Elektronisk musik

Marking the fortieth anniversary of Please, the duo’s first album release, the instant Sunday Times bestseller Pet Shop Boys Volume presents their entire visual output to date in a contemporary literary format. Pet Shop Boys – Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe – are the most successful duo in the history of pop music. Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, including No. 1 hits such as ‘West End girls’, ‘It’s a sin’, and ‘Always on my mind’, and platinum-selling albums Please, Actually, and Very. Uniquely spanning the worlds of music, art, film, theatre, design, and fashion, Pet Shop Boys have forged an identity as unforgettable as their sound. From the seminal graphic design of their record sleeves to their groundbreaking videos and innovative stage shows, they have set the bar for the visual presentation of pop. Celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the release of their first album in 1986, Pet Shop Boys Volume is the definitive retrospective of the duo’s career. Expanding upon Pet Shop Boys Catalogue, published two decades ago, it presents their entire visual output to date, year by year. Sleeve artworks and packaging, stills from every video, film, and performance, stage sets and costume designs, photoshoots, publications, and even Christmas cards all feature, as does every collaboration with luminaries including Mark Farrow, Wolfgang Tillmans, Martin Parr, Bruce Weber, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Derek Jarman, Scott King, Zaha Hadid, Tom Scutt, and Es Devlin. Concise commentaries by Chris Heath and Philip Hoare provide illuminating insights into the genesis of each project. Hoare’s original introduction is accompanied by a new introduction from Libby Sellers who considers the importance of Pet Shop Boys within the history of design, while a new foreword by Jeremy Deller reflects on the enduring impact of their music and image. With a jacket designed by Farrow and a new conversation between Heath, Tennant, and Lowe, Pet Shop Boys Volume is a visual feast and a sumptuous tribute to four decades of creative innovation.

In November 2020, Depeche Mode were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Dave Gahan, accepting the honour, said: “I’d like to thank Anton Corbijn who thank God came in at the right time and actually made us look cool.” Also in the fall of 2020, TASCHEN released the limited edition Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn (81–18) signed by Depeche Mode and Anton Corbijn, and it became one of the fastest selling collector’s editions in the publishing company’s history. This pocket-sized and wallet-friendly edition is a testament to Corbijn’s unique vision, and indeed “cool” as Gahan acknowledged so movingly in his speech; an illustrated history of how Corbijn, who became in 1986 the band’s de facto creative director, and helped cement Depeche Mode’s reputation as the biggest cult band in the world.Featuring over 150 photographs from Corbijn’s extensive archives, including formal and informal portraits from places such as Madrid, Hamburg, the California desert, Prague and Marrakech; a multitude of off-the-cuff, candid images; and stunning live shots from all their tours since 1988 right up to 2023. Created with the full collaboration of the band, who share some insights on working with Corbijn, Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn trumpets how one man’s original aesthetic, that has encompassed all of their photography, most of their music videos, album graphics and set designs, helped shape the band’s enduring popularity. Reflecting on his role in Depeche Mode, Corbijn recalls in the book’s introduction: “A lot of it came down to me, and I wanted it to be right for them. I wanted to think for them. To be great for them.” This book is a tribute to the depth and breadth of that greatness, a celebration of one of the most creative and enduring collaborations in rock history.

'Incredibly detailed' - The GuardianAs a core member of Kraftwerk, some of the most beautiful, era-defining music has been co-composed by Karl Bartos. From ‘The Robots’ to ‘Computer Love’ and ‘Tour De France’ to Kraftwerk’s 1982 number-one single ‘The Model’, Bartos’s deft hand has shaped the contemporary musical landscape we know today.In The Sound of the Machine, Bartos speaks candidly about his life in Kraftwerk. He recalls his experiences in the Kling Klang studios during the recording process and the joy, passion and synergy of the group.Cerebral and witty, Bartos’s narrative journeys through his post-war childhood in Germany, his early musical ventures and his parallel career as a teacher. Offering a fascinating insight into both a band and a man at the forefront of musical innovation over the last 55 years, Bartos looks to the future, sharing his hopes and fears for today’s musical culture.

The first biography of a great American composer of the cinema ageJohn Williams is one of the most important film composers of all time, having almost singlehandedly revived the Hollywood symphonic scoring tradition and helped restore the livelihood of American orchestras through the popularity of film music programming. His film music, in the words of director Oliver Stone, "came to stand for the American culture."In John Williams: A Composer's Life, the first biography of the composer, author Tim Greiving offers an engaging account of a man whose body of work is well-known but whose personal life has consistently remained very private. Williams wrote the memorable scores and hummable themes for a staggering number of popular touchstones across multiple generations--among them Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and the Harry Potter series--and earned more Oscar nominations than any individual artist in the history of the motion picture Academy. He also composed dozens of concerti, fanfares, and other concert works and was a national presence as music director of the Boston Pops for more than a decade. He inspired countless children to pursue a career in the orchestra and won the respect of the classical community worldwide. Seeking to understand what drove Williams's musical productivity and its effects on the lives of those close to him, Greiving delves deeply into the composer's decades-long career, uncovering countless new stories and revelations. Throughout, he analyzes and describes Williams' film scores, recalling them primarily in narrative and emotional terms rather than purely musicological ones, and in doing so emphasizes one of Williams's principle strengths: his musical storytelling.With unprecedented interview access to Williams and those close to him, Greiving presents the definitive portrait of a beloved but famously private doyen of twentieth-century pop culture. Featuring 175 exclusive interviews--including with Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, George Miller, Mia Farrow, Hans Zimmer, Yo-Yo Ma, session musicians, family members, and friends--John Williams: A Composer's Life is the first and last word on the great court composer of the cinema age, the musical conductor of our collective memory.

'The rainbow reaches right across the sky, for miles and miles, and has landed right in the middle of our field. My mother, Alison, is standing at the beginning. I'm sure it's a beginning, rather than the end, as there's no pot of gold in sight. The point where everything forms or, perhaps, is not quite formed as yet. That's my favourite place. A place alive with possibility.' Strange Things Are Happening begins with the wonder of that rainbow, and continues with many escapades down the rabbit hole. From punk and the beginnings of the DIY scene, through Acid House, psychedelia, the rise of electronic dance music and much more, Richard Norris has been involved in countless countercultural revolutions. From misadventures in Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, with Sun Ra at customs, and Shaun Ryder in Joe Strummer's beaten-up Cadillac in Tijuana, to his extraordinarily influential output in The Grid and Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, Richard Norris' story is one of collaboration and community, fuelled by relentless psychedelic curiosity. Strange Things Are Happening is a record of a life lived in the moment, forever in thrall to discovery, exploration and innovation - the search for what lies at the other end of that rainbow.

Computer World was Kraftwerk’s most concise and focused conceptual statement, their most influential record and crowning achievement. Computer World transformed the way pop music was composed, played, packaged and released and, in the process, helped create entire new genres of music including hip-hop, techno, trance, electro, industrial and synth-pop. They influenced the influencers. Upon its release on 10 May 1981, the record was a revelation. It was unlike anything created for mainstream consumers of music at that time, an electronic suite of assured and industrious propulsive forward movement. Kraftwerk set off a sonic detonation that is still being felt today.This book explores Kraftwerk’s revolutionary sonic template, their conceptual and artistic preoccupations and lyrical obsessions to provide new insights into one of the greatest records ever made.

An Irish Times Book of the Year 2025Liam Cagney is residing in a Berlin squat when one night he finds himself at Berghain. Fascinated by the strange techno and even stranger dance floor, he sets out to explore Berlin’s unique club culture in all its intensity. Berghain Nights is the result, the first major literary exploration of Berlin’s club scene.Blending essay and memoir, Berghain Nights features interviews with major electronic dance music artists like Ellen Allien, Rrose, Luke Slater, Eris Drew and Function, alongside other figures from Berlin’s night-time economy and the history of techno. From kinky parties at KitKat Club to the industrial gloom of Tresor, from the queer garden of Buttons to the gay psychedelia of Cocktail d’Amore, Berghain Nights not only captures the excitement of Berlin’s clubs, it explores how spaces like these can help one find a truer self.

'Highly stimulating ... Kraftwerk is a pleasure to read' Jon Savage, New StatesmanThe story of the phenomenon that is Kraftwerk, and how they revolutionised our cultural landscape'We are not artists nor musicians. We are workers.' Ignoring nearly all rock traditions, experimenting in near-total secrecy in their Düsseldorf studio, Kraftwerk fused sound and technology, graphic design and performance, modernist Bauhaus aesthetics and Rhineland industrialisation - even human and machine - to change the course of modern music. This is the story of Kraftwerk the cultural phenomenon, who turned electronic music into avant-garde concept art and created the soundtrack to our digital age.

In November 2020, Depeche Mode were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Dave Gahan, accepting the honour, said: “I’d like to thank Anton Corbijn who thank God came in at the right time and actually made us look cool.” Also in the fall of 2020, TASCHEN released the limited edition Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn (81–18) signed by Depeche Mode and Anton Corbijn, and it became one of the fastest selling collector’s editions in the publishing company’s history. This equally epic, but more wallet friendly XL edition, is a testament to Corbijn’s unique vision, and indeed “cool” as Gahan acknowledged so movingly in his speech; a detailed illustrated history of how Corbijn, who became in 1986 the band’s de facto creative director, and helped cement Depeche Mode’s reputation as the biggest cult band in the world. Featuring over 500 photographs from Corbijn’s extensive archives, some never seen before, including formal and informal portraits from places such as Madrid, Hamburg, the California desert, Prague and Marrakech (some taken during the making of iconic videos such as “Enjoy the Silence” and “Personal Jesus”); a multitude of off-the-cuff, candid images; and stunning live shots from all their tours since 1988. In addition to the photographs, there are sketches and designs for stage sets and album covers, Corbijn’s handwritten captions throughout the book, placing the reader right in the middle of the shoots, and an extended interview with the Dutch master. Created with the full collaboration of the band, who share some insights on working with Corbijn, Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn (81–18) trumpets how one man’s original aesthetic, that has encompassed all of their photography, most of their music videos, album graphics and set designs, helped shape the band’s enduring popularity. Reflecting on his role in Depeche, Corbijn recalls in the book’s introduction: “A lot of it came down to me, and I wanted it to be right for them. I wanted to think for them. To be great for them.” This book is a tribute to the depth and breadth of that greatness, a celebration of one of the most creative and enduring collaborations in rock history.

Extravagantly opaque, willfully vaporous — Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II, released by the estimable British label Warp Records in 1994, rejuvenated ambient music for the Internet Age that was just dawning. In the United States, it was Richard D. James's first full length on Sire Records (home to Madonna and Depeche Mode) under the moniker Aphex Twin; Sire helped usher him in as a major force in music, electronic or otherwise.Faithful to Brian Eno’s definition of ambient music, Selected Ambient Works Volume II was intentionally functional: it furnished chill out rooms, the sanctuaries amid intense raves. Choreographers and film directors began to employ it to their own ends, and in the intervening decades this background music came to the fore, adapted by classical composers who reverse-engineered its fragile textures for performance on acoustic instruments. Simultaneously, “ambient” has moved from esoteric sound art to central tenet of online culture. This book contends that despite a reputation for being beatless, the album exudes percussive curiosity, providing a sonic metaphor for our technologically mediated era of countless synchronized nanosecond metronomes.

In Sound Design and Synthesis for Electronic and Modern Music: Beyond the Drop, Rick Snoman draws on over three decades of experience in production, teaching and sound design to explore how synthesis, performance and engineering merge to form the true language of electronic music, bringing together both technical depth and real-world perspective.Through the book's focus on how to create and design sounds that express intent, not imitation, readers will gain practical knowledge of: various synthesis methods and their applications; dynamic processing for controlled energy and impact; saturation and distortion techniques for character and warmth; and effects processing for spatial and textural enhancement. The book looks at how sound behaves, how movement and modulation replace chord progressions as emotional drivers and how to build sounds that react like instruments rather than static blocks of audio.Whether you are a composer, a producer or sound designer, a beginner who is unsure how to move beyond presets or an experienced producer who wants their tracks to speak more clearly, Sound Design and Synthesis for Electronic and Modern Music provides the knowledge and techniques needed to craft the sonic signatures that define contemporary hits.

In the age of global capitalism, vaporwave celebrates and undermines the electronic ghosts haunting the nostalgia industry. Ours is a time of ghosts in machines, killing meaning and exposing the gaps inherent in the electronic media that pervade our lives. Vaporwave is an infant musical micro-genre that foregrounds the horror of electronic media's ability to appear - as media theorist Jeffrey Sconce terms it - "haunted." Experimental musicians such as INTERNET CLUB and MACINTOSH PLUS manipulate Muzak and commercial music to undermine the commodification of nostalgia in the age of global capitalism while accentuating the uncanny properties of electronic music production. Babbling Corpse reveals vaporwave's many intersections with politics, media theory, and our present fascination with uncanny, co(s)mic horror. The book is aimed at those interested in global capitalism's effect on art, musical raids on mainstream "indie" and popular music, and anyone intrigued by the changing relationship between art and commerce.

Electronic Music from Scratch is a complete crash course in the joys of musical circuitry. Taking inspiration from famous instruments in electronic music history, this guide shows readers how to create dozens of whimsical, unexpected, and incredibly usable musical instruments. Create oscillators that compose their own melodies based on candle flickers, cassette players with keyboard attachments, a talkbox for scaring younger relatives, and so, so much more. Written with total beginners in mind, Electronic Music from Scratch will take readers on a journey through music history and lead them to discover sounds they didn't even know existed.

Stories about new musical instruments are often told as quests for new kinds of sounds. The Composer's Black Box asks, What happens when new musical instruments produce not only new sounds but also new dynamics of musical agency and control? And what consequences do those new dynamics have for musicality beyond sound? With a focus on five key figures—Morton Subotnick, Pauline Oliveros, Donald Buchla, Alvin Lucier, and Sun Ra—this book explores how scientific and technological developments in mid-twentieth-century America galvanized musicians to reconfigure their conceptions of sociality, freedom, and the creative self. Theodore Gordon shows how cybernetic thinking in a range of disciplines, from experimental music to jazz and electrical engineering, has shaped musical techniques and technologies and changed what it means to be a composer—or, more broadly, a music-making human—in an increasingly informational world.

This is the story of the game-changing collaboration between director Alfred Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann, who channelled their inner fears and desires into films that would become the nightmarish narratives and soundtracks of our lives.The 11-year collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann is often called the greatest director-composer partnership in cinema history. Their eight films together include such classic thrillers as Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds. In Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores that Changed Cinema, Steven C. Smith delivers an intimate account of how the reserved, but deeply anxious, Hitchcock found his ideal creative partner in the cantankerous, but deeply romantic, Herrmann. Smith draws on four decades of research, including previously unpublished documents and new interviews, to deliver a riveting account of what made the teaming of "Benny and Hitch" so memorable and influential -- and why it came to a bitter end. Their story involves the tumultuous changes in Hollywood from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, as the collapsing studio system gave way to independent, counterculture filmmaking. It also involves the key figures in Hitchcock and Herrmann's inner circle including the director's gifted wife and most valued critic, Alma Reville; Herrmann's beautiful, put-upon spouse, Lucy Anderson; and talent agent-turned-studio mogul Lew Wasserman. Wasserman's negotiations made Hitchcock's greatest filmmaking period possible, but over time Lew's commercial instincts as head of Universal Studios clashed with Herrmann's pure artistic vision.Hitchcock and Herrmann is both a deeply researched historical study and a fast-moving, cinematic narrative -- one that puts readers on the film sets and scoring stages of Hitchcock masterworks. Their collaboration ended in a bitter break; but today Herrmann's pulse-quickening music has become the soundtrack of our own anxious times. The music from their movies is more popular than ever, heard in Quentin Tarantino blockbusters and Lady Gaga music videos. In Smith's expert telling, readers get an an intimate look at two legendary creators who, despite seemingly opposite personalities, found in each other artistic completion.

** CONTAINS NEW MATERIAL ** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTELLER & WINNER OF THE ATTITUDE BOOK AWARD 'Refreshing, inspiring and candid.' ATTITUDE 'I love this man so much. He was, and always will be, my knight in shining Westwood.' DAVINA MCCALL'This is a story that should never have been told' KATE MOSS'The perfect beach read' THE SUNDAY TIMES'If you want to change your life but can't.. I strongly advise you read this book' TRACEY EMINAs one of club culture's most notorious - and best loved - figures, Tony is a complete force of nature. Here he tells the most extraordinary stories of depravity and hedonism, of week-long benders and extreme self-destruction - and of recovery, redemption, friendship and the joy of a good tune.___________________________________________________________________________'Anyone can get a party started, but no one keeps it going like Fat Tony, the energy never dips andwhat a life he's lived.. He's a tosser but we still love him.' ELTON JOHN & DAVID FURNISH___________________________________________________________________________Harrowing, honest and funny, this is the candid and outrageous memoir of a life of extremes. It's a story of getting it all and losing it all. Addiction, recovery, and starting again. Drawing a vivid portrait of Britain's street culture from the 1980s to the noughties, DJ Fat Tony describes his childhood on a London estate where he honed his petty criminality, was abused by an older man and became best friends with Boy George. He spent his teenage years parading the Kings Road in his latest (mostly stolen) clobber, worked as a receptionist at a brothel, hung out with Leigh Bowery and Andy Warhol, and created his drag persona, before becoming DJ to the stars (including Prince and Madonna) and spiralling into a life-threatening drug addiction.This is a story of loss and redemption and living to tell all the tales in glorious, funny and often heart-breaking detail, from one of social media's best-loved meme-thieves and the world-renowned DJ.___________________________________________________________________________'There is nobody in London, let alone the world who has lived a more extraordinary life... his journey from villain to real life hero is one of the most beautiful examples of humanity I have ever witnessed. I wouldn't be without this c*nt.' KELLY OSBOURNE'Hearing Tony's story is brutal and shocking. He is nothing short of a miracle and his willingness to be of service to others seeking sobriety is testament to how far he has come from the days of pulling his own teeth out.' MARC JACOBS

Wildfire tells the story of the first decade of The Prodigy from the perspective of original member Leeroy Thornhill, fully illustrated with entirely unseen photography from the earliest raves, to Japan and the United States in the late '90s, by which point the band were one of the biggest on the planet.Rave pioneers whose sound also encompassed hip hop, punk and rock, The Prodigy arguably had as much influence on contemporary pop culture as the Sex Pistols and these extraordinary images from Leeroy's personal archives capture the wild energy, ecstasy and abandon from the moment they dropped their first hit 'Charly' through the three albums which became the ubiquitous soundtrack to the decade: Experience, Music for the Jilted Generation and Fat of the Land. Beautifully designed in five colours with archival ephemera, and contextualised by Leeroy himself with candid and often hilarious stories describing the band's wild adventures and eccentric encounters as their fame and popularity spread 'like wildfire', this is the ultimate visual journey into the world of the original 'electronic punks'.

Rusty Egan, co-founder of Visage and resident DJ at London's iconic Blitz Club, helped define the New Romantic music movement. His autobiography captures the birth of British electronic music, 1980s London nightlife, and collaborations with Midge Ure, Steve Strange, and other pioneers.RustyEgan is one of the most iconic and influential figures in the electronic music industry. His career began in the music industry as a runner atDJM studios, followed by a stint at WEA Records. Rusty collaborated with formerSex Pistols member Glen Matlock, alongside Steve New and MidgeUre, to establish the new wave band Rich Kids. Their debut album, Ghostsof Princes in Towers, released in 1978, achieved both critical acclaim andcommercial success. During the Rich Kids tours, Rusty met Steve Strange.This encounter led to Rusty's concept for a club night at Billy's, a Sohovenue, catering to fashionable punks and showcasing the music they werepassionate about. In 1979, they moved their club night to the Blitz in CoventGarden. As the resident DJ at the Blitz, Rusty played a pivotal rolein introducing British, German, and Japanese electronica to the Britishclub scene, essentially curating the soundtrack for the burgeoning NewRomantic movement.Rusty Egan was instrumental in the formation of the band Visagewith Midge Ure. Steve Strange joined them as the frontman (face and voice), andthe lineup was completed by Billy Currie on keyboards, along with JohnMcGeoch (guitar), Dave Formula (keyboards), and Barry Adamson(bass), all from the band MAGAZINE.Beyond his band work Rusty co-founded the incredibly popular CamdenPalace nightclub in London with Steve Strange, where he continued tochampion and shape the development of electronica in the UK. He alsoestablished Metropolis Music, a publishing and production company,allowing him to create music as well as perform it.Inmore recent news, Rusty released his album Welcome To The Dancefloorin 2017, which featured collaborations with Midge Ure, Tony Hadley, and PeterHook. Furthermore, in June 2024, Demon Records Rusty Egan is stillregularly DJing and in September 2025 will be releasing his new album Romantic to coincidewith this autobiography and the Design Museum's Blitz Club Exhibition centred ofcourse, around Rusty.

In Generation Ecstasy, Simon Reynolds takes the reader on a guided tour of this end-of-the-millenium phenomenon, telling the story of rave culture and techno music as an insider who has dosed up and blissed out. A celebration of rave's quest for the perfect beat definitive chronicle of rave culture and electronic dance music.