Further Listening

There has been a great attempt in recent years to try to document and publish electronic music in England.

These publications cover artistic compositions, music for media of the time, and library music. You can hunt down releases that feature any of the figures we’ve discussed here, but we would also recommend the following records which are generally available on most streaming platforms:

White Noise: An Electric Storm (1969)

White Noise was the experimental electronic band of Delia Derbyshire, Brian Hodgson & David Vorhaus and it’s a fun listen. If you want to hear what the BBC Radiophonic Workshop might have been if its energies had been directed towards making 1960s-era psychedelic rock music then this record is definitely worth checking out.

Brian Hodgson, Delia Derbyshire & Don Harper: KPM 1000 Series, Electrosonic (1972)

This is a collection of Library Music that was made by Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson during their tenure at the BBC. Due to their contract status, this record was produced on the sly, with Derbyshire and Hodgson using pseudonym’s dreamed up over a pint in the local pub and working on the record in secret in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop after hours. The result is a collection of electronic works that demonstrate what library music records sounded like at the time, showcasing a wonderful array of aesthetic themes and atmospheres.

Janet Beat: Pioneering Knob Twiddler (1978-1987/2021)

Janet Beat is another figure of electronic music in England who had, until recently, suffered from of a general lack of attention. She started composing electronic music in the late 1950s and established the first electronic music studio in Scotland at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 1972. This record marks the first official release of Beat’s music, a fascinating collection of works for synthesiser composed over a ten-year period.