Electronic Music - It Started Here

This 50 track double CD (and 28 track double vinyl), which features material recorded between 1955 and 1962, is a great value introduction to the roots of electronic, and also the modern composition resurgence. It does that primarily with challenging, but influential, contributions from avant-garde composers, including France’s Pierre Henry, Germany’s Karlheinz Stockhausen, and America’s John Cage. But it manages to avoid feeling too much like homework by interspersing their experimental work with some (slightly) more conventional selections from artists from different musical backgrounds, such as future Beatles producer George Martin (‘Time Beat’, ‘Waltz In Orbit’), and TV and film composer Dean Elliot (‘I Didn’t Know What Time It Was’, ‘The Lonesome Road’).

DISC 1

1. Waltz In Orbit - Ray Cathode
2. Vibration - Tom Dissevelt
3. Band 5: Rhythmic Variation - Daphne Oram
4. Stochatta - John Robinson Pierce
5. Soaring Science - Attilio Mineo
6. Sonic Contours - Vladimir Ussachevsky
7. Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu) - Dick Jacobs
8. Musique De Films: Astrologie Pt. 1 - Pierre Henry
9. Intersection (Fantasy For Electronic Sound & Orchestra) -
Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan
10. Contrasts - Dick Raaijmakers
11. Studie II - Karlheinz Stockhausen
12. Elektronische Muziek: Klankvoorbeelden -
Henk Badings & J.W. de Bruyn
13. Variations In Timbre And Attack - John Robinson Pierce
14. Baubles, Bangles And Beads -
Dean Elliott & His Orchestra
15. Ambiance I - Michel Philippot
16. Band 4: Ascending And Descending Sequences Of
Varying Nature - Daphne Oram
17. Bicycle Built For Two (Daisy Bell) - Max Mathews
18. Science Of Tomorrow - Attilio Mineo
19. Premier Aspect Sentimental - Henri Sauguet
20. Syncopation - Tom Dissevelt
21. Etude aux Accidents - Luc Ferrari
22. Theme And Variations - S.D. Speeth
23. Fantasy In Space - Otto Luening
24. Fascination - Dick Jacobs
25. Poeme Electronique - Edgard Varëse & Robert Craft

DISC 2

1. Whirling - Tom Dissevelt
2. Band 1: Melodic Group Shapes - Daphne Oram
3. I Didn't Know What Time It Was -
Dean Elliott & His Orchestra
4. Classique: Tam Tam IV - Pierre Henry
5. Pitch Variations - Newman Guttman
6. Time Beat - Ray Cathode
7. Around The World - Attilio Mineo
8. Transposition - Vladimir Ussachevsky
9. Kain En Abel: Verkorte Versie - Henk Badings
10. Tammy - Dick Jacobs
11. May Carol - Max Mathews
12. Classique: Symphonie pour un Homme Seul Pt. 4 -
Pierre Henry & Pierre Schaeffer
13. Song Of The Second Moon - Kid Baltan
14. Dance - John Cage
15. Study No. 1 - David Lewin
16. Bahnfahrt - Unknown Artist
17. Etude Aux Allures - Pierre Schaeffer
18. Band 4: Rhythmic Variation - Daphne Oram
19. Five Against Seven: Random Canon -
John Robinson Pierce
20. Noise Study - James Tenney
21. The Lonesome Road - Dean Elliott & His Orchestra
22. Gesang der Junglinge I - Karlheinz Stockhausen
23. The Second Law - Max Mathews
24. Boeing Spacearium - Attilio Mineo
25. Incantation - Otto Luening & Vladimir Ussachevsk