What a masterpiece of “out there”!! I love this song!! I only heard it recently and it took a while to crack what it was but oh boy was it worth it!! Researching into Bruce Haack it has become evident, unsurprisingly, that his music has been a go-to source for sampling with the likes of Cut Chemist, J Dilla, Madlib, Aesop Rock and many more incorporating his works – especially his1968 The Way-Out Record For Children LP!
Bruce Haack was a Canadian musician who sadly died way too young, leaving this planet at the age of just 57. He left a legacy of innovative ideas and fresh new musical avenues, however, for he was a pioneer of electronic music and an explorer of sounds! Born Bruce Clinton Haack, he was a notable, forward-thinking musician active in the 1950’s and 1960’s. His prolific works greatly inspired the electronic/synth sounds of the 70’s and his wildly creative ideas were often rather wacky by nature, covering electronic children’s songs to satanic music and also included musical inventions too! Haack also invented some weird and wonderful musical instruments like the Theramin-inspired Magic Wand and Dermatron – a device that worked off the natural conductivity of the human body!
Bruce Haack’s robotic songs were a precedent to the work of Synth Pop artists from the 70’s, inspiring artists such as Kraftwerk and Gary Numan. His quirky and unique electronic music was an influence on Space Rock, but we can also include the likes of modern electronic and hip hop into that mix now too!
Saint Basil has been on loop for the last half hour, it gets into the head!! Taken from his 1969 album, The Electronic Record For Children (which I’ve included below), this is one of 13 mind-expanding songs! Rammed with the strange and otherworldly, cosmic sounds and random sampled vocal sections, this record straddles the realms of sanity/insanity with precarious precision!..but this is its charm and I do recommend you give this a play through!
Saint Basil is a little nugget of golden space dust though, I really like it! Enjoy..
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