091: World Synth Experiments 1957-1993 (Frankie Grimes)

Shock World Service 091:
World Synth Experiments by Frankie Grimes
9/2/2020 Dublin, Ireland
1. Juan Amenábar - Los Peces (1957 - Chile)
The first tape piece from South American composer Juan Amenábar Ruiz. It’s an electroacoustic work based on Fibonacci sequence tape manipulations of recorded piano sounds. From Santiago, Chile, he was an engineer and composer and pioneer of electroacoustic music in South America. Studyied composition at the National Conservatory of Music in Santiago, later travelling to Bonn, Germany, where he studied with Stockhausen’s teacher Wener Meyer-Eppler.
2. Iannis Xenakis - Concret PH (1958 - Greece)
Iannis Xenakis once approached Messiaen in Paris for composition lessons, but Messiaen turned him down, saying “I think one should study harmony and counterpoint. But this was a man so much out of the ordinary that I said… 'No, you are almost 30, you have the good fortune of being Greek, of being an architect and having studied special mathematics. Take advantage of these things. Do them in your music'."
Concert PH (paraboloïdes hyperboliques), was written to be heard as audiences entered and excited the Phillips Pavillion at the ’58 World Fair in Brussels, Xenakis was also involved in building the structure, and Varese’s Poeme electronique was played while people were inside the building.
3. Jorge Antunes - Auto-Retrato Sobre Paisaje Porteno (1969 - Brazil)
Known as the originator of electronic music in Brazil, Jorge Antunes studied music and physics in Rio de Janeiro. Os Mutantes were building DIY guitar pedals, but Jorge Antunes was building himself oscillators, filters and modulators. He has been a professor at the University of Brasilia since 1973.
4. Delia Derbyshire - Falling (1964 - USA)
Delia Derbyshire was a true electronic music pioneer. Working with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, she created the famous Doctor Who theme.
The Dreams was a collaboration with Barry Bermange, of voice recordings of people describing their dreams, set to an entirely electronic soundtrack by Derbyshire.
5. Otto Sidharta - Lorong (1984 - Indonesia)
After post-graduate study in Amsterdam, Otto Sidharta returned to Indonesia to gain his doctoral degree and compose electronic music based around nature and soundscapes. Reissued by Sub Rosa in 2017.
6. Mammane Sani - Tunan (1979 - Niger)
Mammane Sani was a pioneer of West African electronic music, and creator of much of the incidental music used for radio in Niger. This, his first and only album, electronic interpretations of traditional Wodaabe and Tuareg music, was recorded in two takes at the National Radio of Niger, and released on a limited casette by the Ministry of Culture . Reissued by Sahel Sounds in 2013.
7. Yishak Banjaw - Libey Ma’aduley (1986 - Ethiopia)
Originally from Addis Ababa, Yishak Banjaw created this album at his house in Eritrea, on a Casio PT rented from a friend. He recorded the whole album live, directly to his tape recorder. Reissued by Teranga Beat in 2016
8. Gökçen Kaynatan - Lost Island (1973 - Turkey)
A pioneer of electronic music in Turkey. While there was much experimentation in Turkey at the time, Gökçen pioneered the use of electronics. Reissued by Finders Keepers in 2017.
9. The Upsetters - Chim Cherie (1973 - Jamaica)
Reggae and Dub had a huge influence on the development of electronic music, and none more that Lee Scratch Perry. It’s hard to pick one, but this early dub from Pressure Sounds’ 2010 compilation shows just how far ahead they were.
10. Codek - Closer (1981 - France)
Originally release on Ivorian Coast label West African Music, this is the a-side from the well known ‘Tam Tam’ single, recorded in France by Jean-Marie Salau.
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