2014
Monday, 1 October 2012
Daphne Oram
Well, well. Sure, I could pop up another re-edit but I've encountered so many fantastic excursions into sound recently that I am now compelled to share them. Re-edits will be here again but for now lets check the pioneering work of Daphne Oram.
Born in 1925 she studied music in Paris and London eventually exploring fledgling electronic music, programming and composition for the BBC and was regularly commissioned to compose and perform using oscillators, tape machines and home made filters for, amongst others, Sam Beckett's 1957 production of "All That Fall".
As demand for electronic music grew she was eventually asked by the BBC in 1958 to establish the groundbreaking BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Throughout her career she lectured on electronic music and studio techniques and developed her very own Oramics drawn sounds technique. This allowed a composer to be able to draw an "alphabet of symbols", feed them through a machine that would, in turn, produce the relevant sounds on magnetic tape. Doctor Who anyone?
Pretty mind blowing stuff and if you want to know more just follow the links here. For now just listen to her work on the 1963 film "Snow" combining field recordings of trains, good old fashioned razor and tape edits, rock & roll and her own home made filters. Or if you want to check out her Oramics machine in action see the film below that. Simply stunning!!
Oramics from Nick Street on Vimeo.
Born in 1925 she studied music in Paris and London eventually exploring fledgling electronic music, programming and composition for the BBC and was regularly commissioned to compose and perform using oscillators, tape machines and home made filters for, amongst others, Sam Beckett's 1957 production of "All That Fall".
As demand for electronic music grew she was eventually asked by the BBC in 1958 to establish the groundbreaking BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Throughout her career she lectured on electronic music and studio techniques and developed her very own Oramics drawn sounds technique. This allowed a composer to be able to draw an "alphabet of symbols", feed them through a machine that would, in turn, produce the relevant sounds on magnetic tape. Doctor Who anyone?
Pretty mind blowing stuff and if you want to know more just follow the links here. For now just listen to her work on the 1963 film "Snow" combining field recordings of trains, good old fashioned razor and tape edits, rock & roll and her own home made filters. Or if you want to check out her Oramics machine in action see the film below that. Simply stunning!!
Oramics from Nick Street on Vimeo.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Casbah Calling
I’m at breaking point with global financial meltdown, rampant religious war mongers, natural disasters, hacking, sacking, cuts and c**ts. I need some blissful escape.
So I’m writing another blog post.
Whilst digging around in my metaphorical crates I came across a re-edit I did in 2004 of The Clash’s “Rock The Casbah”. It served me well for a good few years and due to the edit’s arrangement, I played it everywhere, from bunkers to ballrooms and barn dances.
The song itself has quite a history. The third single from their classic “Combat Rock” LP, it was the Clashes biggest UK and Stateside hit ever, topping, amongst others, the fledgling UK Dance chart. Some say it was written in reaction to Iran’s Sharif banning rock music, others that it was inspired by the bands manager bemoaning the length of their new tracks (…the king told the boogie men, you have to let the rāga drop...). As with most truths, it’ll be both and neither.
The edit itself is another simple ‘razor and tape’ affair. I used the 7” single version with it’s stronger emphasis on the bass guitar and the dubbed out 12” instrumental (Mustapha’s Dance) to create this nifty little fellow, all helped by the fact The Clash’s drummer Topper Headon was well known for his metronomic drumming.
Sharif don’t like it….
Enjoy!
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So I’m writing another blog post.
Whilst digging around in my metaphorical crates I came across a re-edit I did in 2004 of The Clash’s “Rock The Casbah”. It served me well for a good few years and due to the edit’s arrangement, I played it everywhere, from bunkers to ballrooms and barn dances.
The song itself has quite a history. The third single from their classic “Combat Rock” LP, it was the Clashes biggest UK and Stateside hit ever, topping, amongst others, the fledgling UK Dance chart. Some say it was written in reaction to Iran’s Sharif banning rock music, others that it was inspired by the bands manager bemoaning the length of their new tracks (…the king told the boogie men, you have to let the rāga drop...). As with most truths, it’ll be both and neither.
The edit itself is another simple ‘razor and tape’ affair. I used the 7” single version with it’s stronger emphasis on the bass guitar and the dubbed out 12” instrumental (Mustapha’s Dance) to create this nifty little fellow, all helped by the fact The Clash’s drummer Topper Headon was well known for his metronomic drumming.
Sharif don’t like it….
Enjoy!
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Thursday, 3 November 2011
Better late than never.
My first post is about popping the blog cherry. There, done! I feel sixteen again.
I've become such a fan of other peoples blogs it finally had to happen. I'll be posting my opinions, observations, conversations, things that excite me, sounds you just have to hear and other audio musings. I'll also be posting rare nuggets, re-edits and other gems to download (320 kps) from the past 90 years of recorded music. The first of these (below) is my re-edit of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love. Covered by everyone from Soft Cell to Marilyn Manson, the original is a northern soul nugget that needs to be heard. No additional drums or synths, just a good old fashioned 'razor and tape' edit to extend the goodness.
I've also been working on foley and sound design since late 2009 and they are the most incredibly interesting fields with they're own hero's, villains, fans and fantasists. So, along with all my other baggage, I'll be ranting about that too.
So cherry popped, now I'm going to think of thoughts worth saying.
And sounds worth playing....
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I've become such a fan of other peoples blogs it finally had to happen. I'll be posting my opinions, observations, conversations, things that excite me, sounds you just have to hear and other audio musings. I'll also be posting rare nuggets, re-edits and other gems to download (320 kps) from the past 90 years of recorded music. The first of these (below) is my re-edit of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love. Covered by everyone from Soft Cell to Marilyn Manson, the original is a northern soul nugget that needs to be heard. No additional drums or synths, just a good old fashioned 'razor and tape' edit to extend the goodness.
I've also been working on foley and sound design since late 2009 and they are the most incredibly interesting fields with they're own hero's, villains, fans and fantasists. So, along with all my other baggage, I'll be ranting about that too.
So cherry popped, now I'm going to think of thoughts worth saying.
And sounds worth playing....
Tweet
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