Obscure Music – Paving the Way for Ambient (1975-78)
With his label Obscure, pop star Brian Eno starts a series with experimental listening music in 1975. The artists involved want to leave their previous approaches towards making music behind and work with new technologies or take inspiration from ancient traditions. 71 minutes with Gavin Bryars, Harold Budd, Max Eastley, Michael Nyman, and others.
Flokati – Tunes for a Chill-out Zone
Reminiscent of a certain time or place, these tunes are for a chill-out zone. 49-minute mix with memories and fantasies by Cluster & Eno, Geir Jenssen, Graeme Revell, Muslimgauze, and others, realized between 1970 and 2014.
Filed Recordings – Miking the World (1958-2018)
“Listen to your world. It may be more interesting than all the things you buy to escape from it.” 46-minute mix that proves Sasha Frere-Jones’ observation from 1999 right – with field recordings by Alejandra & Aeron, Bill Fontana, Chris Watson, Félix Blume, and others.
She Told Me – Experimental Music by Women (1969-2020)
An invented language, imitations of field-recordings, or the idea of a visual work with sound make these tracks express something not yet known. 38-minute mix with music by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Gazelle Twin & NYX, Glynis Jones, Valentina Goncharova, and others.
Shaping Intermedia Art – Avantgarde Women (1968-85)
In the late sixties, women composers start mixing various kinds of sonic material. Often their idea of intermedia art has a link to human life. 88-minute mix with Christina Kubisch, Eliane Radigue, Frankie Mann, Ruth Anderson, and more.
Early Electronic Music – Fieldwork and Funny Sounds (1952-68)
The electrification of music during the 1950s leads to a multitude of artistic concepts. 50 minutes of fieldwork and funny sounds with Alireza Mashayekhi, Else Marie Pade, Enore Zaffiri, İlhan Mimaroğlu, and more.
Synthesis – Approaching a New Instrument
Synthesizers brought new sounds into the world. 43 minutes of music with oscillators, filters and envelopes controlled by Conrad Schnitzler, Daphne Oram, Erkki Kurenniemi, Laurie Spiegel, and others – between the early sixties and 1977 (plus an exception).
Enhanced Poetry (1956-1991)
With reel to reels, poetry reaches the next level in the 1950s. Language gets arranged in completely new ways. 37 minutes with Ernst Jandl, Henri Chopin, Neil Mills, Sten Hanson, and others.
Letters & Numbers – Ingredients for Sound Art
Letters and numbers as material for expression. 40-minute mix with ideas by Brion Gysin, Demetrio Stratos, Henri Chopin, Lawrence Weiner, and others – invented between 1917 and 2006.
The Poetry of DIY – Ideas Expressed With Sound
39-minute mix of ideas being expressed with sound – made up trains, works with found sounds, or a collective approach in making music. Works by Amy Taubin, Angus & Hetty MacLise, Can, Tom Recchion, and others, realized between 1956 and 2016.
Fluxus Is…
Forming a loose community of interdisciplinary collaborators, Fluxus artists are rethinking the role of art in society during the sixties. 47-minute program with Carolee Schneemann, Henning Christiansen, Terry Riley, Yoko Ono, and more – with pieces made between 1959 and 2014.
Tellus – Mapping New York’s Art Scene on Tape
Compiling a varied and dense collection of artistic concepts, the subscription only tape label Tellus documents New York’s expansive art scene between 1983 and ’93. 29-minute program featuring tracks from 13 releases, with works by Cardboard Air Band, Gretchen Bender, Liquid Liquid, Remko Scha, and others.
Future Japan – Technopop (1979-86)
Yellow Magic Orchestra’s concept of connecting pop, dance music, and Far Eastern folklore quickly becomes synonymous with technopop in Japan. The band’s members also occur in each others solo recordings and cooperate with other musicians. 49 minutes with Apogee & Perigee, Friends Of Earth, Miharu Koshi, Ryuichi Sakamoto & The Kakutougi Session, and more.
More Poetry of DIY – Using the Means at Hand
A politician’s elusion becomes poetry, music of the collective subconscious is transferred into a dreamy landscape, and insects’ microtonal sounds get rhythmic. 36 minutes with pieces by Blancmange, Graeme Revell, Gregory Whitehead, Holger Hiller, and others – realized between 1967 and 2011.
A Dandy From Heaven – Haruomi Hosono
Aware of musical traditions and eager to incorporate the latest technology in his productions, Haruomi Hosono is one of the most versatile and influential figures in Japanese popular culture. 44-minute program with various collaborations and solo works by the co-founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra – realized between 1975 and 1995.
Reggae? – Some Seventies Soul Fire
Fuelled by collaborations between producers, singers, and studio musicians in ever new constellations, the seventies mark the transition from ska and rocksteady into a multitude of styles in Jamaica. 46 minutes with Keith Hudson, Norma White & Brentford Disco Set, Sound Dimension, Susan Cadogan, and more.
Reggae From Scratch – Lee Perry (1968-78)
Known for his innovative studio techniques, unique production style, and weird tunes, Lee "Scratch" Perry combines influences from soul, funk, reggae, and dub in the early and mid seventies. 46-minute program with 14 tracks from the Perry orbit.