What's being sampled here?

November 21, 2006 7:27 PM

Electronic "music" from the 1960's.

A couple of years ago when I was still in highschool, I borrowed a CD from my Music teacher. One of the tracks on the CD was from a composer in the 60's, who was making some form of early electronic music my sampling and mixing recordings from shortwave radio. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

If you're interested, I am 99% positive that the song I'm asking about is being sampled in another song here. If I'm wrong and you recognize the sample from that track let me know, because it's been driving me nuts since I first heard it, and even more after I realized where I'd heard it before but can't remember the name of the original artist or track title.

posted by Venadium to Media & Arts (15 answers total)

I haven't listened to it in a while, so I don't recognize the sample, but its entirely possible that what you're looking for is on (the rather interesting) Electronic Kabuki Mambo.

For the record, it does not sound to my ears like Manhattan Research Project- or Soothing Sounds for Babies-era Raymond Scott.
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:36 PM on November 21, 2006

Maybe some stockhausen? I haven't heard that particular piece but I know he used shortwave.
posted by advil at 7:55 PM on November 21, 2006

Maybe not...I found an excerpt of kurzwellen here (scroll down) and it doesn't seem to match up with the song you post, despite the use of shortwave.
posted by advil at 8:01 PM on November 21, 2006

Or it could be another stockhausen piece, since I guess several used shortwave -- this might be useful for finding the song (came up during one of my google searches).
posted by advil at 8:04 PM on November 21, 2006

Todd Dockstader?
posted by Xurando at 8:11 PM on November 21, 2006

I really think it is Milton Babbitt.
posted by sourwookie at 8:25 PM on November 21, 2006

I'm going to second Stockhausen . If that's not right, please give us some more info. Do any of these look like the cd?
posted by Pastabagel at 8:46 PM on November 21, 2006

Karlheinz Stockhausen or Yannis Xenakis

who is doing the sampling in the sample that you are sharing? perhaps you could do well in contacting them?
posted by seawallrunner at 10:13 PM on November 21, 2006

There are a few artists on ubu that have shortwave compositions
posted by bigmusic at 10:14 PM on November 21, 2006

Don't think it's David Tudor. But you should listen to his stuff anyway.
posted by geekhorde at 11:14 PM on November 21, 2006

Best answer: I think you're looking for Vladimir Ussachevsky's "Wireless Fantasy" which can found on OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music.

Can't find the whole track anywhere online, but you can hear samples on amazon.com
posted by action man bow-tie at 11:34 PM on November 21, 2006

Best answer: Spoke too soon. MP3 for "Wireless Fantasy" available at waxidermy.com
posted by action man bow-tie at 11:45 PM on November 21, 2006

I doubt it is Xenakis. Being a stochastic, his compositions were more noise oriented. Babbitt was more playful with oscillators and LFOs.
posted by sourwookie at 12:14 AM on November 22, 2006

Response by poster: Thank you, action man bow-tie!! I was definitely thinking of Wireless Fantasy, but it doesn't look like that's what is being sampled here.

seawallrunner, the track I posted is 'Dearest, I'll Meet You in the Hollows' by Anatomy of a Ghost. I guess I could try contacting them directly, I hadn't even thought of that.
posted by Venadium at 2:39 AM on November 22, 2006

A lot of it sounded very reminiscent of the electronic work of Louis and Bebe Barron from the Forbidden Planet soundtrack.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:07 AM on November 22, 2006