{"title":"Basil Kirchin","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBasil Kirchin (August 8, 1927 - June 18, 2005) was a British drummer and composer known for his diverse career in music. From playing drums in his father's Big Band at the age of 13 to scoring films, Kirchin's musical journey led him to experiment with manipulating recorded sounds, earning him the title \"the father of ambient music\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStarting off as a drummer in his father Ivor's popular dance band, Kirchin quickly made a name for himself. He played with renowned artists such as Billy Eckstein and Sarah Vaughan, backing them during their tours in Britain. The success of the Kirchin Band led to recordings with Decca and Parlophone under the production of George Martin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, Kirchin felt constrained by playing other people's music and decided to explore new horizons. He ventured into India and spent time at the Ramakrishna Temple before moving to Sydney. Unfortunately, all his possessions, including recordings of the Kirchin band, were lost at sea during transportation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReturning to Britain in 1961, Kirchin delved into experimental compositions and produced material for the De Wolfe library. His passion for collecting ambient sounds led him to record animal noises at London Zoo and even capture the voices of autistic children. By slowing down these recordings, he uncovered hidden harmonics that had never been heard before by human ears.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"assignment-kirchin-two-unreleased-scores-from-the-kirchin-tape-archive","title":"Assignment Kirchin - Two Unreleased Scores From the Kirchin Tape Archive","description":"\u003cp\u003e Two sublime unreleased scores from Basil Kirchin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAssignment K (with lots of pencil scribbles everywhere). The Strange Affair (with lots of pen scribbles everywhere).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs usual with Basil tapes \/ things there is little else to go on, no tracklist, no list of musicians, no singer names, no dates or anything. I have actually tried to establish the name of the singer on the song from Side One (we have called it “Love Is To Walk Away “ as it is unnamed) but having played it to a handful of knowledgeable collectors and enthusiasts who I would count as experts in this field, no one has a clue who it might be. If you think you know please get in touch. We know who it isn’t.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe can tell you that Assignment K dates from 1968, was a film about a toy maker who has a double life as an international spy. It was directed by Val Guest, who’d just finished trying to rescue the cinematic hotchpotch that was Casino Royale - he had been brought in by the Bond producers after Peter Sellers had walked off the movie. We imagine Assignment K may have been a slightly less stressful few months of shooting. As for the Kirchin score that we have here, we can tell you very little indeed, apart from the fact that the bass player was Ron Prentice (an ex blacksmith turned musician and craftsman) who worked on several Bond scores, but we know little else. And we only know this because it says so in the academic tome “Jazz On The Screen” by David Meeker.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Strange Affair is also from 1968, and was not only controversial but also a reasonably unsuccessful movie. Directed by David Greene who also directed, amongst other films, I Start Counting and the quite brilliant Sebastian. In this rather grubby flick a policeman called Peter Strange (played by Michael York) falls for an underage girl (played by Susan George), finds himself compromised by a pair of pornographers and gets lured into an errand for a smack gang. We can tell you little else because I have no more information about it all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut we do know that this music has all the classic Kirchin mid-period sonic hallmarks that have always set him apart.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Trunk","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50420999782731,"sku":"2173576","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/51JyWin5QL._UXNaN_FMjpg_QL85__855225cf_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726755121"},{"product_id":"quantum","title":"Quantum","description":"\u003cp\u003eone of the most innovative and influential composers of the late 20th century with his first recordings and release for 30 years.it was constructed in the early 70's and spliced together by basil using jazz,field recordings(animals,insects,trams),his wife and autistic children.his work was a big influence on everyone from eno to nurse with wound to broadcast.imagine an early 1970s version of the aphex twin mixed with bjork. 20th cent\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50436347756875,"sku":"163979","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a26d598b-a3f3-4bef-9e20-5564578f1ecf_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726915927"},{"product_id":"particles-1","title":"Particles","description":"\u003cp\u003efor the last five years trunk records have been issuing the great, lost work of pioneering british composer basil kirchin. and over this period basil has gone from being a great undiscovered and completely unknown british artist to a highly influential and historically important musical figure. he is seen these days as the grandfather of ambient music - eno is quoted as saying that basil found the ambient sounds he was looking for in the early 1970s. kirchins experimental work also influenced the dark industrial sounds of the nurse with wound, coil and psychic tv, and most maverick producers of the last 5 years own at least one kirchin album. and here, trunk are pleased (and a little saddened) to present his last album, completed only a couple of weeks before he passed away. it proves that kirchin, even in his mid 70s, was still very much an experimentalist at the top of his odd game. the whole album is brimming and bursting with odd ideas, new ways and the unique kirchin sound. the current trunk favourite is the last, epic ten minute hypnotic monster simply called 'e+me'. it's an obvious homage to his dear wife esther, who actually sings at the end of this heavily rhythmic, modal tune. tragically esther died a week before this last kirchin cd was pressed. this release is dedicated to basil and his wife esther, may they both rest in peace. limited to 500 copies on vinyl.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50436350607691,"sku":"281092","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/951347f4-aaa1-412d-9296-ccb2ece0dba1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726915971"},{"product_id":"viva-la-tamla-motown-main-chance","title":"Viva La Tamla Motown \/ Main Chance","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe next installment on Bob Stanley’s Measured Mile label is a KPM Library double header. Basil Kirchin and Jack Nathan’s ‘Viva La Tamla Motown’ is pulled from the rare \u003ci\u003eThe Wild One\u003c\/i\u003e LP they recorded for De Wolfe in 1966 and, instrumentally, celebrates Berry Gordy’s classic Detroit label. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe flip is taken from the equally collectable 1972 De Wolfe library LP called \u003ci\u003eHogan The Hawk \u0026amp; Dirty John Crown\u003c\/i\u003e where ‘Main Chance’ is described as “moody, beaty – featuring synthesiser.” It’s a stone-cold rhythmic beauty well worth a spin on anybody’s turntable – so, give both a chance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Measured Mile","offers":[{"title":"Black 7\"","offer_id":50486806905163,"sku":"2008748","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/NW_512A_794ff55b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727615847"},{"product_id":"the-mutations-unreleased-basil-kirchin-film-music-from-1968-1974","title":"The Mutations - Unreleased Basil Kirchin Film Music From 1968-1974","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecently discovered lost and unissued score by \u003cstrong\u003eBasil Kirchin\u003c\/strong\u003e to wild surreal freak horror movie from 1974. Plus bonus unissued spooky TV score with groovy Eastern vibes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Trunk","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":51188605518155,"sku":"2242647","price":25.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/JBH108LP_1a96e44b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1738364461"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_8b758698_thumbnail_4096_e0f9198e-f167-4e65-8bde-140a67c8fb06.jpg?v=1726755099","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/basil-kirchin.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}