John Baker

John Baker, who died 28 years ago today at the far too young an age of 59, was a musician and composer most readily known for his 11 year stint (1963 - 1974) at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.  His work, with it's combination of traditional instrumentation with more unusual musique concrète techniques and sound sources -twanged rulers, pouring liquid, etc - is amongst the most easily identifiable of all the Workshop composers as, with Baker's jazz sensibilities never far from the surface, his compositions are often significantly lighter, catchier and more playful than those of his colleagues.

After leaving the Workshop in 1974 Baker never composed again and lived quietly until his death from liver cancer in 1998 which makes the body of work made in those 11 short years all the more remarkable. 

The album below - along with Volume 2 which featured his soundtrack, library and advertising work - was released by Trunk Records in July and August of 2008 having been compiled by Alan Gubby of the great Revbjelde, head honcho of Buried Treasure where he released another album of Baker's music, 'The Vendetta Tapes' which I heartily recommend tracking down.

For those that would like to learn more about this fascinating composer the release page for the two Trunk albums features a lovely little biography written by Baker's brother, Richard that shines an illuminating light on the man behind and beyond the music.

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An Electric Storm: Daphne, Delia and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Ned Netherwood
Obverse Books

With extensive access to the Daphne Oram and Delia Derbyshire archives, and interviews with associates and members of the original BBC Radiophonic Workshop, this book contains all you need to know about the innovative and experimental geniuses who were responsible for a golden age of electronic music in Britain and some of the most famous sounds to be heard on UK television.

The author of this brand new book detailing the history and the releases of BBC Radiophonic Workshop produces a very enjoyable webzine called Was Ist Das.  It's filled with knowledgeable and insightful reviews written in an engaging and warm style and is one of the best experimental music zines online.  I have two reason for mentioning this. Firstly, to get you to check it out but also so I can point out to you that this book is essentially a fanzine.  A long one admittedly but essentially a fanzine.

Netherwood is obviously a fan and the book comes alive during the second (slightly more than) half of the book where he reviews a great number of the releases from the workshop - although there are some glaring omissions including the recently released 50th anniversary box sets.

The main problem lies in the first (slightly less than) half of the book where he fits the entire 40 year history of the Workshop and the 17 years since into a mere 97 pages.  Much of the first decade goes by in a series of brief descriptions of a number of the employees.  Relationships, recordings, equipment, techniques, gossip, collaborations, hirings and firings are all, at best, glossed over in a headlong rush to the end.

It's a real shame.  The only other readily available book on the Workshop is Louis Neibur's 'Special Sound: The Creation and Legacy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop' which is informative regarding the gear and the notation but his writing is as cold as a polar bears unmentionables.  Netherwood's writing is the opposite but his book is utterly lacking in the rigour of it's predecessor.

So, is this worth getting?  Yes, absolutely.  It'll be particularly rewarding if you're a newcomer to the unparallelled joys of Delia, John, Paddy and co but long term fans are unlikely to find anything new here, particularly in the first section.  It's a worthwhile and noble effort but one that I think needed more development and much more information.  I keep coming back to the simple equation of 57 years into 97 pages which speaks volumes about the level of detail contained within.

One day someone will marry Neibur's academic rigour with Netherwood's fan driven readability to produce the biography the Workshop deserves but until then this one and it's predecessor will suffice.

The Vendetta Tapes

John Baker
Buried Treasure

If I say that much of what you can hear here is typically Baker you will of course understand that by saying that I am by no means deriding anyone or anything and I am, in fact, giving it very high praise indeed.  Perhaps the phrase 'quintessentially Baker' would be more appropriate except what we have here is indeed that but also so much more.

Compiled by Alan Gubby, who was also responsible for the two fantastic 'John Baker Tapes' compilations released on Trunk Records a couple of years back, this newer album is a two part sort of deal.

For the most part it's Baker's contributions to the soundtrack to 'Vendetta' a Mafia thriller produced by the BBC in the 1960s.  On these tracks we get to hear his characteristic processed and layered twangs, clonks and sprongs melded seamlessly with jazz melodies and instruments.  I must admit to having been sceptical when I first heard of this release as to how well these two things would merge and whether they could transcend any novelty factor well, they do, they can and I'm an idiot for thinking otherwise.  The fusion creates music that is a pure delight; an honest, purposeful and extraordinary marriage of Radiophonic Workshop eccentricity with giallo cool.

The rest of the album is where that 'quintessentially Baker' thing I mentioned earlier comes in with a selection of tracks that were left over from the 'John Baker Tapes'.  These show his mastery of rhythm and melody with both showcased through his meticulous cut and paste methodology to produce music that will be as familiar to entire generations of Brits as it is still perplexing, exhilarating, capricious and mesmerising.

Hugely recommended and available digitally (below) with limited numbers of LPs and CDs still available.