Phillip Werren

An astounding, epic journey into the more obscure areas of early electronic music, Phillip Werren’s Electronic Music is a wellspring of contemporary composition across four LPs. Originally released in 1971 in an edition of 100 copies, this impossibly rare piece of early Canadian electronic music has finally been reissued on vinyl in an exact replica box with a silk-screened cover.

Electronic Music was recorded at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver), McGill University (Montreal) and Radio Warzawa (Poland) between 1967 and 1971. Influenced as much by serialism as by psychedelia and the occult, the album features elements of tape collage, voice, and experimental composition. Most of the recordings were performed on a Buchla System 100, one of the first modular synthesizers. An absorbing piece of the Canadian avant-garde, Electronic Music is a journey through space, sound, texture, and unbridled experimentation. This album is a nugget of Canadian Psychedelic Avant-Garde history, up there with the early works of Bill Bissett, The Nihilist Spasm Band, and Intersystems. Also in line with early America works by Robert Ashley, Tod Dockstader, and Gordon Mumma.

Recommended for fans of artist ranging from Stockhausen, Xenakis, and Ferrari to Basil Kirchin, Conrad Schnitzler, Throbbing Gristle, and Coil – Manufactured Recordings’ reissue of Electronic Music aims to shed light on this crucially overlooked composer. Limited to 500 copies worldwide.