Ongoing History Daily: Who the hell is Daphne Oram?
If you’re at all interested in the electronic side of rock, you owe a debt of thanks to Daphne Oram. Who?
She was born in 1925 and became a sound engineer for the BBC during World War II. One of the things she loved was the then-brand-new tape-recording technology. That led to her discovery of the avant-garde music some modern composers were making. Working after hours in the BBC studios, she eventually was put in charge of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop which produced new and unusual sound effects for the Beeb’s TV and radio productions including what ended up in the theme for Dr. Who.
In 1960, she left to set up her own studio where she got deeper into electronics and tape effects and wrote film scores, including many science fiction movies. Her work helped lay the groundwork for the experimentation that ultimately led to modern electronic music.
