Collins, Nicolas

Devil's Music

Label: EM Records Country: UK

"Nicolas Collins' live radio sampling masterpiece, originally released on vinyl in 1986, served up in all its stuttering glory, a time capsule of the mid-80s New York City airwaves, acclaimed by Philip Sherburne as "an early template for techno", with a feel somewhat akin to scratching turntablist madness, a block-rocking party put through a blender and reassembled by body-popping demons. And more:"Real Landscape", a 1987 "remix" recorded in Europe (originally released on cassette), and (CD only) "The Spark Heard 'Round The World", a fascinating tape piece sourced from multi-band radio and scanner recordings, plus (also CD only, alas) video of a live performance of "Devil's Music" from 1987 in Birmingham, UK. And if you're still not satisfied, CD purchasers also get a downloadable software version of the original hardware circuitry used for "Devil's Music" which, a la David Tudor, constitutes the original composition itself. Make your own "Devil's Music"!

Nicolas Collins is a hugely influential in contemporary electronic music, having performed world wide for many years, collaborating with Christian Marclay, Elliot Sharp, David Shea, David Tudor and John Zorn, composing, recording, modifying circuits and inventing instruments, and spreading the good word through his writing and teaching. The pieces released here are only part of his ongoing, multifaceted and truly experimental activities."-EM Records

"In Devil's Music fragments of radio broadcasts are digitally sampled, looped, re-triggered, and occasionally reversed or de-tuned. All the material is taken from FM and AM transmissions occuring at the time of the performance.Side one is a microcomputer-assisted mix of several performances made of dance music and spoken word. Side two is a single performance uses primarly easy listening and classical music."