On the Other Ocean

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On the Other Ocean
David Behrman - On the Other Ocean.png
Studio album by
David Behrman
Released1978
Recorded1977
StudioCenter for Contemporary Music
(Mills College)
Electronic Music Studios
(State University of New York at Albany)
Genre Minimalism
Length42:42
Label Lovely Music
David Behrman chronology
On the Other Ocean
(1978)		Leapday Night
(1987)

On the Other Ocean is the debut studio album by American composer David Behrman, released in 1978 by Lovely Music. [1] Considered a pioneering work of computer music, the album pairs electronics controlled by a KIM-1 computer with live players. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Background and recording

"On the Other Ocean" was recorded on September 18, 1977, at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College in Oakland, California. [7]

"Figure in a Clearing" was recorded on June 9, 1977, at the Electronic Music Studio at the State University of New York at Albany in Albany, New York. [7]

Release

The album was reissued by Lovely Music in 1996 on CD and again on vinyl on February 1, 2019. [8]

Music

Andy Beta of Pitchfork explained: "New music composer David Behrman’s debut, On the Other Ocean, is a riposte on how humans and computers can interface and interact to make a warm, heavenly sound. It marks Behrman’s first interactive piece between man, woman, and machine; flautist Maggi Payne and bassoonist Arthur Stidfole flutter and slowly move between a series of six pitches, which in turn trigger Behrman’s KIM-1, which reacts and pitch shifts these pure tones so as to harmonize with its human counterparts. [...] Time melts away as soloists and microcomputer move at an unhurried pace, reveling in the resultant honeyed tones." [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]
Christgau's Record Guide A− [11]
Exclaim! 9/10 [12]
Pitchfork 9.0/10 [2]

In a retrospective review, Andy Beta of Pitchfork said, "Over 40 years after its initial release, [Behrman's] pioneering work pairing computers with live players feels not only prescient but also refreshingly optimistic." [2] Nilan Perera of Exclaim! praised the record, saying, "What both pieces excel in is a rich, organic, complexity that on the surface may be considered "ambient," but eschews that convention in the most artful way. This recording has achieved landmark status in New Music and it's easy to hear why." [12]

Accolades

PublicationRankList
Pitchfork 29The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time [13]

Legacy and influence

An excerpt of "On the Other Ocean" was featured on Late Night Tales: Belle and Sebastian Vol. II . a 2012 DJ mix compilation album by Belle and Sebastian. [14]

In 2017, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes selected "On the Other Ocean" in his "Bedtime Mix" for Phil Taggart on BBC Radio 1. [15]

American choreographer Molissa Fenley has used "On the Other Ocean" and "Figure in a Clearing" in her work. [16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Behrman.

No.TitleLength
1."On the Other Ocean"23:30
2."Figure in a Clearing"19:12
Total length:42:42

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. [7]

References

  1. ↑ "Album Notes: On the Other Ocean". Lovely Music . Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Beta, Andy (February 4, 2019). "David Behrman: On the Other Ocean Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ Rockwell, John (March 12, 1978). "Trends in New Music on Disks". The New York Times . Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ Jennie Gottschalk (August 11, 2016). Experimental Music Since 1970. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 74–. ISBN   978-1-62892-251-6.
  5. ↑ Alvin Lucier (September 10, 2012). Music 109: Notes on Experimental Music. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 82–. ISBN   978-0-8195-7298-1.
  6. ↑ Thom Holmes (March 31, 2008). Electronic and Experimental Music: Technology, Music, and Culture. Routledge. pp. 430–. ISBN   978-1-135-90617-7.
  7. 1 2 3 On the Other Ocean (Liner notes). David Behrman. Lovely Music, Ltd. 1978. LML 1041.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ↑ Fitzgerald, Colin (November 30, 2018). "Lovely Music reissues Robert Ashley's Private Parts and David Behrman's On the Other Ocean on vinyl". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Pitchfork (September 26, 2016). "The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  10. ↑ Tyranny, "Blue" Gene. "On the Other Ocean/Figure in a Clearing - David Behrman". AllMusic . Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  11. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  12. 1 2 Perera, Nilan (February 6, 2017). "David Behrman On the Other Ocean". Exclaim! . Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  13. ↑ "The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time". Pitchfork . September 26, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Belle & Sebastian compile another Late Night Tales". Fact . March 2, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold's Bedtime Mix". BBC Radio 1, Bedtime Mix. April 16, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  16. ↑ "molissafenley.com - Works". molissafenley.com.
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