May 18, 2020, by Ross Wilson

Music and Innovation

In the latest of the ‘Things that Made Us’ podcast, we talk about the connections between music and invention. This focuses on Mike Oldfield’s 1973 album, Tubular Bells. You might know the album from its use in the horror film, The Exorcist (1973). This has meant the music has been perceived as haunting but it can be looked at as representing innovation and interdisciplinary work.

The album is largely orchestral and Oldfield played the majority of the instruments aged only 19. The piece is recorded by overdubbing which was an experimental technique at the time but which has come to dominate electronic music composition. This is an album that became a cultural reference point over the course of the 1970s and 1980s. It represents a fusion of practices and methods to think differently about music.

The Things That Made Us 

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