Show Notes
In celebration of Delia Derbyshire Day 2023 and the 60th Anniversary of the Doctor Who theme, Caro C is joined by fellow devotees Mark Ayres, David Butler and Cosey Fanni Tutti to discuss the Delia Derbyshire Day archives and the importance of her contributions to the development of electronic music. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:26 - Delia Derbyshire Archive Mark Ayres 03:15 - Mark Ayres Introduction 07:44 - The Beginnings Of Electronic Music 10:12 - Electronic Sound Sources 13:10 - The Delia Derbyshire Archives 18:40 - Favourite Piece - The Makeup Tape Of Blue Veils 22:21 - The Future Of The Archives David Butler 24:38 - David Butler Introduction 28:59 - The Contents Of The Archives 33:17 - Building A Network Of Collaborators 35:03 - Methods And Techniques Revealed 36:59 - Manipulating The Voice 39:05 - Favourite Piece - Two Houses And Demo Cue Cosey Fanni Tutti 41:42 - Cosey Fanni Tutti Introduction 43:42 - Delia Derbyshire Musical Influences 45:24 - A Background In Physics 48:50 - Favourite Piece - Amor Dei 53:34 - The Importance Of The Archives https://deliaderbyshireday.com/dd-archive/ Delia Derbyshire Biog Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001) was a key figure in the development of electronic music in the UK. Born in Coventry but evacuated to Preston during the Blitz, Delia cites the sound of air raid sirens as inspiring her interest in electronic sound. She went on to study Maths and Music at Cambridge University and launched her career at the BBC in 1960 as a trainee Studio Manager. She moved to the Radiophonic Workshop in 1962, where she spent the next 11 years developing experimental sounds and music for their TV and radio shows, in addition to working as a freelancer on film, theatre and other live projects. Her most famous work is her electronic arrangement of Ron Grainer’s Doctor Who theme, created in 1963. Delia composed and produced electronic music using tape, plus early synthesis and sampling methods before specific instruments were created for these purposes. Her work has influenced and inspired many modern artists including The Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin, Portishead, Nainita Desai, Amon Tobin and Cosey Fanni Tutti, while Pink Floyd, Orbital and Hannah Peel have reinterpreted her work.
Mark Ayres Biog Mark Ayres is a composer, arranger, sound designer, mixer and mastering engineer. Mark wrote incidental music for Doctor Who in the 1980s. More recently he wrote the music for, sound-designed and mixed the reconstructed 'lost' Tom Baker adventure, “Shada”, and a celebratory feature length version of the original 1963 “Daleks” serial transmitted on BBC4 on 23rd November 2023, Doctor Who’s 60th birthday. He has also composed for television and film including scores for 1996 feature "The Innocent Sleep" and the more recent "Scar Tissue".
Mark was involved in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s final days and went on to become their archivist. A personal friend of Delia Derbyshire, he was entrusted with her personal archive after her death in 2001, which is now on permanent loan to the University of Manchester John Rylands Library and accessible for study. He is a Trustee of the Delia Derbyshire Day Charity.
His devotion to the Workshop after Doctor Who ceased broadcasting in 1989 proved vital in regenerating interest in their work, and he is now the driving force behind their live revival on the festival circuit and in the creation of new works including the score for Matthew Holness' disturbing psychological horror film, "Possum". He has produced and mastered many recordings for Silva Screen Records and others, and his work remastering classic television programmes including Doctor Who, Quatermass, and the films of Ken Russell and Alan Clarke for broadcast, DVD and Blu-ray, including 5.1 remixes of many titles, has been highly acclaimed. David Butler Biog David Butler is a Senior Lecturer in Drama and Film Studies at the University of Manchester. He helped to bring the Delia Derbyshire Archive to the John Rylands
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