[daily dosis] Kjell Nordbø Tribute #6

Today we're featuring one of Kjell's most crazy work, the 17 minute epos called "Delusion", again from the Larger Than Life musicdisk.

[daily dosis] Kjell Nordbø Tribute #5

No, it's not a track from Jellica or ???, but yet another tune to demonstrate the extreme versatility of Kjell Nordbø. This dubby minitiature is called "X-Factor".

[daily dosis] Kjell Nordbø Tribute #4

"The Little Big Man"

[daily dosis] Kjell Nordbø Tribute #3

And another one from Larger Than Life. As you might have already guessed, I'm quite fond of that release... Anyway, this is "Kjellfire".

[daily dosis] Kjell Nordbø Tribute #2

Another track from Larger Than Life, this is "Lifeblood".

[daily dosis] Kjell Nordbø Tribute #1

Ten years have passed since Kjell Nordbø aka Bluez Muz' passed away under tragic circumstances.

I only learned about his music many years after his death. Nontheless, I consider him to be one of the best, most original C64 music composers of all time. If you want to find out more about Kjell Nordbø, please go and read the obituary on chipflip.

On this occasion, Ancient Wonderworld will comemmorate his legacy with a special, week-long edition of Daily Dosis, featuring Kjell's music recorded from an R5 8580 SID.

All the recordings were provided by the 6581-8580 project.

Let's start with "Sunrise", a track from Kjell's final musicdisk, "Larger Than Life".

Spring Break

Just letting y'all know that up to the first week of June, things will be a bit slower here on Ancient Wonderworld, as I'll be travelling the vast realms of the European North. There will most likely be no regular updates during that time. Nevertheless, I've got a little special lined up, which will run from May 25th to 31st. Stay tuned!

[album] FM Radio Underground by Jredd and Groovemaster303

These guys never get tired, do they? Pleased to announce yet another hi-quality, ultra-groovy SEGA Genesis/Megadrive album by Jredd and Groovemaster303. Check it out!

World of Spectrum Forums Back

After a prolonged downtime, the World of Spectrum forums are up and running again. As far as I understand, the whole thing is currently still in test mode and the layout is not final yet. But nevertheless I'm more than happy that my favourite online community has returned!

Rekengeluiden van PASCAL - The Oldest Dutch Computer Music Recording

(c) Philips 1962

On my quest of documenting the beginnings of computer music history, I've come across another gem from the early days. Here's the story behind this amazing time capsule in audio form, whose significance has been largely overlooked so far.

We are writing the year 1960. After a somewhat sluggish start the computer revolution is getting into full swing in the Netherlands. At the Natuurkundig Laboratorium in Eindhoven, Philips just completed their second computer, the Philips Akelig Snelle Calculator (Philips Frighteningly Fast Calculator), or short PASCAL.

The head of the NatLab at the time, a certain W. Nijenhuis, had the idea of installing a small amplifier and loudspeaker on the PASCAL, which would pick up radio frequency interference generated by the machine. Unsurprisingly, the usual course of events unfolds: While actually intended for diagnostic purposes, people quickly discovered that they could abuse the speaker to make simple music. But Mr Nijenhuis, rather than scolding his staff for the waste of precious calculation time, actually decides to record those rekengeluiden (computing noises) on a 45 rpm vinyl.

Thus, "Rekengeluiden van PASCAL" was born. Side A of the record contains recordings of the computer during regular operation, including some of the mechanical noises the machine would make. Likewise, the first track on the B-side is a recording of a prime number calculation. Listening to these recordings may already give us an idea of how the whole radio frequency interference music business came about: These algorithms don't just produce random bleeps and bops, they actually sound quite beautiful themselves, and are remniscent of some modern day bytebeat compositions.

Track number two on the B-side is a nice rendition of a Mozart minuet. But Nijenhuis doesn't stop there. The last track on the B-side, "Stochastische melodie", takes things one step further - it's not just performed by the computer, but the machine also composed it.

The record was distributed as bonus material with Philips' in-house magazine, the "Technisch Tijdschrift" in Spring 1962. Chances of finding a copy nowadays are probably close to zilch, but fortunately a kind soul has uploaded an mp3 version. So, I hope you'll all enjoy this one-of-a-kind piece of computer history!

Sources: 
discogs entry for "Rekengeluiden van PASCAL"
Alberts, Gerard: Een halve eeuw computers in Nederland. In: de Nieuwe Wiskrant, issue 22-3. Univ. of Utrecht, March 2003. Online at http://www.fi.uu.nl/wiskrant/artikelen/223/223maart_alberts.pdf