An Electric Storm is the debut album by electronic music group White Noise.

An Electric Storm
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1969
Recorded1968
Genre
Length35:06
LabelIsland
Producer
White Noise chronology
An Electric Storm
(1969)
White Noise 2 - Concerto for Synthesizer
(1974)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Pitchfork8.6/10[5]

Background

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The band recorded the first two tracks with the intention of producing a single only but were then persuaded by Chris Blackwell of Island Records to create an entire album. At this point the group had established the Kaleidophon Studio in a flat in Camden Town, London, and spent a year creating the next four tracks.[6] The last track was put together in one day when Island demanded the completion of the album.[7]

Legacy

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Although not very successful on its initial release, the album is now considered an important and influential album in the development of electronic music.[6][8] Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle has called it "the most groundbreaking yet completely underrated electronic record of the 20th century".[9]

A brief extract from the track "Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell" can be heard in the Hammer Film Productions film Dracula AD 1972.

Track listing

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Phase-In
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Love without Sound"3:07
2."My Game of Loving"
  • Georgina Duncan
  • Vorhaus
4:10
3."Here Come the Fleas"
  • John McDonald
  • Vorhaus
2:15
4."Firebird"
  • Derbyshire
  • Vorhaus
3:05
5."Your Hidden Dreams"
  • McDonald
  • Vorhaus
4:58
Phase-Out
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."The Visitation"
  • McDonald
  • Vorhaus
11:14
7."Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell"
  • Duncan
  • Derbyshire
  • Vorhaus
  • Paul Lytton
  • Brian Hodgson[10]
7:22

Personnel

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The following people contributed to An Electric Storm:[11]

  • Kaleidophon – production
  • David Vorhaus – production co-ordinator
  • Delia Derbyshire, Brian Hodgson – electronic sound realisation
  • Paul Lytton – percussion
  • John Whitman, Annie Bird, Val Shaw – vocals

Releases

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  • June 1969 - LP, Island Records, catalog number ILPS 9099
  • 27 March 1995[12] - CD, "3D Island" label, Island Records, 3DCID 1001; deleted 1996[13]
  • 9 July 2007[14] - CD re-released, Island Remasters

References

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  1. ^ a b Morpurgo, Jason (29 May 2014). "The greatest electronic albums of the 1950s and 1960s". FACT. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. ^ McNamee, David (19 January 2009). "The Best of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop on One Side of a C90". The Quietus.
  3. ^ Simpson, Paul. "Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society Review by Paul Simpson". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 May 2022. However, the DDAS moniker is somewhat misleading, as the pair's debut album isn't nearly as eerie or playful as Derbyshire's work, and definitely nowhere near as weird as An Electric Storm by White Noise, an absolutely brilliant experimental pop album from the late '60s that Derbyshire played a major part in creating.
  4. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r52534
  5. ^ "White Noise: An Electric Storm". Pitchfork.
  6. ^ a b Pattison, Louis (2007). "White Noise - An Electric Storm". BBC.
  7. ^ An Electric Storm, sleeve notes, 1995 CD version, 3DCID 1001, Island Records
  8. ^ "The 50 Most Influential Dance Music Albums of All Time". mixmag.net. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  9. ^ Quietus, The (4 August 2021). "I Hear New Worlds: Chris Carter's Favourite Albums | Page 10 of 14". The Quietus. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  10. ^ White Noise: An Electric Storm (Island, 2007)
  11. ^ An Electric Storm - Credits. AllMusic. Retrieved 27 June 2011
  12. ^ An Electric Storm, amazon.com
  13. ^ An Electric Storm, review at Groove Unlimited
  14. ^ An Electric Storm, CD Universe product information
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