Skip to main content

The Electronic Revolution

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Science of Sci-Fi Music

Part of the book series: Science and Fiction ((SCIFICT))

  • 659 Accesses

Abstract

Electronic music has come a long way since the days when it was associated almost exclusively with science fiction in people’s minds. In this chapter we trace the early history of the genre, from early experiments with tape recorders and musique concrète, through the laboratory-based work of composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez—not to mention the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop, which was responsible for the Dr Who theme tune—to the use of computers in “algorithmic composition”. After that we see electronic music entering the mainstream, with the work of pioneering artists like Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream and Wendy Carlos, who produced the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. P. Griffiths, Modern Music and After (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995), p. 17

    Google Scholar 

  2. D. Leslie, G. Adamski, Flying Saucers Have Landed (Werner Laurie, London, 1953), pp. 104–105

    Google Scholar 

  3. D. Leslie, Music of the Future (CD liner and cover notes: Trunk Music, 2005)

    Google Scholar 

  4. C. Wen-Chung, Varèse: The Complete Works (CD liner notes, Decca, 2004)

    Google Scholar 

  5. P. Griffiths, Modern Music and After (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995), p. 45

    Google Scholar 

  6. R. Maconie, Stockhausen on Music (Marion Boyars, London, 1989), p. 90

    Google Scholar 

  7. R. Maconie, Stockhausen on Music (Marion Boyars, London, 1989), pp. 131–132

    Google Scholar 

  8. C. Deliège, Conversations with Pierre Boulez (Eulenberg Books, London, 1976), p. 109

    Google Scholar 

  9. D. Howe, M. Stammers, S. Walker, D. Who, The Sixties (Virgin, London, 1993), p. 12

    Google Scholar 

  10. P. Griffiths, Modern Music and After (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995), p. 207

    Google Scholar 

  11. Wikipedia article on “Musikalisches Würfelspiel”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musikalisches_W%C3%BCrfelspiel

  12. W.A. Mozart, Musikalisches Würfelspiel, K.516f. Petrucci Music Libsrary. https://imslp.org/wiki/Musikalisches_W%C3%BCrfelspiel,_K.516f_(Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus)

  13. A. Lovelace, Analytical Engine. Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments. http://imaginaryinstruments.org/lovelace-analytical-engine/

  14. J. J. Coupling [John R. Pierce], Science for Art’s Sake, Astounding Science Fiction, November 1950, pp. 83–92

    Google Scholar 

  15. J.R. Pierce, The Science of Musical Sound (Scientific American Books, New York, 1983), p. 211

    Google Scholar 

  16. J.R. Pierce, The Science of Musical Sound (Scientific American Books, New York, 1983), p. 11

    Google Scholar 

  17. J.R. Pierce, The Science of Musical Sound (Scientific American Books, New York, 1983), pp. 7–8

    Google Scholar 

  18. Wikipedia article on “Mellotron”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellotron

  19. P. Griffiths, Modern Music and After (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995), p. 68

    Google Scholar 

  20. M. Babbitt, All Set (CD liner notes, BMOP/sound, 2013)

    Google Scholar 

  21. R. Manzarek, Light My Fire (Berkley Boulevard Books, New York, 1999), p. 255

    Google Scholar 

  22. “An Avant-Garde Spirit for Tangerine Dream”, The New York Times, October 1974 https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/04/archives/an-avantgarde-spirit-for-tangerine-dream-the-pop-life.html

  23. B. Eno, Discreet Music (liner notes, Virgin, 2009)

    Google Scholar 

  24. A. Walker, Stanley Kubrick Directs (Abacus, London, 1973), p. 292

    Google Scholar 

  25. S. Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange (Screenpress Books, Suffolk, 2000), pp. 311–312

    Google Scholar 

  26. P. Ramey, A Clockwork Orange (CD liner notes: Warner Bros, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  27. D. Cronenberg, Videodrome (DVD back cover, Universal Studios, 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Wikipedia article on “Videodrome (soundtrack)”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videodrome_(soundtrack)

  29. J. Corcelli, Frank Zappa FAQ (Backbeat Books, Milwaukee, 2016), p. 143

    Google Scholar 

  30. J. Corcelli, Frank Zappa FAQ (Backbeat Books, Milwaukee, 2016), pp. 123–124

    Google Scholar 

  31. J. Corcelli, Frank Zappa FAQ (Backbeat Books, Milwaukee, 2016), p. 145

    Google Scholar 

  32. P. Norman, P. McCartney, The Biography (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, 2016), pp. 225–226

    Google Scholar 

  33. W. Mellers, Twilight of the Gods: The Beatles in Retrospect (Faber, London, 1976), p. 135

    Google Scholar 

  34. P. Norman, P. McCartney, The Biography (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, 2016), p. 3

    Google Scholar 

  35. J. Needham, The Cosmic Messenger: How Karlheinz Stockhausen shaped contemporary electronic music, The Vinyl Factory, November 2017. https://thevinylfactory.com/features/karlheinz-stockhausen-electronic-music-influence/

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

May, A. (2020). The Electronic Revolution. In: The Science of Sci-Fi Music. Science and Fiction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47833-9_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics