Booktip X - Onder Stroom by Jacqueline Oskamp (in Dutch Language)

It took me a while to get through this book, but here is finally my long promised book review.
"Onder Stroom" ( the book is in Dutch, "Under Current" might be a fitting English translation ) by Jacqueline Oskamp is a book that tells the history of early Dutch electronic music.
You have probably seen my earlier blogposts on this topic too, if you didn't, HERE's a link.

With 6 portraits of the groundbreaking and/or pioneering Dutch composers like Ton Bruynèl, Dick Raaijmakers, Jan Boerman, Michel Waisvisz and others you get an amazing insight on how the Dutch electronic pioneers worked and struggled with electronics, audio, speakers and tapes in a very conservative post-war musical era.

Each in their own way, they were driven by their curiosity, found new ways of sound-creation and explored the spectrum between noise and sound.
Their influence lead to a pretty diverse electronic music scene in the Netherlands; from the pure electronic and almost mathematical approach to the pure tape-music, along with live electronics with orchestras and electro-acoustic setups you could say these early 1950s and 60s were 'our' golden years ( i'm Dutch too).
And that all started for us only half a century ago (!) If you just look around and see what has changed in recording and sounddesign.
I know we were a bit behind on the rest of the world or Europe; Leon Theremin, Edgar Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen, to name just a few great minds, already paved the way and had also inspired some of our pioneers.

This book is very interesting if you're into this kind of stuff, but also very pleasant to read if you have little or no knowledge of electronics and the techniques at all.
Very impressive is the list at the end with read- and listen-tips, and the book has a section of  8 pages with b/w pictures of the composers, sadly not many pictures of the equipment...

- An interview (VPRO Vrije geluiden / in Dutch) about this book with the writer can be found HERE
/ interview starts after 19 minutes - with music by Dutch artist TokTek
- Read more on the worldwide history of electronic music on Wikipedia HERE

Published in 2011 by Ambo/Anthos
Paperback 251 pages.
Info ( in Dutch ) HERE          ISBN: 9789026323249

CD-Tip V : Anthology of Dutch Electronic Tape Music Vol 1 and 2 - Various Artists

These summer weeks i have been too busy to blog regularly, but i did have time to read and listen.
The main topic of this summer's research was Early Dutch Electronic (Tape) Music, you can expect the review of the book "Onder Stroom" (in Dutch) by Jacqueline Oskamp later, but first this quick quadruple CD-Tip.

This 2 x 2CD collection gives another nice overview of the early Dutch Electronic and Tape-pioneers.
It shows the listeners that there were more creative people interested in the spectrum between noise and sound besides the people who worked at the Philips NatLab (more info HERE and Wiki HERE).
A collection of work from throughout the Netherlands from Dutch legends like Dick Raaijmakers, Henk Badings, Ton Bruynèl, Tom Dissevelt and more from the years 1955 to 1966 fills up Volume 1.
Volume 2 has music from the years 1966 to 1977 and contains compositions of lesser known tape-artists that were not included on the first volume.

"Anthology of Dutch Electronic Tape Music Volume 1 Electronic music has been the subject of intense activity in the Netherlands since 1955, and the variety of this activity is reflected in the histories of the large number of electronic studios. The aim of Anthology I is to illustrate both the work of the various studios and that of individual composers; we have tried to represent as many composers from each studio as possible with preferably their earliest and most characteristic works...

... The second and last volume of the Anthology of Electronic Tape Music contains works composed after 1966, during a period when electronic music broadened its horizons and established links with other disciplines, a period when the studios opened their portals to influences and involvement from outside. Although electronic music from 1966 onwards became very fragmented and manifested itself in many different forms in Holland, the present volume of the Anthology aims merely to give an overall picture of pure tape music. "

Overall i find this a perfect compilation series. Most of the compositions sound fresh ( also because of the brilliant remastering by Kees Tazelaar) and at times make you feel excited and amazed on how this could be made half a decade ago without 'modern' effect machines.
If you are new to Dutch Electronic Tape-Music and you need a good starting point, try these 4 CD's.
Together with the 2 thick inlay-booklets (in English), that provide info on each track and a short composer biography this is a very complete and diverse overview...

Published in 2008 by Basta Music
http://bastamusic.com
Volume 1 2CD: Cat. Nr.: 3091 822 / More info HERE
Volume 2 2CD: Cat. Nr.: 3091 832 / More info HERE