cake celebrations?
I just read that yesterday was the 50th Anniversary of computer music in America. It's so hard to imagine a world without the technology that infiltrates, and bombards our lives (well, at least in the majority of developed countries!).
My curiousity for discovering more about the evolution of computer music led me to an article written by ABC Journalist Cathy Johnson who writes about Australia's first computer (CSIRAC). This computer - the fourth in the world - was used as a musical instrument back in the early 1950s and is believed to be the first digital computer to be "played" anywhere throughout the world...
A good summary of what was going on in electronic music during the 1950s around the world can be seen here.
5 comments:
thanks for another stylish entry.
it's heartening to read of the various australian contributions or connections to electronic instruments and music .. from Percy Grainger's free music machines to Trevor Marshall's Maplin 5600, Kim Ryrie and Peter Vogel's Fairlight company and Tristram Cary's role in the development of the EMS VCS3 (am I sounding learned yet?). Hell, even the guy behind the Doctor Who theme was born just near my highschool (the often geographically misplaced Ron Grainer) - and who could contest the status of that work in the annuls of electronic music?
yes, very learned julian! nice work :-P
you've certainly pulled some good names though...I've just been reading through some old Sounds Australian Journal from the '90s and Warren Burt has written some really interesting articles about the Australian experimiental scene during the '70s and '80s - really interesting!
I'm certainly not even going to try and feign learnedningness, but there was a rather intriguing chat with Tristram Cary about his 'electronic music' on Andrew Ford's show back in February... stretching back to 1949. The Ron Grainer/Dr Who reference reminded me!
And you're saying that really at the end of the Second World War all of these old tape recorders and whatnot produced electronic music/
i've never made that connection before...thanks for pointing our the transcript ben - a great read!
not sure how to log on internationally (these comments may already be on your page, i'm in london) but you need to add more comments!!
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