A collection of sounds to supplement reading of The Sound of Things to Come.

DJ mixes

These mixes are presented as an educational reference and supplement to The Sound of Things to Come: An Audible History of the Science Fiction Film.

Sonic Psytech Workshop Mix

This mix draws extensively from content discussed in my book, "The Sound of Things to Come: An Audible History of the Science Fiction Film" (U of Minnesota Press, 2018). Featuring a dense weaving of almost 40 tracks, the 45 min. mix ranges across a timeline from 1950-1989 in order to present three tonal centers for psychotechnological attunement: a) the ambient glide (0:00-10:00); b) the shimmering fringe (10:00-30:00); c) the sonic xenomorph (30:00-43:00). It concludes with a brief coda from Sun Ra’s 1974 film, Space Is the Place.

Chapter 1: The Origins of Sonic Science fiction (1924-1950)

This first mix features early film scores, soundtracks, and compositions that influenced the development of sound in the science fiction film, including: early modern explorations of noise and electronic timbre; new futurist instrumentation; early science fiction cinema, particularly Gottfried Huppertz's original score to "Metropolis" (1927) and Arthur Bliss's score to the first science fiction film with sound, "Things to Come" (1936); and the theremin's various appearances in electronic classical music, early film and radio, and pop music.