Description
This is the reissue of a 1958 album by Henk Badings and Dick Raajmakers (aka Kid Baltan) composers, arrangers, conductors and pioneers in the field of electronic music. The 1968 release „Evolution & contrasts“ contains the same recordings as the 1958 „Electronic music“ album. But what exactly do these nowadays scarce as gold dust albums. Bading and Raajmakers create electronic soundscapes with a rather creepy atmosphere. This stuff is different to the 50s avant garde classic as well as to the more pop oriented electronic albums of the same time. Badings „Capriccio for violin and two sound tracks“ can be seen as strange dialogue with sloping melodies between the violin and unidentifiable electronic devices that gives you goosebumps. It has a rather picturesque approach and might be used for early horror flicks as accompanying music for the horrifying scenes. The amazing fact is that this music still sounds fresh and exciting even nearly six decades after its initial release. The lengthy „Genese“ on the other hand is a lengthy composition of chirping, bubbling and droning sounds swelling and ebbing away in regular intervals. Cosmic music of the highest order. Some sections also feel like an intergalactic information transfer signal of unknown origin. All in all a very spooky and haunting affair. Interesting how electronic music already went back in the late 50s while most people consider the late 60s and early 70s as heydays for electronic experiments and cosmic sounds. Well, here we get to listen to the pioneers of this genre and they really do it well. Raajmakers even had a hand in writing groovy dance compositions when collaborating with Tom Dissevelt. He used the pseudonym Kid Baltan at these occasions. Anyway, this is quite a different thing. This is dark and utterly strange. „Contrasts“ by Raajmakers is a mixture between funny swirling sounds that make you think of a quick tempered discussion between little androids and menacing drones in the back that soon gets interrupted by single blows and hisses with frightening howls far in the back. This is definitely an album for true enthusiasts of strange electronic sounds who even consider early TANGERINE DREAM as fluffy pop music. Far out, folks, far out and therefore just great.
