Customer Reviews

An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music/First A-Chronology Volume 1

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I finally tracked this one down, and it was worth waiting to hear! (It's still out there to be found, don't despair...) This is Volume 1 of a series assembled by Guy Marc Hinant for Sub Rosa, but this is the gem of the series -- Volumes 2 and 3 don't contain as much of the rare, early pioneering music.

The entire first disc is fantastic, with major works by Ruttman, Schaeffer, Pousseur, Mumma, and Boehmer. There are a couple of quirky pieces thrown in, including the sounds of the fighting robots of the Survival Research Laboratories, but they work. Compared to much of what was produced in the onslaught of electronica since the early 1990s, it is amazing how much variety and creativity these older works are brimming with.

The second disc contains more amazing selections -- Cage's "Rozart Mix" and Nam June Paik's "Hommage a John Cage," Varese's masterpiece the "Poeme Electronique" and Xenakis's short "Concret PH," which were played together at the famous 1958 Philips Pavilion at the World Fair in Brussels, (the pavilion designed by Xenakis using the same equations he used to produce glissandi in his music! -- that's it on the cover of this disc), and a long piece by Pauline Oliveros. This one goes on too long at 30', but the ideas are fascinating for about 1/2 or 2/3 of that time. The more recent piece by dj Spooky is excellent, and Sonic Youth electronically manipulating crowd noise not only fulfills the "noise" part of the disc's title, but is strangely compelling in its own right.

The peak level of inventiveness and the variety make this disc compulsively listenable, in addition to being a treasure trove of electronic music landmarks.

This collection is simply incredible. Traces the history of avant garde noise experimentation and it's cross breeding with electronic music over the course of the 20th century. There are pieces on here that are breathtaking that you will not hear anywhere else. A must for any fan of challenging, experimental music.

I hadn't previously explored this type of stuff directly. I bought this on a lark because I liked the title. I'm very glad I did, as it really opened my ears up to a wide spectrum of experimental music.

I have subsequently bought Volumes 2 & 4. As of July 08 there are 5 volumes released, out of a planned 7 volumes. All the ones I have are excellent, but this one may be the best.

The series is described as an "achronology". Rather than presenting it has an historical text book, he idea is to present it emphasize the great diversity throughout the 80+ years covered through juxtaposition. Most of the series jumps accross time periods, styles, and places to focus on the great variety of stuff out there. The first half of disk 1, as an introduction, does follow a chronological order, with one piece from every decade from the 20's through the 60's. The ones that stand out in my mind are the Pierre Schaeffer, Gordon Mumma, and Nam Jun Paik pieces (play the Mumma piece LOUD!). A couple of the pieces run too long, but overall it's a fascinating listen.

I would recommend to anyone who wants an introduction to get this CD and also Ohm: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music Special Edition 3CD + DVD. Make sure you get the version of OHM with the DVD.

I've been trying to learn more about the history of electronic music and, after buying a few books and watching the "Modulations" documentary, decided to start listening with this album.

My background is that I'm a big fan of microhouse (e.g., stuff on the Morr Music label; Luomo) and drone (e.g., Stars of the Lid, stuff on the Kranky label), and I've listened to lots of Brian Eno projects. Loved all of that and wanted to hear more.

That being said, realize this anthology is the "real deal," so to speak. It's an excellent anthology with helpful notes, but you're not getting too much that's dreamy or melodic. Another way of saying this: you wouldn't find it in the "electronic" section at your local music store. You'd find it in the "experimental" section. This is primarily experimental noise.