Rune Lindblad

[SE]

Rune Lindblad (1923 - 1991) was a Swedish visual artist and composer of musique concrète and electronic music.

Lindblad studied chemical engineering, but began composing his body of over 200 works in 1953, many of which were produced at the legendary EMS Elektronmusikstudion in Stockholm His first piece, "Party", is considered the first electroacoustic work created in Sweden.

On 14 February 1957, Lindblad, Sven-Eric Johansson, and Bruno Epstein put on the first concert of concrète and electronic music in Sweden at the Folkets hus in Gothenburg. The audience responded adversely to their proposed new sound, which featured razed field samples and abrasive noises generated by primitive tape recorders and equipment. The audience demanded refunds, and critics referred to the music as "pure torture". In an interview, Lindblad responded with “Anyway, what is accepted when it is truly new? Given enough time, it will be acknowledged.” He subsequently took up experimentation with optics and sound, and produced five works using over 1800 meters of film.

Lundblad has largely remained outside mainstream awareness in experimental music, and releases of his music during his lifetime were limited. However, he is notable for being among the first to imbue early musique concrète with emotional depth and more expressive sound palette, incorporating voice into his electronic compositions, and using emerging technology such as synthesizers in unique and inspired ways.

His published works include the posthumous issuance of Die Stille Liebe (2013), Objekt 2: Electronic & Concrète Music (1962-1988) (1998) and Death Of The Moon And Other Early Works (1989) on Pogus Productions, and Predestination, a collection of compositions from 1968-1974 (Proprius, 1975). As a visual artist, he created paintings, drawings, etchings, collages, and woodcuts, some of which appear on his albums.

Lindblad taught at University of Gothenburg. His students included Rolf Enström, Åke Parmerud, and Ulf Bilting.

50 Years Elektronmusikstudion EMS Stockholm

HAU2, Thu 30.01.2014, 16:00

Lecture by Mats Lindström with pieces by Rune Lindblad, Knut Wiggen, Åke Hodell a.o.