artist: Morton Subotnick country of origin: USA style(s): Classical avant garde, electronic, ambient essential releases: Silver Apples Of The Moon / The Wild Bull (1968, Wergo) The Key To Songs / Return: A Triumph Of Reason (1985/1986, New Albion)

Students of electronic music will be interested to know that Subotnick’s Silver Apples Of The Moon, written in 1967, was the first piece of electronic music ever written specifically for commercial record release. Today it sounds quaint and a little dated, understandable when you realise it was performed on the primitive Bulcha which, along with the Moog, was one of the earliest synthesisers.

Silver Apples is fascinating nonetheless. It's typical of his earliest recorded works and it remains among his most challenging, with elements of Stockhausen and other avant-garde noise terrorists giving his colourful, energetic, even passionate electronics a giddy, unpredictable bent. On the other hand, his two superb albums for the New Albion label from the 1980’s - The Key to Songs and Return - offer a more generous compromise between demanding experimentation and melodic accessibility.

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