Technological advances at the end of the 19th century have altered our relationship to sound. The invention of the telephone enabled sound to be transcoded into an electrical signal and to hear that signal from one end of the world to the other. In a similar way, sound recording technology has decontextualised the musical performance from its original listening environment. In former times, to hear music meant playing an instrument or going to a concert whereas today music is available everywhere, wherever you are.
In the 18th century, engineers adopted analogue and then electronic techniques to make instruments. Jean-Baptiste Delaborde, for example, developed an electrical harpsichord in 1759, whereas the first eletromechanical instrument, the Telharmonium (an electronic organ) was made by Thaddeus Cahill in 1897. In 1919, Leon Termen invented the first no-contact instrument, the Theremin, which is still sold today, and in 1957, Max Mathews at the Bell Laboratories made the first digital recording and the first digital sound synthesis. In the 1970s, information and communication technology became standard tools of artistic creation.
The Discovery Corner gives an overview of the evolution in sound in the second half of the 20th century and traces the various ramifications of electronic music in all its diversity.
THE AVANT-GARDE
1950 – Pierre Schaeffer / Pierre Henry – Symphonie pour un homme seul
1952 – John Cage – Williams Mix
1952 – Otto Luening – Fantasy in Space
1954 – RCA produces the first synthesiser.
1954 – Tape recorders are launched onto the market.
1956 – Lejaren A. Hiller and Leonard Isaacson – Illiac Suite String Quartet
1956 – Karlheinz Stockhausen – Gesang der Jünglige
1957 – Working at Bell Labs, Max Mathews wrote MUSIC, the first widely used programme for the digital sound synthesis (the birth of digital audio).
1957 – Newman Guttman – The Silver Scale
1957-58 – Edgar Varèse – Poème électronique
1958 – Vinyl records become stereo.
1958 – Pierre Schaeffer – Étude aux allures
1958 – Bruno Maderna – Musica su due dimensioni
1958 – Luciano Berio – Thema Omaggio a Joyce
1958 – Iannis Xenakis – Concert PH
1960 – Brion Gysin – I AM THAT I AM
1960 – Bell Labs – Music From Mathematics [Full Album]
1961 – Max Mathews & Joan Miller – Bicycle Built for Two
1961 – James Tenney – Analog #1(Noise Study)
1961-63 – Milton Babbitt – Ensembles for Synthesizer
1963 – Luc Ferrari – Hétérozygote
1963 – Pierre Henry – Variations pour une porte et un soupir
1963 – Henri Chopin – Vibrespace
1964 – First voltage-controlled synthesisers (Moog, ARP, Buchla).
1965 – Steve Reich – It´s Gonna Rain
1966 – François Dufrêne – Triptycrirythme
1966 – The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
1967 – Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
1967 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced
1967 – Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
1967 – The Doors – Strange Days
1967 – The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
1967 – Morton Subotnick – Silver Apples Of The Moon
1967 – Karlheinz Stockhausen – Mixtur
1967-68 – Bernard Parmegiani – Capture éphémère
1968 – Wendy Carlos – Switched-On Bach
1968 – Bob Cobbing – Chamber Music
1968 – Frank Zappa – We´re Only in It for the Money
1968 – Ivo Malec – Lumina
1968 – Silver Apples – Silver Apples
1969 – Jean-Claude Risset – Mutation
1969 – Alvin Lucier – I Am Sitting in a Room
1969 – The Who – Tommy
1969 – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
1969 – Gershon Kingsley – Popcorn
1969 – Amon Düül II – Phallus Dei
1969 – Charles Wuorinen – Time’s Encomium
1969 – White Noise – An Electric Storm
1969 – Kluster – Klopfzeichen
1969 – James Brown – Funky Drummer
1969 – Sly and the Family Stone – Stand!
PUSHING THE BOUNDERIES OF ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC
1970 – Karlheinz Stockhausen – Mantra
1970 – Funkadelic – Free Your Mind… and Your Ass Will Follow
1971 – Tangerine Dream – Sunrise in the third system
1971 – Alain Savouret – L´arbre et coetera
1971 – Can – Tago Mago
1971 – Faust – Faust
1972 – Manu Dibango – Soul Makossa
1972 – Barrabás – Woman
1972 – John Chowning – Turenas
1972 – Miles Davis – On The Corner
1973 – Barry White´s Love Unlimited Orchestra – Love´s Theme
1973 – François Bayle – Vibrations composées
1973 – Lee Scratch Perry & King Tubby – Blackboard Jungle Dub
1973 – Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
1973 – Klaus Schulze – Cyborg
1973 – Neu! – Neu! 2
1973 – Michel Chion – Requiem
1973 – Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters
1974 – Jon Appleton and Sydney Alonso develop the Synclavier, the first digital synthesiser.
1974 – Bernard Heidsieck – Vaduz
1974 – Cluster – Zuckerzeit
1974 – George McCrae – Rock you Baby
1974 – Kraftwerk – Autobahn
1975 – Jean-Claude Risset – Dialogues
1975 – Brian Eno – Discreet Music
1975 – KC and the Sunshine Band – Get Down Tonight
1975 – Joel Chadabe – Flowers
1976 – Francis Bebey – Divorce pygmée
1976 – Ash Ra Tempel – New Age Of Earth
1976 – Augustus Pablo and King Tubby – King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown
1976 – Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygène
1976 – Guy Reibel – Granulations Sillages
1977 – UPIC, a computerised musical composition tool that generates sounds according to waveforms and volume envelopes drawn by the user is invented by the composer Iannis Xenakis. Go to see the modern abstraction Iannix.
1977 – Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever
1977 – David Bowie – Low
1977 – Suicide – Suicide
1977 – Weather Report – Heavy Weather
1977 – Karlheinz Stockhausen – Sirius
1978 – Denis Dufour – Bocalise
1978 – Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
1978 – The Normal – T.V.O.D.
1978 – Throbbing Gristle – D.o.A: The Third and Final Report
1979 – Donna Summer – On the Radio
1979 – Chic – Good Times
1979 – Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
1979 – Tubeway Army – Replicas
1979 – Public Image Ltd – Metal Box
1979 – The Sugarhill Gang – Rapper´s delight
1979 – Joel Chadabe – Solo
1979 – At IRCAM, researcher Giuseppe di Giugno develops the 4X system, the first real-time digital workstation.
DEMOCRATISATION OF DIGITAL MUSIC
1980 – Fad Gadget – Fireside Favourites
1980 ~ The Bendaly family – Do you love me
1980 – John Foxx – Metamatic
1980 – Talking Heads – Remain in Light
1981 – The Human League – Dare
1981 – Yellow Magic Orchestra – 1000 Knives
1981 – Daf – Alles ist Gut
1981 – Depeche Mode – Speak & Spell
1981 – Klaus Nomi – Klaus Nomi
1981 – Patrick Cowley – Menergy
1981 – SPK – Information Overload Unit
1981 – Pierre Boulez – Répons
1982 – Philips and Sony launch the compact disc (CD).
1982-84 – Marco Stroppa – Traiettoria
1982 – Grandmaster Flash – The Message
1982 – Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock
1983 – The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) communication protocol becomes standardised.
1983 – Yamaha launches the DX7, the first FM digital synthesiser to achieve widespread success.
1983 – Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams
1984 – Jesse Saunders – Funk You Up
1985 – Jamie Principle – Waiting On My Angel
1985 – Juan Atkins – No UFO´s
1985 – Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson – The Belleville Three
1986 – Tristan Murail – Vision de la cité interdite
1986 – Adonis – No Way Back
1986 – Europe – The Final Countdown
1986 – Farley Jackmaster Funk – Love Can´t Turn Around
1986 – Run–DMC – Raising Hell
1986 – Art Of Noise – In Visible Silence
1986 – Steve « Silk » Hurley – Jack Your Body
1987 – Derrick May – Nude Photo
1987 – Laibach – Opus Dei
1987 – New Order – Substance
1987 – Phuture – Acid Tracks
1988 – Fingers Inc – Another Side
1988 – Front 242 – Headhunter
1988 – Maurice – This Is Acid
1988 – Philippe Manoury – Pluton
1988 – Horacio Vaggione – SCIR
1989 – Nine Inch Nails – Terrible lie
1990 – First commercial version of the Max software (Opcode-Ircam). During the 1990s, Miller Puckette developed Pure Data, a free software similar to Max. Both programmes were very popular with those working in the interactive arts.
1990 – Kasper T. Toeplitz – Almantés
1990 – Gérard Grisey – Le noir des étoiles
1990 – Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet
1991 – De La Soul – De La Soul Is Dead
1991 – Frankie Knuckles – Beyond The Mix
1991 – Jeff Mills – Punisher
1992 – Drexciya – Deep Sea Dweller
1992 – The Prodigy – Experience
1992 – Dr. Dre – The Chronic
1992 – Ministry – Psalm 69 : The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs
1992-94 – Antoine Bonnet – Epitaphe
1993 – John Oswald – Plexure
1993 – Björk – Debut
1993 – Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle
1993 – Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
1994 – Development of the MP3 standard (Mpeg1 Audio Layer 3) by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the introduction of DVD.
1994 – Robert Hood – Minimal Nation
1994 – The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die
1994 – Nas – Illmatic
1994 – Autechre – Amber
1994 – Michael Jarrell – Cassandre
1994 – Tristan Murail – L´esprit des dunes
1995 – Yan Maresz (fr) – Metallics
1995 – Martin Matalon – Metropolis
1995 – The Chemical Brothers – Exit Planet Dust
1995 – Portishead – Dummy
1995 – Tricky – Maxinquaye
1995-96 – Marco Stroppa – Upon a Blade of Grass
1996 – Release of SuperCollider by James McCartney, an environmental and programming language for real-time audio synthesis and algorithmic composition. It was granted GNU status (General Public License) in 2002.
1996 – Steinberg develops the VST (Virtual Studio Technology) standard, the most widespread protocol today for audio plug-in applications.
1996 – Thierry De Mey – Tippeke
1996 – DJ Shadow – The Number Song
1996 – Carl Craig – The Secret Tapes Of Dr. Eich
1997 – Amon Tobin – Bricolage
1997 – Da Hool – Meet her at the love parade
1997 – Aphex Twin – Come to Daddy
1997 – Daft Punk – Homework
1998 – Richie Hawtin – Consumed
1998 – Luc Ferrari – Symphonie dechirée
1998 – Massive Attack – Mezzanine
1998 – Ryoji Ikeda – 0°C
1998-2000 – Fausto Romitelli – Professor Bad Trip I-III
2000 – Radiohead – Kid A
