"OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music 1948-1980" Ellipsis Arts CD3670 2000
CD 1 (72:18)
Clara Rockmore "Tchaikovsky: Valse Sentimentale" (2:08)
Olivier Messiaen "Oraison" (performed by Ensemble D’Ondes
De Montréal) (7:42)
Pierre Schaeffer "Etude aux Chemins de Fer" (2:50)
John Cage "Williams Mix" (5:42)
Herbert Eimert / Robert Beyer "Klangstudie II" (4:27)
Otto Luening "Low Speed" (3:40)
Hugh Le Caine "Dripsody" (1:26)
Louis and Bebe Barron "Main Title from Forbidden Planet"
(2:19)
Oskar Sala "Concertando
rubato" (3:07)
Edgard Varèse "Poem Électronique" (8:00)
Richard Maxfield "Sine Music" (6:00)
Tod Dockstader "Apocalypse Part II" (2:01)
Karlheinz Stockhausen "Kontakte"
(6:20)
Vladimir Ussachevsky "Wireless Fantasy" (4:35)
Milton Babbitt "Philomel" edit (4:57)
MEV "Spacecraft" edit (6:06)
CD 2 (73:28)
Raymond Scott "Cindy Electronium" (1:55)
Steve Reich "Pendulum Music (I)" (performed by Sonic
Youth) (5:52)
Pauline Oliveros "Bye
Bye Butterfly" (8:02)
Joji Yuasa "Projection Esemplastic for White Noise" (7:36)
Morton Subotnick "Silver Apples of the Moon Part 1" edit
(4:20)
David Tudor "Rainforest Version I" edit (5:09)
Terry Riley "Poppy
Nogood" (7:55)
Holger Czukay "Boat-Woman-Song" edit (5:01)
Luc Ferarri "Music Promenade" edit (7:00)
Francois Bayle "rosace 3" (3:19)
Jean-Claude Risset "Mutations" edit (4:55)
Iannis Xenakis "Hibiki-Hana-Ma" edit (4:39)
La Monte Young "Drift Study 31 I 69 12:17:30 - 12:49:58
PM NYC" edit (7:00)
CD 3 (74:04)
Charles Dodge "He Destroyed Her Image" (1:59)
Paul Lansky "Her
Song" (3:04)
Laurie Spiegel "Appalachian Grove 1" (5:20)
Bernard Parmegiani "En Phase / Hors Phase" (2:29)
David Behrman "On the Other Ocean" edit (6:48)
John Chowning "Stria" edit (5:11)
Maryanne Amacher "Living Sound Patent Pending" (7:02)
Robert Ashley "Automatic Writing" edit (7:07)
Alvin Curran "Canti Illuminati" edit (7:25)
Alvin Lucier "Music On A Long Thin Wire" edit (6:43)
Klaus Schulze "Melange" (6:52)
Jon Hassell "Before
And After Charm (La Notte)" edit (7:59)
Brian Eno "Unfamiliar Winds (Leeks Hills)" (5:21)
"OHM" is an ambitious 3 cd compilation that collects tracks from 42 electronic music artists between the years 1937 and 1982 (despite the subtitle). Its purpose is to serve as an introductory primer to the history of electronic music, a single resource that brings together work from most every field, location, technology and period. Included are many of the names you would expect: John Cage, Edgard Varèse, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Raymond Scott, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Holger Czukay, La Monte Young, Klaus Schulze and Brian Eno. Better yet are all the remaining names you and I may not know. The variation and history is almost overwhelming as the music is created for a variety of reasons and through a variety of means. Traditional composition is achieved via new methods and all new ideas and fields are created through the avant-garde of experimentation. The machines include theremin, tape recorders, oscillators, primitive computers and synthesizers and numerous other inventions. Their masters use them to speak many different languages: cut-ups and collage, drone, soundtrack, noise, speech synthesis, ambient and other indescribable genres. It really is amazing how human and contemporary much of this music still sounds today ... you would have a difficult time discerning much of today's minimalist and experimental artists from their decades old predecessors. After one listen of the entire set, two things become glaringly apparent: 1) nearly all music of the past few decades owes an enormous debt to this pioneering work 2) the possibilities are fascinating and endless. Purists may complain of omissions (usually due to legal reasons) and that 15 of the tracks are edits, but the 3 discs are filled at nearly 74 minutes apiece, are in rough chronological order and definitely serve as an introduction. The 96 page booklet is incredible with 50 b/w pictures of artists and instruments, brief essays by Brian Eno, Robert Moog, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Thurston Moore, Peter Namlock, David Toop and Bill Laswell, and comments on every single track, many by the artists themselves. Very ambitious indeed but Ellipsis Arts and producers Thomas Ziegler and Jason Gross have succeeded. And at a price of $30 - $35, this is a steal. "OHM" is without a doubt essential for anyone who considers themselves a fan of electronic music ... past, present or future ...
Where did I get this cd? - RPM Records in Garland, TX.