In 1980, English keyboardist and composer Stephen Morgan Fisher released the LP Miniatures – A Sequence Of Fifty-One Tiny Masterpieces, featuring works by avantgarde and pop artists. Just one year later, New York’s no wave scene was documented with 77 works on the record Just Another Asshole, curated by artists Barbara Ess and Glenn Branca. To this day, compilations with (ultra-)short pieces have remained an interesting filter for outlining sonic terrain.
With his series Fundstück (relic) on the national German radio station DLF-Kultur, Paul Paulun presented radiophonic miniatures from 2015 to 2024. Most of the 260 episodes relate to human life. They tell stories, take listeners on acoustic journeys or document situations. Relics can be poems, studio productions, field recordings or something else entirely.
53-minute mix with pieces by Anne Waldman, Helga Goetze, Mark E. Smith, Timothy Leary and 26 other artists. They appear in the order in which they were broadcast.
Featured cover art: Andy Warhol – Andy Warhol From Tapes
Playlist
Magazzini Criminali Music – Tijuana, Frontiera a Nord-Ovest
New ideas for theater from Italy. (1983, Riviera Records, broadcasted 04/2015)
David Soldier & Richard Lair – Thung Kwian Sunrise
Elephants playing with devices based on traditional Thai musical instruments. (2000, Mulatta, broadcasted 06/2015)
Moondog – Fog On The Hudson (425 W 57th Street)
Street music and the sounds of the city. (1953, London Records, broadcasted 07/2015)
Chris Watson & Alec Finlay – Siren (feat. Maria Jardardottir, exc.)
Enactment of Tim Buckley’s Song To The Siren in a harbour. (2006, Platform Projects / Morning Star, broadcasted 08/2015)
Dragibus – Old King Cole
Punk rock, noise and children’s music as the basis for workshops in kindergartens. (2000, Autobus, broadcasted 11/2015)
Jürgen Ploog – Tapes von unterwegs (exc.)
Cut-up travel diary of the beat poet and Lufthansa pilot. (1971-76, 90% Wasser, broadcasted 12/2015)
Peder Mannerfelt – Bapere Dance 2
Traditional drum rhythms from the Congo, modelled on a synthesiser. (2015, Archives Intérieures, broadcasted 04/2016)
Cardboard Air Band – Little Rabbit
About love in Hindi films. (1984, Tellus, broadcasted 09/2016)
Ken Nordine – Lavender
The life of colors. (1966, Philips, broadcasted 09/2016)
Daphne Oram – Ascending And Descending Sequences Of Varying Nature
Teaching pupils how to listen, move and dance to fun electronic sounds. (1962, His Master’s Voice / Re: Electronic Sound, broadcasted 01/2017)
Andy Warhol – Excerpt From Record Bound Into ‘Andy Warhol’s Index’ (feat. Nico)
Scene from Andy Warhol’s audio diary, presented by John Giorno. (1968, Hatje Cantz, broadcasted 04/2017)
Yasuaki Shimizu – Honda
Music for advertising that doesn’t sound like advertising. (1987, Crammed Discs, broadcasted 01/2018)
Karen Michel McPherson – Postcard from Mzima Springs
Unwanted experiences during a trip to Kenya. (1985, Tellus, broadcasted 01/2018)
The Fugs – Marijuana
Glorification of the drug through political psychedelics. (1968, Reprise Records, broadcasted 02/2018)
Mark E. Smith – Football Results
Reading the football results of the match day. (2005, Sonic Arts Network, broadcasted 03/2018)
People Like Us – Help Me To Help Myself
Transferring music of the collective subconscious into a dreamy landscape. (2011, Illegal Art, broadcasted 05/2018)
Paul de Vree – Veronika
Tape adaptation of a concrete sound poem. (1962, Alga Marghen, broadcasted 06/2018)
Anne Waldman – Lady Tactics
Poem based on strange ideas about women. (1974 (read 1979), Giorno Poetry Systems, broadcasted 03/2019)
Laurie Spiegel – Strand of Life (“Viroid”)
Viroid translated into music. (1990, Unseen Worlds, broadcasted 06/2019)
Zigaretten rauchen – Systemhaus
System considerations. (2000, Columbia, broadcasted 11/2019)
Alva Noto & Anne James Chaton – Lune
Pitfalls in the fusion of man and machine. (2019, Noton, broadcasted 01/2020)
Helga Goetze – Rockerroy
The concept of free love. (1981, Stechapfel Produktion, broadcasted 10/2020)
Timothy Leary – Afterlife
Thoughts on a carefully organized death. (1996, Mercury, broadcasted 11/2020)
Jack Smith – Cold Starry Nights
En-route with a flying bed. (early 1960s, Table Of The Elements, broadcasted 12/2020)
Paul Vangelisti – da “Rime” (B)
Fluency of speech as a musical idea. (1984, 3ViTrePAIR, broadcasted 12/2020)
Laurie Anderson – Sh
A connecting element between different languages. (1977, Museum Kunst Palast, broadcasted 12/2020)
Soliman Gamil – Sacred Lake
Pharaonic, Christian and Sufi traditions as the basis for 20th century compositions. (1950s-60s, Touch, broadcasted 02/2021)
Allen Ginsberg – Vajra Mantra
Mantras as part of artistic creation. (1972, Giorno Poetry Systems, broadcasted 03/2021)
Lou Giansante – Balloon Man
Adaptation of E. E. Cummings‘ observations on a sunny spring day. (1985, Tellus, broadcasted 04/2021)
Max Brand – French Folk Song: Corbleu Marion (feat. Ligoa Duncan)
Testing the potential of an early synthesiser in combination with a French children’s song. (1963, Rhiz Records, broadcasted 09/2021)
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