“This is a 2014 Music on Vinyl reissue of a 1973 release from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. I bought my copy from the fantastic Concerto record shop in Amsterdam whilst I was living and working in the city. It features radio and TV signature tunes and incidental music created through the Workshop’s distinctive approach, as described on the sleeve: “Programme producers come to the Workshop with varying requests – it must be ‘bright’, ‘catchy’, ‘sinister’, ‘modest’, ‘supernatural’, ‘funny’, and so on but, most important, it must be unique in terms of sound qualities.” . “The composer then sets to work to create the tune using natural sounds, which have been manipulated in some way and cut together on tape, or electronic sources, such as the voltage controlled synthesiser.” The synths in question are the British-made VCS3 and the Synthi 100, both demonstrated to good effect here. . The music itself, however, is not particularly to my taste. It’s far from the experimental electronic soundscapes of early RW such as Delia Derbyshire’s Blue Veils and Golden Sands or her post-RW collaboration as White Noise or this sublime soundtrack for the arthouse film Circle of Light. The melodies and rhythms are very much of their time, the late 60s and early 70s, designed to be instantly catchy and directly conveying a particular mood or theme to the listener. This, they do expertly, but (for me) it makes for less interesting listening. This release is an important part of the Workshop’s history, demonstrating what they did so brilliantly, but best heard as a curiosity piece...” . FOR FULL REVIEW & PLAYLIST CLICK LINK IN PROFILE: . #radiophonicworkshop @theradiophonicworkshop #bbcradiophonicworkshop #deliaderbyshire #desmondbriscoe #daphneoram #electronicmusic #emssynthi100 #synthesizer #vcs3 @musiconvinyl @concertorecordstore #vinyl #recordcollection #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/B7QoQqZJimp/?igshid=38472lft6m7k
