Practical Electronica (excerpt)

The first part of Practical Electronica, an unfunded 2011 documentary on FC Judd and early British electronic music. This experimental film from multi-media artist Ian Helliwell, examines Fred Judd’s activity with electronics and musique concrete during the 1950s and 60s, and explores the innovative career of this English musician, inventor, engineer, designer and author. The focus is on his experimental sound, and the widespread tape recording activity of his day, filling in a lost chapter in early electronic music history. With the cooperation of his widow, Fred’s story is told through cine film, archive footage, animation and experimental video; all materials that Helliwell has a unique affinity with. The documentary has no interviewees, and is rooted in the amateur tape recording world that Fred inhabited during the 60s - narration, electronic sounds and his voice tell the story. The complete film runs for 60 minutes and was produced over a period of two years, with revisions and improvements made