Having discovered space as a tangible medium, English performance artist Peter Dockley developed a multimedia theatre piece in 1969. Gymnasts, kendo fighters and dancers create a dynamic energy zone full of colours, light and excitement. The soundtrack, recorded by Canterbury rock band Soft Machine, was inspired by techniques of musique concrète, laying the foundation for experimental industrial ambient music.
With 10k+ archived releases, Sounds Central's proprietor, Paul Paulun, tells a personal history of music and sound art
C.C. Hennix has been involved with trance-like states for decades. The Swedish-born artist uses sound as a psychotropic guide to heighten the audience's receptivity and transport them into an immersive experience. Sound, environment and the self merge together, conveying a sense of being in touch with infinity.
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.
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.‘
‘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.
Equally at home in the art world and the artists’ pub, Ata Tak‘s proprietors run their label from a nice office in Düsseldorf. In the adjoining music studio, they pursue the idea of a global rebellion through sound – as Der Plan. 32 minutes with Holger Hiller, Minus Delta T, Picky Picnic, Wirtschaftswunder and others.
During the 1970s, musical traditions are being rediscovered in Japan. By blending them with their own preferences, artists create new sound worlds. 46 minutes with Akio Suzuki, Haruomi Hosono, Jun Togawa Unit, Toshi Ichiyanagi and others.
An invented language, imitations of field recordings, or the idea of a visual work with sound allow these tracks to express something as yet unknown. 38 minutes with Buffy Sainte-Marie, Gazelle Twin & NYX, Glynis Jones, Valentina Goncharova and others.
Known for his innovative studio techniques, unique production style and weird tunes, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry combined influences from soul, funk, reggae and dub in the early and mid-1970s. 46-minute mix with 14 tracks from the Perry orbit.
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. 54 minutes with Angus MacLise, Henry Flynt, La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela, Richard Maxfield and others.
With the advent of the tape recorder, poetry reached a new dimension in the 1950s. Language was arranged in completely new ways. 37 minutes with Ernst Jandl, Henri Chopin, Neil Mills, Sten Hanson, and others.
