Introducing The NID Tapes: Electronic Music in India 1969-1972

‘The NID Tapes’ presents a collection of early Indian electronic music uncovered at the archives of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. Recorded between 1969-1972 ‘The NID Tapes’ chronicles previously unheard electronic works from Indian composers Gita Sarabhai, I.S. Mathur, Atul Desai, S.C. Sharma and Jinraj Joshipura who all worked at India’s first electronic music studio founded at the NID during the years following India’s independence - a period of radical visionary experimentation and utopian dreams.

‘The NID Tapes’ presents excerpts from twenty-seven reels of archive tape spanning the three years of the studio’s operational history. This revolutionary project showcases work from previously unknown and unheard electronic music composers including the musician and poet Atul Desai, NID teachers and technicians, I.S. Mathur and S.C. Sharma, Gita Sarabhai (who had previously studied with John Cage in New York) and the young architecture student Jinraj Joshipura who was just 19 years old when he first started composing with the Moog synthesizer. The audio showcases their various visions for electronic music production, exploring analogue synthesis, tape collages, voice experiments and field recordings revealing a meeting point of Western and Indian avant-garde traditions, and offering a unique insight into South Asia’s post-colonial sonic imagination.

The vinyl and digital releases are released in collaboration with Strange Attractor Press and The state51 Conspiracy and has been mastered by Hari Shankar Kishore. Design for the 2 x LP includes a vinyl etching created by Shreya Aurora a recent graduate from the National Institute of Design. 1st pressing is now 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. Preorder 2nd pressing: https://state51.bandcamp.com/album/th...

Launching closely after the LP, through Strange Attractor Press, is a paperback book entitled ‘Subcontinental Synthesis: Electronic Music at the National Institute of Design, India 1969–1972’. Edited by Paul Purgas this collection of critical essays reflects on the larger cultural and political dialogues surrounding the studio featuring contributions from Geeta Dayal, You Nakai, Rahila Haque and Jinraj Joshipura the last surviving composer from the NID. Preorder the book here: https://strangeattractor.greedbag.com...

Listen: nidtapes.lnk.to/zwFSvY5O

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