BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH KNOBS TO TURN!

Delia Derbyshire worked for the BBC’s radiophonic workshop in the 1960’s. The radiophonic workshop was a place where a group of scientists and musicians made sounds using machines and tape decks. This was before the invention of synthesisers. It was around the time when Sci-Fi programmes were becoming popular and they needed futuristic sounds to accompany their futuristic vision. In comparison to the type of music and sounds that were around this was completely new. It really is fascinating; I watched a BBC documentary about it. Imagine being the first ever person to hear a certain sound? This is how I heard about Delia Derbyshire, I watched “Delia Derbyshire Sculptress of Sound” on youtube after a friend told me about it. She is actually the WOMAN who pioneered Techno! She believed sounds should be hand made, using tape decks and machines quite literally cutting and fixing tape back together and making sounds. She pioneered the invention of the Wobbulator (sounds daft but it is actually a machine and a very recognisable sound in Sci-Fi). She also made the Dr Who soundtrack. When the invention of synthesisers came about Delia was actually quite annoyed because she had put so much time and work into making them hand made and now a machine can synthesise these sounds without the work. As technology kept on progressing there became less of a need for the scientists at the radiophonic workshop. This type of music became more accessible to people as the synthesiser meant we could have one in our bedroom if we wanted. The radiophonic workshop was eventually shut down, which is sad but I imagine it would have been an amazing place to work. I am so grateful to the people who worked there for makings these sounds as it is this sort of music that inspires me most and to think that the radiophonic workshop is where it all came from is such a inspiration.