I remember it very clearly, although I don’t know exactly when it was. Probably 1980, since the first TV series was broadcast in 1981 – so I would have been nearly ten years old. I think it was at my Dad’s suggestion, but perhaps not.
For whatever reason, on that particular evening, I curled up on the sofa and listened for the very first time to The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy on Radio 4. (It was a radio series first, before the LPs, books, TV and eventually film.)
It was the episode where The Heart Of Gold lands on the legendary planet of Magrathea, by way of improbability drive, imminent missile attack, sperm whale and a bowl of petunias, and I was transfixed.
Partly because for a nine-year-old, obsessed by a heady mix of Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Star Trek and The Goon Show, Hitchhikers was pure gold – but mostly because it was in stereo.
In this video Brian Eno talks about perfume, pornography and pissing in Duchamp’s urinal.
This, from a man who has produced (amongst others) Talking Heads, U2, Coldplay, Devo, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson and James – as well as being a prolific musician and artist in his own right, starting out as a member of Roxy Music in the early 70s, and inventing the genre label “Ambient” along the way.
I know what you’re thinking – another post about Brian Eno ? Already ?!? Change the tune already ! Tell us something useful !
Well, tough. I only just found this, and it’s fantastic, and I wanted to share it with you. I’ll post something technical about using EQ or compressors or something again soon, honest.
In the meantime, if you want some genuine insight into one of the greatest producers of all time, both as a producer and as a person, this is a great place to start. (The other place would be his 1995 book – A Year With Swollen Appendices: The Diary of Brian Eno, which I strongly recommend.)
Forget computers and plugins, forget pop shields, forget the SwirlyGig, forget SSL desks and tantric breathing exercises – forget all that stuff, and open your mind to a real music production tool – the Oblique Strategies.
Oblique Strategies is a deck of cards, about 7×9 cm in size, supplied in a small black box labelled “OBLIQUE STRATEGIES”. The cards themselves are black on one side, white on the other, and have obscure, cryptic aphorisms printed on the front in small letters.
They are intended as a creative tool for musicians and were developed by legendary producerBrian Eno and artist Peter Schmidt - the pair originally both came up with the same idea independently in 1975, and joined forces to make it a reality. Eno’s own description explains the idea very well:
"I am very impressed by your feedback, it is spot-on... this has indeed been a fruitful coaching session and I am looking forward to working more with you!"
I remember it very clearly, although I don’t know exactly when it was. Probably 1980, since the first TV series was broadcast in 1981 – so I would have been nearly ten years old. I think it was at my Dad’s suggestion, but perhaps not.
, which I strongly recommend.)
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