''Sonic Seasonings'' is a studio double album by American keyboardist and composer

Wendy Carlos Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...

, in 1972 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The album features four

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

tracks, each loosely based on one of the four seasons, combining various

field recordings Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibrat ...

with sounds from a

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

. It marks a departure from her previous two albums which featured synthesized renditions of pieces of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. The album reached No. 168 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. In 1998, it was remastered for CD with two previously unreleased tracks.

Production

Following the release of her second studio album ''

The Well-Tempered Synthesizer ''The Well-Tempered Synthesizer'' is the second studio album from the American musician and composer Wendy Carlos in November 1969 on Columbia Masterworks Records. Following the success of her previous album, ''Switched-On Bach'' (1968), Carlos p ...

'' in late 1969, the second featuring synthesized pieces of classical music, Carlos proceeded to change musical direction for her next album. Collaborating with friend and producer

Rachel Elkind Rachel Elkind (born February 23, 1939) is an American classical musician, record producer and composer. She produced the work of Wendy Carlos, most notably the bestselling 1968 album ''Switched-On Bach''. Elkind grew up in San Francisco. She moved ...

, the two sought to produce music that was "deliberately minimal" and had "a much longer span" than was typical of contemporary music at the time. The two decided on an album with four long tracks, each loosely based on each of the four seasons, partly constructed with improvised and composed passages. Various

of nature are incorporated into the pieces, including wind on "Fall", bird song on "Spring", and insects on "Summer". The album was recorded on a 3-M

tape machine An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...

, which was restored with modern components in preparation for the album's 1998 remastering.

Release

Upon its release in 1972, ''Sonic Seasonings'' reached No. 168 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Initially, Carlos wished for Columbia Records to release the album in the

Compatible Discrete 4 Compatible Discrete 4, also known as Quadradisc or CD-4 (not to be confused with compact disc) was as a discrete four-channel quadraphonic system for phonograph records. The system was created by JVC and RCA in 1971 and introduced in May 1972. Hun ...

Quadrophonic sound system, but the label refused to do so.

Legacy

''Sonic Seasonings'' is widely regarded as the first

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation technique, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecs ...

album. It was released six years before

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

coined the term "

" with his release, '' Ambient 1: Music for Airports'' (1978).

Track listing

1998 CD reissue

East Side Digital reissued ''Sonic Seasonings'' in 1998 as a remastered two-CD set, containing the original album, one out-take track, and two previously unreleased compositions.

Personnel

– synthesizers, field recordings, design, mastering, engineering *

– vocalise on "Winter", original package design, liner notes * Ed Lee – original package design * Ogata Korin – cover art * Jorma Puranen – tundra photograph * Annemarie Franklin – executive producer

References

{{Authority control 1972 albums Wendy Carlos albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Wendy Carlos