The BBC Radiophonic Workshop: Classic or Dud?

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Mat Irvine
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0410203/

Koogy Bloogies (koogs), Tuesday, 6 February 2007 09:41 (nineteen years ago)

Ah yes! Thanks Koogy, it's all coming back now........

Phil Knight (PhilK), Tuesday, 6 February 2007 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

eight months pass...

Can anyone identify this snippet? Sounds Radiophonic to me.

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=181C446376667DE0

Alba, Wednesday, 24 October 2007 18:37 (eighteen years ago)

Does anyone have a copy of the BBC doc mentioned upthread they'd be willing to share? I can trade for something like my DVD-R of "The Changes"(w/ Paddy Kingsland music. Quite awesome.) Really wanna see this!

Capitaine Jay Vee, Wednesday, 24 October 2007 18:45 (eighteen years ago)

Alba - hi,
fairly certain your mystery tune is raymond scott- something off teh "manhattan research" 2cd set which is indeed very radiophonic

bob snoom, Wednesday, 24 October 2007 19:37 (eighteen years ago)

Fantastic, bob. Just checked the snippets on the Amazon page and it is indeed "Portofino" by Scott.

In the course of all that I found an ILM thread in which I noted that I really want to hear his stuff, about four years ago ...

Thanks.

Alba, Wednesday, 24 October 2007 20:13 (eighteen years ago)

Portofino 2, rather.

Alba, Wednesday, 24 October 2007 20:13 (eighteen years ago)

If the Radiophonic Workshop documentary is "Alchemists of Sound", the whole thing's on youtube in several chunks. (Not to discourage anyone from offering a better quality version or anything, but I watched it on there a while ago. Wonderful 60s footage of Delia Derbyshire in the studio speaking with one of those very precise/nervous accents that don't exist any more.)

a passing spacecadet, Thursday, 25 October 2007 09:33 (eighteen years ago)

I want this
http://www.discogs.com/release/212869

Can't they re-press/release it on CD?

And you'd think they might notice that this goes for £40 and keep it in print! Or does BBC Records even exist still?
http://www.discogs.com/release/173394

Did anyone hear BLUE VEILS AND GOLDEN SANDS, the Radio 4 play about Delia Derbyshire's life? I only heard about half of it at the time, but it was reallu good, as I remember. I wonder if you can listen to it anywhere still.

Jamie T Smith, Thursday, 25 October 2007 10:25 (eighteen years ago)

Well you can get it on this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-BBC-Plays-Audio/dp/1846070449

The other two plays sound dreadful, though!

Jamie T Smith, Thursday, 25 October 2007 10:39 (eighteen years ago)

there's a lot of overlap between the 4x10" and that cd. the vinyl is a couple of minutes too long to fit on a single cd, i ended up dropping the delia derbyshire bits because i had them on another cd somewhere.

i also have a copy of alchemists of sound but it's only a half-pal avi. must look out for a repeat and do it again properly.

the tomorrow people soundtrack is still available, the first white noise lp is just about to get a deluxe re-release and the first two doctor who at the bbc cds are still available, i think (yes, a tenner on amazon)

koogs, Thursday, 25 October 2007 12:27 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

i recorded "alchemists" earlier this year -- february, in fact -- and have just got round to watching it today.

it's probably one of the best documentaries, if not pieces of television, i've ever seen. i don't know where to begin with it: the aesthetic, the research, the anecdotes, the sheer levels of mind-boggling genius contained within. o, and sonic boom, too!

there's a certain aesthetic that absolutely fascinates me yet is hard to quantify -- if anyone can explain what ties together my love (for example) of british modernist and brutalist architecture, public-information films from the 1950s to early 1980s and the mkI human league, feel free -- and so much of the workshop's output fits into that perfectly. i have to get hold of some of their stuff ... i assume there are collections out there?

as for the documentary itself ... it's stuck on my bloody humax and i need to work out a way of getting it off, 'cos that's a keeper.

wow. just ... awesome.

grimly fiendish, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 17:58 (eighteen years ago)

hmm! even despite mark ayres's re-releases in 2002, this stuff isn't exactly easy to get hold of :(

grimly fiendish, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 18:16 (eighteen years ago)

http://orpheusrecords.blogspot.com/2007/11/alchemists-of-sound-2003-documentary.html

Milton Parker, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 18:22 (eighteen years ago)

fantastic. thank you. i shan't do anything with it right now because, er, my bandwidth is rather tied up with something else :)

grimly fiendish, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 18:24 (eighteen years ago)

four months pass...

http://waxidermy.com/2006/06/06/j-matthews-electronic-music/

Milton Parker, Monday, 7 April 2008 19:21 (eighteen years ago)

five months pass...

http://www.mute.com/artists/publicArtistLoad.do?id=36105&forward=fullDiscography

release of 3 (2 reissues, 1 new compilation?) Workshop cds on 3rd nov.

no tracklistings given but the originals are here:
http://www.discogs.com/release/173394
http://www.discogs.com/release/173397

koogs, Sunday, 5 October 2008 10:09 (seventeen years ago)

hmm. i devoted many hours to downloading as much of that stuff as i could find. it wasn't easy. this is pretty joyous news.

right, we all start when the drum machine starts, lads (grimly fiendish), Sunday, 5 October 2008 11:58 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BBC-Radiophonic-Workshop-Retrospective/dp/B001GISONU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1224156834&sr=8-3

Assuming that tracklisting's good, that's going to be worth getting hold of. Plenty of tracks from '21', and a selection of stuff from 'The Changes'.

Hope it's right.

chad yellowhammer, Thursday, 16 October 2008 11:36 (seventeen years ago)

that's blindingly good. i managed to get hold of 21, but i'd certainly shell out for that.

easy, lionel (grimly fiendish), Thursday, 16 October 2008 21:36 (seventeen years ago)

two months pass...

AWESOME

Sorry its only up for another day....

Plaxico (I know, right?), Friday, 26 December 2008 20:58 (seventeen years ago)

I love the Mastered By Guy at the Exchange-type stuff.

Plaxico (I know, right?), Friday, 26 December 2008 21:21 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

New Tristram Cary lp out on trunk.
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=281201

koogs, Friday, 26 March 2010 13:19 (sixteen years ago)

"new"

koogs, Friday, 26 March 2010 13:19 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jetzY-W78gg

love this, needs more rapping tho.

Sir Chips Keswick (Merdeyeux), Saturday, 30 July 2011 23:09 (fourteen years ago)

five months pass...

...who?

http://www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/artists/frederick+charles+judd.html

Milton Parker, Wednesday, 25 January 2012 23:19 (fourteen years ago)

five months pass...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g15x3

Sat 14 Jul 2012 09:00 BBC Radio 4 Extra
Sat 14 Jul 2012 19:00 BBC Radio 4 Extra
(it's a repeat from 2008)

Richard Coles tells the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop's extraordinary story.

In 1958 an extraordinary musical laboratory opened at the BBC. It was called the Radiophonic Workshop and provided music and sound for a wealth of BBC programmes, from The Goons to Dr Who.

With contributions from Coldcut, Dick Mills and Mark Ayres, Richard Coles explores the achievements of the unit and presents a carefully chosen selection of programmes showcasing the department's work:

The Dreams (05/01/1964)
The Goons (02/02/1959)
Inferno Revisited (17/04/1983)
Relativity (1974)
Electric Tunesmiths (30/12/1971)
Bath Time (1976)

koogs, Tuesday, 10 July 2012 23:35 (thirteen years ago)

This is SUCH a tune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ121_LBW0E

I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap), Tuesday, 10 July 2012 23:48 (thirteen years ago)

the Daphne Oram exhibit runs just a few more months at the Science Museum in London -

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ORAMICS

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 00:17 (thirteen years ago)

two months pass...

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/62842000/jpg/_62842046_matthewherbert.jpg

Mark G, Wednesday, 12 September 2012 08:36 (thirteen years ago)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19568120

The BBC's Radiophonic Workshop, which created theme tunes and sound effects for programmes including Doctor Who and Blake's 7, is to reopen after 14 years.

Composer Matthew Herbert, known for his use of "found sounds", has been appointed creative director.

One of his first commissions is a "sonic memorial" to the BBC's Bush House building which, until recently, was the home of the World Service.

The original workshop was known for its pioneering use of electronic sounds.

Founded in 1958, it was best-known for creating the eerie swoosh of the Doctor Who theme tune, but its compositions were also used in numerous radio dramas, The Goon Show and The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

As well as music, the workshop created sound effects - from champagne corks popping to the distorted, strangulated voices of the Daleks.

While the first workshop was based in the BBC's Maida Vale studios, the new incarnation will live online, at The Space, a new digital arts service developed by the Arts Council and the BBC.

Herbert will lead "seven fellow cutting-edge collaborators" in making new sounds and music

Mark G, Wednesday, 12 September 2012 08:37 (thirteen years ago)

REPLACE MURRAY GOLD WITH THE SOUND OF A DEAD PIG

┐(´ー`)┌ (sic), Wednesday, 12 September 2012 09:27 (thirteen years ago)

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/62842000/jpg/_62842046_matthewherbert.jpg
I imagine this is what Kraftwerk's accountant looks like.

Emeritus Professor of LOLology (snoball), Wednesday, 12 September 2012 10:42 (thirteen years ago)

Anyone going to this:
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/events/talks/electronic_music.aspx ?

Jeff W, Wednesday, 12 September 2012 11:55 (thirteen years ago)

three months pass...

Just for fun:
http://webaudio.prototyping.bbc.co.uk/

Zweitgeist (doo dah), Friday, 21 December 2012 01:49 (thirteen years ago)

haha, there's a konami code on the ring modulator that lets you use a live input.

wk, Friday, 21 December 2012 02:32 (thirteen years ago)

one year passes...

http://www.factmag.com/2014/02/18/the-radiophonic-workshop-announce-substantial-uk-tour/

night boat to mega therion (NickB), Tuesday, 18 February 2014 14:33 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA6Fb0nuAYw

1/7

OutdoorFish, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 18:49 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N1I_03wPEE

OutdoorFish, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 18:50 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNaqvAH7R34

OutdoorFish, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 18:51 (twelve years ago)

one month passes...

http://theradiophonicworkshop.co.uk/file/do_come_in.html

was going to go to the Glasgow gig this evening - get well soon Dr Mills

Ward Fowler, Friday, 21 March 2014 12:15 (twelve years ago)

eleven months pass...

And why not

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtgGkUuxglI

Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 14 March 2015 18:41 (eleven years ago)

one year passes...

Student builds Daphne Oram’s unfinished ‘Mini-Oramics’

Larry 'Leg' Smith (Tom D.), Tuesday, 31 May 2016 14:10 (ten years ago)

that's fantastic

wish I were in london for this one:

http://www.lcorchestra.co.uk/events/deepminimalism/

In June the LCO will open the Southbank Centre’s DEEP∞MINIMALISM festival with a world premiere of Daphe Oram’s groundbreaking work Still Point.

The piece is brought to life by the LCO and composer Shiva Feshareki, who performs on turntables an electronic manipulation of the recorded orchestra, in duet with the live orchestra. Oram’s ambitious work of 1949 predates the work of an entire generation of composers and artists in its radical use of live electronics.

Milton Parker, Tuesday, 31 May 2016 18:01 (ten years ago)

two years pass...

Ugh, I just turned on BBC4 and this was on, why don't I pay more attention to the Proms (answer - 'cuz it's usually shite)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ebzcd4

Father Ted in Forkhandles (Tom D.), Friday, 27 July 2018 22:52 (seven years ago)

It's very good.

Mark G, Monday, 30 July 2018 11:24 (seven years ago)

The Proms usually throws up something worthwhile. Loved the Ravi Shankar / Philip Glass prom from 2017.

millmeister, Monday, 30 July 2018 12:52 (seven years ago)

The songs of Scott Walker was a nice one last year, too

lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 30 July 2018 12:54 (seven years ago)

one year passes...

I just heard that David Cain passed away :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvAcUHSWEGw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WNLG7xZbeE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMZkRB1-5ek

Maresn3st, Sunday, 6 October 2019 11:45 (six years ago)

Richard Yeoman-Clark just died as well.

"More sad news reaches us of the passing of another colleague, Richard Yeoman-Clark, who apparently left us on September 16th after a short illness. Richard spent seven years at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, starting in 1971. He (like Dick Mills) was more technician than composer but took to the EMS Synthi 100 like a duck to water, creating many memorable works such as 'Waltz Antipathy' and 'Mysterioso' – the latter created for the first season of Blake’s Seven, perhaps his greatest claim to fame, for which he created all the initial signature sounds before Elizabeth Parker took over part way through season two."

Jeff W, Sunday, 6 October 2019 17:52 (six years ago)

Stumbled across Daphne Oram being featured on one of those Mr. Cholmondely-Warner style documentaries (from 1960) on Talking Pictures.

Renaissance of the Celtic Trumpet (Tom D.), Friday, 16 June 2023 19:37 (two years ago)


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