Soave and Orbeatize present an impressive and stunning 14-CD box set dedicated to the neglected and visionary Swiss electroacoustic composer Ernst Thoma. “Reels 1977-1986” covers the first decade of Thoma's productions with its radically singular approach to experimental electronic music; highly rhythmic, ranging from poetic and minimal elegance to frenzy. In 80 tracks in total, some of the most engaging music of the late 20th century that we can call upon unfolds. Thoma began his formal musical studies at the Basel Academy of Music, working in the electronic music studio under composer David Johnson, and soon built and worked with oscillators, filters, and other electronic devices. Upon completion of these studies, he began the vast body of compositions that occupied much of his energies for the next few years of his life, also working within the UnknownmiX group, with Magda Vogel and Knut Remond, and collaborating with artists such as Peter Trachsel, Stephan Wittwer, and Gabi Delgado. A truly expansive and exploratory journey through an incredible array of minimal efforts that cover a considerable amount of ground while still managing to feel quite cohesive within their diversity, moving through proto-techno, flirting no-wave (in purely electronic form), improvisations, stellar allusions to math-rock and placing it deep into the most radical avant-garde zones. Undoubtedly one of the most important and ambitious archival releases of 2024.

CD#1 4 Stücke / binary code music

gonggong no.3 6:44
Binary Code Music 1 14:40
Binary Code Music2 Drum 4:42
Improvisation mit Programm und live Elektronik 7:40
binary code music 27:50

CD#2 GONGGONG 6 / Pilgrims Performin

Binary Counter und State Var Filterbank 23:16
Performance von Peter Trachsel und Ernst Thoma 40:04

CD#3 6 Strukturen / KLANG 5 Anarchaos

Struktur A 3:20
Struktur B 4:12
Struktur C 5:16
Struktur D 2:40
Struktur E 14:24
Struktur F 13:05
Klang 5 Anarchaos 27:10

CD#4 Automovie Records 1980-81

Klang 2 Automovie Records (1980) 30:45
Klang 2 Automovie Records (1981) 27:10

CD#5 Improvisationen 1981

Improvisation 1 16:26
Improvisation 2 26:47
Improvisation 3 12:44

CD#6 "Winterspiel" 1981

Winterspiel 1 13:42
Winterspiel 2 15:04
Winterspiel 3 13:12
Winterspiel 4 8:28

CD#7 Pongo Pink Bar 1981-82

Pongo Pink Bar 5:57
Gamronio Walz 5:31
Wintermusic 3 3:07
Wintermusic 4 4:51
Micrs Sono 1 exil2 4:04
Wintermusic 1 4:51
Wintermusic 2 4:04
Micrs Sono 2 exil2 7:28

CD#8 “Strukturen 1981 – 82

Puls –Struktur 1 8:35
Puls –Struktur 2 3:56
kurze Strukturen 1 18:06
kurze Strukturen 2 19:00

CD#9 Polyponie Zürich elementar / Kaffeehaus Konzerte 1986

Polyphonie Zürich 1 0:46
Polyphonie Zürich 2 0:32
Polyphonie Zürich 3 1:03
Polyphonie Zürich 4 0:56
Polyphonie Zürich 5 0:43
Polyphonie Zürich 6 1:30
Polyphonie Zürich 7 1:42
Polyphonie Zürich 8 1:20
Polyphonie Zürich 9 7:24
Polyphonie Zürich 10 19:30
Untitled 4:19
Untitled 4:29
Untitled 4:44
Untitled 3:43
Untitled 3:54
Untitled 8:02
Untitled 8:26

CD#10 Westblock

Westblock 45:52

CD#11 HU und HSOU

Improvisation HU 25:40
Improvisation HSOU 20:44

CD#12 3 Improvisationen

Improvisation 1 (rot) 10:08
Improvisation 2 (grün) 26:04
Improvisation 3 (gelb) 4:32

CD#13 Micro Sono 8 - 11 / Modern Tracks

Micro Sono 8 7:10
Micro Sono 9 8:09
Micro Sono 10 7:17
Micro Sono 11 7:14
Untitled 3:58
Untitled 4:30
Untitled 3:39
Untitled 2:46
Untitled 7:35
Untitled 4:14
Untitled 4:55
Untitled 4:22
Untitled 4:07
Untitled 2:50

CD#14 UnknownmiX 1983

legal massacre 5:01
the clocks rock 5:18
Yassou you 4:58
Bush chicken 6:36
Nightmare 5:11
Mes reves errants 4:12
Django 6:13
Japanese Funk Machine 5:10