“MANY SOUNDS HAVE NEVER BEEN HEARD – BY HUMANS: SOME SOUND WAVES YOU DON’T HEAR – BUT THEY REACH YOU. ‘STORM STEREO’ TECHNIQUES COMBINE SINGERS, INSTRUMENTALISTS AND COMPLEX ELECTRONIC SOUND. THE EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IS AT A MAXIMUM”

This is the introduction on the sleeve to what I can only describe as one of the freakiest, most frightening, far out and forward thinking albums you may ever get to hear. This is no ordinary album. An Electric Storm will take you to outer space, into the future, tear your brain apart and then give it back; stimulants should be taken with caution guys. It’s electronic and psychedelic yet stills slots in nicely into any psyche, kraut or space rock fans collection. This gorgeous heavy black hunk of celluloid is 35 years old and it still sounds totally far out. I don’t know a whole lot about electronic music, but I know it started here, there was nothing like it at the time, it was ahead of it’s time. This could be why this record never gets mentioned and is in severe danger of being lost, save for a few champions. It’s one of those you’ll never hear about it until someone lets you in on the secret, and once you’ve been initiated, there is no return. I guarantee once you hear this record you will never forget it.

White Noise is the brain child of American born David Vorhaus who studied both classical music and electronics and Brit Delia Derbyshire. Their desire to create a new style by combining music with science lead them to become some of the earliest pioneers of electronic music. An Electric Storm was collaboration between Vorhaus, holding the title “Production Coordinator” (I like the way he is just plain old boring David Vorhaus for this credit yet when he’s in charge of “Special Stereo effects” he becomes David Vorhaus B.Sc, Dip. Elec!! Just so you know he’s qualified for the job) along with Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson responsible for “Electronic Sound Realisation”. Derbyshire was a seriously right on woman who studied maths and music and then in 1959 she approached Decca for a position only to be was told they did not employ women in their recording studios. She then went to Geneva to work for the UN and then later in 1960 became a trainee studio manager for the BBC. The BBC’s new radiophonic workshop came under the same department so Delia asked for an attachment there. This became a permanent “temporary” arrangement. Apparently there were no permanent attachments due to fears that working for too long with electronic sounds could cause brain damage. Delia was in her element and quickly began experimenting with her ideas on the theories and perception of sounds, and ways of communicating moods using only electronic means. Before long she had created a recording which would endure as being one of the most famous pieces of music to sum up the era and genre, the theme to Dr Who.

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