Tip! Shifting continuously between minimalistic patterns, intricate soundscapes, and evolving textures of overlapping electronic sonorities, The Electric Weasel Ensemble presents a missing link in the history of electronic music. It is a series of previously unreleased live recordings from a little-known but trailblazing
ensemble of improvisers—equipped with a unique embrace of invented instruments and distinctly 1970s avant-garde sensibilities. This historic music is available on both double LP and double CD.

Founded in 1974 by composer Allen Strange and now-celebrated instrument designer Donald Buchla, the Electric Weasel Ensemble explored new directions in live performance with electronics, using Buchla’s sophisticated and unusual instruments as a launching pad. Maintained for decades by Ensemble member Stephen Ruppenthal, these recordings include some of the best-preserved examples of Allen Strange’s pioneering compositions: graphically-notated directed improvisations for electronic and electronically processed acoustic instruments. They also offer rare insight into the radical sonic aesthetic that Buchla’s inventions enabled in the Bay Area music scene.

Focused on performance and DIY music distribution, the Electric Weasel Ensemble never widely released their music. Transferred from the original quarter-inch reels at Imprec, mastered for vinyl by Tom Eaton
at Sounds and Substance, and pressed at Optimal in Germany, this record is a glimpse into the raw creativity and inventiveness that fueled the early decades of electronic music performance.