Musique Concrète (Candide, 196?)

Pierre Schaeffer helped form Studio d'Essai de la Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française in France during World War II. Initially serving the French Resistance, Studio d'Essai became a hub for musical development centered around implementing electronic devices in compositions. It was from this group that musique concrète was developed. A type of electroacoustic music, musique concrète is characterized by its use of recorded sound, electronics, tape, animate and inanimate sound sources, and various manipulation techniques. The pieces heard on this album were composed by members of Groupe de Recherches de Musicales. I've included scans of the insert containing notes for each piece. Listen.

António Victorino d'Almeida - Catedral da Angústia (Decca, 1974)

Catedral da Angústia is an experimental album by Portuguese composer António Victorino d'Almeida. D'Almeida has had a fruitful career as an artist in various fields, gaining recognition as a composer, performer, author and actor. At the time of this release, he was mostly known for his work producing and hosting the television program Histórias da Música. He is recognized today for his extensive work in television, and his large body of contemporary classical compositions. Catedral da Angústia expresses d'Almeida's interest in avant-garde and musique concrète and differs greatly from his later compositions.

Bill Fontana - Landscape Sculptures With Foghorns (KQED-FM, 1982)

The scope of this early piece from sound sculpture artist Bill Fontana is to create an audible map of the San Francisco Bay area. Listeners are able to hear various locations simultaneously, delayed by the distances the sound has to travel. Here is an explanation of the process, taken from the back cover-

           "In 1980, I began working with outdoor sculpture sites to explore the real time acoustic relationships existing between a sculpture site and it's surrounding landscape... Eight microphones were installed within the landscape. Then, through equalized telephone lines, the live sounds of the landscape were recreated at the sculpture site."

Different from accustomed field recordings, Landscape Sculptures allows listeners to place themselves inside their own imagined landscape. Natural and mechanical sounds slowly move in from all directions, some near, some distant and echoing. These compositions have the affect of translating topography to sound. I recommend reading along with the notes on the back cover as you listen.

John Surman - Westering Home (Island, 1972)

Jazz saxophonist John Surman established himself on the UK circuit in the mid 1960's. In the late sixties, he played alongside Barre Phillips and Stu Martin in a group called The Trio. In the early seventies, Surman started incorporating synthesizers into his work and began recording solo using overdubbing. Westering Home is the first album in this format and Surman plays saxophones, woodwinds, synthesizer, piano and percussion. It has a unique sound that represents Surman's signature modal playing style and interest in folk motifs with free jazz saxophone solos and experimental synthesizer textures. You can find it here.

Jan Steele/John Cage - Voices and Instruments (Obscure, 1976)

Voices and Instruments marked the fifth release for Brian Eno's Obscure Records. Side A features three pieces by Jan Steele that developed from works with an improvisational outfit known as F&W Hat. From the back cover-

         "[F&W Hat] was formed in 1972 at the University of York by Jan Steele, pianist Dave Jones and flautist Mike Dean. The group was directed towards playing a very quiet, repetitive form of improvised rock-based music, a principle which has to some extent survived in these compostions."

Side B contains five works by John Cage. These compositions, all written at various times throughout the the 1940's, are performed here by Richard Bernas on piano with Robert Wyatt or Carla Bley. If you aren't familiar and are interested, there is a wealth of information on the web about John Cage. The back cover offers extensive notes, including lyrics, for each piece. Thanks to Wolf Fifth for the high quality scans. Listen here.