Tod Dockstader: Quatermass


One of the four rare Dockstader lp’s on Owl from the 60’s. Haven’t heard the other 3, but this is supposedly the best. It is pretty darn great! Unlike many Avant Garde artists of his era, Dockstader was not really a composer – his background was in sound engineering – and his music very much reflects his interest in sounds. This record was actually produced without using many real instruments even. I believe he used something like a rubber balloon, a roll of adhesive tape, cymbals, and ring modulator to create the sounds heard here.

[audio:dockstader.mp3]

You can also read more about him at this excellent Dockstader website

10 Comments

  • beddoes says:

    I LOVE this record! Qualty find.

  • daniel says:

    Were there 3 releases on Owl or 4? I’ve never seen that ‘Omniphony 1’ LP that’s listed in the online discography.

  • noz says:

    Ominphony exists, i have it.

    i’ve always been curious if the other owl catalog numbers (9 & 10) exist.

    ORLP-6 Luna Park/Apocalypse/Traveling Music
    ORLP-7 Drone/Water Music/Two Fragments from
    ORLP-8 Quartermass
    ORLP-9 ??
    ORLP-10 ??
    ORLP-11 Omniphony I

  • hcrink says:

    yeah, I always thought there were 3 as well ’till I saw that discog. Still curious as to what other artists released records on Owl – Anyone?

  • jeffw says:

    Dockstader’s “Eight Electronic Pieces” originally came out on Owl before being reissued in ’61 by Folkways. It’s pretty impossible to find, alas.

  • marcianita says:

    hello, i found the link searching in the brain, maybe it still working…i like your web, so much i learn in it…thanks
    ups, the link is-,:
    http://rapidshare.de/files/24138386/Tod_Dockstader-Quartermass.rar.html

  • bjorsq says:

    jeffw – “Eight Electronic Pieces” was originally self-published with the same cover as the recent re-issue on Locust – I saw a copy on e-bay a few months ago going for something astronomical. OWL never released Eight Electronic pieces to my knowledge – it was released on Folkways in 1961 (you can get it on CD or cassette through the Smithsonian, but the Locust re-issue is better as Tod Dockstader did the analog-to-digital transfer from the original tape, and Ernst Karel mastered the recordings for CD, so I guess the quality will be better).

  • hcrink says:

    cool. thanks for the info. not surprising as Asch seemed to often re-release originally self released projects.

  • hcrink says:

    And noz, I did end up seeing a later musical saw lp on the this owl (on eBay). Looked to be from the mid/late 70’s. the plot thickens…

  • Hi,
    I presently have this particular and original album listed on my Ebay (soospeedie) site.
    Omniphony I is very interesting and fasinating music.
    Richard

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