Sounds of Industry

Episode 20

Sounds of Industry

Industrial Noise Music

Playlist:

1. Throbbing Gristle, “Maggot Death Pt 1” studio recording from The Second Annual Report (1977 Industrial Records). Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti.
2. Peter Bartok, Peter Paul Kellog, “Pump Drill” from Sound Patterns (1953 Folkways). Recording of a pump.
3. Pierre Henry, “Spatiodynamisme II” (excerpt) from an exhibition catalog for work by Nicolas Schöffer (1963 Éditions Du Griffon). Henry used sound materials he recorded in 1954 from a kinetic sculpture by Schöffer.
4. David Jackman, “Machine Gun 2” from Machine Gun (2000 Die Stadt). This was the first of a series of works Jackman created using the archive recordings of the "Imperial War Museum" in London. This was an edition of 600 copies on clear vinyl.
5. Emory Cook, “Festival” (excerpt) from Mexican Firecrackers (1956 Cook). Church bells and Firecrackers before dawn, Ajijic, Mexico.
6. Cabaret Voltaire, “4^th Shot” from the album Mix-Up (1979 Rough). Stephen Mallinder, Chris Watson, Haydn Boyes-Weston, and Richard H. Kirk.
7. David Jackman, “Flak” from the EP Flak (2003 Die Stadt).
8. George Engler, “Metallurgy” from The Inside Of The Outside / Or The Outside Of The Inside - Who Are They? Where Do They Come From? Why Are They Here? (1965 Serenus). A set of tape works using instruments and natural sounds set to themes of industry and space travel.
9. George Engler, “Destruction” from The Inside Of The Outside / Or The Outside Of The Inside - Who Are They? Where Do They Come From? Why Are They Here? (1965 Serenus).
10. Merzbow, “Material Action Track 2” from the cassette Material Action (1984 ZSF Produkt). Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani.
11. Throbbing Gristle, “Beachy Head” from 20 Jazz Funk Greats (1979 Industrial Records). Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti.
12. “ Engine Running” from Motor Car Noises, a sound-effects record (1931 His Master’s Voice).
13. “Street Traffic Noises” Recorded at a London Street Junction,” a field recording. (1923 Columbia, UK).
14. Leo Hurwitz, “City Edge: The Coves of Manhattan Island” (excerpt) from Here At The Waters' Edge 1 (1962 Folkways). Tape collage to accompany a documentary film.
15. R. Murray Schafer, “Music of Horns and Whistles” from The Vancouver Soundscape (1973 Ensemble Productions). Bruce Davis, Colin Miles, Barry Truax, Howard Broomfield, Peter Huse, and R. Murray Schafer. All the sounds were recorded between September 1972 and August 1973. Part of the World Soundscape Project founded by Schafer.
16. John Pfeiffer, “After Hours” from Electronomusic (1968 RCA Victrola). The sounds of office machines used in business, edited as a tape collage.
17. Cabaret Voltaire, “Everything is True” from International Language (1993 Plastex). From the liner notes: “Abandon thinking. Everything you will hear in the next seventy-four minutes is true.” Stephen Mallinder, Chris Watson, Haydn Boyes-Weston, and Richard H. Kirk.

 

The Archive Mix in which I play two additional tracks at the same time to see what happens. Here are two more tracks of industrial music:

• David Jackman, “Flak” from the EP Flak (2003 Die Stadt). Same as earlier track but played at 33-1/3 speed.
• Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music, Side B, excerpt (1975 RCA).

 

For more information about the history of turntablism, read my book: Electronic and Experimental Music (sixth edition), by Thom Holmes (Routledge 2020).

 

Notes for this episode can be found on my blog: Noise and Notations.