Musica Elettronica Viva

Formed in Rome in the late 60s, the ever shifting collective Musica Elettronica Viva included such luminaries as Fred Rzewski, Alvin Curran and Richard Teitelbaum among others, and aimed to conduct the most radical experiments in sound possible. Although the above were primarily composers they were greatly inspired by avant-garde jazz titans such as Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane and were intent on drawing on any sound source, from keyboards and drums to cans and plates of glass.

As this 1970 BYG recording, The Sound Pool emphatically proved, MEV crafted an intricate sonic architecture by playing synthesizers, horns and sundry objects, and engaging in audacious treatments of the audio ‘on the fly’. The prevailing boundary between acoustic and electronic worlds was blurred by a band that was not a band, using a range of instruments that were often not instruments. Furthermore, the constantly shifting, unpredictable nature of the personnel bucked convention.