Starting November 29, 13 groundbreaking Norman McLaren compositions have been brought together for the first time in Rythmetic: The Compositions of Norman McLaren, released by Phantom Limb (UK/EU) and We Are Busy Bodies (US/Canada/world), in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
Now available on vinyl, compact disc and streaming, Rythmetic: The Compositions of Norman McLaren represents an essential overview of the pioneering musical compositions of this legendary figure in animation, who has been called “the first electronic musician.”
Along with his genius visual storytelling, NFB animation founder McLaren was also a trailblazer in graphical or drawn sound. He ingeniously created synthetic sound and music by drawing, etching and photographing patterns directly onto the film soundtrack, becoming a pioneer of electronic music long before the invention of the synthesizer. These audio treasures formed the soundscapes for many of his most legendary films—while others were preserved in the NFB’s vaults, unheard, until now.
This new career retrospective has been released as a limited edition double vinyl album and compact disc, available from Bandcamp (purchase via UK/EU & US/CA pages) and better retailers.
It’s also available for streaming on such platforms as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Bandcamp.
Listen to lead single “Synchromy” on YouTube, taken from McLaren’s award-winning 1971 visual music animated short with the NFB.
To find out more, visit the NFB’s Norman McLaren channel featuring free streaming of all his classic works including Pen Point Percussion, a 1951 short doc where McLaren demonstrates how he makes synthetic sound on film.
Described by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and music theorist Milton Babbitt as “the first electronic musician,” Norman McLaren predated and forecasted the coming age of electronic music in his work from the 1940s to 1970s. The soundtracks McLaren created for his films display astonishing foresight, crystallizing his boundless creativity, wit and whimsy, and providing unique insights to his remarkable creative spirit.
Rythmetic: The Compositions of Norman McLaren marks the first time his soundtracks have been released on record, carefully curated from his most important works, hours of archival resources and multiple versions of the same key compositions—all sourced from the NFB’s state-of-the-art archives.
This collection represents an essential overview of McLaren as a composer, in neat dovetail with McLaren the filmmaker. Both are crucial figures in the respective developments of their fields, opening doors to a future that might not have existed without McLaren.
Track listing
1. Now Is the Time
2. Rythmetic
3. Neighbours
4. Synchromy
5. Unreleased composition, 1945–1946
6. Dots
7. Loops
8. Mosaic
9. Unreleased composition, 1945–1946
10. Unreleased composition, 1945–1948
11. Unreleased composition, 1969
12. Unreleased composition, 1964–1965
13. Opening Speech: Norman McLaren
