Dick Raaijmakers - The complete tape music (1998)

Following the footsteps of Stockhousen and others, the Dutchman Dick Raaijmakers (°1930) is a composer and teacher of electronic music. With his tape compositions he creates a kind of proto-ambient that lets you drift into strange, sometimes ultra-mechanical dimensions. His compositions for film (cd 2), 'Mao Leve!' (cd 2) and 'Der Fall Leidermann' (cd 3) lead you from one audio surprise to the next, while 'De Lange Mars' (cd 2: The Long March - perhaps a reference to the 1914 retreat into France?) is a 21min broad smear of violin and cello that does a wonderful job on your nerves. And then there's the 21min bone-chilling 'Kwartet' (cd 3): very dark, very unpleasant and very long (21min).

If you want to experience some great sound experimentation and C20 avant-garde, then you must listen to Raaijmakers. This cd collection covers a period stretching from 1960 to 1995; most tracks were revised in 1996. My copy of cd 1 is corrupt and there seems to be no way to fix it (I don't see any scratches or stains, though). Oh well, so you'll have to do with cds 2 & 3. (Maybe I can get cd 1 fixed one day...)

More of this? There's a new 4 cd box out called Popular Electronics - Early Dutch Electronic Music from Philips Research Laboratories 1956-1963 for about €150 - off to the shops you run, then!

Dick_Raaijmakers_CD2.rar
Dick_Raaijmakers_CD3.rar

posted by Paxjorge @ Monday, March 06, 2006