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  * Electronic Music: Allen Strange's Classic Book Reissued

History

Electronic Music: Allen Strange's Classic Book Reissued

Jason Nolan on Revitalizing Strange's Text + Kickstarter Details

Ryan Gaston + Eldar T * 07/25/22
    

Originally published in 1972, Allen Strange's Electronic Music:
Systems, Techniques, and Controls has become a cult favorite book
among electronic music-makers--and especially among modular
synthesizer enthusiasts. In fact, up until the still-quite-recent
influx of interest in the arcane art of modular synthesis, this book
had largely been forgotten, collecting dust in many a college
electronic music studio. Among those in the know from the good old
days of academic electronic music, though, this book has remained a
vital and cherished resource.

You might wonder what makes a book about synthesizers written in the
1970s so special--after all, the technologies of music-making have
changed considerably since it was written. However, Strange's
approach in writing the book is, in many senses, quite timeless. It
makes few assumptions about musical aesthetic (though it certainly
leans toward the experimental); it offers a very general-purpose
methodology for notating patch techniques; it contains tons of quite
direct, helpful, and surprisingly comprehensible diagrams; and it
contains plenty of musical examples, always offering a sense of how
even the most experimental of techniques can be put into a sensible
musical context. Strange himself was quite a playful, clever, and
creative musician--and the level of thoughtfulness, humor, and detail
in Electronic Music is a testament to his own brilliance. It has
inspired countless new pieces of music, has been used as a textbook
in electronic music classes for decades, and has even inspired an
online tutorial series by Make Noise called Strange Patching.

Electronic Music was never published in great numbers, and hasn't
been distributed since its 1983 second edition. Because of its
combination of uncommon insightfulness and its sheer rarity, it has
become prized by those who own it, and prices for secondhand copies
have hovered in the medium-high triple digits for years. This has, of
course, heightened the text's near-mythical status, and has kept it
out of reach for many...until now.

The cover of the third edition of Electronic Music, created by Allen
Strange's daughter Erin Strange The cover of the third edition of
Electronic Music, created by Allen Strange's daughter Erin Strange
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[1]

After years of research and preparation, Dr. Jason Nolan, researcher
at the Toronto Metropolitan University has announced a limited new
edition of Allen Strange's iconic text. The new edition's text is
entirely unchanged from the 1983 second edition; however, it's not
simply a print-to-order book made from a cheap scan. Dr. Nolan and
his team (including librarians and copyright experts Ann Ludbrook and
Sally Wilson, along with research assistant Heidi Chan) have
meticulously disassembled and digitized an original copy of the book.
Moreover, they've gone through great lengths to update the images in
the text--adding new photos of modules, meticulously reconstructing
demonstrative diagrams, and more. Additionally, the book contains a
new foreword by Strange's colleague Stephen C. Ruppenthal, and
testimonials from musicians and instrument designers who have gained
inspiration from the book over the years.

The new production of the book is being funded through a Kickstarter
campaign, and there are presently no concrete plans to continue
printing beyond the scope of the Kickstarter campaign itself. Given
all of Dr. Nolan's work (and the fact that that the campaign is over
300% funded as of the time of publishing this article), we feel
confident suggesting that interested parties should back the
Kickstarter while you can.

In order to learn more about the project, we interviewed Dr. Nolan,
looking to understand the process of creating the new edition, and to
discuss the book's potential usefulness for present musicians. Be
sure to check out the video above, which includes an overview of the
book by Make Noise's Walker Farrell; and read on for additional
insights from Dr. Nolan himself.

Jason Nolan on Reissuing Strange's Electronic Music

Perfect Circuit: Hey Jason! Thanks for taking the time to talk with
us. We wanted to start by asking about your own background--what is
your personal history with electronic music-making? How did you first
become aware of Allen Strange's Electronic Music?

Jason Nolan: I am not sure when I first become aware of Allen
Strange's Electronic Music. My memory is that I first saw it in 1984.
I took a course in electronic music at York University, in Toronto. I
didn't care much about electronic music per se, but I wanted access
to a recording studio. Everyone in class was talking Stockhausen,
Musique concrete, Pierre Schaeffer, and experiments in radio stations
in Poland. I was a big fan of Fripp & Eno's collaborations, and knew
that they used tape loops. I bombed the course, liking rhythm and
melody, and I was totally nonplussed when we had some guest speaker
named John Cage who talked about stuff I didn't understand and had
never heard of.

But there was this folder or shief of papers or a book cover with
random pages shoved in it that I remember pouring over and trying to
understand, and failing miserably, while I did horrible things to the
Buchla, Arp 2600, Roland 100M and the 2 Studer tape decks. I'm pretty
sure that was Allen Strange's Electronic Music.

Fast forward to 2016, when as a professor, I was building a new
research lab called the RE/Lab, and my friend who was helping said
that I needed to put in an experimental audio corner. With a couple
of Mother-32s and some Roli stuff, I fell back into electronic music,
I quickly progressed to the point where I have at least 65U of
modules and I don't know what else.

[1]
x
[1]

In the process, I was looking around for books and found Allen
Strange's Electronic Music on sale for insane prices and an unusable
PDF. I wanted it, and I couldn't use what was available. It occurred
to me that someone must own the copyright, and set off to see if I
could get permission for another small print run. If I could get it
out, it would be me giving something back to the various communities
I'd become part on forums like modwiggler who were so helpful and
taught me so much. I found the the company who I thought, and they
thought, owned the copyright, but they wanted too much to reprint it.
A colleague connected me to the copyright librarian at Toronto
Metropolitan University (TMU), where I work, and she figured
everything out and was able to repatriate the copyright to Allen's
family, and from that they licensed it back to my university so that
I could run a kickstarter to get it back into print. Seriously, I
just wanted a copy for myself, and anyone else who wanted it.

So, TMU librarians Ann Ludbrook and Sally Wilson were my mentors and
guide in copyright and scanning and all that. Nothing would have
happened without them. The TMU admin were amazing--from the associate
dean of my faculty to legal council to the head of shipping and
receiving, everyone helped me understand everything that needed to be
done to get this book project moving forward.

Strange's book is filled with an abundance of diagrams and
supplementary graphics, which make even the most complex topics
easier to understand. Strange's book is filled with an abundance of
diagrams and supplementary graphics, which make even the most complex
topics easier to understand.
x
[1]

And in the RE/Lab I was lucky enough to have a research assistant,
Heidi Chan. Pre-covid, Heidi was working for the best Eurorack store
in town, Moog Audio, but when they closed doors I was able to hire
her to work in my lab as a technician. Having an in-house Eurorack
expert and accomplished musician, and a grad student, turned out to
be a linchpin for the whole project. When she wasn't teaching lab
folks about Eurorack, she was working on the Kickstarter
project...connecting with module owners around the world so that we
could get updated photos of all the modules (even Tom Rowlands from
The Chemical Brothers provided a photo of a particularly obscure
module), and she helped us compile a suite of testimonials from fans
of the original work, from Todd Barton and Suzanne Ciani to Dieter
Doepfer and Walker Farrell. I'd like to say I was the calm in the
middle of the storm, but to be honest, they were all the calm
surrounding my storm.

Allen's partner, Pat, has been instrumental in this project. After we
helped her get control of the copyright, she trusted us to take on
the project. But she kept actively involved, getting Stephen C.
Ruppenthal to write a new introduction, helping make connections for
testimonials, suggesting printing and format requirements, and
getting Stephen and Brian Belet to work on improving some of the
illustrations. She ran the fine line of letting us get on with
things, and ensuring that we got it done right. Her guidance ensured
that we were always on the right track. Their daughter Erin provided
a new cover for the reprint, which I think is much better than the
other two, so I really feel that what I was doing was helping to get
the process going forward, using the resources I had to get it out,
but not really having to take on responsibility for the "vision" for
the project. Allen and his family had all the vision required.

[1]
x
[1]

PC: The landscape of sound synthesis has changed quite a bit since
Allen Strange's book was first published, yet it remains a source of
inspiration for many. What do you think gives this particular text
such staying power? Given that it is now several decades old, what do
you think it has to offer the modern synthesist or electronic
musician?

Jason: I find Allen's work really weird and enticing. I'm not a
musician or composer. I'm at best a student. His book is a masterful
enticement to exploration. It is a thoughtful and reflective guiding
hand. It never tells you what to do. But it's always pointing towards
what's been done and what can be done in an enticing and open-ended
manner. If you read through the dozens of testimonials, you'll see
the breadth and depth of his ideas and influence, but also how he
shared or instilled a level of excitement and curiosity that's
unimaginable in a text like this.

[1]
[1]
[1]

PC: What has been the most challenging aspect of realizing this
project?

Jason: Over all, this has been an easy project. Everyone has been
generous with their time and ideas, patient and supportive as I
struggled through things and just generally pleasant to deal with.
There were a few folks who had strong ideas about the Kickstarter and
how it was being run, or not run properly, but every comment was
really about people being concerned and wanting the best possible
outcome. And we've not got every problem ironed out to everyone's
satisfaction, but the level of encouragement I've received and thanks
for taking on this project has been astounding. It was just lucky
that I could be the one to take this on. TMU embraces this kind of
work as important. I've had nothing but encouragement, even while we
work out all the legal and accounting details to ensure everything is
done correctly.

[1]
x
[1]

Giving Back to the Synthesis Community

PC: We understand that you plan to contribute the profits from the
Kickstarter to a number of charitable organizations. Can you tell us
a little bit about the groups that will benefit from the Kickstarter?

Jason: When I started the project, I hadn't realized that there would
be some money left over after all the financial responsibilities had
been met. When that clicked in, I realized that there was an
opportunity. This is not a profit making project. It is about trying
to get an important work back out into the hands of people who want
it, or can benefit from it but don't know they want it yet.

[1]
x
[1]

Some of my other work has taught me the necessity of supporting
projects for "equity deserving groups," meaning making tools and
resources and opportunities more widely available. I'm part of a
Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funded
research project called the Canadian Accessible Musical Instrument
Network (CAMIN). CAMIN's mandate is to bring together organizations
who seek to improve tools, technologies and opportunities for people
disabled by existing music systems. I'm autistic, and music making
has not only always been a passion, but a severe struggle. CAMIN is a
way for us to understand how to better make music making a more
inclusive process.

Through CAMIN, I got to know Richard Marsella of the Community Music
Schools of Toronto and LaFrae Sci of the Willie Mae Rock Camp in
Brooklyn, NY. Both groups explore electronic music with their
community, with an eye to girls, gender expansive youth and young
people who don't readily have access to the sound making tools so
many of us have a long and lasting relationship with. We hope to
include other established groups in Europe and beyond to receive
funds from this project, and we've got some interesting leads.

[1]
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[1]

PC: A more general question--we're curious how you account for the
recent resurgence of interest in modular synthesis. From your
perspective, what is special about modular synthesis? Do you have any
suspicions about why that particular music-making workflow seems to
speak to so many people?

Jason: Modular synthesis enticed me back into electronic musicking,
after losing contact with it for decades. It is so diverse with so
many different entry points, ways of engaging, levels of
participation. And the community is really outstanding and generous.
My first steps back in were through DIY electronics at one end, and
buying a Make Noise Black and Gold Shared System Plus at the other
end, and I've been moving to the center ever since.

[1]
x
[1]

Modular synthesis is so open ended and it always leads you to
unexpected and unknowable outcomes. It doesn't restrict you to
specific rhythms or scales, sound colours or patterns of interaction.
But at the same time, if you want specific traditional rhythms and
tones, it is all there for you. Modular synthesis forces you to ask
yourself...what do I want to do today?

And at the community level, the same open-endedness exists. The DIY
modular electronics community is one of the most supportive online
communities I've ever encountered. No question is too stupid or noob,
and sometimes threads of posts can get so arcane and esoteric that
they seem like from another planet. All in the same place, and all
taken up in the spirit of inquiry. The module designers are right
there with the users, sharing ideas, stories, experiences, new
designs. Design and fabrication wisdom and insight make it possible
to move from being a DIYer to setting up your own shop and making
modules.

There really is room for everyone willing to share ideas and respect
the work of others. All of the overlapping communities that exist in
the modular synthesis universe have something to share and offer to
the others, and the astounding level of curiosity and creativity
makes it an exciting place to be.

PC: Are there plans to continue to print/sell new copies of 
Electronic Music once the Kickstarter has ended?

Jason: At present there are no fixed plans to keep this book in print
beyond the Kickstarter, but there are a lot of discussions going. A
number of synth, eurorack and diy electronics stores would like to
carry it, so I am certain that the book will remain available for a
long time to come.

[1]
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Electronic Music: Allen Strange's Classic Book Reissued

Jason Nolan on Revitalizing Strange's Text + Kickstarter Details

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