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January 18, 2006 10:52 AM   Subscribe

Bruce Haack Grandfather of Techno. "Bruce was always somewhat prophetic in his works and in predictions to friends - he once described a future age in which all music would be shared by everyone..."

MP3.com samples. Wikipedia. Incomplete discography. Weird interview. And the video documentary, Bruce Haack: King of Techno. (Warning: Flash, audio.)
posted by loquacious (18 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Electric Lucifer is one of my all-time favorite electronica albums. Electric Turn To Me (currently unavailable on the MP3 apge) is absolutely brilliant...
posted by glider at 11:30 AM on January 18, 2006


I heart Haack - as I'm sure everyone from the Dust Brothers, to Quintron do too.
posted by Peter H at 11:38 AM on January 18, 2006


Also, not to be forgotten is his singular (though incalculably major and influential) contribution to hiphop, 1983's "Party Machine" with Russell Simmons (still unreleased! --though circulated often through bootleg, p2p, etc)
posted by Peter H at 11:44 AM on January 18, 2006


Glider,

I too love Electric Turn Me On, played before JJ Perrey - EVA and Mandingo - Black Rite.
posted by johnny novak at 11:56 AM on January 18, 2006


how awsome is it that his last name is "Haack"?

Very.
posted by delmoi at 11:56 AM on January 18, 2006


Delmoi - you'd love his most bitter album title too, "Haackula" !

All should start with the great and still available "Listen Compute Rock Home" compilation CD.
posted by Peter H at 12:03 PM on January 18, 2006


I must admit Bruce Haack is a very recent discovery for me. How recent? About 2 hours ago recent. God damn it I love the internet.

However, the sensation is very, very odd. I've been listening to techno, electro and acid house since the late 80s, and before that with older, more experimental music.

It feels like suddenly discovering you had thumbs, or a nose, yet they were there all along. Disconcerting as hell. How I'd never even heard of Haack in passing after all these years DJing, volunteering at public radio, dancing to the infinite beat and on and on is just brain-bending to me.

Oddly enough I was searching for a piece of audio interface hardware on Fry's outpost.com website, the description for the movie came up.

"Heh. 'King of Techno' my fucking ass." *googles* "Oh... OH! Holy shit! How is it that I've never even heard of this guy! He predates Perry and Kingsley! He pretty much predates Robert Moog! Kraftwerk is his long lost dirty stepchild!! Derrick May, innovator? HAH! Genesis P. Orridge is just a whore! AaaaRGh! OW OW OW!!" *brain explodes*
posted by loquacious at 12:11 PM on January 18, 2006


Electric Lucifer is great. Somewhere between moody psychadelic early Pink Floyd and the Moog albums of Dick Hymen and the like.

I didn't know there was a DVD bio out now, has anyone seen it?
posted by p3t3 at 12:14 PM on January 18, 2006


Here's a more complete and chronological discography. (courtesy of the supremely awesome Discogs.com)
posted by 40 Watt at 12:19 PM on January 18, 2006


Ha, Absolutely the same reaction when I found out about him, loquacious. He's Grandfather Time.

Street cred:

Haack on Mr Rogers Neighborhood.

Thank you for the post, too!

p3t3 - Yes, it's very good, except for the first ten or so minutes where a bunch of synth-heads (Tipsy, DJ me DJ you), talk about him in a conversational way that sounds like you're trapped in a bong pit. But then it gets into the history of him and it's amazing. They talk with kids who grew up around him, friends, the whole thing. And when Russ Harris (aka Russ Angeles) drops his Dj Me (or is it You?) persona he really shines as one of the coolest people I've seen on film in a while. The footage they found of Haack is great.

So yeah, check it out, avoid the opening ten minutes.
posted by Peter H at 12:20 PM on January 18, 2006


first a google music link to boards of canada (baleeted?), now a bruce haack link--loquacious, well met.

can anybody hook me up with bruce's "electric ebenezer" christmas record?
posted by retronic at 12:20 PM on January 18, 2006


Russ Ross Harris
posted by Peter H at 12:23 PM on January 18, 2006


That picture of Haack on Mr. Rogers is awesome.

Mr. Rogers looks like he just got a deep, buzzing bass note in his pants, and he likes it.
posted by loquacious at 12:28 PM on January 18, 2006


That would explain why he is pointing to his groin.

Haack is back, and I'm loving every minute of it!
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:58 PM on January 18, 2006


Thanks loquacious. I'm glad that I'm here in 'a future age in which all music would be shared by everyone...'
[this is good]
posted by punilux at 1:05 PM on January 18, 2006


Any Raymond Scott lovers in the house?

I had a crazy friend who had pretty much every Raymond Scott piece ever as mp3s, and one of the great losses of my life was the hard drive that died, containing all my copies.
posted by stenseng at 1:17 PM on January 18, 2006


Awesome awesome...I will admit to being totally unaware of Mr. Haack (until this post). Daanke.
posted by tpl1212 at 1:18 PM on January 18, 2006


can anybody hook me up with bruce's "electric ebenezer" christmas record?
posted by retronic at 12:20 PM PST on January 18 [!]


sorry...make that "ebeneezer electric":

http://mailman.xmission.com/pipermail/exotica/2003-December.txt

[search "ebeneezer"]

'Bruce Haack and Ted Panzel, "The Ghost With the Most"...Haack was an electronic music pioneer in the 1970s and recorded a handful of children's records, including this bizarre ditty from the album "Ebeneezer Electric." While synthesizers bubble under and dart in and out, the Ghost of Christmas Present (whose accent is strangely reminiscent of Bela Lugosi) explains that "every Christmas I reach/some who love and some who teach/and right now, I'm reaching you, baby." The ghost offers a toast to "Christmas and all humanity" before inexplicably turning the microphone over to his friend Esther the belly dancer and telling listeners to "belly dance . . . with your mind." Once you hear it, you might admit that you would give anything to learn what became of any children who grew up with this record in their house.'

i have this track, and it's magnificent. looking for the rest of the album.
posted by retronic at 12:45 AM on January 19, 2006


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