Avant / Experimental

Music for weirdos, and people who fancy themselves smart.

  • Savant - Stationary Dance / Sensible Music Savant - Stationary Dance / Sensible Music

    Released on “Palace of Lights” in 1981, Savant was a group lead by Kerry Leimer, the head of the label and someone who still releases electronic/ambient music to this day. The record contains only two tracks, both with a decidedly Eno-vibe (each in their own way). The a-side’s “Stationary Dance” […]

  • Eric Siday - Musique Electronique Eric Siday - Musique Electronique

    I wrote a little review on J. Matthews’ Electronic Music a while ago on this site. Here’s another very cool one that comes in the same pre-1968 library format, 78rpm microgroove. This one has the same title, be it in French, but it is 5 years earlier, from 1960. It’s by Eric Siday, an English […]

  • Anenzephalia - Lyse Anenzephalia - Lyse

    First I’ll start off with a disclaimer: I borrowed this record from my girlfriend who used to be a big industrial fan. I am really not that knowledgable on industrial stuff at all, hell I don’t really like it even, but this one seemed too weird not to be shared. Thanks to […]

  • Ron Bucknam - Hints Ron Bucknam - Hints

    Spaced out experimental music on the obscure Daagnim label, recorded live at the 1979 New Dallas Arts Festival in Dallas, TX. Here, Ron plays guitar and piano; (Heinasirkka) Dennis Gonzalez plays trumpet, cymbals, various small instruments and is pictured playing the cello on the back cover and Jim Hunter plays the upright bass. The three […]

  • Jeffrey Morgan - Quasar-Mach Jeffrey Morgan - Quasar-Mach

    Recommended thematic avant-garde/free-jazz suite loosely based on the effects of time-travel. The album wavers between very sparse, brooding percussion based avant compositions reminiscent of the Gamelan Son of Lion LP on folkways and intense free jazz bridging on noise in parts. There is even a track that would sit well in the no-wave category. Definitely […]

  • Driven Element (Various Artists) Driven Element (Various Artists)

    From around 1982 until about 1991 (dates are unclear) Marcel Dion ran a weekly Electronic/Experimental/Avant-Garde radio show on CJSR (campus/community radio station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) called Departures. It’s always unclear with campus/community radio how large your audience is and so it’s unknown how popular the show was. However, what is clear is that it […]

  • Barton Smith - Reelizations Barton Smith - Reelizations

    Bedroom electronics from a relatively unknown experimental composer on Folkways circa 1980.  This one is the first of a two part “Reelizations” series. While there are a few acoustic guitar-only tracks on here, the majority of the record contains a real wide selection of instruments; ranging from heavily processed synthesizers to Roland drum machines […]

  • Tom Hamilton, J.D. Parran, Rich O'Donnell - Formal & Informal Music Tom Hamilton, J.D. Parran, Rich O’Donnell - Formal & Informal Music

    Here’s an experimental record from 1980, featuring the side long “Formal and Informal Music.” It’s performed by three musicians and led by the electronics guy Tom Hamilton. I can best describe it as an oscillating electronic bee-hive with beautiful woodwind solo’s by J.D. Parran and percussion by Rich O’Donnell. Especially the flute segment is amazing, […]

  • Evelyn Lohoefer DeBoeck: Music For Movement Expression Evelyn Lohoefer DeBoeck: Music For Movement Expression

    I was totally unprepared for an avant-jazz freakout on an Educatinal Activities Inc. record - but that is exactly what a couple tracks on here are. Prepared piano with bass and percussion that reminds me of something you might hear on an ESP-Disk lp. I was amazed to say the least. The rest is quite […]

  • Felice Fugazza - Megamoog Felice Fugazza - Megamoog

    Here is another ’space electronics’ library, quite similar to the Electronic Age LP i posted a week or two ago. Released on Orly’s “Kaleidoscope” series, these tracks probably first appeared on a small Italian label and were soon after re-licensed to this particular French library (there are a few other records in this series […]

  • The Entourage Music & Theatre Ensemble - The Neptune Collection The Entourage Music & Theatre Ensemble - The Neptune Collection

    I picked this album up recently half-expecting some excessively artsy, self-indulgent improv noodling with maybe a redeemable moment or two sprinkled within. The “Theatre Ensemble” part of the name kind of just gave me the willies for some reason. On the other hand, it is on Folkways and it has a cool cover with some […]

  • Electronic Age - Modern Science, Space & Mystery Electronic Age - Modern Science, Space & Mystery

    Absolute classic as far as avant garde/electronic library records are concerned. A number of Studio G regulars are on this LP, all of whom display a deep appreciation for tape delay, distortion, warbling synths, and minimal ’space age’ electronics. If there were ever a soundtrack to everyday space station living in the 22nd […]

  • The Entourage Music And Theatre Ensemble The Entourage Music And Theatre Ensemble

    From the back cover: A brilliant first album by a totally original group performing their own compositions in an experimental - spiritualistic environment. A synergism of instrumental sound (including saxophone, keyboards, percussion, viola, recorder, guitar, drums, and thumb piano, etc.) The Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble is a collective reflecting techniques found in Noh Theatre, […]

  • Bobby Naughton Units - Understanding Bobby Naughton Units - Understanding

    This release came out in 1972 on Otic records. It’s one of those records I always revisit and hear something new and fresh everytime. The album is split into half originals and half Carla Bley songs. Naughton gets down on the vibes, piano and clavinet, Mario Pavone is on bass and nice clarinet interplay by […]

  • Russ Vines and the Contemporary Music Ensemble - Gemini Russ Vines and the Contemporary Music Ensemble - Gemini

    I have no clue what Russ was aiming for when he put this out. A majority of this record is tepid jazz, the track “zippy’s night out” gets pretty funky but then goes downhill. Here’s a soundclip of one of the spacy electronic tracks on the record - “Gemini 1″

  • Music for Electronic & Older Instruments Music for Electronic & Older Instruments

    Very impressive “tape music” record on the Composers Recordings Inc. label with sounds dating from the early to mid 1960’s. The first side is credited to Otto Luening and Vladimir Ussachevsky, co-founders of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. The b-side features Mel Powell, former director of electronic music at Yale University. The […]

  • Les Bardanes - Vers l'homme, Gospel Night N°4 Les Bardanes - Vers l’homme, Gospel Night N°4

    Right people, like with my last post, if you want the sound clip you have to patiently plug into my webpage and hear mix 1 at http://dr.lloyd.free.fr/ I have this propensity I can’t shake for sonic and sensual overload and I totally recognise that one of my biggest faults is overuse of the tape echo function on […]

  • Gravity Adjusters Expansion Band - One Gravity Adjusters Expansion Band - One

    This 1973 LP on the Los Angeles Nocturne label has something a lot of recordings of group improvisations tend to lack - ambience and atmospherics. The liner notes sum up the group’s approach:
    “The GAEB had its beginnings in the late 60’s. It emerged as a music ensemble simultaneously with the experimental sculptural instrumental creations of […]

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