A brand new compilation of material by John Baker from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop!
Baker ranks as one of the world’s most influential electronic musicians. His talent as a jazz pianist & ability to manipulate tiny fragments of tape into new sound is legendary. Whilst working on ‘The John Baker Tapes’ compilation for Trunk Records, producer Alan Gubby unearthed several reels of music & sound effects from the 1960’s BBC TV series ‘Vendetta’ - a mafia themed cop thriller starring Italian actor Stelio Candelli (Barbarella, Django, Planet Of The Vampires).
Baker produced tense, rhythmic & unhinged James Bond style themes for the first series in 1966 with live drums, radiophonic beats, twanging bass lines & screaming jazz solos. The music is thrilling, sleazy, deranged & very hip. Highlights from the score are presented alongside other rare & unreleased Baker tracks, digitally remastered by Mark Ayres from the radiophonic archives. Plus sleeve notes from one of the show’s original creators, screenwriter Brian Degas (Barbarella, Colditz, Danger: Diabolik).
“I’ll probably buy this, tweet about it, play it to some friends & talk about it down the pub” Ben Wheatley, Director of A Field In England, Kill List, Sightseers, High Rise. UK
“this is great – he’s the master of creating electronic music with a swing” Julian House – The Focus Group / Ghost Box. UK
"burbling electronics over cool jazz rhythms - really interesting sci-fi radiophonics with a noir edge" Glyn Bush, The Dandelion Set. UK
“sounds great, looks great - right up my street! Featuring on my blog, FB & twitter feed” Strictly Kev / DJ Food – Ninja Tune, UK
“Never heard anything like this! Proto computer sounds combined with a jazz combo” Matthias Hellwig – Jazzanova Radio Show, WDR Funkhaus Europa. GERMANY
“Incredible sounds - a neat addition to the Trunk set”
Bob, West Norwood Cassette Library / Data 70. UK
“f-ing love it!” Tim ‘Love’ Lee, Tummy Touch, USA
“Baker delivers a heavy psych sound with great drums and dark, mellow moods - a must have 60s library / OST release” Niksa Dragolin / EasyAgent, Radio Eurostar + Zbuka Radio. CROATIA
radio support: ME Raabenstein - Extended Modulation, Byte FM BERLIN, More Than Human, Chris Holt – Four Corners Quartet.
“an extraordinary dive into the archives for this new collection of John Baker cues” Project Moonbase. UK
“back in the days before there was a name for it & before there was even gear for it! Another buried treasure that can teach us "ready-made preset" producers something” Flashbaxx . GERMANY
Reviews forthcoming in The Wire & Shindig magazines + Active Listener blog
“Some freaky sounds on here - love it!”
Huw Araniego-Ellis
sparehands.wordpress.com UK
“This is great Buried Treasure indeed! Play-listing”
Ennio Styles. AUSTRALIA
“weird, cinematic jazz with latin & electronic edges for the collectors”.
DJ Nova. GREECE
“Squarepusher, Venetian Snares and Aphex Twin would kill for the beats & squelches here - a visionary composer years ahead of his time”
thelineofbestfit.com
“mystical & deranged - unprecedented amounts of Joe Meek / King Tubby echo - as strange & obscure as anything by Morricone. 9.5/10”
popmatters.com
“extraordinary & flat-out insane music - with Stockhausian shreds of found sound rising out of the mix”
drownedinsound.com
“a gleeful sense of inventing the future in Baker’s work - none of today’s revivalists open up avenues of possibility the way these strange, four-decades-old snippets do” Bob Stanley / Saint Etienne.