Electronic Music of 1973

 

At last we return to the "Electronic Music of (insert year)" series. That's obviously not the actual title of the series but since I don't have a title that will do for this post. I really enjoyed putting together mixes for for 1970, '71, and '72 but then I got distracted and lazy, and I almost forgot about the series. 

Now we're back to 1973 to continue our journey through the electronic music of the decade. I went down a Tangerine Dream rabbit hole recently and discovered their album Atem, which I had somehow missed. But I was happy to have found it because it fit in nicely with this '73 collection.

I'm already thinking about 1974 so hopefully there won't be so much time between mixes.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Between - Syn (And The Waters Opened)
• 05:45    Fripp & Eno - The Heavenly Music Corporation (No Pussyfooting)
• 16:22    Cosmic Jokers - Galactic Joke (Cosmic Jokers)
• 23:00    Kraftwerk - Ananas Symphonie (Ralf & Florian)
• 28:25    Tangerine Dream - Circulation of Events (Atem)
• 33:45    Vangelis - La Mer Recommencée (Apocalypse Des Animaux)
• 39:09    Klaus Schulze - Symphära (Cyborg)
• 45:58    Jean Michel Jarre - Les granges brûlées (Les granges brûlées)
• 48:48    Bob Callaghan - Noi Due Nel Mondo E Nell'Anima (Instrumental Moog Synthesizer
• 51:27    Neu! - Neuschnee (Neu! 2)
• 55:25    Kraftwerk - Tanzmusik (Ralf & Florian) 
• 61:47    end

Electronic Music 1972

 

The trip through the electronic music of the 70s continues with a stop in 1972. As with '70 & '71 this is a mix with some tracks that are very electronic, like the Wendy Carlos tunes, and others that are more electronic adjacent, like the Cluster or Pick Floyd tracks. But I think it gives a good sense of where things stood at the time.

I purposely stayed away from cheesy electronic versions of classical music like "The Electronic Spirit Of Erik Satie" or "The Unusual Classical Synthesizer." I'm just not a fan of that type of electronic music. I understand it's place in bringing synths to mass attention, I just don't like those recordings.

Enjoy 1972, I have a feeling 1973 will sound fairly similar. But things will start to change in '74 & '75.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    A.R. & Machines - Wie Ich Mir So Ich Dir (AR3)
• 02:12    Cluster - Im Suden (Cluster II)
• 08:10    Galactic Explorers - Lunarscape (Epitaph For Venus)
• 14:22    Terry Riley - Persian Surgery Dervishes
• 18:40    Klaus Schulze - Last Not Least (La Vie Electronique, Vol. 2)
• 25:15    Kraftwerk - Klingklang (Kraftwerk 2)
• 34:00    Wendy Carlos - Country Life (Clockwork Orange)
• 38:40    Tangerine Dream - Zeit (Zeit)
• 43:20    Pink Floyd - Absolutely Curtains (Obscured by Clouds)
• 45:55    Neu! - Im Glück (Nue!)
• 49:35    Wendy Carlos - Fall (Sonic Seasonings)
• 60:00    end

Electronic Music 1971

 

The Electronic Music of the 1970s series continues with a trip back to 1971. This year was a bit easier to curate than '70 because we have a few more good uses of electronic instruments featured prominently.

For me, the best electronic album of 1971 is "Zero Time" by Tonto's Expanding Head Band. It's very synthetic sounding without being too cheesy. I enjoyed discovering new music for this mix like "The Andromeda Strain" soundtrack and a Tangerine Dream soundtrack for an unreleased movie. I hope you too discover something new in this journey back to 1971.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Moog - Moog demonstration record
• 00:36    Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Tama (Zero Time)
• 05:48    Beaver & Krause - Nine Moons In Alaska (Gandharva)
• 07:30    Tangerine Dream - Sunrise In The Third System (Alpha Centauri)
• 11:07    Achim Reichel - Einleitung(Invitation) (Echo)
• 16:00    Deuter - Babylon (D)
• 19:49    Pat Prilly - Aerolithe Alpha (Moog Sensations)
• 21:15    Harold Budd - Pastoral Symphony (The Oak Of The Golden Dreams)
• 22:00    Popol Vuh - Aguirre (In the Gardens of the Pharao | Aguirre)
• 27:00    Ash Ra Tempel - Traummaschine (Ash Ra Tempel)
• 33:18    Pat Prilly - Coeur Synthetique (Moog Sensations)
• 34:12    Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Cybernaut (Zero Time)
• 38:30    Doug McKechnie - Moving (San Francisco Moog: 1968-72 Vol. 2)
• 41:10    Jean Michel Jarre - La Cage (La Cage)
• 44:25    Morton Subotnick - Sidewinder (Sidewinder)
• 46:15    Gil Mellé - Andromeda (The Andromeda Strain)
• 47:47    Tangerine Dream - Vampira VI (Vampira)
• 50:53    W. Merrick Farran & E. Vetter - Sea of Storms (KPM Electronic Music)
• 52:42    Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Aurora (Zero Time)
• 59:10    end

Between Interval: Instrumental gems (mostly) from 70s rock - by Paul Asbury Seaman

 

Two guest mixes in a row - I am a lucky guy! This one comes to us from LLM regular contributor, Paul Asbury Seaman. It's a great collection of instrumental tracks that, as the title says, leans heavily on music from the 1970s.

My brain has been stuck in the 70s for a while as I collect tunes for the Electronic Music of the 1970s series(1971 is coming soon). So I was excited about the coincidence of Paul coming up with a 70s(mostly) mix. Some tracks I was familiar and others I was hearing for the first time, which is the wonderful thing about these guest mixes - they go in directions that I would not have taken them. This one turns into a great journey of nostalgia and discovery.

Here's what Paul has to say about this mix:

“Something old, something new. Something cheerful, something blue. Some great instrumental tracks that might have slipped between the cracks. So, no “Colour My World.” Yes to Black Sabbath. Plus a couple of mellow vocal numbers, chosen for their melodies that were just too pretty to leave out. The selections here span more than fifty years, though most are from the 1970s.

The title of this mix comes from the working name (one of my all-time favorites) of Swedish ambient electronic artist Stefan Jonsson.”

Thanks, Paul, for another excellent set. Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Agitation Free - First Communication (2nd 1973)
• 05:57    Jeff Greinke - Losing Time (A Thousand Year Flood 2023)
• 11:23    Between Interval - Portals in Time (The Edge of a Fairytale 2009)
• 14:38    Vangelis - Love Theme, Blade Runner (Nocturne: The Piano Album 2019)
• 20:35    Mike Oldfield - Incantations - part four(excerpt) (Incantations 1978)
• 24:50    Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Faerie Steps (Time is the Key 1979)
• 30:10    Moody Blues - Visions of Paradise (In Search Of The Lost Chord 1968))
• 34:15    Genesis - Horizons (Foxtrot 1972)
• 35:50    Rick Wakeman - Summertime (Rhapsodies 1979)
• 40:08    Neal Schon - Midnight Express (Electric World 1997)
• 45:15    Iron Butterfly - Slower Than Guns (Metamorphosis 1970)
• 48:53    Black Sabbath - Laguna Sunrise (Vol. 4 1972)
• 51:37    Ian Anderson - Boris Dancing (The Secret Language Of Birds 2000)
• 54:40    Pink Floyd - It's What We Do (The Endless River 2014)
• 59:50    Bill Frisell - Bird On A Wire (Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen 2022)
• 63:35    end

The Undersea World of Low Light Mixes

 

I've done a couple mixes featuring library music from the 70s & 80s that have the vibe of a cheesy deep sea exploration documentary. I've always wanted to do a follow up and here it is.

One problem is that I didn't check the tracklist from the last mix and so a handful of tracks from that set made it into this one. When I figured out what had happened, it was too late to change. Well, actually, I was just too lazy to change it. I think about 9 of the 23 tracks in this mix appeared in the last one. 

I love the retro vibe of these mixes. Take some old vinyl albums with echoing fender rhodes piano, add some scuba sound fx and a few synths and you've got yourself a 70s soundtrack to the Undersea World of Low Light Mixes.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00 Eric Vann - Algues Marines (Water World 1982)
• 01:32 Walt Rockman - Submarine Scenery (Underwater Vol 1 1980)
• 03:45 Stefano Liberati - Tombala la grande corrente (Pericolo negli abissi 1978)
• 04:38 Walt Rockman - gas-bubbles (Biology 1980)
• 05:28 Roger Roger & Nino Nardini - Eery Dream (Informatic 2000 1982)
• 07:21 Joel Vandroogenbroeck & F. Voelxen - Cascades (Contemporary Pastoral and Ethnic Sounds 1979)
• 10:03 John Hyde - Curlews (Red Kite 1982)
• 11:11 John Tender - Underwater Fantasy 1 (Fantasyland Vol. 1 1982)
• 12:50 Walt Rockman - chromosomes (Biology 1980)
• 14:42 Tamponi - acque profonde (Ittiologia 1973)
• 16:07 Amedeo Tommasi - Correnti sottomarine (Biologia marina 1973)
• 19:08 Mikrokristal - Bubbles (Hidden Way Between Some Rains 2013)
• 23:52 Georg Deuter - Deep Sea(mysterious - lost - sunken ship) (Soundtrack 1973)
• 26:15 Atmo - subacquatic (Ittiologia 1973)
• 28:00 Walt Rockman - dark depth 1 (Underwater Vol 1 1980)
• 29:31 Teddy Lasry - moins 8000 (+ ou - 8000 1977)
• 33:33 Franco Tamponi - Profondita (Biologia Marina 1973)
• 35:55 Jim Harbourg - Harbourg Empathy (Sonoton Soundscapes 1985)
• 38:23 John Hyde - Underwater (Red Kite 1982)
• 40:00 Stefano Liberati - La caverna di ghiaccio (Pericolo negli abissi 1978)
• 41:20 Piero Umiliani - musica delle sfere (Omaggio ad Einstein 1973)
• 43:10 Raymond Scott - Sleepy Time (Soothing Sounds for Baby, Volume 1 1997)
• 47:15 Eric Vann - Diving (Water World 1982)
• 50:37    end

A Decade of Electronic Music - 1970

 

The Plan - make a mix for every year of the 70s, featuring electronic music from each year. Easy peasy! Well, not exactly. The early years are a bit tough. Electronic music wasn't really a genre yet. There are definitely electronic albums. But enough to fill an hour long mix? Maybe...sort of.

Let me start by saying that some folks may disagree with my choices as I tried to fill out the tracklist. There may be some creative finagling in the mixes for the early years. But really, who cares? This is just a fun way to dive deep into the rise of electronic music.

In the early sets you'll hear plenty of krautrock or kosmische music. Bands like Popol Vuh, Amon Duul II, Can, and Ash Ra Temple fit that category and make appearances in the first two mixes. Again, some folks may balk at the inclusion of the artists but without them, the '70 & '71 mixes would not have happened. Even Tangerine Dream in these years is barely "electronic."

I discovered an artist named Doug McKechnie who experimented with one of the few moog synths around at that time. I don't believe he ever released any music back then but there are recordings from many of his live shows. The albums were released in 2020 & 2023, so technically this shouldn't count in a mix of music released in 1970, but as I said, it was hard to fill out the mix. The tracks were recorded from 1968 - 72 so I grabbed one that didn't have a specific date on it and decided that it would count as being from 1970.

The more I listen to this set the more I like it. The unexpected tracks and artists made for a fun journey. I hope you all enjoy it too.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Kraftwerk - Ruckzuck (Kraftwerk)
• 05:10    Oskar Sala - In Leichtem Marsch-Rhythmus (Electronic Virtuosity)
• 06:45    Suzanne Ciani - Tenth Voice: Sound of a Lighted Window (Voices of Packaged Souls)
• 07:40    Tangerine Dream - Genesis (Electronic Meditation)
• 12:20    Popol Vuh - Affenstunde(excerpt 1) (Affenstunde)
• 16:15    Doug McKechnie - Berkeley Art Museum (San Francisco Moog: 1968-72)
• 23:42    Popol Vuh - Affenstunde(excerpt 2) (Affenstunde)
• 30:00    Philip Glass - Music with Changing Parts (Music with Changing Parts)
• 37:15    Mart Garson - Kevin & Paige (Didn't You Hear?)
• 42:05    Amon Düül II - Yeti Talks To Yogi(Improvisation) (Yeti)
• 50:10    King Crimson - The Devils Triangle (In The Wake of Poseidon)
• 54:40    Tangerine Dream - Cold Smoke (Electronic Meditation)
• 57:15    Suzanne Ciani - Twelth Voice: Sound of Love Turning (Voices of Packaged Souls)
• 58:23    Sylvette Allart - Berceuse du faon (Pour Ondes Martenot)
• 61:39    end

Ambient Decades: 1970s

This is the first in a series of mixes featuring ambient music from each of the past 4 1/2 decades.

Ambient music came to it's full expression during the 1970s with Eno's Discreet Music & Music for Airports. This mix explores those albums and other electronic gems. This mix/list is by no means definitive. It's music from my collection that is a representation of the emergence of ambient in the 1970s.

As I was sorting through tracks for the mix I realized that I'm definitely going to have to make a mix of 70s berlin school & kraut music electronic tunes. That way I can use Jean Michel Jarre, Can, Holgar Czukay and more rhythmic Tangerine Dream & Klaus Schulze.

Cheers!

 
[ s t r e a m ]   [ d o w n l o a d ]   [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Michael Hoenig - Voices of Where(1978)
• 04:20    Harmonia - By the Riverside(1976)
• 07:15    Klaus Schulze - Wahnfried 1883(1975)
• 12:50    Wendy Carlos - Fall(1972)
• 18:00    Gavin Bryars - The Sinking of the Titanic(1975)
• 23:25    Tangerine Dream - Sequent C(1974)
• 25:00    Brian Eno - Discreet Music(1975)
• 33:33    Kraftwerk - Heimatklänge(1973)
• 36:45    Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Tama(1971)
• 41:37    Cluster - In Ewigkeit(1976)
• 48:30    Ashra - Deep Distance(1976)
• 53:30    Steve Hillage - Garden of Paradise(1979)
• 62:25    Tangerine Dream - Rubycon(1975)
• 65:50    Klaus Schulze - Some Velvet Phasing(1974)
• 71:50    Brian Eno - Two Rapid Formations(1978)
• 74:36    Brian Eno - Music for Airports 1/1(1978)
• 91:09    end

Sunday Morning Music - 1970s Recollections

More Sunday morning music - this time all the tracks are from the 1970s.  In collecting these cuts I discovered two albums that I somehow missed - Kraftwerk - Ralf & Florian and Cluster - Sowiesoso.  I have plenty of Kraftwerk & Cluster in my collection but I didn't have those two albums &  they are both wonderful.  So thanks to Matt for suggesting those two records.  Also thanks Matt for suggesting the Nue! track.  That one was "new" to me and it fit perfectly.  

I know the Nick Drake tune was technically not the 1970s but I had already fallen in love with it & put it in the mix before I realized that it was released in 1969.  Oh well.  

I went back and forth about using the Ralph Towner cut.  It's a bit too pretty, almost new age-like, but I used to love that song.  Along with Eberhard Weber, Towner's Icarus was my introduction into the wonderful world of ECM records back when I was in college.  So I had to include it for nostalgia sake.  I'm glad I did because it really is a beautiful tune.

I wasn't able to squeeze in all of the great suggestions from listeners so I'm definitely going to have to do a second mix with this theme.  I really want to work that Kris Kristofferson tune into the next one.  And I didn't get a chance to work in Josh's suggestions of electronic library music.  I sought out the Monkman album & it's so cool, it just has to be included next time.  Too many good tunes left on the cutting room floor!  I better get started on the next mix.

Enjoy.


[ s t r e a m ]  [ d o w n l o a d ]   [ i t u n e s ]


T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Kraftwerk - Heimatklange[1973]
• 03:31    King Crimson - Peace a Theme[1970]
• 04:40    Nick Drake - Riverman[1969]
• 08:50    Cat Stevens - The Wind[1971]
• 10:22    Ralph Towner - Icarus[1974]
• 16:27    Nue! - Leb Wohl[1975]
• 24:50    Cluster - in ewigkeit[1976]
• 31:25    Miles Davis - Recollections[1970]
• 38:25    Kraftwerk - ananas symphonie[1973]
• 45:30    Brian Eno - Julie With[1977]
• 50:30    Eberhard Weber - Moana I[1976]
• 55:22    Genesis - Horizons[1972]
• 56:55    Loudon Wainwright III - Lullaby[1973]
• 59:45    Steve Tibbetts - The Secret[1977]
• 04:25    Heldon 2 - In the Wake of King Fripp[1975]
• 08:30    Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain[1974]
• 13:20    end

Sunday Morning Music - 1970s Recollections by Lowlight on Mixcloud