Musique Concrete

Sunday, 11 February 2007

It was Marcel Ruijters who introduced me to Musique Concrete. He gave me a tape of an LP by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, that he had found in the library of the art school where he studied. I tried to find the tape, but I have no idea where I left it. I did find a zine, The Earwax Museum, that Marcel published in those days, with a cartoon about the pioneers of Concrete Music.
In those days my musical menu mainly consisted of soul and rockabilly, so this tape with musical experiments by the two Pierres was a surprise to me. But although I didn’t have a clue what I was listening too, I liked it very much. I thought it was a joke, but later I learned that these people took there work very serious. I have spend many pleasant evenings listening to Concrete Music and reading the theories behind it. Over the years my ideas have shifted into their direction.
I have not much Concrete Music on vinyl; most of what I have (if I can find it…) is on tapes, and I have a few CD’s. As you probably know, the original records are rare and expensive.
Here is a track by Luc Ferrari, who was part of the Group for Musical Research, lead by Pierre Schaeffer. It comes from an E.P., Music Concrete 1959 No. 2, that was released on the French BAM label.