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Experimental Music: Squeak, Squawk, and Skrunk


Leon Theremin and the Orchestra

I’m showing my age with today’s Al compás del mundo playlist. Most all the music represented here is from 20-50 years ago. A couple exceptions are Iranian-Canadian Sina Bathaie and Chile’s Föllakzoid, both a nod towards rave culture…which has its origins in the mid -1980s, an old school trip out which lingers on to this day. Experimental music has been around for who knows how long. Rebels always come out of the woodwork when popular taste imposes limitations.  And electronics have influenced and become the medium as far back as the theremin, invented circa 1918. There’s one more ringer in this group (experimental yes, electronic, no) and that’s Steve Reich’s piece, an excerpt from “Pulse.” The chorus and instruments are organic and live – no recorded sounds and no overdubs. That this sort of music has drawn devotees in great numbers and from all parts of the world would make a case for a commonality in human artistic perception and acceptance. Who says that squeak, squawk, skrunk isn’t beautiful music? 

Al compás del mundo 208,
11-20-25 – electronic and experimental music

 

01 Zoe Keating - Sun Will Set (Canada)

02 Sina Bathaie - Tehran (Iran-Canada)

03 Nico - Frozen Warnings (Germany)

04 Steve Reich - Pulse (USA)

05 Einsturzende Neubauten - Keine Schoenheit Ohne Gefahr (No Beauty Without Danger) (Germany)

06 Carl Stone - Kustaa (USA)

07 Tangerine Dream - No Man's Land (Germany)

08 Föllakzoid - 4. 99 (Chile)

09 Mbongwana Star - Kimpala (Congo)

10 Tortoise - Six Pack (USA)

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  1. Jack VaughanNovember 26, 2025 at 4:07 PM

    Léon Theremin (born Lev Termen), a Russian physicist, conceived the theremin by accident in 1920 while conducting research for the Soviet government on proximity sensors. Theremin noticed that as his hand approached the apparatus, the pitch of the tone changed.

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