Various Artists - BBC The Radiophonic Workshop

180-gram vinyl pressing

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio. There had been much interest in producing innovative music and sounds to go with the pioneering programming of the era. Often the sounds required for the atmosphere that program makers wished to create were unavailable or non-existent through traditional sources and so some would look to new techniques to produce effects and music for their pieces. Much of this interest drew them to musique concrète and tape manipulation techniques, since using these methods could allow them to create soundscapes suitable for the growing range of unconventional programming.

These two records were recorded in 1968 and 1975 respectively, and have until this day never seen a vinyl release at all! The BBC Radiophonic Workshop would also create the soundtrack for "Doctor Who" in 1963 and later on "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." The BBC Radiophonic Workshop would document their findings and share these with the public. In this way, they influenced mainstream music. Sound engineer Roger Mayer, who supplied guitar pedals to Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, was influenced by their wiring diagrams. In 1997 the electronic dance music magazine Mixmag described the Workshop as, "the unsung heroes of British electronica."

 

1. Side One

2. La Grande Pièce de la Foire de la Rue Delaware

3. Brio

4. Adagio

5. Geraldine

6. Bath Time

7. Nénuphar

8. Side Two

9. Major Bloodnok's Stomach

10. The Panel Beaters

11. Crazy Dazy

12. Veils and Mirrors

13. Romanescan Rout

14. Schlum Rooli

15. Kitten's Lullaby

16. Waltz Antipathy

17. The World of Science

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