Dick Raaijmakers - The Complete Tape Music of Dick Raaijmakers (Donemus, 1998; Basta, 2006)

Over the course of nearly forty years, Dutch forever-innovator Dick Raaijmakers produced an unspeakably imaginative catalog of tape music that depicted a unique soundworld devised from his singular vision. His earliest pieces are constructed from simple techniques using tape, filters, and modulations, but the results betray that ease of creation, instead conveying complex field of concept and associations. Many of his pieces were created over a short time, which, through his thorough understanding of cause and effect with tape, came out sounding intricately constructed through endless labor.

Just as essential as his techniques were his sounds. Though often his building blocks were sine tones, Raaijmakers also found sonically intriguing sources, which in turn responded well to his approach in the lab. Among his tool and muses were action-heavy piano attacks, short wave and telegraph feeds, a game of ping pong, and early examples of samples, pulled from the works of Berio, Edith Piaf, and events of nature. On their own, the sounds are captivating, but with Raaijmakers at the helm they take on a vastly different light. It is Raaijmakers' ability to get inside his sounds, to stretch them, tear them, turn them on their sides, that turns them into something magical.

The material in this box covers a wealth of activities, sound for films and theatre, and stand-alone sound works. As different and varied as they may be, they all carry an unmistakable energy that is entirely Raaijmakers'. He remained dedicated to the simplicity of his earliest studio, rarely straying beyond an array of reel-to-reel machines and an arsenal of filters, and in doing this he has instilled in his works a human touch that gives realness to his fantasy world of sound.


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Disc 3