Wendy Carlos: Electronic Music Pioneer

The word "pioneer" gets thrown around too liberally these days. But in the case of Wendy Carlos, the glove fits. The face of electronic music would look immeasurably different in 2025 without the American trans composer's groundbreaking achievements.

 

Before she came along, electronic music was barely considered music at all--just "funny sounds," as Bob Moog once said. That all changed in 1968. Produced in collaboration with Rachel Elkind, Carlos's debut album, Switched-On Bach wielded machines to produce sounds that could compete with the symphonic pop and rock of the era.

 

The landmark LP won multiple GRAMMYs, played a key role in popularising the use of synths and became only the second classical music record to sell a million copies. In our latest video essay, written by Sasha Geffen, we trace Carlos's story from her early experiments with Moog through to her impact on key electronic acts of the past 50 years, including Brian Eno, DJ Sprinkles and Octo Octa.

 

00:00 - Intro

00:54 - Switched-on Bach

01:57 - Carlos and Bob Moog

03:07 Contribution to synth development

04:36 - A Clockwork Orange Score & The Vocoder

07:20 - Personal Life

08:20 - Musical Development

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