60s EXPERIMENTAL 2

In our last post, Spy Vibe looked briefly at the experimental nature that is at the heart of what made much of 1960s art & design fresh and cool. Paul McCartney and John Lennon became enthralled with tape loops and experimental music (see last post), and two of McCartney's solo projects, including one that is an electronic New Wave piece, were released today in CD and vinyl editions. I've been watching many documentaries this week about John Cage (thank you Netflix), and thinking about the playful openness to create for the sake of discovering the unexpected. Our spy hero in The Ipcress File (1965), Harry Palmer, followed chance to investigate an abandoned factory, resulting in this nifty tape loop. Is it a Morton Subotnick piece? For those who have not seen this wonderful film, watch and see what unfolds. It's fun to see how musique concrete and sounds coming from the avant-garde and soundtrack labs were incorporated into the plot of the film. The digital noise in the clip below clears up quickly. Check out 60s experimental: BBC Doctor Who here.