CYBERNETIC SERENDIPITY MUSIC. EXHIBITION LP

	£		100
	$		133

Cybernetic Serendipity was one of the first ever exhibitions about robotics, computers and their future with mankind. Held in 1968 at the ICA (Institute Of Contemporary Arts) this unique London exhibition now lives in popular legend as a seminal event. Simply google the two words "Cybernetic" and "Serendipity" and all manor of high praise, academic papers and comments will magically appear. One major part of this historically important exhibition (along with a robot that made a new painting every 20 minutes) was the new relationship between man, music, robots and computers. This LP was made by the ICA as an examination of this new relationship and as a souvenir of the exhibition. It was released only by the ICA and was only for sale at the exhibition. I've investigated this as much as possible and it seems as though maybe only a couple of hundred copies were pressed. It is incredibly rare, highly desirable and was incidentally also the first ever LP issued by the Institute. It is unlikely it will ever be repressed or reissued.

The idea of the LP was to explore the new field of "computer music", to see where it had come from and possibly where it was going. Therefore this LP includes some "work in progress" as well as some truly landmark recordings.

Side One: 1) Illiac Suite (Experiment 4) by Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson. 2) Cartridge Music (Excerpt) John Cage. 3) Strategie (excerpt) by Iannis Xenakis. 4) Experiment Quatro-Due by Williams Fucks. 5) Mudgett (Excerpt) by JK Randall, vocals by Melinda Kessler.

Side Two: Compusition 3 by Gerlad Strang. 2) Bit Music (Excerpt) by Haruki Tsuchiya, Computer Technique Group, Tokyo. 3) Enneadic Selections by T.H. O'Beirne. 4) January Tensions by Peter Zinovieff. 5) Infraudibles by Herbert Brun. This track is worth explaining a little - it was recorded live at the ICA, August 29th 1968. The performers were Evan Parker, Richard Howe, Derek Bailey, Gavin Bryars and Bernard Rands. The whole LP was complied by Peter Schmidt.

Now to condition. The LP is unplayed. I have two copies of this, I am selling the unplayed one. The LP has been in storage since it was made, however it is worth noting that since 1968 the LP has been safely boxed, but due to changes in climate and temperature the card sleeve has a slight, light crinkle to it, but put in a plastic sleeve it looks incredible. The lamination is perfect and there is no wear or tears. The vinyl LP is unplayed, there are no spindle marks, and it has been out of its sleeve once, although on my copy there has always very very occasional pops in quieter moments, so I'd expect the same here. This was never an audiophile release, the pressing quality was very good but was never exceptional. The scarcity and desirablitiy of this LP outweights these slight shortcomings and I can assure you that you'll never find a finer archive copy. There is no catalogue number on this LP, but labels are marked ICA01 and ICA01. The beautiful cover art is a section from the score to Four Sacred April Rounds by Peter Zinovieff. And incidentally, Zinovieff went on to start EMS, Electronic Music Studios, the company responsible for the fabulous Synthi synthesizer.

Payment by Paypal only please. Email me with any questions. I ship anywhere, buyer pays postage. I'd also suggest insurance on the postage too. There is a reserve on this but this is one of the rarest and certainly most historicazlly important avant garde and experimental LPs ever made.