Wednesday 29 April 2015

Philips Technisch Tijdschrift jaarg. 19, no 9 -1957- (SP, Philips), Netherlands


This single is one of the first examples of electronic music from The Netherlands and was made at the Philips company in Eindhoven, a city in the south of The Netherlands. Philips was one of the first companies to create a scientific lab devoted to the creation of electronic music. They were also the company that created the Compact Audio Cassette.

In the late fifties Philips' Natlab was a place where composers like Dick Raaymakers, Tom Dissevelt and Henk Badings were experimenting with tape loops and electronic sound generators. All this futuristic electronic music has been rediscovered over the last decades and has even been re-released. Make sure you find the Fantasy In Orbit and Song of The Second Moon albums on the web (better on vinyl).

This particular record was published to accompany a "technical magazine" by Philips which they published regularly in those times. The first piece on this vinyl is called "Elektronische Muziek", Klankvoorbeelden, which means "Electronic Music", Sound examples. The creator is unknown and this piece hasn't been reissued as far as I know. The second side is an excerpt of Henk Badings' Kain en Abel, created for Ballet, which is to be found on multiple collections of this music coming from the Philips music archives.

Get this historical document of electronic music HERE

Donated by Kim

Thursday 16 April 2015

Roland Topor - Panic The Golden Years -1975- (LP, Stedelijk Museum), France/Netherlands


Roland Topor (1938 - 1997) was a French illustrator, painter, writer, filmmaker and actor who generally made surrealistic and absurd works. He is known for the novel The Tenant which was later adapted to a movie by famous director Roman Polanski and for being one of the creators and illustrators for the magical psychedelic French/Czech animation movie  La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet) from 1973.

In 1962 he created the Panic Movement (named after the god Pan) together with Spanish screenwriter, pataphysicist and poet Fernando Arrabal and Chilean director and writer Alejandro Jodorowsky. They did numerous performances and theatre works to oppose surrealism becoming mainstream. You can see a performance here. Topor also wrote songs for French/Japanese singer Megumi Satsu who was friends with French sociologist Jean Baudrillard. So all pieces of the puzzle of life and deviancy are here.

This record of Roland Topor came out in 1975 for an exhibition of his work at the Stedelijk Museum (museum of modern art) in Amsterdam in an edition of 500 copies. It's a truly crazy record in which Topor speaks French and Dutch in an insane avant-garde slapstick manner. It's a humorous yet gripping recording that shows the genius and insanity a unique artist of the 20th century.

Get it HERE

Donated by Kim