Bleep

‘Radiophonic Workshop’ is one part of a pair of re-releases from the vaults of the BBC’s venerable project of the same name, and was originally released in 1975. The record evidences the spirit of play and innovation which is the legacy of the workshop, with contributions from six artists which straddle the line between jingles and more abstract pieces, all the while retaining a commitment to vanguard electronic sound.

Dick Mills’ ‘Adagio’ conjures a sense of alien space from ethereal analogue tones which jitter and fizz while Roger Limb’s ‘Geraldine’ concentrates rudimentary synthesised sound into a quirky slow funk number which anticipates the music of Squarepusher in its sense of combined naivety and technical prowess. Malcom Clarke’s ‘La Grand Piece…’ is a demented theme tune for children built from the squelching modular tones one might expect from an Ekoplekz or Bass Clef record, while John Baker’s ‘Brio’ has a naggingly memorable brass motif embedded within its walls of avant machine noise.

Having the collection repressed to vinyl feels timely, given the influence that the work has had on artists as legendary as Aphex Twin over the last 30 years. Taking some time to appreciate the foundations laid in marginal conditions by these early electronic pioneers reveals a body of work that is many ways utterly contemporary, and merits revisiting.