WIGGEN, KNUT - Electronic Works 1972-1975

This LP marks the release of Norwegian composer Knut Wiggen’s electronic music produced in the legendary EMS studio in Stockholm between 1972-1975. As a pioneer of computer music in Scandinavia, Knut Wiggen (1927—2016) was hugely important in reshaping the Swedish music community from 1959, when he became chairman of Fylkingen Concert Society and transformed the organisation into an central hub for avant-garde music concerts and events. In 1964 Wiggen became founding director of the Elektronmusikstudion in Stockholm, which under his leadership became one of Europe’s leading studios for new electronic music.

During his time at the EMS Wiggen created the revolutionary composition software MusicBox, which was designed as a creative tool both to create sounds and through spatialization free electronic music from acoustical confines of the concert hall. With this tool he composed five compositions at EMS over the course of three years: Sommarmorgon (1972), Etyd (1972), Resa (1972), Massa (1974) and EMS för sig själv (1975). These works were originally composed as multi-channel pieces, as its was Wiggen’s preferred format, but this LP presents new stereo-mixes that has been done with the utmost care to to preserve Wiggen’s artistic intentions. The LP comes with archival photos as well as liner notes by Norwegian electronic music historian and composer Jøran Rudi.

OGM Records is proud to present this important rediscovery in the canon of early Scandinavian computer music.