Wired Profiles Tod Dockstader

Wired has begun a series of articles about electronic music legends with a profile of Tod Dockstader. Writer Geeta Dayal landed a rare interview with the elderly Dockstader, which includes some anecdotes new to me, such as how the master edited steel wire recordings.

The article mentions his "impressive" electronic music recordings include 2 Starkland CDs, Apocalypse and Quatermass. Dayal notes the "fascinatingly rich, complex" music "still sounds new and relevant today," and how "Dockstader's work over the past six decades continues to be met with new waves of interest. (A documentary about Dockstader's life, by filmmaker Justin H. Brierley, is currently in the works.)

The always on-top-of-it Steve Smith comments:

"Awesome: The amazing Geeta Dayal will be writing regularly about electronic-music legends for Wired, starting with a profile of Tod Dockstader - whose Quatermass, available on CD from Tom Steenland's vital Starkland label, was among the first pieces of serious electronic music I ever heard."

Hopefully the article will bring some new fans to Dockstader's powerful music.

Dockstader: Water Music

Tod Dockstader's Water Music: Part Three is heard in this new video:



Read more about Dockstader's Quatermass CD.

Tod Dockstader: Apocalypse CD at iTunes, etc.

For the first time, Tod Dockstader's Apocalypse CD is now digitally available at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc.



Some fine reviews have appeared:

The Wire:
“The obsessive care with which Starkland have compiled these extraordinary recordings should ensure that Dockstader will be remembered as the innovative, visionary figure he undoubtedly was.”

Fanfare:
“Among the most impressive of electronic-music CDs anywhere... [Luna Park] is one of the finest works of electronic music I’ve ever heard.”

Musicworks:
“Brilliant, compelling listening experiences... vital and fascinating... inventive and powerful.”

Dockstader's Quatermass CD has also recently gone digital.

Read more about Dockstader's Apocalypse CD.

Dockstader: Quatermass: Sound Clips

Here are some excerpts from Dockstader's Quatermass CD, now at iTunes, etc.

Water Music: Part Three

Quatermass: Song and Lament

Quatermass: Parade

Tod Dockstader: Quatermass: now digital

For the first time, Tod Dockstader's classic "organized sound" tape music is now available in the digital realm. Starkland's first all-Dockstader CD appears at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc. The release includes Dockstader's masterpiece, "Quatermass."



Reviews have raved about this recording:

The Washington Post:
"Strong recommendation: the work of Tod Dockstader, a highly imaginative pioneer."

Stereophile:
"Tod Dockstader belongs in the select company of Varèse, Stockhausen, Luening, Schaeffer, Subotnick, and the other pioneers of electronic music or musique concrète. His achievement is on a par with the best in his field."

Option:
"In a sense, Dockstader is one of the godfathers of Nurse With Wound, and a distant cousin of rap and techno... Essential for anyone interested in electronic music."

Read more about Dockstader's Quatermass CD.

Starkland Composers (A-H) + Recordings

Starkland’s composers (A-H) linked to their recordings:

• Charles Amirkhanian
• Phillip Bimstein (Garland Hirschi’s Cows)
• Phillip Bimstein (Larkin Gifford’s Harmonica)
• Jay Cloidt
• Tod Dockstader (Quatermass)
• Tod Dockstader (Apocalypse)
• Paul Dolden
• Paul Dresher
• William Duckworth
• Robert Een
• Fred Frith
• Ellen Fullman
• Lars Hollmer