El Records

John Cage – Lollipops – El Records

Where does John Cage exist? Begin and end? The answer to that question lies somewhere.

“If my work is accepted, I must move on to the point where it is not.”
John Cage
“Without John Cage, much of what happens in modern music and art would not be possible.” Frank Zappa

When you think about the way a lot of music conforms to strict guidelines, following rules, seeking approval it perhaps says a lot that you have to go backwards to find an artists of John Cage’s stature.

The edges are folded into popular culture, adopted, softened and made more palatable.

Finely tuned disturbance.

This compilation includes the 25-Year Retrospective Concert performed at the New York Town Hall on May 15, 1958 and was recorded live. Indeterminacy: New Aspect of Form in Instrumental and Electronic Music alongside long-time musical collaborator, David Tudor, along with the original tape realisation of the Fontana Mix sound collage, assembled by the composer in Italy. Plus, Double Music which explores the percussive qualities of metal; and Cartridge Music, a manipulation of phonograph cartridges, where, Cage warns, “all sounds, even those ordinarily thought to be undesirable, are accepted.” If that sounds dangerous. It is.

The idea of combining electronics with the human voice is now commonplace but back in the 50’s, and before, it was much more revolutionary, certainly defying convention. The idea of purely electronic waves of unstructured sounds still reverberates across its own unique time and space. Cartridge Music (1960) is a radical, challenging testament to commitment. I suppose you could describe listening to these pieces as an experience. Certainly one you will not forget in a hurry. Lollipops is an important document about the exploration of sound, its innate qualities, the reaction of emotion: ‘the purpose of this purposeless music would be achieved if people learned to listen, that when they listened that they might discover they preferred the sounds of everyday life….’

Strange times.

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/john-cage-lollipops-3cd/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MKBxocD4Qw
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I’d Love To Turn You On – Classical and Avant-Garde Music That Inspired The Counter-Culture – él Records

A beautifully realised collection music that sees worlds collude in the interplay between sound, revolution and flying colours. Sometime in the 1960’s artists such as The Beatles took note of what was happening in the counter-cultural stream of consciousness populated by the Avant Garde. They, of course, had been tinkering at the edges of what music could be for some time but the influence provided helped shape the next generation of popular albums by expanding what the simple structure of song could be evolving from the basic refrain of I love You, plus by taking the accompanying scale of rock n roll chords to new heights.

Quite naturally Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage are ever present, as is Bernard Herrmann whose score for Hitchcock’s Pyscho remains a keynote moment in cinematic history, alongside the unmistakable Ravi Shankar and Jacques Brel. Jazz giants Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and the Bill Evans Trio, who neatly supply Autumn Leaves, also appear as do a wealth of classical composers from the wonderful Claude Debussy through to Bach. But in many ways it’s the sheer thrill of hearing pieces like Luciano Berio’s Thema (Omaggio A Joyce) with its rugged deconstruction of sound and voice that proves to be the most exciting, certainly dangerous, in ways Rhythm and Blues never was. Followed by Cage’s brutal Williams Mix which sees the clash of quarter-inch magnetic tapes create their own universe this is just about as provocative as it gets. Three CD’s span the concept, each delving into different arenas, each worth their weight in gold. From radical fire to the more traditional, there is quite literally something for everyone to treasure here.

Release: February 21

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/id-love-to-turn-you-on-classical-and-avant-garde-music-that-inspired-the-counter-culture-various-artists-3cd/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV_76OZSsqo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8PHk1aA8Uo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=IcUmn5LwvbA&feature=emb_logo
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JOE MEEK РI Hear A New World: The Pioneers Of Electronic Music, An Outer Space Music Fantasy Р̩l records

Joe Meek was a troubled genius who helped define the use of electronics in popular music. Not the most avant-garde as the likes of John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Luciano Berio and György Ligeti ripped up the music sheet of conventional thinking in ways beyond what anyone else at the time was doing, but none the less a self-defining, pioneering producer in his own right. What’s particularly brilliant about this three CD collection is that it files in context the contrasting styles and techniques of all those musical creators alongside England’s own Daphne Oram and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, plus the many other schools of thought dotted throughout Europe such as Radiotelevisione in Milan and musique concrète in Paris. Their experiments in electronic sound and magnetic tape alongside a radical new use of musical construction offers a rare glimpse into the unknown, yet feels strangely re-assuring like the return of a long lost friend who disappeared somewhere in the analogue of grainy, black and white television. And remember this was all happening in and around the turn of 1960 proposing radical, revolutionary theories only unfettered sound could denote.

But back to Joe Meek whose unreleased concept album: I Hear A New World from that year provides an insight into the opening world of possibilities as you will hear music washed and reverb and echo redefining what Pop could be. Not surprisingly it is a strange, otherworldly exploration which uses atmospheres as much as does treated melodies alongside an illuminating twist on the twang of Rock n Roll. Also included is the celebrated RPM restoration version from 1991 as well as an invaluable booklet detailing more about his life. And, on the story of the development and those involved in electronic music from that period now lost to time. Although not if you listen closely…

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/i-hear-a-new-world-the-pioneers-of-electronic-music-an-outer-space-music-fantasy-by-joe-meek-various-artists-3cd-boxset/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfZqD2iqxJ0
Luciano Berio: Momenti, per nastro magnetico (1960)
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Movie Goer : Pop Cinema And The Classics – El Records

The word Joy popped into my head when I opened the box to reveal what lay within this tastefully packaged compilation of gems from the history of movie soundtracks. So it turned out to be entirely relevant as this selection charts moments of elation, alongside deeper darker terrain. From outright Classical via the brilliance of Claude Debussy and Beethoven through to old-time songs from the likes of Ray Charles this release contains it all. It’s enjoyable to let the sounds escape and weave from the room to room filling empty spaces, as not only music but likewise the accompanying pictures generated in your mind while remembering snippets from celluloid, or even imagining new ones. There’s also lots of Mozart with a great quote on the sleeve stating: “Mozart is for eight in the evening. Beethoven is for midnight”, Jean-Luc Godard. If indeed you did need reminding about the sheer strength contained in orchestras, as well as the traditional assembled array of played by hand instruments, then this is also an excellent place to start. Besides, Erik Satie is present too with his lone piano and for beautiful, unequalled poignancy there is none better: Gnossiennes No.3 Lent. A diverse selection of films are drawn on across the three-CD boxset from such disparate classics as Rosemary’s Baby through to The Italian Job and Clockwork Orange, alongside The Man Who Fell To Earth via the outstanding Mars by Holst. There are so many movements that feel reassuringly familiar, and yet almost forgotten until you reengage with them again – preferably with the volume turned up. And you really should engage again.

Release: June 28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U5gB3Aqidg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwIvS4yIThU
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/movie-goer-pop-cinema-and-the-classics-various-artists-3cd-boxset/
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Karlheinz Stockhausen – Adventures In Sound – Él Records

Karlheinz Stockhausen was a prolific composer and creator/ manipulator of sound. He lived between 1928 and 2007 in which time he composed some 376 works. His legacy and the ideas incorporated within last and inspire to this day, perhaps in ways that you may not even be aware of. Beginning to compose pieces at the beginning of the 1950’s what you will hear contained from that time is Kontra Punte (Counter-Points) from 1952-53.  Which rearranges the classical repertoire into new, almost shapeless forms as he and composers of a similar mind-set challenged how music could be made after the second world war. Remaining otherworldly – with a spiritual dimension – redefining what was possible/ acceptable is an accolade only afforded to a few throughout the history of music.

This three cd boxset from EL charts the territory explored by Stockhausen while also including work by Pierre Boulez, examples of musique concrète from Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry alongside others which used recorded sounds as raw material. These collages of stimulation exist in a unique space of their own, even now, reflecting an uneasy world around them, yet there is also something reassuring about the flowing, freeform of expression as they take your imagination and run with it. Stockhausen’s own Gesang der Jünglinge inspired The Beatles – Revolution 9 and you can hear how too (and he’s there on the cover of Sergeant Pepper’s). The third disc: Electronic Music For The Mind And Body features further studies in those concepts like John Cage’s magnificent Aria with Fontana Mix, as well as from Iannis Xenakis and the wonderful György Ligeti. The collection is accompanied by an invaluable booklet containing photographs and text setting this incredible story in context. And if you want to look beyond the familiar worlds of melody and syncopation then this is a perfect starting point.

Release: October 26

http://karlheinzstockhausen.org

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/karlheinz-stockhausen-adventures-in-sound-3cd-boxset/

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Kubrick’s Music: Selections From The Films Of Stanley Kubrick – EL Records

Kubrick’s very best films were steeped in mystery which required you to think beyond what lay in front of you on the screen. Things you witness sat in the memory, sometimes identifying themselves, creating the underlying sense of unease: HAL. I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that. You’ll remember that dialogue from 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968 because as much as you reverberated with fear, you also marvelled at the depth celluloid could fathom. In much the same way that The Shining and A Clockwork Orange worked. The other notable was always the accompanying soundtrack which enhanced scenes without completely overpowering them, although they did often perilously come close. This excellent four CD boxset captures some of those various moments in time from 1957’s Paths Of Glory right through to the directors final film, Eyes Wide Shut from 1999. And highlighting a lot of those transcendent screenshots are the wild and varied music from the likes of Johann Strauss II, contrasted by Gene Kelly’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and the haunting ‘Midnight, The Stars & You’ by Ray Noble & His Orchestra (featuring Al Bowlly), to the then exhilarating Jazz of John Coltrane and Oscar Peterson, to name just a very few. Some of the music included was only finally used during production, to be later replaced, but as was all part of the original plan they play like an intriguing addition. In many ways, this compilation is almost too much to take in in one sitting and, like his films, require repeated viewing to fully absorb the full wealth and breadth of precisely what’s surrounding you.

Release: September 28

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/kubricks-music-selections-from-the-films-of-stanley-kubrick

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