This LP marks the release of Norwegian composer Knut Wiggen’s electronic music produced in the legendary EMS studio in Stockholm between 1972-1975. As a pioneer of computer music in Scandinavia, Knut Wiggen (1927—2016) was hugely important in reshaping the Swedish music community from 1959, when he became chairman of Fylkingen Concert Society and transformed the organisation into an central hub for avant-garde music concerts and events. In 1964 Wiggen became founding director of the Elektronmusikstudion in Stockholm, which under his leadership became one of Europe’s leading studios for new electronic music.
During his time at the EMS Wiggen created the revolutionary composition software MusicBox, which was designed as a creative tool both to create sounds and through spatialization free electronic music from acoustical confines of the concert hall. With this tool he composed five compositions at EMS over the course of three years: Sommarmorgon (1972), Etyd (1972), Resa (1972), Massa (1974) and EMS för sig själv (1975). These works were originally composed as multi-channel pieces, as its was Wiggen’s preferred format, but this LP presents new stereo-mixes that has been done with the utmost care to to preserve Wiggen’s artistic intentions. The LP comes with archival photos as well as liner notes by Norwegian electronic music historian and composer Jøran Rudi.
OGM Records is proud to present this important rediscovery in the canon of early Scandinavian computer music.
credits
released October 18, 2018
All music composed and recorded by Knut Wiggen with Musicbox at Elektronmusikstudion/EMS, Stockholm, 1972-1975.
Stereo-Mixdown from the original four-channel master tapes and vinyl mastering by Cato Langnes at Notam, Oslo, 2018.
Note: These works were originally composed as Multi-Channel pieces, as it was Wiggen's prefered format. These new Stereo-Mixes were done with the utmost care to preserve Wiggen's artistic intentions. The original Multi-Channel version are available through O. Gudmundsen Minde for those interested." - O. Gudmundsen Minde.
After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.
This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).
Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.
Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.
Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).
So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
