Here are three links and excerpts from them which may ring some bells.
At long last the rarest and most peculiar of all Radiophonic Workshop albums is available. Originally issued in 1969, "The Seasons" has become almost mythical over the last few years. With its mix of unexpected electronics, percussion, tape manipulation and austere poetry, it sounds like no other. "The Seasons" has also become a major influence on bands such as Broadcast and a key reference in the development of Ghost Box and the whole “Hauntology” soundscape. It is seen and heard very much now as an important and lost classic. And after over one year of detective work and rights investigation(which is a lot in this modern world of instant communication), this impressive, strange and wholly unique album is seeing the light of day once again.
This album is a “cult” classic in many ways. Always a little devil to find, I first posted it up on the Recommendations pages in 2003. This was one of three copies I’d found with Martin Green at a Tonbridge Wells record fayre in the late 1990s. Several people in my small circle of peculiar musical chums also came across it, and by the mid naughties it was coming across as a major influence on retro futurism and the new fangled scene they named hauntology. This comes as no surprise as the album has several layers and levels to it; it is weird, spooky. unsettling, very British, has an unusual whiff of childhood to some, it comes scattered with pregnant language and is full of unexpected metaphors, pagan oddness, folk cadences and insane noises. Does it get any better? Considering this was an LP made for children’s education and improvised dance, I think not.
“The earth is washing – who will dress her?” So observes Ronald Duncan of March’s turn to springtime, intoned over chuffing electronics punctuated with a skipping melody. A vest made of grass… black oats, barley and corn – it’s like the contents of a pagan dressing-up box recited over a musical doorbell.
At long last the rarest and most peculiar of all Radiophonic Workshop albums is available. Originally issued in 1969, "The Seasons" has become almost mythical over the last few years. With its mix of unexpected electronics, percussion, tape manipulation and austere poetry, it sounds like no other. "The Seasons" has also become a major influence on bands such as Broadcast and a key reference in the development of Ghost Box and the whole “Hauntology” soundscape. It is seen and heard very much now as an important and lost classic. And after over one year of detective work and rights investigation(which is a lot in this modern world of instant communication), this impressive, strange and wholly unique album is seeing the light of day once again.
This album is a “cult” classic in many ways. Always a little devil to find, I first posted it up on the Recommendations pages in 2003. This was one of three copies I’d found with Martin Green at a Tonbridge Wells record fayre in the late 1990s. Several people in my small circle of peculiar musical chums also came across it, and by the mid naughties it was coming across as a major influence on retro futurism and the new fangled scene they named hauntology. This comes as no surprise as the album has several layers and levels to it; it is weird, spooky. unsettling, very British, has an unusual whiff of childhood to some, it comes scattered with pregnant language and is full of unexpected metaphors, pagan oddness, folk cadences and insane noises. Does it get any better? Considering this was an LP made for children’s education and improvised dance, I think not.
“The earth is washing – who will dress her?” So observes Ronald Duncan of March’s turn to springtime, intoned over chuffing electronics punctuated with a skipping melody. A vest made of grass… black oats, barley and corn – it’s like the contents of a pagan dressing-up box recited over a musical doorbell.