A mix of ethnological recordings, found sounds and pirated material formed the basis for the performances of the radical theatre group Magazzini Criminali from Florence. In 1980, they used ambient music by Jon Hassell without permission. The composer was impressed – and collaborated with the group on an adaptation of Jack Kerouac's iconic beat novel ‘On The Road.‘
After years of increasing intensity on the dance floor, culminating in gabber, around 1992 it was time for friendlier climes. Fifty-five minutes from the advent of personal computers and the internet for everyone – with Acid Jesus, The Black Dog, Cylob, Like A Tim and others.
It is a common misconception that DIY music productions are necessarily made without a budget. In fact, their most striking feature is that they aim to create unique listening experiences with the resources available. 36 minutes with works by Blancmange, Gregory Whitehead, Minus Delta T, People Like Us and others.
‘I want to put as many aspects of myself into music as I can, as much as possible of being alive, intensely conscious on all levels.‘ With this attitude, American composer Laurie Spiegel developed her concept of Slow Change Music in the mid-1970s at Bell Labs in New Jersey, using the prototype of a computer system to control synthesizers.
Tabla drums are an important part of classical Indian music. Since the 1960s, they have also been found outside this context. 65 minutes with Alejandro Jodorowsky, Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis, Geir Jenssen, Robert Ashley and others.
Synthesizers brought new sounds into the world. 43 minutes of oscillators, filters and envelopes controlled by Conrad Schnitzler, Daphne Oram, Erkki Kurenniemi, Laurie Spiegel and others – between the early Sixties and 1977 (plus an exception).
Snapshots of national pride, cars, country music and the human abyss behind respectable facades – 51 minutes with Amiri Baraka, Ann Magnuson, Henry Rollins, Madeline Ridley and others.
When Indian spiritual music became popular in New York City in the mid-1960s, one of the youngest artists was the least impressed. Charlemagne Palestine, known for his long ritualistic pieces without religious references, grew up in Brooklyn. The strong cultural environment of the Hasidic movement there shaped his early life, as he sang as a boy soprano in the synagogue choir.
In the late 1960s, women composers began mixing different types of sound material. Their concept of intermedia art often had a connection to human life. 88 minutes with Christina Kubisch, Eliane Radigue, Frankie Mann, Ruth Anderson and others.
Paying homage to flying machines and next generation’s minimalism, singing in an invented language that is both mysterious and familiar, and a special kind of rain. 43-minute mix with pieces by Anna Homler and Steve Moshier, Ennio Morricone, Harold Budd, The Human League and others – made between 1972 and 2011.
Wearing eyeball helmets is the trademark of the Californian artist collective The Residents. Inspired by avantgarde and pop, the band anticipated the idea of audio piracy and developed groundbreaking multimedia projects. A 42-minute mix featuring some of the group's conceptual thematic compositions and deconstructions of Western pop music.
Whether conceptual or performance art, electronic music, counterculture, minimalism, drone sounds or Fluxus – New York City is a hotbed for all sorts of experiments during the Sixties. 62 minutes with Angus MacLise, Henry Flynt, La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela, Richard Maxfield and others.
Letters and numbers as material of expression. 40 minutes with inventions by Brion Gysin, Demetrio Stratos, Henri Chopin, Lawrence Weiner and others.
